" FORESTRY IN THE UNITED STATES " 



DR. Henry Sturgis Drinker, Presi- 

 dent of Lehigh University, and 

 President of the American For- 

 estry Association, speaking on the For- 

 estry movement in the United States, 

 said in part : 



Foresters and the friends of forestry 

 in your sister States are noting with 

 great interest, the discussion in New 

 York looking to a revision of the policy 

 adopted in the past of denying to New 

 York the benefit in the management of 

 the State's woodlands of the principles 

 of forest culture, viz : cutting and re- 

 production, that have been generally ap- 

 proved in Europe and America as con- 

 ducive to the economic and profitable 

 management of forest lands. 



Local conditions may have made it 

 necessary or advisable to deny to your 

 State Forest Lands the exercise of the 

 principles of forestry in the interest 

 of retaining your forests for a time in 

 a wholly wild condition as a refuge for 

 game and a wilderness home for the 

 man who would for a time fly from 

 civilization, but surely with forests 

 aggregating over 1,600,000 acres in 

 New York State, by far the largest 

 State Forest Reserve of any State, the 

 time must soon come when the State 

 Constitutional prohibition against all 

 cutting shall be amended, and these 

 great Forest Reserves shall be handled 

 as the National Reserves are so admir- 

 ably handled, with the view to the best 

 care and conservation of your wood- 

 lands for the benefit of the people at 

 large of the State and the State's indus- 

 trial interests. 



The Forestry movement in the United 

 States, originating with the early work 

 of Dr. J. T. Rothrock in Pennsylvania 

 and of Dr. B. E. Fernow in New York 

 and elsewhere as pioneers, has grown 

 and spread to the dimensions of a great 

 national work. The earliest organiza- 

 tions for its study and support were the 

 American Forestry Association and the 

 Pennsylvania Forestry Association. 

 There was also an early Colorado Asso- 

 ciation. The Pennsylvania Association 



started in 1886, has, continually since 

 that date, .published and circulated its 

 magazine, Forest Leaves. The exact 

 date of organization of the American 

 Forestry Association is involved in 

 some uncertainty, but it appears to 

 somewhat antedate the Pennsylvania 

 Association, and it has now a large and 

 nation-wide roll of members and 

 through its meetings, publications and 

 its magazine, American Forestry, is do- 

 ing good work for the cause. 



The above initial movements have so 

 spread that the Forestry organizations 

 and the various Forestry associations in 

 the United States today cover 

 33 States having Forestry departments. 

 17 States having Conservation Commis- 

 sions and similar organizations. 

 2 National Conservation organiza- 

 tions. 



2 National Forestry organizations. 

 23 State and local Forestry organiza- 

 tions. 

 42 Conservation, timber protective and 



allied associations. 

 And there are in operation 

 23 Schools with courses leading to a de- 

 gree in Forestry. 

 ii Schools with courses covering one 



or more years in Forestry. 

 42 Schools with short courses in For- 

 estry. 



This is the machinery now in exist- 

 ence and rapidly enlarging, for the 

 study and care of our forest interests. 

 Now, what in fact, do those interests 

 comprise, succinctly stated. 



The forests of the United States at 

 this date, 1914, cover 850,000,000 acres, 

 National, State and private, divided as 

 follows : 



295,000,000 acres corporations and in- 

 dividuals. 



140,000,000 acres National forests. 

 100,000,000 acres farm wood lots. 

 10,000,000 acres Indian Reservations. 



3,246,000 acres State forests. 



2,000,000 acres National parks. 



The lumber industry ranks first in 

 number of wage-earners and third in 

 value of products in our country. Ac- 



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