FORESTERS IN THE GREAT WAR 



By Samuel Tr Dana 



SOME 40,000 foresters are now, 

 in all likelihood, fighting on the 

 battle fields of Eiirope. Prob- 

 ably no other profession, aside 

 from the regular officers in the army 

 and navy, has so large a proportion of 

 its members engaged in the struggle, 

 nor will any other profession pay such 

 a heavy toll in men. 



It seems to be the irony of fate, one 

 of the many inconsistencies of war, that 

 men who are engaged in one of the most 

 peaceful of professions, whose daily 

 life is spent in the woods and mountains 

 in the protection of the forests and of 

 its wild life, should be among the first 

 to find themselves suddenly involved 

 in a deadly combat, the main object of 

 which is destruction. Yet in Europe 

 there has always been an intimate 

 relation between the forest service and 

 the military service. In the early 

 history of the profession foresters were 

 almost universally appointed from 

 those who had been army officers and 

 soldiers on the theory that their phy- 

 sical constitution and training par- 

 ticularly fitted them for the work; 

 now the case is in part reversed, and 

 foresters are drawn upon, when need 

 arises, to swell the ranks of the army. 

 Obviously the life of a forester fits 

 him pre-eminently for military service. 

 Out of doors the greater part of the 

 time, he must be physically fit, pos- 

 sessed of a strong constitution, and 

 ready at any time to undergo ex- 

 posures and hardships that would be 

 beyond the endurance of the ordinary 

 city dweder. Candidates for the forest 

 service in the various European 

 countries must, in fact, measure up 

 to the physical standards that are 

 required for the military service. 

 Furthermore, the very nature of the 

 forester's work is such as to make 

 him sturdy and self-reliant , accustomed 

 to handle a gun, and ready for any 



emergency. Moreover, in most of the 

 European countries the lower grades of 

 forest officers are recruited largely 

 from men who have served their time 

 in the army, and this training, together 

 with the semi-military organization 

 which generally prevails, gives them 

 the discipline so necessary in the 

 efficient soldier. 



Russian Forest Officer. 



note how similar this uniform is to the regular 

 military uniform of russian army officers. 



* For much of the information contained in this article, the author is indebted to Mr. Raphael 

 Zon and to Dr. B. E. Fernow. 



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