WILLIAM L. HALL 



Assistant Forester, United States Forest Service, in charge of the Brsnch 

 of Products, Madison, Wisconsin 



Service. For several years small timber- 

 testing laboratories have been con- 

 dncted in cooperation with Yale and 

 ]'urdue universities and the universities 

 of California, Colorado, and Washing- 

 ton. Some excellent results have been 

 obtained in determining the strength 

 and other properties of our commer- 

 cial woods. Wood-using industries and 

 engineers have profited by the informa- 

 tion thus obtained, and the tests of the 

 3^4 



Forest Service now form the basis of 

 the specifications used in several impor- 

 tant industries. 



Confined as it was to timber testing, 

 the work of these laboratories was too 

 much restricted to vield the most im- 

 portant results. Facilities were needed 

 for chemical studies, for wood-fiber in- 

 vestigations, for experiments in preserv- 

 ative treatment of wood, but none ex- 

 isted. 



