REPORT OF Tin-: FoRIvSTRV COMMITTEE, DIVISION OF 



BIOLOGY AND AGRICULTURE, NATIONAL 



RESEARCH COUNCIL 



'I'he Forestry Coininittec was organized in tiie spring of 11)19. The 

 organization of a Forestry Committee in the National Research Coun- 

 cil, which is a part of the National Academy of Science, may be con- 

 sidered as a recognition of forestry as a scientific profession by the 

 older scientific institutes. A forests committee was organized not 

 because the existing forest organizations, the Research Branch of 

 the Forest Service, forest schools, and the State forest research depart- 

 ments, have not been fulfilling their tasks. The National Research 

 Council may be looked upon as a "congress of scientists," democrat- 

 ically elected or, to use a military simile, a scientific general staff 

 which, when emergency arises, is supposed to mobilize all the scientific 

 forces of the country upon its solution. Its function as it has been 

 conceived is first to have representatives of the forest profession in 

 that congress of scientists and have a voice in the management of the 

 scientific affairs of the country. On the other hand, it is to keep in 

 close contact with its constituency — the forest profession — and to be 

 alert to any needs that for one reason or another are inade(|uately met 

 by the existing organization. 



In the survey of the field of forest research it found that there is a 

 great field in the southern pine region, and particularly in the. possi- 

 bilities of our cut-over forest lands. Scattered efforts were made by 

 the Forest Service and by the State Foresters to solve some of the 

 liroblems. but no attempt was made to solve the southern problem as a 

 whole — the Forest Service because of lack of funds and the State 

 Foresters, of course, because they could not work outside the bounda- 

 ries of their State. It was felt that such an undertaking must be on 

 a cooperative basis ; the Forest Service first of all, the State forest 

 organizations, the forest industries, and the National Research Council. 

 The Forestry Committee was fortunate in securing the cooperation of 

 the Southern Pine Association, which contributed $10,000 for three 

 years, as well as the cooperation of most of the State Foresters of the 

 South, and of the Forest Service. There is now- available for this 

 year between $5,000 and $(1,000 for this work. One of the first things 



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