634 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



number of those people who have been trained in forestry 

 or have taken an interest in its development are inclined to 

 stamp the teaching as " continental " and inapplicable to 

 British conditions. And instead of examining the conditions 

 and seeking the cause of any need for modification in the 

 application of the theoretical principles they have learnt, they 

 have been content to adopt only so much of the theory as 

 takes their fancy and for the rest to adhere to old methods, 

 arguing that, after all, practical experience is the surest guide. 

 This want of confidence is most difficult to overcome, particu- 

 larly as practical experience is invaluable so long as it is 

 properly understood and suitably applied. 



Herein lies one of the chief duties of a State anxious to 

 improve the condition of forests and to extend their area, 

 unless it is seriously contemplated to restrict all such enter- 

 prise to State initiative. 



The first need, then, is a clear discrimination in the case 

 of all State forests between those which are to be treated on 

 an economic basis and those whose chief object is to provide 

 other amenities. The former should then be placed under 

 proper management and treated under the approved systems 

 of modern sylviculture. Where, however, for reasons already 

 mentioned, these do not provide adequate and suitable illustra- 

 tions of the most advanced methods, other forests in suitable 

 condition should be acquired and brought under proper 

 management. 



Far-reaching as the indirect effect of such practical proof 

 of State appreciation of sylviculture would be, knowledge of 

 how in each case the system of treatment adopted has been 

 determined would add greatly to the conviction such examples 

 carried. Moreover, with a staff of experts employed to pre- 

 scribe suitable treatment and superintend its application, expert 

 advice could easily be made available for owners who desired 

 it. Finally, apart from influence on the management of other 

 forests, the advantage of converting unproductive State property 

 into productive itself justifies the action suggested. 



Essential as this step would seem to be for any permanent 

 progress of forestry in the United Kingdom, it is strange that 

 opinion has jumped from apathy to a demand for more adequate 

 forest instruction and then directly to the consideration of 

 schemes for planting up new areas, often of vast extent. 



