596 Forestry Quarterly 



heartwood) owing to its greater moisture content." On page 228, 

 "sap wood is more susceptible to decay than heartwood because 

 of its greater percentage of moisture and food for fungi and 

 bacteria;" while on page 229, durability is said to depend "on 

 certain chemical constituents, such as resins, gums, tannin and 

 other decay resisting materials" which are more abundant in 

 heartwood than in sap wood. 



Not only are there numerous instances of faulty composition, 

 typographical errors, and inconsistencies, but, what is more 

 serious, there are not a few misstatements of facts. Many of the 

 faults are due to the attempt to make brief general statements 

 without qualification. 



And yet for its chosen field the book will serve a useful purpose. 

 Study of it will afford the non-technical man a good general view 

 of the whole subject, and should bring him into closer touch and 

 sympathy with the forestry movement. 



S. J. R. 



Report of the Central Investigative Committee. U. S. Forest 

 Service. Washington, D. C. 1914. 



In the U. S. Forest Service, a Central Investigative Committee 

 prepares annually an elaborate program and report on investiga- 

 tions of a scientific character, listing projects in a classified order 

 and reporting on the progress of each. 



In the report for 1914, the classification comprises nine projects 

 under Dendrology, 31 under Grazing, 62 under Products, and 240 

 under Silviciilture, altogether 342 projects; 70 less than in the 

 previous year, 44 projects having been abandoned, 74 completed 

 or nearly so, and 47 new ones inaugurated. 



As a result of these investigations, there were 55 bulletins 

 published, besides 75 articles published by outside journals. 

 Altogether aroimd $290,000 were spent on these investigations 

 during the year, nearly two-thirds of the total for Products, and 

 less than one-half of this for silvicultural projects. We recall 

 with a smile the fact that in 1898 the "timber physics" work of 

 the Forestry Division which was precisely what is now called 

 "Products" was abandoned and relegated to the scrap heap as 

 not germane! 



The subject "Silviculture" seems to be the olla podrida, it 



