INSTRUCTIONS RELATING TO FOREST PRODUCTS. 7 



Advisory board. 



There will be associated with the Laboratory an advisory board 

 consisting of experts of the widest possible experience and national 

 standing in the various lines of investigation conducted at the Labo- 

 ratory and the requirements of the industries which such investiga- 

 tions should benefit. Arrangements will be perfected as far as pos- 

 sible for experts of this character to spend several weeks each year at 

 the Laboratory going over the plans of work, the methods employed, 

 and the results obtained in specific projects, and advising the direc- 

 tor and members of his staff on any features of the work which can be 

 improved. The members of the advisory board individually, will 

 thus act as inspectors but not in any executive capacity. The director 

 will act upon their recommendations in so far as advisable in his 

 judgment. Recommendations of the members of the Board which 

 in his judgment should not be put into effect will be submitted to 

 the assistant forester in charge of the Branch with a statement of 

 his views thereon, for final decision. 



Field of work. 



Investigations are conducted at the Forest Products Laboratory 

 and in cooperation with persons engaged in various wood-using 

 industries, and information disseminated by publication and other- 

 wise along the following lines : 



(1) Mechanical properties of wood. 



(2) Physical characteristics and properties of wood. 



(3) Chemical characteristics and properties of wood. 



(4) Air seasoning and artificial drying of wood. 



(5) Agencies destructive to wood. 



(6) Wood preservation. 



(7) Wood distillation. 



(8) Production of naval stores. 



(9) Production of pulp and paper and other chemical prod- 



ucts of wood. 



NATIONAL FOREST UTILIZATION. 



Purpose. 



The function of experts employed in the National Forest districts 

 is to assist and advise the district foresters on market and utiliza- 

 tion problems involved in current National Forest business. Investi- 

 gations conducted by such experts will be restricted largely to those 

 having a direct bearing upon administrative problems. Scientific 

 studies involving technical processes or experiments will ordinarily 

 be undertaken only when necessary as part of an investigation 

 required for administrative purposes. Other technical investigations 

 may be undertaken in exceptional cases to assist the Forest Products 

 Laboratory or the Office of Industrial Investigations in their respec- 

 tive fields of w^ork. 

 Utilization of National Forest timber. 



It will be the duty of experts assigned to districts to investigate 

 as completely as possible all utilization and market problems arising 

 in the administration of National Forests. Such work should be 

 conducted in cooperation with reconnaissaince parties obtaining data 

 on stand, species, and topography, with the district engineers in secur- 



