Comment. 569 



The present issue may be called an educational number, just 

 as the first issue of volume VIII was, which brought reports of 

 the first school conference, and whoever wants to complete this 

 educational literature will also do well to refer to several articles 

 in volume VII, No. i. 



We feel sure that the voluminous report of the Committee on 

 Standardization for the completeness of which the Chairman, 

 Mr. Graves, deserves full credit, is an important contribution to 

 American forestry literature and will be most helpful not only 

 to teachers of forestry but to students. Even the practitioner in 

 the field may find it useful reading in clearing up some hazy 

 notions he had secured in the class room. 



The thoughtful reader may come to the conclusion that the 

 minimum standard is set rather high, and to do the work well 

 rather more time is required than is assigned. To this objection 

 the rejoinder is that not all things can be learned in school, some 

 must be left to self-study, and it is the business and art of the 

 teacher to find the limits of the possible, keeping in mind that 

 to develop capacity for self-help, rather than filling up with in- 

 formation is his task. 



There is much time given to "practical" work — over 60 per 

 cent, of the total time. This is the time which is capable of 

 more wasteful use than the class-room work, and it is apt to be 

 wasted, unless it can be, or much of it, concentrated. On closer 

 analysis it is indeed not such a large allowance as it appears, 

 and most of the higher grade schools provide for more field 

 work than this allotment contains. The 65 hours in dendrology 

 represent only twenty odd forenoons or afternoons. There are, 

 indeed hardly 600 hours for real fieldwork. Those institutions 

 which have a spring or fall camp for practice work and a lo-day 

 visit to lumber camps will readily live up to the total hour re- 

 quirement, even though it may be differently distributed. 



The facilities for practical work will vary considerably with 

 different institutions. This should not, however, discourage those 

 who are not so conveniently located. They will have to make their 

 theoretical teaching so much better realizing the fact, that practi- 

 cal men are not made in school anyhow, where they can only ac- 

 quire ease of manipulation, but in practice, and then only those 

 who are practically inclined by nature. In the end the theoretically 



