62 



NATURE 



[November io, 19 io 



side is terraced into beds, which contain some 1800 different 

 species of trees, shrubs, perennials, and annuals of various 

 kinds, both indi{«enous and exotic. This garden serves as 

 a forestry and botanical garden, and is an exceptionally 

 fine one, covering an area of about 18 hectares. There is 

 a forest nursery in the garden managed on most up-to-date 

 lines. 



The school demonstration forests adjoin the forest 

 garden, and are kept up entirely for educational and 

 demonstration purposes. They are situated in a hilly area 

 presenting ever-varying conditions, aspects, and variations 

 in soil, thus allowing of a variety of object-lessons with 

 different species and mixtures being presented to the 

 student. For example, these woods contain spruce and 

 beech with birch in mixture ; spruce and silver fir, or the 

 two latter with birch. Or again, there are woods 

 of spruce, beech, Scotch pine, silver fir, larch, maple, 

 birch with maple and various mixtures, ash (pure, about 

 thirty years old), alder (in wet valleys), oak, and a little 

 yEsculus. There are some most interesting mixtures to be 

 seen doing remarkably well, and forming an ideal of what 

 demonstration woods should be. The steep slopes of the 

 hill-sides are worked under different sylvicultural systems 

 to the area of tableland above, where the woods are clear- 

 cut and naturally regenerated or sown or planted. Exotics 

 are being largely introduced, and thousands of plants are 

 sent out annually from the forest garden and nursery in 

 the demonstration area into the forests all over Saxony. 

 Fencing of young planted areas and other ways of protect- 

 ing young plants from deer, &c., are to be seen in practice 

 in the woods. Time will not permit of my dwelling upon 

 this excellent educational demonstration area ; but from 

 his earliest course in the lecture-room the student is taken 

 out week by week into the forest garden or woods, and 

 with his own hands learns how to trench, sow, plant, thin, 

 and fell and measure up his woods ; is taught to dis- 

 tinguish the different species of tree, and how they differ 

 in their requirements of soil, light, moisture, &c. ; is shown 

 on what the foundations of sylviculture depend ; and is 

 gradually led, step by step and stage by stage, to under- 

 stand and grasp both the theory and practice of the various 

 branches of the lore of the woods comprised in forestry. 



I should like to give another instance of this educational 

 forest. The Imperial Institute of Forestry at St. Peters- 

 burg is probably the largest forestry college in Europe. 

 The students number 500, all training for the controlling 

 staff. In addition, there are thirty-three lower-grade 

 schools containing fifteen students apiece, from which the 

 ranks of the forest rangers and upper guards are filled. 

 Attached to the institute at St. Petersburg are two educa- 

 tional forests, the one 14 versts (9 miles) from the capital, 

 the other, and larger, 60 versts (40 miles) away. At each 

 of them buildings are maintained for housing the professors 

 and students during their visits. Portions of every summer 

 are spent by the students in these woods occupied in prac- 

 tical work. The woods are entirely under the manage- 

 ment of the director of the college, as is the case at 

 Tharandt, and are managed on similar lines, and solely 

 for demonstration purposes. The directors at both these 

 places, as also the forestry professors (and this applies to 

 many of the Continental colleges), are all practical men 

 who have themselves been through the mill of executive 

 work, have themselves held charge of large areas of woods 

 worked entirely on a commercial basis, and are therefore 

 in a position to see that the instruction given to the 

 students is such as will return full value to the State or 

 proprietor who employs the men leaving their institutions. 



This is a point which I think worthy of the most serious 

 consideration in this country. Too great stress cannot be 

 laid on what are, after all, actual facts. The excellent 

 and remunerative results of forestry in Europe, which we 

 also wish to arrive at in the British Isles, are solely the 

 result of the study of higher forestry both in the woods 

 and in the laboratory. Practical foresters can only be 

 successful in proportion to the knowledge they themselves 

 possess or which is imparted to them by those who know. 

 We can learn from other countries a great deal, but the 

 application of what we learn must depend on ourselves 

 and must be carried out by ourselves. 



We have now seen what the Continental forestry colleges 

 consider the essentials to the proper tuition of forestry as 

 a science, and have shown how the student is gradually 



NO. 2 141, VOL. 85] 



led, not only to assimilate the theoretical portions of th- 

 study in the lecture-room, but to take with him what he 

 has absorbed there and apply it practically in the woods. 

 We have seen that these practical object-lessons must 

 begin with the student's first lectures, that he must be 

 taken into the woods at the beginning and be shown, step 

 by step, that what he is being told in the lecture-room is 

 not so much matter to be studied for an examination and- 

 to be subsequently forgotten when his text-books and note- 

 books are thrown aside after the " pass " has been gained. 

 It has been said of the forester that he is always at school, 

 from the moment he first enters the lecture-room to com- 

 mence his first course to the end of his life ; and those 

 of us who are foresters know this to be true. Our text- 

 books and lecture notes remain our trusted friends to the 

 end, and as we grow older and have had a more extensive 

 practice and experience in forestry we grow more diffident 

 about expressing definite opinions and laying down the 

 law on the subject of the life-histories of our friends the 

 trees. For the tree is very much like the human being. 

 He has his wants and requirements, his fancies for par- 

 ticular aspects and localities, for certain soils and degrees 

 of light, moisture, heat, and shade. 



.Ml these the forester must know and. study, and even, 

 then his fastidious friend will often discover something he 

 dislikes, and refuses to grow. The forester has to set to- 

 work to find out what this something is, and meanwhile 

 all he has done is a failure — :a failure, that is, unless he 

 is a thoroughly trained scientific man. As such he will 

 turn his failures to account, for he will place them on 

 record so that he and others like him may set to work 

 to get at the reasons for the failure of a crop which, so 

 far as human forethought was capable of doing, had been 

 given every chance. How much sound practical know- 

 ledge and observations have been lost to the foresters all 

 over the world by this regrettable neglect to place upon 

 record their failures. Almost more valuable are they to 

 record than the successes ; to the forester far more valu- 

 able. This is one of the spots upon which the scientific 

 forester can place a finger in the British Isles. Had one 

 a full, or even a partial, record of all the failures of the 

 past, how much simpler would be the task at present 

 facing the nation of getting its forestry house in order. 



Scotland is more favourablv situated and in a better, 

 position as regards woods of a high educational value 

 than any other portion of the British Isles for undertaking 

 this necessary research work. There are woods in Scot- 

 land, many of them known by repute, others less well 

 known, in which the student on his practical course can 

 learn a great deal and in which work of high importance 

 to afforestation in ihe British Isles can be carried on. 

 Edinburgh is very favourably situated for participating in 

 this pioneer work, and has every intention of taking her 

 share in it. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE. 



Cambridge. — To-day, November ip. Graces will be offered 

 to the Senate proposing that the offer of the Worshipful 

 Company of Drapers to erect a new physiological labora- 

 tory at Cambridge be gratefully accepted, subject to the 

 conditions set forth in the letter, dated February 11, 1910, 

 from the clerk to the company ; that a syndicate be 

 appointed to discuss details with the company ; and that the 

 Vice-Chancellor be authorised to convey to the court of 

 assistants of the company the grateful thanks of the 

 university for their munificent benefaction. Further, that 

 the Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Mason, Master of Pembroke 

 College; Mr. Shiplev, Master of Christ's College; Dr. 

 Langlev, professor of" physiology ; Dr. W. M. Fletcher, and 

 K. Lucas, of Trinity Colletje, be the syndicate appointed 

 under the above-mentioned Grace. 



Applications for the tenure of the Benn W. Levy student- 

 ship in bio-chemistry should be sent to Mr. F. G. Hopkins, 

 Trinity College, on or before Wednesday. November 30. 

 iqio. Applicants should state their university standing and 

 previous scientific experience, mentioning if they are m 

 receipt of any other endowment for research. The student- 

 ship is open' to members of the University of Cambridge 

 who have been admitted to a degree, or to members of 



