8 



STUDY IN EUROPE FOR AMERICAN FOREST STUDENTS. 



who has not definitely made up his mind 

 to take up forestry as a profession, although 

 of course no pledge to that effect is re- 

 quired. 



In my judgment the best course for the 

 future forester to pursue, so far as his sys- 

 tematic training is concerned, is first, a 

 full course at a university during which 

 he should acquire some knowledge of 

 the auxiliary subjects necessary in for- 

 estry; second, at a forest school, prefer- 

 ably where practical work in the woods 

 goes hand in hand with theoretical instruc- 

 tion ; and third, a year abroad. The latter 

 is of the greatest value, because in this 

 country forestry is too young to show the 

 effect of silvicultural treatment on the 

 various kinds of forests ; yet it must be re- 

 membered that much of what is learned 



abroad must be unlearned later. This 

 experience in a region where forestry is of 

 old date is, in my judgment, a most essen- 

 tial portion of a forester's education. It 

 goes without saying that vacations, as far 

 as possible, should be spent in the woods. 

 Forestry on its executive side is closer 

 to lumbering than any other calling, and 

 a good knowledge of the lumberman's 

 methods is an essential part of a forester's 

 education. But it must not be forgotten 

 that it offers a field for pure research of 

 the widest and most attractive character 

 for those who are inclined and can afford 

 to occupy it. It is so broad a subject that 

 as yet we do not quite know what its de- 

 velopment and its subdivisions are going 

 to be. 



GlFFORD PlNCHOT. 



STUDY IN EUROPE FOR AMERICAN FOREST STUDENTS. 



BY OVERTON W. PRICE. 

 Superintendent of Working Plans, Bureau of Forestry. 



A | AHE training necessary for an Amer- 

 ican forester has not yet been fixed 

 by hard and fast lines. The neces- 

 sity, however, for a man to map out his 

 course and to supply his deficiencies largely 

 on his own responsibility has disappeared 

 with the establishment of American forest 

 schools. They have already done much 

 to set a high standard for technical train- 

 ing and thereby to hasten greatly the 

 sound development of forestry in this 

 country. With the creation of opportu- 

 nities for systematic study at home, it is 

 natural for the forest student to jump to 

 the comfortable conclusion that study 

 abroad is no longer essential. He soon 

 becomes aware also of the familiar fact 

 that European forest methods can rarely 

 be applied without modification here, and 

 this may seem to him to remove all prac- 

 tical advantage from studying them on the 

 ground. He sees, too, that there are now 

 fewer trained men in this country to sup- 

 ply the need for foresters than there are 

 likely to be in the future, and he naturally 



wants to get his start with as little loss of 

 time as possible. 



It is true that there are few r European 

 forest methods which we can use entirely 

 without modification. It is also true that 

 European methods have been rich in sug- 

 gestion in the application of practical for- 

 estry to American forests. The American 

 forest student who puts aside a chance to 

 see forestry in Europe makes the same 

 sort of mistake that a medical student 

 would be guilty of, who ignored an oppor- 

 tunity to walk the best hospitals. The 

 work which falls to a forester here requires 

 of him a more comprehensive grasp of his 

 profession than is needed where forestry 

 is already established upon a firm footing. 

 In Europe, forest management, in order 

 to be successful, has only to follow those 

 methods which have been proved advis- 

 able. In this country, the forester must 

 depend for the most part upon his own 

 ability to make the most of forest problems. 

 And since he has but few patterns to fol- 

 low at home, it would seem that the more 



