The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1899-07-21
July 81 Is 80
MINNESOTA FOREsTY.

The Fourth Annual Report OF the,
Chief Fire Warden of Minnesota for
1898 has been published. The most
notable thing in regard to forest fires in
Minnesota was the fact that, although
there were few weeks of dry and danger
Gus weather in the northern part of the
state both in the spring and autumn,
our state escaped any very serious
fires, while in the adjoining state of
Wisconsin forest fires occurred in the
fall of enough magnitude to be heralded
as calamity. The forest fires in Wis
consin, the million-dollar forest fire in
Michigan in 1896 and the extensive fires
in South Dakota would impress can
did pers On of the value of even the lit
tie preventive means used in this state.
No sensible man pretends that human
agency can extinguish a great forest
fire. The object of the Fire Warden
Law is to prevent such fires from start
ing, or it, unfortunately, they have
started, to extinguish them before they
become unmauageable. Proven ion is
the main feature of the Fire Warden
Law, as is seen in the Importance at
tached to posting and publishing warn
ing notices Thus far the state has ex-
pended, under this law, less that So, 1000
year, including the one-third OF county
expenses which it pays; and the ex-
pense of the thirty odd counties affected
by the law has averaged less than 800
year.
The reports of the fire wardens show
that in 1898 there were 81 forest fires,
which burned over 81, $50 acres, much
of which was light timber or cut over
lands The total damage reported was
S9O63. This is small damage and is
accounted for in part by some OF the
damaged timber being cut the succeed
ing winter. The number of acres OF
prairie burned over was "a, 1850, and the
damage was $13, 436. OF these fires IA
were caused by railroad locomotives.
L., g hh civ ~ w q
land for forests. and the costs and re-
turns thereof the report says 1t is a
leading principle in forestry that only
land that is unfit for profitable agricul-
ture should be kept in forest. The plan
recommended by DR.. c. A. Schenck, an
able German forester, for utilizing
waste lands in Minnesota for forestry
purposes is printed in full. DR.. Schenck
assumes that the land is to cost the
state % cents an acre, and estimates
that planting with pine on the large
scale of $4,000 acres year (Which is
less than is planted annually in Prus-
sia), 5000 plants per acre can be planted
at 81 % per acre, to which add cost OF
land, 20 cents, makes 81. 90 per acre.
This capital at two per cent compound
interest will amount in eighty years to
500. 90 Meantime expenditures for
taxes protection and administration
per acre will increase, at two per cent
compound interest, to 1910; which ad-
ded to $50 20 makes s64 80, the cost of
an acre of this forest at the end of eighty
wears, He estimates that the product,
per acre on average soil at the end OF
eighty years will be $4,000 feet, board
measure, of the value of So 80 per thou
sand feet, equal to 500 per acre, being
equal to the capital invested, accunu-
lated at two per per cent compound in
terest. Continuously after eighty years
the forest will yield annually on 1000
acres crop which can be cut of $4,000
feet board measure per acre, or 300,-
900, 900 feet on the whole.
In closing the report refers to the de-
struction of scenery by forest fires. and
says: The public cannot too deeply
be impressed of the Importance of pre-.
venting forest fires, if only for the pre-
servation of our scenery. How they
wipe out property-how dreadful they
are TO women and children whose hum
BILE homes are in woodland regions
most people can imagine. But it needs
one to open his eyes upon the miles and
miles and scores of miles of blackened
and dead forests that have been
killed by fire along our railroads
to comprehend what it is to de-
s+rox, geometry A living forest bOr-