338 DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS. 



will be made of State forest lands in Michigan, in order to devise 

 a plan for their management. The forests of the Sacramento Moun- 

 tains of New Mexico will be studied on the ground. 



GRAZING. 



studies of the effect of grazing on the forest will be continued in 

 Wyoming (Yellowstone Timberland Reserve and Teton Forest 

 Reserve), in southern New Mexico (Sacramento Mountains), in the 

 southern and central California forest reserves, and in Montana. 



STUDY OF FOREST PRODUCTS. 



In cooperation with the Bureau of Chemistry, important investiga- 

 tions will be begun of native trees of the United States and Philip- 

 pine Islands yielding commercial tan barks, resins, and gums. About 

 fifty species will be studied during the year. The recent establish- 

 ment in the Bureau of Chemistry of a dendro-ehemical laboratory 

 makes this investigation possible. 



A study will be made of the production of commercial resins by 

 Southern pines, particularly of the Longleaf Pine, and an effort will 

 be made to devise an improved method of tapping. The need of a 

 less destructive method than the one now in use is greatly felt. 



An investigation of the supplies of railway timber available from 

 forest plantations, especially in the Middle AVest, will be undertaken. 

 Special attention will be given to the stud}' of timber trees producing 

 railway ties in the shortest time. 



A study of the conditions, causes, and prevention of decay in rail- 

 road and other timber will be undertaken on a large scale in collabora- 

 tion with the Bureau of Plant Industry. This is work of the first 

 imi:)ortance 



COOPERATIVE WORK. 



Forest descriptions will be made of additional areas in the region 

 of the proposed Appalachian Forest Reserve, and in the southern por- 

 tion of the Sierra Forest Reserve of California, in cooperation with 

 the U. S. Geological Survey. 



A preliminary forest description and study of important forest 

 problems are to be undertaken in Vermont. 



In cooperation with the Maryland geological survey forest descrip- 

 tive work will l)e continued covering 4 of the best timbered coun- 

 ties of the State. 



STUDY OF FOREST FIRES. 



Studies of forest fires will be made this year in "Wyoming, Cali- 

 fornia, New Mexico, Idaho, Michigan, Maine, and other States. 



The collecting of forest-fire records will be continued, and will 

 include the examination of a large number of "Western papers. 



PROPOSED INVESTIGATIONS. 



Other lines of investigation which will bo undertaken, if the 

 resoui'ces of the Bureau will permit, are as follows: 



A study of various woods, with a view to determining those suitable 

 for the manufacture of excelsior. 



