Forest Experiment Station. 213 



rector of the station should give this work his personal attention, 

 but the details should, as far as possible, be left to assistants, 

 preferably non-technical men. 



The standards of the Forest Service require that all stations 

 be kept in presentable condition. This end can be attained only 

 by insisting upon the observance of certain rules by the entire 

 station force. Here there is perhaps as much danger from one 

 extreme as the other. The appearance of a station should be in 

 keeping with the dignity of the Forest Service. The public ex- 

 pects this of any government institution. Moreover, order and 

 system are necessary to efficiency. A Forest Assistant who ha- 

 bitually neglects to replace and care for tools and instruments, 

 wastes materials, and is generally careless about the appearance 

 of his quarters, shows that an important branch of his training 

 has been neglected. On the other hand, to make a forest experi- 

 ment station into a public show place is both unnecessary and 

 unjustifiable. An experiment station is essentially a work shop 

 and the casual appearance of a few working materials should 

 not offend the eye of even the most fastidious visitor. 



On account of the isolation of experiment stations, some pro- 

 vision for boarding the men is usually necessary. At the Fort 

 Valley Experiment Station, the usual force, including laborers, 

 during the field season is about five men. Temporary men em- 

 ployed on improvement work and visitors frequently bring the 

 number up to ten or twelve during short periods. It is presumed 

 that practically the same condition exists at other stations. When 

 three or more men are employed at a station, the Service can 

 afford to pay the salary of a cook, rather than have the men pre- 

 pare their own meals. It may be argued that they should do 

 their cooking outside of official hours. This they do to a great 

 extent, but the question can not be settled on this basis. Scien- 

 tific men are frequently called upon to do a great amount of 

 work outside of official hours. This they can not do if they must 

 devote several hours per day to culinary duties. Moreover, 

 proper food and regular meals are essential to high efficiency. 

 Usually it is not necessary for the Service to pay all the cook's 

 salary, but it should assist to such an extent that the men em- 

 ployed at the experiment station can secure their meals at a 

 reasonable figure. 



The following plan has been followed at the Fort Valley Ex- 



