18 Forestry Quarterly. 



involved. If such men have had previous collegiate training, or 

 if the men without proper foundation work are located in the 

 same forest region as that in which the practical drill was given, 

 they get a start toward development which has landed and may 

 continue to land them to a safe place in the profession. Any in- 

 stitution in which such short cut work is given is decidedly unjust 

 to students if it does not make clear to them that satisfactory de- 

 velopment in the profession can come only as result of continued 

 and advanced training which that institution is not able to give. 

 It will be indeed unfortunate and humiliating for students to 

 begin this short cut training at say the age of 21 or 22 with the 

 expectation of becoming full fledged foresters, and then at the age 

 of 25 or 30 find that they must start over again to learn the funda- 

 mental principles of the work of which they may have an excellent 

 practical knowledge, if they are going to reach the top of the 

 profession. I contend that no young man is starting in to-day to 

 train himself for forestry who has not in view rapid advancement, 

 and that to the top of the profession. If the development of 

 men in other professions means anything, we are safe in believ- 

 ing that the man thoroughly trained in principles, with full de- 

 velopment of observational and investigative powers, through a 

 certain amount of practice in applying principles, is the man with 

 the right start and the man who can develop indefinitely. 



Because the proper training of a forester must include much 

 work along the line of botany, and because the principles of plant 

 growth and propagation are taught in horticulture, we have had 

 a number of men with excellent training in these two last named 

 professions who have entered the profession of forestry on the 

 ground that they know the forest trees, or understand principles 

 of growth and plant propagation. While it is true that well- 

 trained botanists are peculiarly fitted for the investigation of cer- 

 tain phases of plant growth ?nd distribution which arc of great 

 importance to the forester, yet the development of properly 

 trained men cannot help but eliminate in the course of time these 

 men who are trained in but one phase of the subject. Further- 

 more, as the harvesting of the forest crop and its proper utiliza- 

 tion demand a considerable knowledge of civil and mechanical 

 engineering, we find men trained in these lines taking upon them- 

 selves the practice of forestry. All of this is the natural result of 

 the development of a profession which is exceedingly important 



