The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1899-07-26
MINNESOTA FORESTRY.
Fourth Annual Report of the Chief Fire
Warden Shows up Well.

Fourth Annual Report or the Chlef FIRE
Warden Shows up Well.
The Fourth Annual Report of the
Chief Fire Warden of Minnesota for
1898 has been published. The most
notable thing ia regard to forest fires
in Minnesota was the fact that, al
though there were few weeks of dry
and dangerous weather in the north
ern 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 Graded as a calam-
ity. The forest fires in Wisconsin. the
milion-dolar forest fire in Michigan
in 1896 and the extensive fires in South
Dakota would impress a candid person
of the value OF even the little preven-
tive means used in this state. No
sensible man pretends that human
agency can eXtinguish Il great forest
fire. The object of the Fire Warden
starting. or if, unfortunately, they
have started, to eXtingush them be-
fore they become unmanagcable. Pre-
vention is the main feature of the,
Fire Warden Law. as is seen in the
Importance attached 10 posting and
publishing warning notices. Thus
far the state has expended, under
this law, less than $1,000 d year, in
Guiding the one-third of county eX-
penses which it pays; and the thirty
odd counties affected by the law has
averaged less than 800 IL year.
Reports from fire wardens made to
the Chief Fire Warden, of forest fires
in 1898, show that there were 81 such
fires and which burned over 2l,5S0
acres, much of which was light TIM
Der or cut-over lands. Total damage
reported, $9,063, which seems very
small, and is accounted for in part by
some OF the damaged timber being
cut the succeeding winter. Seventy
eight per cent of the whole number OF
fires reported were eXtinguished or
controlled by fire wardens or their
helpers. A man in Todd county was
: made to pay. fine of 800 and costs
for carelessly causing a fire which
spread half Il mile into neighbours
field, where it fatally burned a women
and severely injured "a boy who tried
TO protect her. There were several
other vigorous and effective prosecut-
ions.
The number of acres reported as
burned over by prairie fires was 54,-
$50: damage, S13.436. The number of
such fires caused by burning grass.
straw or stubble was %: by railroad
locomotives IA, other causes 5, I'M
known %.
The report, which contains numer-
Gus illustrations Of the Minnesota
forests, describes some Of the timber
country in Beltrlmi and CasS counties
which was visited in the month of
August. A particular description is
given of a splendid pine forest on the
south shore of Cass lake, recently
made accessible by railway; also of
some very fine forest on the north
shore of Vermilion lake belonging to
the State University, and which the
Chief Fire Warden advocates being
set apart az d demonstration forest for
hn 4 4 hn "a f,f fpU
nected with the Agricultural College
and Experimental Station, If this
were done. he thinks the State Uni
versity of Minnesota would outrank
all other universities. except Cornell,
i'll this country in the important
science OF forestry, which is so rapidly
coming to the front. The Chief Fire
Warden visited tile Itasca State Park
and points out the need of roads and
paths therein.
1t is leading principle in the
forestry that only land that is unfit
for profitable agriculture should be
kept in forest. The plan recommend
ed by DR.. @. A. Schenck, an able Ger
man 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 5000 acres year (which is less
than is planted annually in Prussia
500 plants per acre can be planted at
SLIPS per acre. to which add cost of
land. % cents, makes Sl1.50 per acre.
This capital at two per cent compound
interest will amount in eighty years