422 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



estimated for will permit the addition of about 4.50 men to the Forest 

 force for the comparatively short periods for which their services A\ill 

 be required. 



BRANCH OF SILVICULTURE. 



The j^reatest task in this branch durinc; tlie ensuinj; year will be 

 the disposition of the timber which has been killed by lire. There is 

 an enormous quantity of this timber, much of it excellent white pine, 

 fir, and larch. "NVliere it is not too inaccessible to have any hope of 

 finding a purchaser, it will be oifcred for sale at a decided reduction 

 in price, and every effort will be made to secure its utilization in 



f)reference to green timber. A great deal of this timber, however, is 

 ocated in the high mountains in inaccessible places and prob- 

 ably can not be disposed of before it becomes worthless through 

 deterioration. 



The work of estimating and mapping in detail the timber of the 

 various Forests will be continued as extensively as the available 

 funds permit, A certain amount of this w^ork is absolutely essential 

 to locate bodies of timber which should be cut and to organize the 

 work of forest protection and iin])rovement. The imi)erative need, 

 however, of providing for fire protection makes it impossible to extend 

 this work as rapidly as is desirable. 



Another important line of silvicultural w^ork is the determination 

 of the best methods of cutting mature forests to secure natural 

 reproduction. There are now available for observation the results 

 of lumbering during the past five years, under timber sales made by 

 the Forest Service; and in addition there are available the results of 

 very many earher cuttings made under ordinary lumbering methods. 

 The latter, of course, took no account of the future w^elfare of the 

 forests, but all timber sales made by the Forest Service prescribe a 

 specific method of cutting, devised %vith reference to successful nat- 

 ural regeneration of the forest. By studying and comparing the 

 results wdiich have follow^ed the different methods of lumbering prac- 

 ticed in the past it wdll be possible to direct future operations more 

 intelligently. 



Reforestation work on the National Forests will be pushed vigor- 

 ously. It is expected to secure, by collection and purchase, over 

 80,000 pounds of seed, most of which wall be used during the fiscal 

 year 1911. There is probably not less than 5,000,000 acres of land 

 within the National Forests which has been so completely denuded 

 by fires that it must be reforested artificially. As a result of past 

 experimental w^ork and the selection and training of men, the Forest 

 Service is now in a position to extend its reforesting operations very 

 rapidly. It is planned during the year 1911 to cover over 20,000 

 acres, to double this amount the followdng year, and thereafter to 

 enlarge the operations until from 150,000 to 200,000 acres a year can 

 be reforested. 



One of the means of carrjang this work forward will be by the 

 preparation of definite and specific reforesting plans for individual 

 Forests. These plans will have for their object the ultimate com- 

 plete restocking of all treeless areas which will not regenerate natur- 

 ally within a reasonable time. Each year's work under such a plan 

 will mean another step toward its realization. It is believed that 

 progress will be much more rapid in the long run wdien all efforts are 



