420 TJniUd States. 



tion useful for the education of the public, of wood con- 

 sumers, and timberland owners, as its limited appro- 

 priations permitted, undertaking also some scientific 

 investigations, especially in the line of timber physics. 

 ^ Soon after, in July, 1898, when the writer resigned 

 his position as Chief of the Division of Forestry, to or- 

 ganize the first professional forest school, the New 

 York State College of Forestry, Mr. Gifford Pinchot, 

 took charge of the Division. Young, ambitious, ag- 

 gressive, with some knowledge of forestry acquired in 

 Europe and with infiuential connections and a large for- 

 tune, he easily secured the first need for effective sowing 

 yyon the well-plowed field before him appropriations. 

 Whatever had been feebly begun could be broadly, some- 

 times lavishly, extended, and the new idea of making 

 "working plans" for private timberland owners could be 

 developed a great educational work, which, earlier, 

 when even co-operation with State institutions was con- 

 sidered a questionable proposition, would have been 

 turned down as too paternal. 



/ In five years the appropriations had increased ten- 

 ^fold, to over $250,000; and in the first decade of the 

 new regime, around $3,000,000 had been spent on for- 

 estry investigations, not counting expenditures on for- 

 est reservation account. 



A further strong support came into the field, when 

 Mr. Eoosevelt became President of the United States, 

 in 1901, and unreservedly threw his over-powering in- 

 fluence into the balance, to advance forest policies. 



Owing to his interest, the withdrawal of public tim- 

 berlands from entry proceeded at a rapid rate : by 1902, 

 the reservations had grown to 65 million acres ; in 1905, 



