DIVISION OF FORESTRY. 333 



transparencies, bromide enlargements; and maps, some of the first 

 being the largest glass pictures ever made. The exhibit was awarded 

 a gold medal. 



The forest exhibit of the Department of Agriculture at the Pan- 

 American Exposition was prepared in the Division of Forestry, and 

 was installed by June 20, 1901. It consisted chiefly of colored trans- 

 parencies and bromide enlargements and maps, and illustrated the 

 general progress and condition of forestry and forests in the Uni ted 

 States. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



Much attention was given during the year to the photographic col- 

 lections and to the identification of botanical specimens submitted by 

 the various Divisions, by the National Museum, and by several State 

 experiment stations. 



With the Bureau of Plant Industry, a plan for labeling trees on the 

 grounds of the Department was devised, a list of names was supplied, 

 and attention was given to the placing of the labels. 



EXPENDITURES. 



The total expenditures of the Section of Special Investigations 

 were $21,616.73, or 24.4 per cent of the total appropriation. 



SECTION OF TREE PLANTING. 



There has been notable development in the work of this section dur- 

 ing the year. The plan of cooperative planting when first announced 

 drew many applications for small tracts, principally in the prairie 

 States. The practical assistance given in these cases and the better 

 understanding of the purpose and results of economic tree planting 

 have since drawn applications from a wider territory and for larger 

 tracts. Owners of unprofitable cleared or treeless land are beginning 

 to see in the cooperation offered by the Bureau a means of rendering 

 their lands valuable, and are applying for assistance in planting. 



The proof given by examples on the ground that commercial plan- 

 tations are profitable in the Middle West has started a movement 

 toward large plantations of timber for the production of fence posts, 

 telegraph poles, and railroad ties. Private landowners are entering 

 this work in increasing numbers every year. Several railroad com- 

 panies are seriously considering large plantations of forest trees, and 

 are already in consultation with the Bureau. 



The study of the encroachment of forests on the plains has already 

 shown that portions of the semiarid public lands, wholly unfit for 

 farming and of little value for grazing, can be forested at reasonable 

 expense. If further investigation shows that large areas of such land 

 can be reclaimed in this way, as it seems altogether likely to do, a 

 vast field will be opened for useful work. 



COOPERATIVE TREE PLANTING. 



The applications for assistance in forest planting numbered 148 for 

 the fiscal year; 46,145 acres were examined and detailed planting plans 

 were prepared for 5,785 acres. The greater number are for small 

 tracts. There is a conspicuous increase in the number of large 

 tracts for which planting plans are asked. Applications are on file 



