BUREAU OF FORESTRY. 203 



will be continued at Utica, N. Y. These ties will afterwards be treated 

 and laid in the track. 



The tests of red fir and western hemlock at the Berkeley laboratory 

 will be continued, and, if possible, another laboratory for their study 

 will be established at Seattle, Wash., in which case work at the 

 Berkeley laboratory will be directed especially to a determination of 

 the mechanical properties of redwood. 



At the Purdue laboratory the study of red gum from Missouri and 

 from the Atlantic coast, of the methods of testing wood under impact 

 and abrasion, of the effect of preservatives and preservative processes, 

 of methods of testing paving blocks, and of the strength of boxboards 

 will go on. 



The work of the Yale Forest School station will continue along the 

 present lines for a time. The problem of the strength of large tim- 

 bers and their moisture content will be pursued. Cooperative work 

 in determining the strength of cross-arms for telegraph poles and the 

 effect of the so-called Weed process on the strength of wood will prob- 

 ably be undertaken. 



RECORDS. 



At the beginning of the fiscal year it became necessary to secure an 

 additional floor of the Atlantic Building for offices. The need of the 

 Bureau for office room increases, not only with the slow increase in the 

 purely office force, but also with the rapid increase in the number of 

 field men who must spend a part of their time in the office preparing 

 reports on their field work. This increase of space during the last 

 year afforded great relief, and it will probablj^ be sufficient for the 

 needs of the Bureau for the next fiscal year (190i-5). Upon the 

 request of the Bureau the owners of the building have erected in the 

 basement a fireproof vault in which may be stored important records, 

 maps, negatives, etc. , belonging to the Bureau. 



Steps were taken during the past year to reduce the fire hazard. 

 Among them was the installation of a fire-alarm station on the first 

 floor, directly connecting the building with the fire department of the 

 District government. To this an auxiliary station on each floor of 

 the building was connected. Fire extinguishers of approved pattern 

 were installed — 16 on the floors occupied by the Bureau and 10 on the 

 floors below. 



At the request of the Bureau an inspection of the building was made 

 by the chief engineer of the District of Columbia fire department, 

 accompanied by the chief inspector of the Underwriters' Association, 

 and their report and recommendations were transmitted to the owners 

 of the building. As a result the installation of new fire hose, changes 

 in pumping apparatus, important changes in the electric-light wiring, 

 and other necessary alterations were undertaken by the owners. 



Accounts and Supplies. 



During the year a radical change was made in the system of 

 accounting for Government property. The system adopted was based 

 on a modification of that in use in the Quartermaster's Department of 

 the United States Army. It included the adoption of a Bureau regu- 

 lation that every transfer of property between members of the Bureau 



