422 Forestry Quarterly 



various parts of the country. His report treated, among other 

 things, of tree planting on the prairies and plains, the decrease of 

 woodlands in the state of Ohio and forest conditions in other states. 



B. E. Fernow, the successor of Eggleston was the first professional 

 forester to occupy this important post. During his incumbency 

 (1886-98) investigations along several lines received a great 

 impetus. Fernow was really the man who put forest investigations 

 upon a scientific basis (82). The first separate appropriation for 

 forestry investigations was made in 1887, with the result that 

 nimierous silvical and silvicultural problems were attacked includ- 

 ing the growing of seedlings for field planting, the introduction of 

 exotics, the planting of waste lands, and planting on the plains. 

 In 1886, a number of botanists were engaged to make a study and 

 report of the life-histories of some of our most important forest 

 trees. This work however, was soon found to be foreign to these 

 men because they did not see the problems from the forester's point 

 of view. However, some interesting and valuable notes resulted. 

 Twelve species were treated in this way, but only the life-histories 

 of four important Southern pines (1896) and that of the White pine 

 (1899) were published. The magnificent work on the Southern 

 pines was the first attempt in the United States of a monographic 

 study from a forester's point of view of the economic and technical 

 phases and the silvicultural and habitat requirements of forest trees. 



Forestry literature, so far as government bulletins, circulars, 

 and pamphlets dealing with forest investigations or one or more of 

 the various phases of applied forest ecology is concerned, dates from 

 1886. The forest investigations carried on under the direction of 

 Fernow, from 1886 to 1898, cover a broad field, about one half being 

 original investigations and the other half being data adapted from 

 foreign sources. The most important of these are the investigations 

 of Filibert Roth, Johnson, and others in timber physics, between 1892 

 and 1898. These men investigated the general laws of the structure 

 and of the physical and mechanical behavior of the wood of various 

 species of trees and their work called forth great praise from no less 

 a forestry authority than Dr. Schwappach. Other investigations 

 were a forest botanical description of our forests, work by Roth 

 upon the properties, characteristics, and identification of American 

 woods (1895), and investigations upon the relation of the forest 

 cover to waterflow, soil and climate (1893). The last mentioned 

 study included a review of forest meteorological observations in 



