EDITORIAL 



Samuel Bowdlear Green 



THE cause of forestry, particularly in 

 the field of forest education, suf- 

 fered a severe loss in the recent death 

 of Prof. Samuel Bowdlear Green, dean 

 of the school of forestry at the Univer- 

 sity of Minnesota. When Professor 

 Green took up forestry as his life work, 

 more than a score of years ago, he was 

 a pioneer. The outlook was discourag- 

 ing in those days. The very word for- 

 estry was novel, and its meaning ill 

 understood, while, often enough, to ig- 

 norance were added indifference and 

 active opposition. To achieve results, 

 to be a successful leader, in those con- 

 ditions, required both the power to fight 

 and the discretion to conciliate ; it called 

 for a large and many-sided man, know- 

 ing thoroughly what was wanted, yet 

 moderate and adroit enough to seize and 

 develop whatever was offered. It was 

 because he possessed these qualities that 

 Professor Green accomplished so much. 

 By persistent and judicious effort, sus- 

 tained by unflagging pluck and confi- 

 dence, he built up the course of forest 

 study at the University of Minnesota, 

 carried forestry into practice at Itasca 

 Park, exercised a controlling influence in 

 the development of a state "forest policy, 

 won the liking and cooperation of lum- 

 bermen, and had the satisfaction, a short 

 time before his death, of seeing the re- 

 sults of his work take permanent shape 

 in a separate school of forestry at the 

 university, and of being its first dean. 



The high regard felt for Professor 

 Green among lumbermen is shown in 

 an editorial in The American Lumber- 

 man for July 23, from which the fol- 

 lowing is taken : 



In Samuel B. Green forestry had a noble 

 champion. He was a sane, conservative, but 

 none the less persistent worker in the cause 

 which in late years had become his life work. 

 Just as the science of forestry itself is the 

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outgrowth and development of agriculture, 

 so Professor Green, originally a scientific 

 agriculturist, ultimately became a scientific 

 forester. He long ago realized the impor- 

 tance of forestry as a science and he realized 

 also that to succeed forestry must be prac- 

 tical and useful, and he bent his efforts as 

 professor of horticulture in the University 

 of Minnesota to the building up and develop- 

 ing of the forestry work of the university. 



Professor Green was essentially of a judi- 

 cial temperament. He saw both sides of 

 every question. He possessed the one fac- 

 ulty that is indispensable to leadership in any 

 movement in which interests are varied and 

 conflicting. , He was not a radical partisan or 

 advocate of any policy, party, or interest. 

 He understood, recognized, and respected the 

 rights and opinions of all. His advocacy was 

 in the direction of education. He knew that 

 the forests must be used to be conserved, and 

 It was his chief end and aim to teach the 

 people to know that true conservation of the 

 forests is synonymous with their proper use. 

 Thus in his policy the theoretical and prac- 

 tical were so combined and harmonized as 

 not to arouse the antagonism or opposition 

 of any interest. He had the fullest confidence 

 and respect of lumbermen and all who knew 

 him. 



Professor Green was born at Chel- 

 sea, in 1859, the son of Thomas and 

 Anna (Marden) Green. He was grad- 

 uated from the Massachusetts Agricul- 

 tural College in 1879, having specialized 

 in forestry and horticulture. He con- 

 tinued his studies in a number of for- 

 eign countries. From 1888 to 1898 he 

 was a teacher in these subjects, and in 

 1898 was appointed to a professorship 

 at the University of Minnesota. He had 

 been an associate editor of Farm and 

 Fireside since 1888. Besides his dean- 

 ship at the school of forestry at St. 

 Paul, he was president of the Minne- 

 sota Horticultural Society and of the 

 board of administration, Farmers' In- 

 stitutes of Minnesota. He was author 

 of a number of books, including "Ama- 

 teur Fruit Growing," "Vegetable Gar- 

 dening," "Forestry in Minnesota," and 

 "Principles of American Forestry." 



