products by counties as well as the general forest conditions in each east- 

 ern county were secured and will be published. 



During the year the State Forester has visited almost every section 

 of Texas in order to become familiar with the general forest conditions 

 and the problems needing attention in the future. The most important 

 impression received by this reconnaisance of the State's forest conditions 

 is that Texas, far from being a treeless State, contains minor forest re- 

 sources in almost every section of its wide domain upon which the farms 

 and ranches are in no small degree dependent. The value of the forests is 

 recognized first of all in those sections where timber is scarcest and looked 

 upon with the greatest indifference where timber is still abundant. Through- 

 out the whole interior part of the State, the scattered forests serve a 

 valuable purpose in stream protection, checking the rapid run-off of water, 

 building up a soil humus, supplying fuel, fence posts and numerous minor 

 products in daily use, reducing the velocity of wind and furnishing shade 

 and rest for man and beast. 



At the request of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce the Forestry 

 Department during the past summer carried on an investigation of mesquite 

 timber in twelve counties of South-Central Texas. The purpose of the 

 study was to determine for the region where mesquite grows to its largest 

 size in Texas the relative abundance of timber of marketable size, the 

 cost of handling and marketing the timber, the condition of the timber and 

 the uses to which it can be put. The commercial value of mesquite wood, 

 where it can be secured in suitable sizes, has long been recognized. Locally 

 it is used for a multitude of purposes, the most important of which are 

 fuel and posts. Shipments in car lots are frequently made to distant points 

 for miscellaneous uses. The quality and beauty of finished wood are well 

 known among cabinet workers and fancy wood users. Fundamental ques- 

 tions concerning the practical utilization of mesquite in fairly large quanti- 

 ties remained to be answered. The investigation carried on during, the 

 summer attempts to answer these questions and a report has been pre- 

 pared for publication. 



Tree Planting in Texas. 



A bulletin has recently been published by the State Forester as a 

 result of observations and examinations of tree planting conditions and 

 the needs for planting trees in Central and Western Texas. While countless 

 millions of young trees have been transplanted from the woods and bottoms 

 in order to beautify streets and home grounds throughout the State yet 

 tree planting as it should be carried on has barely commenced. Trees 

 should be planted for windbreaks and shelterbelts on the plains, as wood- 

 lots for fence posts, fuel and other home uses where suitable native trees 

 are not close at hand and for ornamenting school and home grounds, county 

 roadsides, city parks and streets. Much of the planting in the past has 

 been done without system or foresight. Good judgement has often not 

 been exercised in selecting trees for planting and in properly setting them 

 out. There is much to commend in the efforts of our people to plant trees 



