Periodical Literature. 493 



fessional men and timberland owners'. An account of the topics 

 under discussion is given. 



Die deutschen Forstvereine, ihre letzten Versammlungen und Beratungs- 

 gcgenstande. Zeitschrift fiir Forst-u. Jagdwesen. May, 1914, pp. 296-302. 



At the closing exercises of the Yale 

 The Theoretical Forest School on February 25, 1914, Dr. 

 vs. Fernow delivered an address on this sub- 



The Practical. ject.* In it he pointed out how the so- 



called practical man usually proceeds on 

 the basis of unformed empiricism. Along much the same lines 

 Forstassessor Weber argues in an essay on Science and Experi- 

 ence. That mere personal experience can ever displace careful 

 scientific investigation is untenable. On this most authors are 

 agreed. Occasionally some empiricist argues that experience is 

 the best teacher. Among these Forstmeister Frombling takes the 

 view that personal experience alone can teach the forester how 

 to proceed, on the ground that the exceptions to many important 

 rules are so numerous that scientific generalizations are worth- 

 less and for the exceptions experience alone can furnish the an- 

 swer. Has not Pfeil, himself, said: "ask the tree, it will teach 

 you ?" Answering this, Weber points out that science and practice 

 must work together and be in constant reciprocity, that the prac- 

 tising forester must never lose sight of the scientific develop- 

 ments and must keep in constant touch with these. He must not 

 forget that he alone, depending on his personal experience, can 

 make no real progress and that, without application of strictly 

 scientific methods of research in forestry, no lasting results can 

 be secured. Granting that generalizations are worthless, indi- 

 vidual experience is of necessity too circumscribed to furnish an 

 adequate substitute. Careful scientific research, alone, can cover 

 the field. Just because the theories of today do not solve all 

 problems of practice is no reason to throw away theory. It is the 

 aim of science not to solve all riddles — for this must always be 

 impossible — but to probe deeper and deeper into the reason of 

 things. Mere experience can not go as far as this, can not point 

 the way with any assurance of success. Only when theory oflFers 

 its sisterly hand to practice, when speculation is added to ex- 



*See Yale Forest School News, Vol. II, No. 2, pp. 15-18. 



