FOREST SEEVICE. 41 



Manufacturers' Association, the International Slack Cooperage Mafi- 

 ufacturers' Association, and the National Box Manufacturers' Asso- 

 ciation. 



WORK FOE THE COMING TEAR. 



With the beginning of the fiscal year 1906-7 the organization of 

 the Office of Forest Products will be considerably changed. Dendro- 

 chemistry will be designated Wood Chemistry. Timber Tests and 

 Lumber Trade will be combined into the Section of Wood Utilization, 

 and sections of Forest Measurements and Reserve Engineering will 

 be added. 



The Section of Forest Measurements, during the coming year, will 

 work up analysis of white pine in Massachusetts and graded mill 

 tallies of softwoods and hardwoods in New Hampshire; compute 

 periodic weights and measurements from pole, tie, and cross-arm 

 experiments; work up data on western species likely to be valuable 

 in the work on the reserves, and compile statistics of forest products. 

 Efforts will be made to gather ne^^■ and supplemental figures on im- 

 portant trees. Rearrangement of data files on the basis of species 

 and localities, already begun, will continue. 



The principal work in map making will concern new forest re- 

 serves, timber sales, and working and planting plans. 



Since the Office of Forest Products is in large touch with engineers 

 and engineering work, it will be made responsible in the future for 

 the more technical engineering work on the forest reserves. The work 

 immediately ahead is that of telephone construction. The reserves are 

 greatly in need of telephone service. Wherever possible the commer- 

 cial telephone companies ^A-ill be given ]3ermits to construct lines on 

 the reserves on condition of reduced rates for official business, ex- 

 clusive lines to reserve headquarters, and the privilege of tapping 

 commercial lines with reserve branch lines. The use of water powers 

 and the construction of roads maj' also demand technical attention 

 during the year. 



The Section of AVood Preservation will consider : Wood above 

 ground, such as railroad ties, paving blocks, cross-arms, etc. ; wood 

 in water, such as piles attiicked liy the teredo; and wood under- 

 ground, such as mine props, and the butts of fence posts and tele- 

 graph and telephone poles. 



In the Section of "\'\^ood Chemistry the Boston pulp laboratory, now 

 ready for operation, will test the quantity and quality of pulp obtain- 

 able from many different American woods, particularly those from 

 the forest reserves. A study of the distillation of wood will be re- 

 sumed. A careful study of creosote as a preservative will include 

 methods for quantitative estimations of creosote in timbers, for de- 

 tecting adulterations of coal-tar creosote, and for analyzing creosote 

 by fractional distillation. The leaching properties of timber will 

 be studied, including tests to determine the constitu tents of woods 

 at different seasons, the nature and quantity of materials removed by 

 soaking, changes of insoluble wood constituents during soaking, and 

 the effects of leaching on the subsequent growth of attacking fungi 

 and on seasoning. There is an increasing tendency among com- 

 mercial companies to seek the help of the section in solving chemical 

 problems concerning the use of wood. Problems of this kind, the so- 



