28 MISC. PUBLICATION 16 2, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



timber is produced and that the proper use is made of all other for- 

 est resources. And, too, he is responsible for the effective operation 

 of the system of fire protection and control worked out for his forest. 

 Every national forest is divided into smaller units, or ranger dis- 

 tricts, each under the supervision of a district ranger. The rangers 

 manage their districts in accordance with the general administrative 

 plans made by the supervisor and perform the routine work required 

 in the supervision of timber sales, grazing, free uses, and special uses 

 of the forest. They also look after the construction of roads, trails, 

 bridges, telephone lines, and other permanent improvements. Rang- 

 ers have supervision over the recreational features of the forests and 

 see to it that recreationists do not abuse the privileges granted them. 

 The most constant and difficult phase of the rangers' work, however. 

 is that involved in protecting the forest from fire. The forest 

 ranger is therefore of necessity a hard-working, highly useful citizen 

 and public officer upon whom rests much of the responsibility for 

 the successful management of the national forests (fig. 16). 



RESEARCH 



The Government's forest work does not end with the administra- 

 tion of the national forests. Among other things, the Forest Service 

 is doing extensive work in forest research, and conducts many inves- 

 tigations designed to promote the best use of the forests of the 

 United States, whether in public or private ownership. Some of 

 these investigations concern the growth, management, and protec- 

 tion of forests, and others the utilization of their products, forest 

 economics, and grazing. 



Through a series of 11 regional forest and range experiment 

 stations intensive studies are made of such things as the rates of 

 growth and requirements of the different tree species, what methods 

 of cutting under varying conditions will be followed by the best 

 reproduction of the most desirable kinds of trees, the best methods 

 of nursery practice and of field planting, and how best to protect 

 the forests from fire and other damaging agencies. The relation of 

 forests to climate, stream flow, and erosion is also investigated, and 

 studies are made of range conditions and management. In this 

 work the stations cooperate closely with the national-forest organ- 

 ization, with other Government bureaus, State foresters, agricultural 

 colleges and experiment stations, and universities. 



Important research work is done by the Forest Products Labora- 

 tory, at Madison, Wis. Here, in cooperation with the University 

 of Wisconsin, the Forest Service carries on intensive studies of the 

 physical, mechanical, and chemical properties of wood and other 

 forest products. Tests are made of the strength of American woods 

 of commercial importance; studies are made in seasoning and kiln- 

 drying, wood preservation, the manufacture of paper pulp, fiber 

 board, and the like, the production of alcohol, turpentine, rosin, tar, 

 and other chemical products. The results of this work help the 

 wood-consuming industries to find the most suitable raw materials 

 and to develop methods of utilizing waste products. They also assist 

 timber land owners to find new markets for forest products. Another 

 important part of the laboratory's work is to discover ways of using 

 woods which, though often abundant, have been considered of little 

 or no value, and to develop new uses for the products of the forest. 



