Young Growth, after Land Was Once Lumbered 



although few statistics are available on 

 this subject. But cities and towns suf- 

 fer enormously from this cause yearly, 

 especially Pittsburg and towns in west- 

 ern Pennsylvania. So it can readily be 

 seen that water conservation enters 

 very largely into the arguments and 

 weighs very heavily as a reason for for- 

 est preservation. Therefore, it is a 

 question which concerns the state as a 

 whole, and its moral consideration has 

 caused an awakening. 



Probably Pennsylvania has not rec- 

 ognized the necessity of conserving her 

 forests at the earliest opportune time, 

 but nevertheless, she is one of the first 

 to give it recognition and undoubtedly 

 foremost in the manner in which she is 

 meeting the problem. Her policy per- 

 taining to management is particularly 

 farsighted and efficient in that she not 

 only sees the advisability of conserving 

 the inherent benefits of the forest, but 

 recognizes the fact that thorough and 

 efficient management is the only means 

 by which this trust of the people can be 

 discharged effectively and profitably ; 

 and to this end and for its consumma- 



tion the State Forest Academy was es- 

 tablished in the year 1903. 



The question "Is it the object to edu- 

 cate in the State Forest Academy men 

 for management of the State Reserves, 

 rather than technical experts in the va- 

 rious branches of forestry study ?" was 

 put to State Forester George H. Wirt, 

 principal of the Academy, who is also a 

 technically trained forester. He an- 

 swered emphatically "the former." In 

 fact, the father of the institution, Dr. J. 

 T. Rothrock, had the idea of manage- 

 ment uppermost in his mind when he 

 founded the Academy, and to. this end 

 the tendency has been most marked, al- 

 though technical training constitutes a 

 very important and extensive part of 

 the curriculum. It would be an easy 

 matter for the Department to secure 

 men with business ability to manage its 

 reserves, but men of ability with a par- 

 ticular business knowledge must be 

 educated. 



The popularity of this movement by 

 the Department can well be guaged by 

 the number of applicants who compet- 

 ed in the examination held at Harris- 



483 



