FOREST SERVICE. 423 



coordinated toward the attainment of a distant goal tlian if each 

 year's work were undertaken without reference to such a plan. The 

 method proposed is similar to that alreadj^ adopted for permanent 

 improvements, which are made each year on each Forest under an 

 approved general plan for the complete development of the Forest 

 as an administrative unit; just as the timber and grazing reconnais- 

 sance work aims at the application of a similar ])olicy to the develop- 

 ment and utilization of the wood-producing and forage-producing 

 capacity of each Forest. 



The experiments in reforestation will be continued along tlie fol- 

 lo\^^ng lines: 



(1) Experiments in diflPerent methods of direct seeding. Special 

 subjects of investigation through these experiments will be: (a) The 

 results of sowing at dillerent times of the year; (h) dilierent methods 

 of sowing the seed ; (c) different methods of preparing the soil ; (d) 

 the invention of special devices and implements for direct sowing; 

 (e) relative results of different amounts of seed per acre, under A'ari- 

 ous sets of conditions; (f) use of diiferent methods of poisoning to 

 protect seeds from rodents; and (g) the most economical organiza- 

 tion of sowing operations. Intensive methods will be compared, both 

 as to results and as to cost, with those requiring less care, and seeding 

 methods will be compared with planting methods, in order to learn 

 both what course will secure the largest results in proportion to the 

 expenditure and what methods are most rapid. 



(2) Experiments in the suitability of diitcrent species to difl'erent 

 sites and soils. 



(3) Experiments in methods of nursery practice. 



(4) Experiments in methods of field planting. 



Study will also be given to economical methods of seed collecting 

 and to the best methods of handling the seed. 



Special studies of the different commercial trees %\'ill be carried for- 

 ward with a view to the publication of monographs which vnW inform 

 the public as to the characteristics of the different species and the 

 best methods of handling forests of different tvpes. These mono- 

 graphs will make use of a large volume of data ah-eady gathered con- 

 cerning the rate of growth of different trees under various natural 

 conditions. Such monograph studies now nearing completion include 

 the white pine, the red pine, the loblolly pine, the western yellow 

 pine, the lodgepole pine, the red spruce, the red oak, the chestnut, 

 the tulip poplar, second-growth hardwoods of New England, second- 

 growth hardwoods of the Appalachian region, and the chaparral for- 

 ests of the Southwest. These species are treated primarily from the 

 standpoint of their commercial importance and the methods of han- 

 dling them to secure the highest possible returns from them. Studies 

 of sugar pine, California red fir, and western white pine have been 

 inaugurated. 



The work of cooperation ^nth States will continue as the various 

 States request advice and assistance. Cooperative work in the State 

 of Connecticut is under way \\ith the special view of determining the 

 best methods of handling second-growth hardwoods. In North 

 Caiolina the cooperative work will have special reference to the rate 

 of growth of stands of second-growth short leaf |)ine and hardwoods 

 native to the State. A cooperative study of forest conditions will be 

 made in Tennsesee with a view to assisting the State in developing a 



