A NATIONAL INSTITUTION 

 FOR WOOD UTILIZATION RESEARCH 



1 The Forest Products Labora- 

 tory is a unit of the research or- 

 ganization of the Forest Service, United 

 States Department of Agriculture . It 

 is the only institution in the United 

 States concerned wholly with the in- 

 vestigation of wood and wood products 

 and their adaptation to diversified fields 

 of use. It was the first and for several 

 years the only institution in the world 

 conducting general research on wood 

 and its utilization; other Governments 

 have since followed the lead of the 

 United States in developing labora- 

 tories along similar lines. 



Importance of 

 wood utilization 



The forest, distinct from all its other 

 services and benefits, supplies a basic 

 raw material — wood — which from the 

 earliest times has furnished mankind 



with necessities of existence and with 

 comforts and conveniences beyond 

 number. Forests will return maximum 

 values to the people of the United 

 States, only if they are fully and profit- 

 ably utilized and at the same time are 

 maintained in vigorous condition for 

 the continuous production of timber 

 crops. 



Nearly one-third of the continental 

 United States is either in forest or suited 

 by nature mainly or solely to the grow- 

 ing of forests. In a broad sense, the 

 growing of forests appears to be the 

 only economic use to which this enor- 

 mous area, amounting to over 600 mil- 

 lion acres, can be put. The fullest 

 development of this use is of profound 

 importance to the country's prosperity. 

 Aside from providing timber, forested 

 land affords benefits of far-reaching im- 

 portance, through its favorable influence 

 on stream flow and in preventing exces- 



The perpetuation of forest resources and their proper utilization are essential 

 to the country's welfare. 



M-14925-F 





