A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 793 



subjects. The greater part of the investigations of the State forestry 

 departments is nearly equally divided between forest management, 

 nursery and planting, forest protection, and forest-products utiliza- 

 tion. The research in forest economics, fish and game, and recreation 

 is far below that in the other subjects, but newly awakened interest 

 will probably demand increasing attention to these subjects in future. 



The research activities of the State forestry departments at the 

 present time are in the main the outgrowth of the requirements of 

 their administrative work. The activities have been undertaken, as 

 a rule, because of the need to find answers to concrete practical and 

 localized problems. Most of the resulting projects have been small 

 scale, limited in scope, and very specific in purpose. In many States 

 these essentially ad hoc minor investigations have been about all that 

 the funds available for the entire work of the departments make 

 possible. Examples are investigations relating to forest-tree nursery 

 and planting practices, the development and improvement of forest 

 fire fighting equipment, fact-finding surveys of the wood-using indus- 

 tries, studies of forest growth, and studies of forest-tree insects and 

 diseases. These are all of direct and important value to the organiza- 

 tions. The only State forestry department in which research has 

 advanced far enough to attain what may be called a major status is 

 that of Pennsylvania, though Maine gives major status to the study 

 of forest insects. 



As is pointed out in the section Kesearch in the United States Forest 

 Service, a Study in Objectives, a line of division of responsibility be- 

 tween State and Federal functions is recognized in the research objec- 

 tives of the Federal Government. Federal research deals with national 

 or regional problems, and with local problems only in so far as their 

 solution is necessary to the proper administration of the National 

 forests. The responsibility for research on forestry problems of 

 primary importance to individual States should rest in the main, it 

 is believed, with the States themselves, most of which by now have 

 forestry departments and many of which have State-supported schools 

 of forestry and other research agencies. On the other hand, it is 

 necessary to take into account also what the States are equipped to 

 do and likely to do. 



Insofar as the State forestry departments are concerned, the scope 

 and character of their research activities are bound to be governed 

 by the nature of their jobs as well as by the extent of their resources. 

 Where State forestry departments are charged with important respon- 

 sibilities of forest land administration for timber growing, the need 

 for silvicultural research to provide a sound basis for forest manage- 

 ment must sooner or later come to the fore, as it has with the Federal 

 Forest Service in connection with the administration of the National 

 forests. Hitherto, however, only a few States have entered upon 

 policies of forest ownership and management on a substantial scale. 

 The effort has been mainly directed toward encouraging and aiding 

 private forestry. Most of the work of fire protection the major 

 activity of the State organizations as a whole at the present time- 

 has this as its objective. Similarly, most of the States which main- 

 tain forest tree nurseries to produce planting stock do so primarily 

 to aid private owners in reforestation. Assistance to private owners 

 through information and advice on forestry practices and methods is 

 another duty of most of the State forestry departments, though in 



