INSTRUCTIONS RELATING TO FOREST PRODUCTS. 11 



DISTRICT OFFICES AND FOREST PRODUCTS LABORATORY. 



Administrative investigations. 



Investigations for administrative purposes will be initiated and 

 directed by the district foresters. The staff of the Forest Products 

 Laboratory will assist in such investigations which come within its 

 field by furnishing outlines of the information to be obtained and by 

 personal conference with the district foresters and members of their 

 offices, but will have no supervisory relationship to this work. 



Technical investigations. 



Technical investigations in the several districts, forming part of 

 the annual program, will be conducted in accordance with working 

 plans approved by the director of the Laboratory, when within its 

 province. Their results will be reviewed by the Laboratory staff 

 before publication. As far as practicable such investigations will be 

 concentrated at the Laboratory itself, but where conducted in the 

 districts will be under the supervision of the Laboratory staff as 

 defined on page 6. 



Special assignments of Laboratory staff. 



Members of the Laboratory' will not be assigned to special investi- 

 gations in any of the districts until the ground has been covered as 

 fully as practicable in a preliminary study by the Products expert in 

 the district. The results of this study will be embodied in a prelimi- 

 nary report which should indicate specifically what further investiga- 

 tions requiring specialists from the Forest Products Laboratory 

 should be undertaken. Requests for the assignment of experts from 

 the Laboratory for such investigations in the districts will be submit- 

 ted to the assistant forester in charge of the Branch, with a copy of 

 the preliminary report showing the specific problems to be solved. 

 At the same time a copy of the report and of the letter requesting the 

 special assignment will be sent to the director of the Laboratory who 

 will immediately submit his recommendations and suggestions in 

 the matter to the assistant forester. The latter will then decide 

 whether the assignment requested should be made and send necessary 

 instructions to the director of the Laboratory. 



Tests of field material. 



Material will be submitted to the Forest Products Laboratory by 

 district foresters for special tests, and other experiments requested 

 whenever necessary for administrative purposes and particularly for 

 the better utilization of National Forest timber. When such tests or 

 experiments are not of immediate urgency, a request should be sub- 

 mitted to the director of the Laboratory for the incorporation of the 

 investigations proposed in the next annual program, unless the 

 director finds it practicable to include the tests in current investi- 

 gative projects. If the work desired by a district forester, how- 

 ever, is of immediate urgency, the request will be submitted directly 

 to the assistant forester in charge of the Branch, a copy being sent 

 simultaneously to the director of the Forest Products Laboratory. 

 The director will immediately submit to the assistant forester his 

 recommendations and suggestions in the matter. The latter will 

 then decide whether the work proposed should be given preference 



