JOURNAL OF FORESTRY 



Vol. XVI OCTOBER, 1918 No. 6 



SOME FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS IN FORESTRY 

 EDUCATION =^- 



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By Hugo Winkexwerder ^*^fjf^ "^ 



Professor of Forestry, University of Washington College of Forestry 



The establishment of nearly all the forest schools came as a direct 

 result of the establishment of a National Forest policy. The courses 

 were originally outlined with direct reference to Government work, and 

 for a number of years practically all of the graduates entered Govern- 

 ment service. The subject-matter of the courses was based very largely 

 upon European systems, and although the curricula were outlined with 

 reference to a thoroughly broad education, the entire scheme contem- 

 plated the training of specialists in silvicultural practice and forest 

 management. There was no profession of forestry in this country at 

 that time; the student did not know just what he had before him. It 

 was up to him to develop the profession. From the standpoint of the 

 nation, there were two large problems: (i) Investigation, (2) propa- 

 ganda. It was up to the nation to find out what it had and what to do 

 with it. In other words, it was necessary to first discover the problems 

 and to develop public sentiment in favor of the right solution of these 

 problems. For these reasons the system that was adopted, namely, that 

 of requiring a broad, general education, followed by a study of the 

 theory and practice of well-established European methods of forestry 

 (with such modifications as our own conditions early suggested), was 

 without doubt the right way to begin forest education in this country. 

 A knowledge of all technical details of forestry was less important in 

 the development of a national forest policy than a thoroughly broad 

 conception of the meaning of forestry and its relation to national prob- 

 lems. It is true that the exact status of affairs was not fully realized 

 at the time, so that some premature attempts at carrying out technical 

 details were made. Fortunately these did not lead to very disastrous 



""^ * A contribution to the discussion of the paper on "The Technical Forester in 



|— National Forest Administration," Vol XVI, No. 2, Journ.vl of Forestry. 

 C-3 (541 



