A NATIONAL PLAN FOE AMERICAN FORESTRY 1565 



a general land-classification act. In the lack of detailed plans for 

 such work the amount of money needed is uncertain, but as an 

 approximation it would be well to provide for annually increasing 

 appropriations averaging $50,000 or $75,000 for the period required, 

 perhaps 5 years. 



RESEARCH IN FOREST PATHOLOGY BY THE BUREAU OF PLANT 



INDUSTRY 



Investigations in forest pathology by the Bureau of Plant Industry 

 are discussed in the section "Protection Against Forest Diseases." 

 They fall within the general subjects of (1) nursery and plantation 

 diseases, including particularly the control of root diseases and the 

 relation of susceptibility to source of seed, soil conditions, species 

 mixture, and other factors; (2) disease resistance and its inheritance; 

 (3) blister rust and mistletoe problems; (4) the rate of decay in trees, 

 its outward evidence, relation to wounds, and control; (5) relation 

 of decay to slash-disposal methods (to be studied in 10 forest regions 

 in which slash disposal is a problem) ; (6) special methods of disease 

 control for recreational forests, important because of the greatly in- 

 creased use of forests for recreation and the marked difference in con- 

 trol measures applicable to recreational as contrasted with timber 

 forests; (7) safeguards against the introduction of additional diseases; 

 and (8) decay of forest products, including sap stain and "dry rot", 

 and the relation of decay to methods of cutting, seasoning, and storing, 

 to structural design, and to sanitation in lumber yards. 



Continued active cooperation between Federal, State, and private 

 agencies in these studies is contemplated. It is recommended that 

 the pathological staff at the three regional forest experiment stations 

 now served and at the Forest Products Laboratory be enlarged and 

 that trained pathologists be placed at the remaining stations. There 

 should be at least 2 pathologists, better 3 or 4, at each station, and 

 5 or 6 at the largest stations. 



Progress in the development of Federal research in forest pathology 

 should be insured by annual appropriation increases to reach the 

 maximum of $250,000 in 1938, authorized by the McSweeney-McNary 

 Act in addition to whatever sums may be required for emergency 

 work relating to epidemic diseases. 



RESEARCH IN FOREST ENTOMOLOGY BY THE BUREAU OF ENTO- 

 MOLOGY 



While much has already been learned, through research, as to the 

 life histories and habits of many destructive forest insects, leading to 

 the formulation of methods for their control, there is need for a great 

 deal more study into the fundamentals of insect ecology and phy- 

 siology. For example, such studies may make it possible to predict 

 insect outbreaks and consequently to prevent or better control them. 

 Some of the directions which forest entomological ^ research should 

 take in the future, so far as can be foreseen, are indicated in the 

 section entitled " Protection Against Forest Insects." Effort should 

 be directed toward perfecting control methods and reducing their 

 cost. Methods of control by distributing dust poisons from airplanes 

 should be further investigated. A great deal of experimental work 

 is needed to perfect methods of combating defoliating insects. Special 

 study should be devoted to silvicultural methods of preventing insect 



