The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1899-07-21
MIN sofa 70 RESTS.

MllINNESO TA r RESTS.
Fourth Annual Report Of Chief Fire
Warden Andrews.
The Report Deals Extensively with Forest
Fires In tho ssate.--The Losses sus-
talned.--The Benefits Derived
and Expenses Incurred.
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
q few weeks Of dry and dangerous wealth
er In the northern part Of the state, both
In the spring and autumn, our state es-y
capped any very serious fires. while in
the adjoining state of Wisconsin forest
fires occurred in the fall Of enough mag
nitude to be heralded as a calamity. The
forest fires in Wisconsin, the million-dol-
lar fire in Michigan In 1896, and the ex-
tensive fires in South Dakota would. i'm
press a candid person of the value of
even the little preventive means used in
this state. No sensible man pretends
that human agency can extinguish
great forest fire. The object of the Fire
Warden Law is to prevent such fires
from starting, or If, unfortunately. they
have started, to extinguish them before
they become unmanageable. Prevention
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 than 5000
year, including the one-third of coun-
ty expenses which it pays; and the ex-
pense of the thirty odd counties affected
by the law has averaged less than 500
year.
Reports from fire wardens made to the
Chief Fire Warden, of forest fires in
1888, show that there were 81 such fires
and which burned over ESQ acres, much
of which was light timber or cut-over
lands. Total damage reported, $9,O63,
which seems very SMALL and is accounted
for in part by some of the damaged tim
Der being cut the succeeding winter. Sew
enty-eight per cent of the whole number
OF fires reported were extinguished or
controlled by fire wardens or their help
ers. A man in Todd county was made
to pay a fine Of 500 and costs for care
lessly causing a fire which spread half
a mile into a neighbours field, where it
fatally burned a woman and severely in
jured 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, $50;
damage, $13, 436. The number of such fires
caused by burning grass, straw or stub
bic was %; by railroad locomotives IA,
other causes S, unknown Is.
The report, which contains numerous
illustrations of the Minnesota forests, de-
scr1bes> some of the timber country in
Beltrami and Cass counties which was
Visited In the month of August A par
tlcular description is given of a splendid
pine forest on the south shore of Cass
lake, recently made accessible by rail-
way; also of some very fine forest on
the north shore of Vermillion lake be-
longing to the State University, and
which the Chief Fire Warden advocates
being set apart as demonstration forest
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 reed of
roads and paths therein. ...
1t is leading principle in forestry that
only land that is unfit for profitable
agriculture 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 Is 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 Prussia), 5000
plants per acre can be planted at S11.25
per acre, to which add cost of land, Is
cents, makes s11.50 per acre. This capital
at two per cent compound interest will
amount in eighty years to $500. Mean
time expenditures for taxes, protection
at two per cent compound interest, to
$40; which added to $500 makes $64. 80,
the cost of an acre of this forest at the
END OF eighty years. He estimates that
the product per acre on average soil
at the end of eighty years will be 1900
feet, board measure, Of the value Of $3.50
per thousand feet, equal to s66 per acre,
being equal to the capital invested, ac-
cumulated at two per cent compound in
terest. Continuously after eighty years
the forest will yield annually on 25,OOO
acres a crop which can be cut of 1900
feet board
feet tn on the whole, worth at least ST.
IN proportion as people are informed in
forest fires. With this view the Chief
Fire Warden prints in his report short,
forestry. systems of fifteen European
states, including saxony, Prussia and
France. which are foremost in the SCI
a tract Of primev s pine forest s by ap the
cussed.
n The ert pu6e T too the p So Be-
impressed Of the Importance of prevent
ing forest fires. If only for the preserva-
ton Of our scenery; How they wipe out
en- and children whose humble homes are
In woodland regions,,most people can
imagine But it needs one to open his
Of miles of blackened and dead forests
railroads to comprehend what it is to
destroy scenery: A living forest border
ing railway is beautiful. Turned into
a. dismal waste of tree skeletons by fire,
it is horrible, and remains for years an
advertisement to all travellers of GRIM:
inal carelessness and standardization.
the heart Of Africa, but not in a country
like ours, which feels itself to be glori-
Gus; and that man who Is Indifferent to
using some meanssfo preventing forest
fires is either Indifferent to the welfare
Of his state. or has not duly considered
the subject"