Imperial Valley press., 1916-09-21
DEPT. TO
TAKE Up LUMBER
PROBLEMS

The twenty-eight million acres OF
forest in California bristle with prob
lens for investigation. The University
of California has now completed the
organization of new, Department OF
Forestry in order to try to help solve
them.
Efficiency methods in logging need
to be developed by stop-watch obser'
vations and motion studios. To reduce
the cost of logging by ten cents per
thousand board fet would save $12o.-
900 year, or an increase in the value
of California timber of $3S,00O.COO.
Nobody knows yet how fast Cali
fornia trees grow. The division Of for
estry wants to find out, SO that the
state, counties, towns and railroad,
lumber. water and power companies
can devise wise policies for growing
permanent crops of til4ber on the vast
acreage unsuited for other purposes.
Volume tables" need to be compiled
showing the contents of standing
trees of various sizes and species.
Such tables do not yet exist.
The University wants to train spe-
cialists in tropical forestry. to solve
the problems of the vast forests of
Central and South America and the
Orient - storehouses of untouched
wealth.
1t was in response to urgent de-
mands from the lumber interests OF
California and from the Pacific Log
ging Congress that the University OF
California organized it's Division of
Forestry, with faculty of two Pro-
fessors of Forestry, Walter Milford
and David Townsend Mason, and three
Assistant Professors( Donald Bruce.
Merritt B. Pratt and Woodbridge Met
calf.
The announcement of the new
courses in forestry, just issued by the
university and obtained by writing to
Dean Thomas F. Hunt of the College
of Agriculture, at Berkeley, shows
that besides four-year course in gen.
eral forestry the university has start.
ed this year a new course in forest en-
gineering. The former will train men
for work in the National Forests or in
forests privately owned, and the For
est Utilization" course for the lumber
business. Each gives a thorough train
ing in forestry, with much field work.
The general forestry course is based
on the fundamental biological scien-
ces, while the forest utilization course
emphasizes mathematics, physics, and
mechanics, with other special training
for forest or logging engineers. Stu
dents, may, if they wish, take five
year combined course.
A new short course" is to be giveS
from January 10 to April Z, with train.
ing for rangers, fire-guords, and EN-.
ployes of lumber companies in survey.
ing and mapping; forest administra.
tion, improvements, protection and
mensuratiOn; silviculture, logging and
grazing; lectures by the U. S. Forest
Service officers.
All the forestry students are to have
much practical training out in the for.
est. A summer camp will be main
tained for eleven weeks each year,
where students will be drilled in tim
ber estimating. forest mapping, seal.
Ing, the study of tree growth, woods
manship, and the planning of logging
operations.
Wonderful opportunities are avail.
able in California for practical field
work. There is as much forest in Cal.
lfornia as farmlan d. The twenty-eight
million acres of forest in California
contain approximately $50 billion board
feet. Because of,thesheayy rainfallafd'
long growing season., California timber
grows with unusual rapidity and to
unusual size. The twenty million acres
II national forest in the eighteen Ma, |
,ional Forests in California are now
devoted to the permanent production