53 
unprecedented extent. The arrival of many thousands of visitors 
to a white population of perhaps four thousand, will at once in- 
crease fourfold the demand upon many ordinary comestibles. 
No market the world over could be expected to fully satisfy such 
a demand and certainly not the Honolulu one, which has no ex- 
tensive territory to fall back upon to renew its supplies. 
However, much can be done by foresight, and growers of vege- 
tables who at once increase the planting of all produce which 
can be marketed' at the time of the fleet's visit, are likely to derive 
an exceedingly profitable return. There is little likelihood of 
over supply even if every vegetable garden in Honolulu quad- 
ruples its output during the time in question, and with the antici- 
pated demand to be satisfied at prices at least double the normal 
rates, the prospect should attract many novices to the ranks of 
the humble vegetable grower. 
UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE. 
It is doubtful if any of the laboratories maintained by the 
government for scientific research is more unique in char- 
acter, and yet bears promise of more important results, than 
one which has just been established in Washington by the 
United States Forest Service for investigating .the structure 
of commercially important woods. 
Laymen will not understand the significance of the proposed 
investigations carried on in this laboratory so quickly as archi- 
tects, builders and other wood users, who in these days of 
growing scarcity of the more valuable woods are seriously 
perplexed in identifying substitutes. Mistakes of this kind in 
identification have, in the last few years, in several instances, 
meant the loss of large sums of money and many embarrassing 
law suits. 
Nearly any user of lumber can recognize, and name off-hand, 
all the usual trees of the forest when he sees them growing, 
and not much difficulty is encountered in identifying the com- 
mon kind of lumber in a mill yard because he knows the few 
trees from which the yard lumber comes. But common kinds 
are growing scarce, and woods not often cut heretofore, are 
appearing in the markets. The most experienced men are 
sometimes puzzled when they try to identify them, and per- 
sons with less experience have still more trouble. Is a certain 
wood gum or elm? Is another cucumber, linn, or poplar? Is 
a stick sugar maple or red maple? Doubts may arise whether 
a piece is hemlock or spruce, or whether it is lodgepole pine or 
fir, or whether a shingle is cypress or cedar. A dealer may 
buy red oak and suspect that he is getting something else. 
There are thirty or more important species of oak. The best 
