REPORT OF CHIEF, OF THE FORESTRY BUREAU. 



Sttc : I have the honor herewith to report the work of this Bureau 

 for the current year. 



That the establishment of the .Bureau meets an important want is 

 shown by the correspondence to which it has already given occasion. 

 Letters from all parts of the country, and even from other countries, 

 are constantly received, making inquiries in regard to matters connected 

 with Forestry, such as the best methods of planting and managing trees, 

 the value of different trees for various purposes, their adaptation to dif- 

 ferent soils and climates, the best methods of procuring, preserving, and 

 planting seeds, and the like. Much valuable information on these and 

 kindred subjects has been given to the country in reply to the letters 

 received. As the need and importance of tree-planting is now exten- 

 sively felt both in those parts of the country which are comparatively 

 treeless as well as in those from which the forests have been or are be- 

 ing rapidly removed, the need of trustworthy information on the sub- 

 ject becomes very desirable. Such a space of time is necessary for the 

 growth of trees, that mistakes, whether in respect to the character and 

 value of trees or their management, are costly. It is not as when one 

 is cultivating a crop which is to reach its maturity in a few months. 

 In this case a mistake involves loss only for a brief season, and a better 

 course may be adopted for the next. But a mistake in planting trees, 

 or the adoption of a wrong method of cultivation, may entail loss for 

 a lifetime. Most persons in our country also are without experience in 

 forestry. The subject is new to them, and the Department in giving 

 the requisite information is rendering them a service of the greatest 

 value. 



WORK OF THE AGENTS. 



During the year the agents who were employed last year have con- 

 tinued their work. By means of circulars, in addition to those used 

 previously, they have gathered a large amount of information in regard 

 to the condition of the country, both in respect to its original supply of 

 timber and in the increase or diminution since the period of settlement, 

 as well as many facts of interest and importance as to the growth and 

 cultivation of trees for forest purposes. The reports made by the agents 

 have been compiled into a volume which will soon be available to the 

 public. Abstracts of them have been made and are herewith presented. 



PENNSYLVANIA. 



In the grant made by Charles II to Sir William Penn, in 1G81, he 

 made no reservations of timber, as in some other colonial grants. An 

 evidence of Penn's thoughtful care, for the maintenance of the wood- 

 lands may be gathered from a provision incorporated in an instrument 



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