V 



. LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 



Beookline, Massachusetts, July 1, 1883. 

 To THE Stjpeeintendent of Census. 



SiE : I have the honor to submit the following report upon the nature and condition of the forests of the 

 United States, to which are added statistics of the lumber and other industries directly dependent upon the forest 

 for their support. 



Mr. Andrew Eobeson, of Brookline, Massachusetts, has prepared the maps which accompany this report; ho 

 has supervised the entire statistical work of this division and has conducted its corresjjondence. 



Mr. Stephen P. Sharpies, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, has conducted the various experiments undertaken 

 with the view of determining the value of the different woods produced in the forests of the United States. 



Mr. C. G. Pringle, of East Charlotte, Vermont, has examineii the forests of northern New England and New 

 York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia ; and subsequently, as an agent for the American Museum of Natural 

 History, has greatly increased our knowledge of the trees of Arizona and southern California. 



Mr. A. H. Curtiss, of Jacksonville, Florida, has studied the forests of Georgia and Florida, and subsequently, 

 as an agent of the American Museum of Natural History, has added to our knowledge of the semi-tropical forests 

 of southern Florida. 



Dr. Charles Mohr, of Mobile, Alabama, has explored the forests of the Gulf states. 



Mr. H. C. Putnam, of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, has gathered the forest statistics of Pennsylvania, Michigan,^ 

 Wisconsin, and Minnesota. 



Mr. George W. Letterman, of Allenton, Missouri, has examined the forests extending west of the Lower 

 Mississippi Eiver, and Professor F. L. Harvey, of Fayetteville, Arkansas, has gathered the forest statistics of that 

 state. 



Mr. Sereno Watson, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, has studied, during a longand arduous journey, the forests 

 of the northern Rocky Mountain region, and Mr. Eobert Douglas, of Waukegan, Illinois, those of the Black hills 

 of Dakota. 



I take this opportunity to call your attention to the faithful and admirable manner in which my associates 

 have performed the difficult duties to which they were assigned; their zeal and intelligence have made possible 

 the preparation of this report. 



It is my pleasant duty also to call your attention to the fact that this investigation has been greatly aided 

 from the first by the experience and knowledge of Messrs. G. M. Dawson, John Macoun, and Eobert Bell, members 

 wf the Geological Survey of Canada; the information in regard to the distribution northward of the trees of the 

 eastern United States is entirely derived from the latter's paper upon the Canadian forests, published in the 

 Eeport of the Geological Survey of Canada for the years 1879-'80. 



I am under special obligation to Dr. George Eugelmann, of Saint Louis, Missouri, my companion in a long^ 

 journey through the forests of the Pacific region, for valuable assistance and advice; his unrivaled knowledge of 

 our oaks, pines, firs, and other trees has been lavishly placed at my disposal. 



Mr. M. S. Bebb, of Eockford, Illinois, the highest American authority upon the willow, has given me the 

 benefit of his critical advice in the study of this difficult genus. I desire to express to him and to Dr. Laurence 

 Johnson, of New York, who has furnished me with a full series of notes upon the medical properties of the trees 

 of the United States, the deep sense of my obligation. My thanks are also due to Mr. Henry Gannett, Geographer 

 of the Tenth Census, for cordial cooperation in the work of this division; to Colonel T. T. S. Laidley, of the 

 United States army, in command of the arsenal at Watertown, Massachusetts, and to Mr. James E. Howard, in 

 charge ef the testing machine there, for advice and assistance afforded Mr. Sharpies while conducting the 

 experiments upon the strength of woods, as well as to a large number of correspondents in all parts of the United 

 States who have favored me with their cordial co-operation. 



I am, sir, your obedient servant, 



CHAELES S. SAEGENT, 



Special Agent. 



