36 Circular 211, Dept. of Agriculture 



is under way in Colorado, California, and the Southwef . 

 At these various forest 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 will be followed by the best re- 

 production of the most desirable kinds of trees under 

 varying conditions, the best methods of nursery pra$ 

 tice and of field sowing and planting, and how best to 

 protect the forests from fire and other damaging 

 agencies. The relation of forests to climate, stream 

 flow, and erosion are also investigated. The forest 

 experiment stations are so located as to afford a wide 

 range of conditions in different parts of the country. 

 They are supplemented by diversified field studies 

 which round out a systematic search for the basic 

 knowledge required to make our forests fully productive. 



FOREST PRODUCTS 



It is just as important to know what to grow as 

 how to grow, and just as important to make the most 

 of what is produced as to make the forests produce 

 more material for consumption. The investigations 

 in forest products closely interlock with those in 

 forest management. Their object is to bring produc- 

 tion and consumption into the most advantageous ad- 

 justment, from the standpoint of the public welfare, 

 through study on the one hand of the raw material 

 that the forests produce and on the other hand of 

 the requirements of our industries and their processes 

 of manufacture. 



The bulk of this work on forest products is centered 

 at the Forest Products Laboratory at Madison, Wis., 

 maintained in cooperation with the University of Wis- 

 consin. Here intensive studies are made of the physi- 

 cal, mechanical, and chemical properties of wood an** 

 wood products. These include tests of the strength 

 of practically all American woods of commercial im- 

 portance, studies in seasoning and kiln drying, wood 

 preservation, the manufacture of paper pulp, fiber 



