THE LIFE OF A FORESTER 79 



and second, a one-year course of practical training in 

 a ranger school. The latter course while not really 

 leading to a forestry degree is mentioned because while 

 it only prepares men for subordinate positions like woods 

 foremen, forest rangers, guards, etc., it has been con- 

 sidered by some as a short cut to a forester's diploma. It 

 is as true now as in the days of Euclid, that there is no 

 short or "royal road to learning/ 7 



The ranger courses now offered at several schools in 

 the United States are intensely practical. Ordinarily a 

 strong body and a grammar-school education are suffi- 

 cient. The rudiments of surveying, silviculture (the 

 science of tending the forest), dendrology (the study 

 of trees) are taught and much stress is laid on the 

 practical phases of lumbering, timber cruising, fire 

 protection, road and trail construction, etc. Trained 

 forest rangers and guards will be in great demand in 

 the country but no young man should consider that one 

 year in a ranger school will make him a forester. He 

 will always remain a subordinate, a valuable man, but 

 one with limited responsibility, and will doubtless spend 

 the bulk of his time in the woods. 



The regular forestry course is something entirely 

 different. It may be taken as a two-year postgraduate 

 course after completing a regular four-year college 

 course, or a continuous five-year course may be taken 

 in which, by specializing in sciences, like botany, 

 dendrology, and silviculture, during the first two years, 

 one year is saved. 



A forester to go far in his profession should have 

 a broad education. He should have a good command 

 of English and preferably should be able to read Ger- 

 man and French, since many forest problems have been 

 worked out by the European foresters. He should be 



