Evening star., 1925-08-23
BY HENRY l.. SWEINHART.

What is believed to be the first
step looking toward a wide study OF
forest conditions throughout Latin
America, with a view to securing
future sources of hardwood supplies
for the United States market. has
just been taken by the Tropical Plant
Research Foundation, an organization
with headquarters here, formed under
the auspices of the National Research
Council and cooperating with the
United States Department Of Agri-
culture and other Government depart
ments and bureaus.
The first project upon which the
foundation is about to start will be in
Cuba, and will be conducted for the
purpose of aiding several large com
panies-the United Fruit Co. and the
Cuba Coin maintaining on their
forest reserves a steady supply CT
timber to take care of their present
and future needs. This is in line with
the forest conservation ideas which
it is the aim of the organization to
foster.
DR.. II. N Whitford, an experienced
forester, who has been in charge of
the rubber Investigations which the
United States Department Of Com
merce has been conducting IN the
East Indies, in the Philippines, in
Brazil, Peru, Central America and
other sections of the world where, 1t
was believed rubber might grow, will
be in charge of the Cuban forestry
project, at least temporarily.
Large Timber Supplies
1t is not expected that Cuba, whose
principal industry is sugar and whose
forest area is comparatively small,
will ever be able to supply much hard
wood or other lumber to the United
States; but it is believed that the
lessons learned there will be valuable
and that the start made there will
lead to much wider work in some of
the other Latin American countries.
In discussing the subject, Maj. George
P. Ahern, former chief of the Philip
pine Bureau of Forestry, organized by
the Government of the United States
in 1900; and who is in general super
vision of the forest work of the Trop-
ical Plant Research Foundation, said:
LAS the forests of the United States
rapidly disappear as inadequate efforts
are made to close the gap between
consumption and adequate annual
growth, long period of scarcity in
our local wood supply becomes in
evitable and not far distant. That
long period of years of scarcity is
tropical Americas opportunity to sup
ply the demand from it's billion and a
quarter forested acres, where rapid
growth is the rule almost twelve
months in the year, and on soil more
fertile than the average in the colder
regions of the North.
Men of vision will grasp these
opportunities" Maj. Ahern continued.
Vast areas of tropical virgin forest
will be obtained for a small outlay.
Large modern operations will follow.
Scientific research will bring out uses
and values of scores of forest products
now deemed unmarketable. Subsidiary
plants will utilize by-products and
waste products. Then will follow
marketing campaigns, control over
ocean and other transportation, and
so forth.
Use To Be Found
"Of the $500 present uses of wood,
surely some should be found for the
woods of tropical America that occur
everywhere in quantity but are not
being taken. The future development
of the countries to the south of us
depends on the intelligent utilization
of their natural resources. one of the
most important of which is the forest.
The Tropical Plant Research Founda-
ton is doing this work.
The opinion Of another forest cH