DIVISIOlSr OF FOKESTKY. 105 



one bulletin, A Primer of Forestry — Part I, a second edition of 35,000 

 copies was ordered by act of Congress. An exhibit, in some respects 

 altogether novel in character, was prepared for the Paris Exposition, 

 in illustration of the relation of forestry to agriculture; and an exten- 

 sive examination of the forests of the southern Appalachians was 

 begun. During the year field parties have been at work in 26 States 

 and Territories. The general efficiency of the personnel was increased 

 to a marked degree during the year. These results were obtained by 

 the exj)enditure of an appropriation of 148,520. 



SECTION OF WORKING PLANS. 

 PRIVATE LANDS. 



The applications for advice and assistance in handling private forest 

 lands have continued to be so numerous during the past j^ear that the 

 small force of the Division has been entirely unable to meet the 

 demand. New applications have been received for 0(j4,450 acres, 

 making a total of 2,478,045 acres of private lands applied for since the 

 circular offering assistance to private owners was issued in October, 

 1898. 



Personal examinations were made during the year of 48 tracts in 14 

 States, covering 878,670 acres. Detailed working plans were made on 

 4 large tracts — 2 in the Adirondacks, aggregating 170,000 acres; 1 in 

 Tennessee of 6,000 acres, and 1 in central New York of about 3,000 

 acres. Marking was done upon 2 wood lots in Maryland, 1 in New 

 Jersey, and 1 in Vermont. In June, 1900, a working plan was begun 

 for a tract of Shortleaf Pine in Arkansas, covering about 100,000 

 acres. This latter is the first extensive technical foi-est work which 

 has been undertaken by a lumber company in the South. 



Api)lications for working plans had, on July 1, been received from 

 all the States and Territories except 13, and from nearly all of the 

 latter requests for planting plans have reached the Division. 



In the Adirondacks the third season's work of practical forestry 

 was successfully begun on two adjoining tracts, Avhich cover an area 

 of 108,000 acres. A third tract in the Adirondacks was placed under 

 actual forest management during the month of June, and the work- 

 ing plan prepared by the Division for 6,000 acres owned by the Uni- 

 versity of the South at Sewanee, Tenn., was put into operation at 

 nearly the same time. 



PUBLIC LANDS. 



The most important work yet undertaken by the section of working 

 plans of the Division is that of preparing working plans for the entire 

 area of the federal forest reserves. This work is the result of a 

 request upon the Secretary of Agriculture by the Secretary of the 

 Interior for technical advice regarding the management of the reserves. 

 On account of the lack of funds and the inability of the Interior 

 Department to participate in the expenses, it was possible to organize 

 the work upon only one reserve during the year. A partj^ was sent 

 to the Black Hills Forest Reserve in March, and by the end of the 

 fiscal year several hundred thousand acres had been studied. 



Still another very important piece of work has been undertaken 

 upon the New York State Forest Preserve. During the winter a 

 request was made by the Forest, Fish, and Game Commission of New 

 York for working plans for the State preserve. The purpose of this 



