A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 791 



in trained men and money are still too small, to permit attention to 

 the more fundamental matters proportionate to their importance. 



PRESENT SCOPE OF FOREST RESEARCH 



The breadth and diversity of the whole field, as now covered with 

 very varying degress of intensiveness, may be briefly indicated. To 

 facilitate the growing of commercial timber crops, research seeks the 

 information basic to all silvicultural practices. This includes methods 

 of cutting the mature stands so as to insure satisfactory reproduction 

 of the kinds of trees wanted for the next crop; forest planting; deter- 

 mination of the rates of growth of stands ; and methods of weeding and 

 thinning immature stands to produce the most rapid growth and the 

 best products. The behavior, effects, and statistics of forest fires are 

 studied to obtain a better basis for devising protective measures. 

 For the same purpose investigations of forest insects and diseases are 

 carried on. 



In the field of forest products utilization, research seeks new uses 

 for wood, extends present uses to other species, and by deep-going 

 study of the physical, chemical, and mechanical structure of wood 

 gains fundamental knowledge for application in all kinds of wood 

 processing, adaptation, and manufacture. The life and food habits 

 of forest animals and birds are studied to learn how the best balance 

 of game and other wild life in the forest may be maintained. The 

 knowledge necessary for the best use of forest ranges in proper coordi- 

 nation with the use of the timber and other resources is sought 

 through range investigations. Forest influences present an important 

 field of inquiry. In economics, information indispensable to the 

 progress of forestry in all fields is gained on such diverse matters as 

 the extent and character of the country's forest resources, the ratio 

 between forest depletion and rate of growth, our probable future 

 timber requirements, the trends in forest products utilization, the 

 taxation of timberlands, timber insurance, and the financial aspects 

 of timberland management. These are the major divisions of forest 

 research. They are commonly referred to as forest management, 

 range management, forest protection against fire, forest entomology, 

 forest pathology, forest biology, forest influences, forest products 

 utilization, and forest economics. 



RESPECTIVE FIELDS OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND THE STATES 



The organization of forest research along comprehensive lines, 

 permitting a methodical attack in force on the forest problem as a 

 whole, has taken place only in very recent years. This form of 

 attack makes desirable a coordination of all available research agencies. 

 The Federal Government is doing far more in forest research than any 

 other single agency a natural result of the fact that it is much the 

 largest owner of forest land in the country and is applying forest 

 management more extensively than all other owners put together; 

 not to mention other reasons for Federal forest research. This 

 position carries with it at once an opportunity and an obligation to 

 plan for and endeavor to bring about coordination. 



The Federal coordinating function is not new. To provide central- 

 ized leadership of the early forestry movement was the outstanding 



168342 33 vol. 1 51 



