Warren sheaf., 1899-07-20
INNESOTA FORESTS.
Fourth Annual Report Of Chief Fire
Warden Andrews.

!. 9I''' ou1 tn = Annual N Report of Chief Fire
Warden Andrews.
The Report Deals Extensively with Forest
Fires in the state.--The Losses Sus.
talned.--The Benefits Derived
and Expenses Incurred.
Ihe Fourth Annual Report Of the Chief
ERE re warden Of Minnesota for 1898 has
Deen published. The most notable thing
4 ~ ~ regard to forest fires in Minnesota
was the fact that, although there were
. rev weeks of dry and dangerous wealth
e 9. N the northern part Of the state, both
- the the spring and autumn, our state es-
eaped any very serious fires, while in
the adjoining state Of Wisconsin forest
HTes occurred In the fall of enough mag
nnAtude TO be heralded as calamity. The
est Lorest hres in Wisconsin, the million-dol-
iaE aE nre IN Michigan in 1896, and the ex-
eenslVe hres in South Dakota would inn
press candid person Of the value of
even the little preventive means used in
TINS state. No sensible man pretends
tnat human agency can extinguish a
great forest fire. The object of the Fire
Z warden Law is to prevent such fires
from starting, or if, unfortunately, they
X nave started, to extinguish them before
1ney become unmanageable. Prevention
is the main feature of the Fire Warden
Law, as is seen in the Importance at
tached to posting and publishing warm
ing notices. Thus far the state has ex-
pended, under this law, less than s., 900
year, including the one-third of coun-
ty expenses which it pays; and the ex-
pense OF the thirty odd counties affected
py the law has averaged less than $1OO
a year.
Reports from fire wardens made to the
Chief Fire Warden, of forest fires in
le9S, show that there were 81 such fires
and which burned over 21,5S0 acres, much
or which was light timber or cut-over
lanos. Total damage reported, $9,063,
which seems very small, and is accounted
Ior IN part by some of the damaged tim
Der be1ng cut the succeeding winter. Sew
enty-eight per cent of the whole number
OF nres reported were extinguished or
controlled by fire wardens or their help
ers A man in Todd county was made
to pay fine of $10O and costs for care
lessly causing a fire which spread half
mile into a neighbor's field where it
fatally burned a woman and severely in
5ured boy who tried to protect her.
There were several other vigorous and
effective prosecutions.
The number of acres reported as
burned over by prairie fires was 81,
damage, $13,436. The number of such fires
caused by burning grass, straw or stub
BILE was %; by railroad locomotives II,
other causes S, unknown rs.
The report, which contains numerous
illustrations of the Minnesota forests, de-
scribes some of the timber country in
Beltrami and Cass counties which was
visited in the month of August. A par
ticular description is given of splendid
pine forest on the south shore of Cass
lake, recently made accessible by rail-
way; also Of some very fine forest on
the nsrth shore of Vermillion lake be-
longing to the State University, and
which the Chief Fire Warden advocates
being set apart as a demonstration forest
for the use of the school of forestry
connected with the Agricultural College
and Experimental Station If this were
done, he thinks the State University of
Minnesota would outrank all other uni
versities, except Cornell, in this country
in the important science of forestry,
which is so rapidly coming to the front
The Chief Fire Warden visited the Itasca
State Park and points out the need of
roads and paths therein.
1t is a leading principle in forestry that
only land that is unfit for profitable
agriculture should be kept in forest
The plan recommended by Dr. G. 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 Is cents an acre, and estimates
that planting with pine on the large scale
of 25, 900 acres a year (Which is less than
is planted annually in Prussia), 5000
plants per acre can be planted at SLIPS
per acre, to which add cost of land, 25
cents, makes $11.50 per acre. This capital
at two per cent compound interest will
amount in eighty years to $500. Mean
time expenditures for taxes, protection
and administration per acre will increase
at two per cent compound interest, to
$9.70; which added to $500 makes SCI. 80,
end of eighty years. He estimates that
the product per acre on average soil
at the end of eighty years will be $4,000
per thousand feet, equal to sec per acre,
being equal to the capital invested, ac-
cumulated at two per cent compound in
IST0SC.5 alter eighty Years
the forest will yield annually on 25,OOO
acres a crop which can be cut of $4,000
feet board measure per acre, or 30O 900, 900
feet on the whole, worth at least ST.
CSC, 900.
In proportion as people are informed in
regard to forestry will they be disposed
to use precautions against the ravages Of
forest fires With this view the Chief
Fire Warden prints in his report short,
fresh and comprehensive sketches of the
forestry systems of fifteen European
states, including Saxony Prussia and
France which are foremost in the sci
ence The Importance of setting apart
"a tract of primeval pine forest by the
state as a health resort is also dis
cussed.
. The report concludes with the follow
ing: The public cannot too deeply be
impressed Of the Importance OF prevent
Ing forest fires, If only for the preserva-
ton of our scenery. How they wipe out
property-how dreadful they are to wom-
en- and children whose humble 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
destroy scenery. A living forest border
ing a railway Is beautiful. Turned into
dismal waste of tree skeletons by fire,
It Is horrible, and remains for years an
advertisements to all travellers Ofsf Grim