220 Forestry Quarterly. 



Ordinarily only one or two Assistant Directors will be em- 

 ployed at one station for the present, but a growing volume of 

 work and need for greater specialization will in time necessi- 

 tate an increase in the force. The rank of Assistant Director 

 should be reserved for men of proven ability, and should require 

 in addition to other qualifications at least two years' previous 

 service as Forest Assistant on a National Forest, or equivalent 

 training. Ordinarily a period of apprenticeship at an experiment 

 station should be required, although it would not be advisable 

 to make this an inflexible rule. Higher requirements would be 

 desirable, but are not practicable at present for the reason that 

 qualified men are not available. As the scientific standard rises, 

 the requirements should be greatly increased, until after per- 

 haps ten or fifteen years only seasoned men of high scientific 

 training and ability are eligible to one of the higher positions at 

 an experiment station. 



Scope of Scientific Work. The primary purpose of our ex- 

 periment stations and, in fact, of all scientific investigations in 

 the Forest Service is to furnish scientific data needed in the 

 management of National Forests. To accomplish this, the sta- 

 tion must be actively in touch with the work on National For- 

 ests. Every investigator should be given an opportunity to see 

 the conclusions of his studies put into practice. The specialist 

 in forest management at the experiment station should take an 

 active interest in marking, cutting, brush disposal, etc., and his 

 services should be utilized in the inspection of timber sales. 

 When extensive planting operations are undertaken the specialist 

 in charge of reforestation at the experiment station should be 

 consulted in regard to technical matters, such as the selection of 

 areas, methods, species, etc. He should make inspections of the 

 work from time to time with a view toward lending helpful sug- 

 gestions and solving problems which can not be solved by the 

 administrative force. Similarly, the services of officers in charge 

 of insect, grazing and botanical investigations should be utilized 

 within their respective fields. 



Obviously such a system of co-operation can not be fully real- 

 ized until specialists in the various lines become available. More- 

 over, experiment station men should not be required to give an 

 undue amount of time to District inspection at the expense of 

 individual research. They should act in advisory capacity in co- 



