406 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



First, direct aid to the various wood- 

 using industries, and second, forest con- 

 servation in its broadest sense. 



The interest, cooperation, and sup- 

 port given to the Service by practical 

 men engaged in different industries is 

 proof of the appreciation of the work 

 in products which has been done and is 

 projected. 



The science of forestry in this coun- 

 try is at its very beginning. While the 

 American species of trees are well 

 known botanically, the study of their 

 life-history, their behavior in the forest, 

 and their possibilities of production has 

 only recently made much progress. It 

 is equally true that our knowledge 

 of the products of the various species 

 is still very inadequate. 



The first necessity is to determine the 

 fundamental properties of the various 

 woods. This information is essential 

 as a foundation for the study of the 

 suitability of the different species for 

 specific uses. At the present time there 

 are many species which are little used 

 or not used at all because of ignorance 

 of their properties or prejudice against 

 them. Many of the common commer- 

 cial species are for the same reason con- 

 fined to only a few of the possible uses. 

 It is the aim of the Forest Service to 

 show the possibilities of all the species 

 and to demonstrate the uses to which 

 each is best adapted. 



The demonstrations at the laboratory 

 to-day have illustrated many of the spe- 

 cial lines of work and the methods of 

 conducting the investigations. You 

 have seen the methods of studying the 

 fundamental physical, mechanical, and 

 chemical properties of wood. 



A further aim of the work at the 

 laboratory is to study the methods of 

 handling wood products so as best to 

 adapt them to certain purposes. Studies 

 will be carried on at the laboratory to 

 show the behavior of the various woods 

 under different conditions. One of the 

 important problems is to determine the 

 influence of different ' conditions of 

 moisture on the strength, durability, 

 and other characteristics of wood. This 

 work will form the foundation for the 

 investigation of the best methods of 

 seasoning wood in order to bring the 



products into the market in the most 

 suitable condition for their various uses. 



The next problem is the study of 

 how to treat \vood products so as to 

 improve their natural qualities. One 

 of the most important lines of work at 

 the laboratory will be the study of the 

 treatment of wood to prolong its life. 

 There is required in the first place a 

 thorough study of the various preserv- 

 atives. Then follows the investigation 

 of the methods of treating the different 

 species with reference to their peculiar 

 specific characteristics. 



There are a multitude of problems 

 of wood utilization, but among the most 

 important are the investigations of the 

 possibilities of the different species for 

 the manufacture of paper, and the studv 

 of the by-products which can be ob- 

 tained by various processes. The lab- 

 oratory is especially equipped to make 

 these investigations. 



I have given special emphasis to the 

 fundamental and scientific character of 

 the work to be done at the laboratory. 

 Every investigation, however, is di- 

 rected to the solution of some practical 

 problem. Many experiments are con- 

 ducted at the laboratory on a commer- 

 cial scale, or commercial tests are made 

 in cooperation with private concerns. 

 In many cases, the work at the labora- 

 tory is supplemented by extensive field 

 experiments. Through cooperation with 

 private companies and trade associa- 

 tions, the investigations will not only 

 be brought into the most practical lines, 

 but the results will be given an imme- 

 diate application. 



The branch of 'forest products has 

 been established at Madison. The lab- 

 oratory is the center of its work. It 

 concerns itself, however, with the whole 

 field of forest utilization. There are 

 special branches of its work in the va- 

 rious districts of the national forests 

 of the west, and there are two sub- 

 sidiary laboratories, one in the state of 

 Washington, and one in Colorado. It 

 is the design to bring the work into the 

 closest relation with all the wood-using 

 industries. The determination of the 

 fundamental facts and principles of 

 wood-utilization is the first step. To 

 secure the practical application of those 



