FOREST POLICY. 



3 



as would subserve the interests of the commonweal. Where, 

 and as long as, the forests are owned privately, like farms and 

 mines, forestry is and must be a private business, like farming 

 and mining. 



Looking at forestiy from a broader point of view, it might be 

 well to distinguish between constructive forestry, destructive for- 

 estry and conservative forestry. 



Constructive forestry is that forestry which increases the as- 

 sets at hand in the woods. 



Destructive forestry is that forestry which decreases the as- 

 sets at hand in the woods. 



Conservative forestry is that forestry which retains the assets 

 at hand in the woods. 



The term "assets" might ^e understood either as a given 

 quantity of wood or timber, or else as a given amount of dollars 

 and cents invested in the woods. 



Whether or not forestry as practised by a given owner is good 

 or bad forestry, that is a matter for discussion and usually a 

 matter of personal opinion. Many are the cases abroad and in 

 this country, in which destructive forestry is superior to conser- 

 vative forestry, even from the stand-point of the commonweal. 



Forestry of a truly conservative type, id est forestry retaining 

 exactly the original assets is not found anywhere in the world. 



Forestry as practised on the holdings of the various German 

 states has been constructive forestry. 



It might be wise to define forestry somewhat more broadly 

 than has been done heretofore: "Forestry comprises any and 

 all activity the object of which is woodland." This definition 

 covers prairieplanting, lumbering, private forestry, government 

 forestry, "good" forestry and "bad" forestry. 



Like jurisprudence, engineering, and agriculture, forestry is 

 both science and practice. 



The science of forestry is based on a large number of elemen- 

 tary sciences, which might be arranged, together with forestry^, 

 in the following schedule: 



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