FOREST SCHOOLS OF THE UNITED STATES 



V 



Forestry at the Iowa State College of Agriculture and 



Mechanical Arts 



By G. B. Mac DONALD 



Associate Professor in Charge of Forestry 



^^^HE Iowa State College at Ames is situated thirty-eight miles north of Des 

 ^ J Moines at the junction of the north and south branch and the main double 

 track line of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad running between 

 Chicago and Omaha. Ames is easily accessible from all directions. The college 

 has a very delightful and healthful location on high rolling land, bordering the 

 city of Ames on the we.st. The electric line of the Fort Dodge, Des Moines and 

 Southern Railway has a station on the campus and gives two-hour service both 

 to and from Des Moines, as well as thirty-minute service between the city and 

 the college. The college land comprises 1,200 acres, of which 125 are devoted 

 to campus. In laying out the campus years ago, the natural landscape effect 

 was preserved and today the grounds present the appearance of a spacious 

 park dotted with groups of evergreens and deciduous trees. Near the middle 

 of the campus, the Central and New Agricultural Buildings have been erected 

 at a cost of $375,000 and |350,000 respectively, adding in their beauty and 

 stateliness to the attractiveness of the campus. 



The Iowa State College of Agriculture is well equipped for giving the 

 student thorough training in the basal sciences which will serve as a substan- 

 tial foundation for technical training and practical work in forestry. As a 

 division of agriculture, forestry is well placed in the Agricultural College, 

 where the fundamentals of the science are given special emphasis. 



Forestry instruction has been given since 1877 when Mr. J. L. Budd was 

 elected Professor of Horticulture and Forestry. From the elementary instruc- 

 tion given at that early date the work has been increased to the present status 

 comprising 550 hours' lecture and class room work and 525 hours of held and 

 laboratory in forestry subjects in addition to the basal and allied branches. 

 The course is undergraduate and requires four years for completion. It is 

 designed to give the student as much practical experience as possible along 

 with the class and laboratory work. Tlie college year beginning in September 

 and ending in June, is divided into two terms of approximately four mouths 

 each. During the summer months the students find employment in national 

 forest work or in lumber camps where they are able to observe and practice 

 present day forestry. College credit is granted to students engaging in prac- 

 tical work provided such work is taken up through the direction of the depart- 

 ment and a detailed report of merit submitted. 



Most of the technical work in forestry comes during the last two years 

 of the course. In the first year only ooe forestry subject is given, elementary 



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