FOREST RESEARCH AND THE WAR 269 



than long-fiber cotton, had reached the point of quantity production. 

 For this the results of the Forest Service were in part responsible. 



The use of charcoal for gas masks has already been touched upiin. 

 It is a matter of gratification to know that at the time of the signing of 

 the armistice a charcoal closely approximating that obtained from 

 cocoanut shells in gas-absorbing qualities had been developed through 

 semi-commercial production which could be manufactured from ma- 

 terial then used only as fuel and available in sufficient quantities to have 

 supplied the entire American Army program to the extent of 4,000.000 

 men. It is equally gratifying that a similar state of development had 

 been reached in the case of a special filter paper in which pulp was one 

 of the constituents, designed to make gas masks eft'ective against the 

 so-called sneeze gases. 



It seems probable, judging from results so far secured, that methods 

 of kiln-drying can be developed for willow which will reduce to 60 or 

 70 days the three to five years now necessary to air-season this stock. 

 A survey of the wooden-limb industry showed that the supply of arti- 

 ficially seasoned willow for artificial limbs would soon have been ex- 

 hausted if the war had continued. 



The tannin problem became important through the shortage of ton- 

 nage for imports from ordinary sources. Our domestic supplies could 

 meet demands only through increased production. A field survey by 

 Forest Service men aided materially through pointing out means in 

 specific cases. Additional work now under way promises the develop- 

 ment of a satisfactory method for the artificial drying of pulverized 

 bark, with the consequent saving of large amounts of material which 

 now go to waste. 



To turn to wood as a fuel and thus relieve the coal shortage was 

 natural for the forester, and although its amount cannot be directly 

 measured, the joint campaign of State organizations, the Fuel Admin- 

 istration, and the Forest Service unquestionably increased ]-)roduction 

 of fuel wood and thus relieved part of the discomfort and suffering 

 which would otherwise have resulted from the war. 



To make sure that our supplies of woods should not be dangerously 

 reduced before this should be anticipated and necessary provision 

 made led to a survey of the timber resources of the United States, 

 which gathered together in tentative form the best available informa- 

 tion from all sources. This plan incorporated, also, the idea of secur- 

 ing and maintaining throughout the war the best possible figures on 

 requirements. These and other considerations, such as those which 



