FOREST PRODUCTS LABORATORY. 5 



ORGANIZATION FOR RESEARCH. 



COORDINATED RESEARCH. 



Research is increasingly effective in proportion as it is carefully planned 

 md executed. At the beginning of each year a program covering as nearly 

 is practicable the work of the Laboratory for the ensuing year is con- 

 idered and approved. Individual initiative and responsibility are given 

 he widest possible opportunity, but at the same time the work of different 

 nen is so coordinated by an interchange of ideas among the different 

 sections, and other means, that duplication is avoided and cumulative 

 esults are obtained. 



ORGANIZATION OF THE LABORATORY. 



The Laboratory is in charge of a director, an assistant director, and a 

 >taff comprised of the heads of the different research and administrative 

 sections. In each section are men of broad general experience with wood 



and knowledge of its characteristics, and other specialists in various wood 

 uses, who devote their whole time to the study of special problems. These 

 men are recruited, in accordance with the regulations of the Civil Service 

 Commission, from the professions of engineering, chemistry, forestry, and 

 pathology. 



The work of the Laboratory is distributed among the following technical 

 sections : 



Timber mechanics. Strength of wood and manufactured articles. 



Timber physics. Experimental and applied kiln drying, physical prop- 

 erties, identification, and structure of wood. 



Wood preservation. Wood treatments, glues, and laminated construc- 

 tion. 



Pulp and paper. Manufacturing methods and suitability of various 

 woods for pulp, paper, and special products. 



Derived products. Chemical properties and uses of wood and chemical 

 wood products, such as turpentine, alcohol, acetic acid, etc. 



