SAMUEL T. DANA ON THE FOREST PROBLEM 109 



that the Federal Government now spends some $8,500,000 a year 

 for the support of agricultural experiment stations and other agricul- 

 tural research. Our forest area is about the same as the area of crop 

 land and humid pasture land combined, and its management is cer- 

 tainly no less difficult or complex. Of our 495 tree species, 125 of 

 which are of commercial importance, no two are alike in their life 

 histories, characteristics and requirements. For the most part they 

 grow in mixed stands and under widely varying conditions of soil 

 and climate. The cultural difficulties introduced by the present run- 



Area of crop land, 365,000,000 acres 



Pastureland 



Area of forest land, 469,500,000 acres 



102,000,000 acres 



Annual federal appropriation for agricultural research, $8,500,000 



Annual federal appropriation for research in forest production, $135,000 



Comparison between present area of crop land, pasture land, and forest land and between 

 federal appropriation for agricultural research and for research in forest production. 



down condition of the forests and by the long period required for them 

 to mature, and the economic difficulties created by their location on 

 the poorer and more inaccessible areas, still further complicate the 

 problem of their management. 



Yet, so far, taking the country as a whole, forest research has not 

 been developed on the scale that it must be if we are to practise the 

 kind of forestry necessary to meet our timber requirements. In 

 addition to the little being done by forest schools, State departments 

 of forestry and other agencies, the Federal Government now spends 

 $135,000 a year for research in the fields of forest protection and 

 forest production, or 1.6 per cent, of the amount spent for agricul- 

 tural research. 



CONGRESSMAN SNEXL I am glad I helped you get a little more 

 last year. 



