Government Forest Work 37 



Rard, and the like, and the production of alcohol, 

 turpentine, rosin, tar, and other chemical products. 



Through such studies the wood-consuming indus- 

 tries are helped to find the most suitable raw ma- 

 terial and to develop methods of utilizing their waste 

 products, while forest owners are helped by having 

 *fcew uses developed and new markets opened for what 

 they grow. An important part of the work is to dis- 

 cover ways of using the woods which, though often 

 abundant, have been considered of little or no value. 

 On such studies largely depends the extent to which 

 the practice of forestry will be taken up. In a nut- 

 shell, the investigations in forest products are con- 

 ducted in order that the forest resources of the coun- 

 try may be best conserved, developed, and utilized. 

 While some of the work aims directly at making pos- 

 sible the most effective utilization and marketing of 

 national forest timber, the general object is to do 

 this for timber grown anywhere, and thus to extend 

 forestry and increase the service and value of forests 

 I to the Nation. 





FOREST ECONOMICS 



Similarly, the investigations in forest economics 

 furnish information promotive of forestry and the 

 best adjustment of supply and demand through in- 

 quiries that throw light on market requirements, 

 prices, and tendencies, and on probable future needs 

 as the country grows. Statistics are collected on the 

 prices of lumber and other important forest products, 

 and on the use of the products by the various indus- 

 tries. Studies are made of current economic condi- 

 tions in the wood-using industries, including such 

 factors as production, consumption, stocks on hand, 

 exports and imports, labor problems, and transporta- 

 tion. Data are secured on the forest resources of this 

 and other countries, the effect of timber depletion on 

 industrial and community development, the relation 

 between forest taxation and the practice of forestry, 

 nand similar economic problems. 



