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Yearbook of Agriculture 1949 



ing. Not infrequently, through 4-H 

 Club work, parents have been induced 

 to improve their farm program. 



In Nebraska, material has been pre- 

 pared to make it possible for youngsters 

 to carry 4-H forestry projects for 3 

 years. The first year, club members 

 plant and care for trees and shrubs on 

 the farm, besides studying five aspects 

 of forestry or allied problems. The 

 second and third years, the tree-plant- 

 ing and tree-study features are con- 

 tinued on an advanced basis, five new 

 problems being added each year. 



Nebraska once had about 10 percent 

 of the 4 H forestry club enrollment of 

 the Nation. Each club was under the 

 direction of a volunteer leader, who 

 was trained by the county agricultural 

 agent, the State 4-H Club leaders, and 

 the State extension forester. 



Massachusetts has tree study the first 

 year, tree planting the second year, and 

 wood-lot practices the third year. 



Often a first-year project includes 

 tree identification or appreciation, and 

 a club member is expected to collect, 

 identify, and mount samples from 20 

 to 30 different tree species. Where farm 

 woodlands are available, a 4-H wood- 

 land-management project is usually 

 listed for a year's work and includes 

 timber estimating, making a manage- 

 ment plan for the area, and construct- 

 ing firebreaks for protection. 



The American Forest Products In- 

 dustries, Inc., a group of several forest 

 industries, has made available awards 

 for outstanding achievement in 4-H 

 forestry projects. Medals are offered 

 winners in each State; the winner in 

 each of four regions is awarded a trip 

 to the National 4-H Club Congress 

 and a college scholarship of $200. 



AMONG OTHER AGENCIES that con- 

 duct educational activities is the 

 Forest Service, which reports an in- 

 creasing interest in forest conservation 

 among educators. From their analysis 

 of educators' problems and requests for 

 information, supplementary reading 

 materials, and films, men in the Forest 

 Service find a need for three primary 



approaches : The training of teachers, 

 both in-service and pre-service, in 

 forest-conservation problems and the 

 practices and methods of teaching 

 them; the inclusion of forest conserva- 

 tion in established courses and the de- 

 velopment of forest-conservation units ; 

 improved and simplified textbook ma- 

 terials and supplementary teaching 

 aids, written and audio-visual. 



Besides helping teachers, school 

 supervisors, and administrators, the 

 Forest Service answers many requests 

 for assistance from organizations, 

 agencies, and associations that co- 

 operate with schools to encourage the 

 study of conservation. 



An example is the American Junior 

 Red Cross, which carries on its pro- 

 grams through the schools. Because 

 forest-fire disasters have been among 

 the worst in which the Red Cross has 

 carried on relief activities, the organi- 

 zation, through the junior group, co- 

 operates in teaching principles of 

 forest-fire prevention in schools. Its 

 interest extends to forest conservation 

 in general, however, because well- 

 managed forests protect watersheds 

 and thus help reduce the danger of 

 floods. The American Junior Red 

 Cross has introduced the study of 

 forest conservation into the curriculum 

 of its summer training centers, where 

 outstanding high-school boys and girls 

 are instructed in the many phases of 

 good citizenship. 



The American Forestry Association, 

 the Charles Lathrop Pack Forestry 

 Foundation, and the American Tree 

 Association are national organizations 

 dedicated to advancing the better use 

 of American forests. 



Trees for Tomorrow, an organiza- 

 tion supported by a group of pulp and 

 paper mills in northern Wisconsin, as- 

 sists schools in preparing conservation 

 programs, distributing forest-planting 

 stock, and teaching proper planting 

 methods. It also helps small landown- 

 ers to make forest-management plans, 

 and provides forestry scholarships. The 

 Wisconsin Department of Public In- 

 struction and the Forest Service co- 



