REPORT OF CHIEF OF DIVISION OF FORESTRY. 



Sir : I respectfully submit the followiug report of the work of the 

 Division of Forestry for the past year. 



The act of Congress under which this division of the Department of 

 Agriculture is organized defines its work as that of " ascertaining the 

 annual amount of consumption, importation, and exportation of timber 

 and other forest products ; the probable supply for future wants ; the 

 means best adapted to the preservation and renewal of forests ; the in- 

 fluence of forests upon climate, and the measures that have been suc- 

 cessfully applied in various countries for the preservation and restora- 

 tion or planting of forests." 



In the working of this division a liberal construction has been put 

 upon this act, and the endeavor has been made to do whatever might 

 promote the interests of forestry in our country. The limited appro- 

 priations made for the division have not allowed it to make its inves- 

 tigations as extensive or complete as is desirable. The pettiest king- 

 doms and even duchies of Europe, not so large in extent as some of our 

 States, expend annually in the care aud management of their forests 

 and in investigations relating to them, sums far larger than are appro- 

 priated by our Government for similar investigations relating to an area 

 of almost continental extent. With the means at our disposal, however, 

 valuable knowledge has been gained, the publication of which has 

 already been of much service to the people. Tlie annual reports of this 

 division, and the four volumes of its special reports, embody a large 

 amount of information in regard to forestal matters both at home and 

 abroad.. In some directions these reports are exhaustive, and have been 

 received as authoritative in regard to the subjects to which they relate. 



EXHIBITION OF WOODS A^^) WOOD PRODUCTS AT N:EW ORLEANS. 



At the beginning of the year I undertook, in connection with the 

 Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds, and under the act of Congress 

 providing for contributions from the various Departments of the Govern- 

 ment to the Centennial and Cotton Exposition at Kew Orleans, to pro- 

 mote the interests of forestry by procuring and sending to that exposi- 

 tion a collection of useful articles which are manufactured from our 

 various native woods. The object was to impress upon the minds of 

 visitors to the exposition, by placing before them a large collection of 

 such articles in one view, a conviction of the great variety of our woods 

 and their practical value as furnishing us so many useful and even in- 

 dispensable articles of daily employment. For this purpose I visited, 

 in person, several of the wood- working establishments of the Eastern 

 States aud reached others in different places by means of correspond- 

 ence. Mr. Saunders was able, by correspondence and through agents, 

 to reach many other factories, and thus a quite extensive collection was 

 secured. I believe this proved one of tlie most attractive exhibitions 

 at New Orleans. It conveyed information also of permanent value. It 



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