Comment. 465 



Of the total of 646 men required, only 106 need be technically 

 trained men. This local demand, when it arises, can easily be 

 met from the men graduating from forest schools as already or- 

 ganized. 



Education: Our technical forest schools are well provided with 

 instructing staflF. The teaching of forestry courses in the agricul- 

 tural colleges will require some men; however, there are many 

 such courses already taught, and recently the annual demand in 

 this line has been limited. 



Consulting Forestry: The field for consulting foresters in the 

 eastern part of the United States, where there is the best op- 

 portunity of building up private practice, is fairly well filled. 

 There are about a dozen firms of consulting foresters in the east- 

 ern states, and already there seems to be a lively competition for 

 work and a wonder whence their bread and butter may come. 



Lumber Companies: Positions with lumber companies form 

 a relatively untried field, which is opening up slowly. A few 

 men go into the work yearly, but there is no definite basis for 

 concluding that large numbers will soon be taken annually by 

 such companies. 



Forestry has developed very rapidly during the last ten years, 

 and, for a time, trained foresters were lacking to meet the de- 

 mands. The period of very rapid growth seems to be past and 

 a normal but slower growth is in progress. Although the num- 

 ber of graduates going out this year from forest schools will 

 probably find places in the course of the year, the principal forest 

 schools have wisely raised the standard of instruction and of en- 

 trance requirements with the purpose of improving quality with- 

 out regard to numbers of students. 



Unless unusual conditions arise there is not likely to be a 

 greatly increased number of forest school graduates required an- 

 nually in the immediate future. The part of wisdom is to in- 

 crease quality rather than quantity. Any policy of numerical 

 aggrandizement which will provide "a forester for every tree" 

 is to be strongly depreciated. 



