VERMONT SUMMER SCHOOL OF FORESTRY AND 



HORTICULTURE 



By B. a. chandler 



^~T-^ N the September issue of American Forestry there appeared a long list 

 l_^ of forest schools. In addition to three graduate schools there are some 66 

 schools listed as giving some forestry instruction. Judging from the 

 brief description of the coui-ses given in this list, it would seem that less than 

 half of them are giving especial attention to the teaching of agricultui-al for- 

 estry; the remainder specializing in technical forestry. Such a list indicates 

 the need of careful consideration of the tendency in present forest education. 

 We need to realize, first, that the graduate technical schools of this country 

 which are already established, can supply the demand for technical foresters ; 

 second, that undergraduate forestry departments in our universities and col- 

 leges cannot offer courses that will graduate men who can compete with the 

 graduates from these graduate schools ; third, undergraduate forest schools in 

 our universities cannot graduate men who can rank as high in the profession 

 of forestry as men from other departments of the same university rank in their 

 profession. Under these conditions it is manifestly unfair to the students for 

 these undergraduate schools to advertise to give technical forestry courses ; but 

 these schools undoubtedly have a field that is distinctly their own which they 

 should cultivate, by teaching their agricultural students how to manage timber- 

 land in connection with farms; in giving the farmer of the state this same 

 knowledo'C • and in giving men who wish to become technical foresters the best 

 possible preparation for the graduate schools. This article does not aim to 

 support these facts with argument, but only to point out a few well known facts. 



It is self evident that the graduate schools already established can supply 

 the demand for technical foresters. France, a country that does a great deal of 

 technical forestry work, has only one technical forest school, while we have at 

 least three which have been competing for first place. The United States For- 

 est Service employs the greatest number of graduates of these schools, and it is 

 well kno-mi that the supply is nearly equal to the demand. 



The undergraduate schools cannot prepare their men as well as can the 

 graduate schools, because, first, the first two years and some of the last two, 

 must be spent in general education ; second, the schedule of the forestry men 

 must be adapted to the rest of the institution thus interfering with the field 

 work, which is so necessary ; third, one or two men must handle all the forestry 

 subjects, while in the graduate schools each instructor is making a specialty 

 of some particular line; fourth, often the instructors in these undergraduate 



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