Forestry as a science is new in America, and like all new 

 professions has proceeded from theory to practice, and mistakes 

 have been made in the effort to fit the theory to the practice. Men 

 with proper technical training, but without experience, have 

 come in contact with practical woodsmen, and have been literally 

 laughed out of the woods for recommendations which even a 

 little experience would have prevented them from making. 

 One young forester strongly objected to a main hauling road 

 following the valley of a stream where there was much soft- 

 wood growth. He advised shifting it to the ridge top. His 

 technical education told him to save the young growth of the 

 more valuable species, but common sense and experience were 

 wanting or he would have known that it was not profitable 

 to yard logs up hill, and that heights of land are not good places 

 for main roads! 



In the efforts of such men to get their bearings, and modify 

 their theoretical training with the wisdom of practical experi- 

 ence, much harm has been done by creating in the minds of 

 practical men the idea that technical training hits wide of the 

 mark. There has perhaps been more pleasure in circulating 

 anecdotes to illustrate the mistakes of the newcomers than 

 in telling how technical knowledge was able to teach old dogs 

 new tricks. Human nature is not different in this respect 

 than in all other departments of life where innovations of any 

 kind are met with misunderstanding and consequent opposition. 

 But science has triumphed too frequently over the prejudices 

 of human nature to be retarded in its advance by a few mistakes 

 and the misunderstanding of their import. 



Although forestry is as yet but a new profession in America, 

 and the first generation of trained foresters is still young, these 

 men are quickly absorbing the wisdom of experience and mixing 

 it with their technical knowledge, and are demonstrating the 

 definite commercial value of the science of the woods. 



The future of forestry as a profession is a matter of which 

 no one can speak with assurance, and yet it is but reasonable 

 to say that greater and greater reliance must continue to be 

 placed on more scientific methods, and that efficient adminis- 

 tration of forests must naturally take the place of guess work 

 and rule of thumb methods, and that the present wasteful 

 tendencies will eventually be turned to practical and scientific 

 conservation. 



Technical 

 men mis- 

 understood 



In years 

 to come 



