110 departmental reports. 



Summary, 

 forest management. 



Private lands. — The demands for assistance in introducinfic practical 

 forestry on private lands increased during the past year almost as 

 much as during the three preceding years. These applications have 

 now reached a total of 4,709,120 acres, under an arrangement by 

 which the owners pay all expenses of the field work except the salaries 

 of members of the Bureau. 



The total area of private forests under conservative management, 

 however, reached only the comparatively insignificant total of 372,463 

 acres, or 7.9 per cent of the total applications. The Bureau has thus 

 been obliged, for lack of men and money, to neglect or defer over 90 

 per cent of its opportunities to introduce practical forestry on private 

 lands. 



It must not be forgotten that the overwhelming bulk of the forests 

 in the United States are in private ownership, and that forest protec- 

 tion by the Government, while absolutely of vast importance, is rela- 

 tively insignificant when compared with the action of the lumbermen 

 and other private owners. In the light of these facts, the inability 

 of the Bureau to respond to more than 8 per cent of the requests 

 for advice in ajjplying the principles which it continually advocates 

 is seen to be the most dangerous of all checks on the progress of 

 forestry. 



Field work on seven large forest tracts was completed during the 

 year, and preliminary examinations were made of 1,620,000 acres. 

 The amount paid by the owners for the expense of working plans was 

 $13,325. 



Public lands. — The preparation of working plans for conservative 

 lumbering on the public forest reserves, at the request of the Secre- 

 tary of the Interior, has continued throughout the year. The total 

 area of these reserves, September 1, 1902, is 58,850,925 acres. Field 

 work was carried on during the past j^ear in five reserves. In addi- 

 tion to field work and the computation of results in the office, the 

 force of the Bureau was drawn upon to supply the entire lack of 

 trained foresters in the management of the National forest reserves. 



During the year a request was made by the Secretary of War for 

 working plans for eight military wood and timber reservations, with 

 a total area of 117,468 acres. Among these is the military reservation 

 at West Point, upon which field work will be begun without delay. 



Field work was completed on townshii3S 5, 6, and 41 of the Adiron- 

 dack Forest Reserve by the use of an appropriation of $3,500 made 

 by the New York legislature to cover the field expenses of the Bureau 

 of Forestrj\ 



Forest measurements. — The force employed in computing field 

 results was thoroughly organized. It completed during the year com- 

 putations of 16,678 acres, and measurements of the rate of growth of 

 10,786 trees, of 25 species, in 13 States. 



FOREST INVESTIGATION. 



Commercial trees. — Measurements and sylvicultural facts were gath- 

 ered for 20 species in various parts of the country. Studies of hard- 

 wood sprout lands were carried on in Massachusetts and other parts 

 of New England, and promise valuable results. A special investiga- 



