236 FOREST RESEARCH 



have been established for investigative purposes. Additional experi- 

 mental forests and natural areas are being selected. It is planned to 

 have from 5 to 10 experimental forests in each forest region. 



Appropriations made available for forest research during a recent 

 fiscal year were over 2% million dollars. Nearly 2 million dollars of 

 this amount was available for current research expenditures and the 

 balance for research investments, chiefly construction work, equip- 

 ment, and acquisition of land. The chief divisions of experimental 

 work in the Forest Service in order of importance from the viewpoint 

 of appropriations are: 



1. Forest products. 



2. Forest management. 



3. Forest survey. 



4. Range investigations. 



5. Watershed protection. 



6. Forest economics. 



7. Forest taxation and insurance. 



The chief studies in the field of forest products which have to do 

 with the more efficient utilization of forest crops are the use of lumber 

 and wood in the building field, selective logging, studies of the pre- 

 vention of sap stain on lumber, the use of lumber for cooperage, 

 timber preservation, painting, better seasoning and kiln-drying prac- 

 tices, and improvements in the manufacture of pulp and paper from 

 wood. In the field of forest management, studies are being made of 

 cutting methods, slash disposal, fire control, silviculture and naval 

 stores research, tree planting, problems in the prairie states, and im- 

 proved nursery and reforestation practices. Watershed protection 

 and forest influence investigations are conducted in connection with 

 flood and associated problems in southern California, the Boise River 

 watershed, the Appalachian Mountains, and in many other parts of 

 the country. Range investigations are devoted to artificial reseeding 

 problems, studies of grazing capacities and time of use on special 

 types of ranges, control of rodents, and the general improvement of 

 range conditions. In the field of forest economics, dependable data 

 are being sought by public administrators, economists, and industrial- 

 ists. This includes the study of tax delinquencies in many sections 

 of the country, the relation of improved logging methods to sound 

 timber management plans, time and cost studies on logging operations 

 to improve the technique, forest fire insurance for the ponderosa pine 

 and redwood regions of California, and a study of stumpage and log 

 prices. Within the general field of forest economics, the nation-wide 



