Germination of Forest Trees 3 



solve local forestry problems. Finally, there is no reason why 

 forest experiment stations established and maintained by private 

 endowment on the plan of the Desert Botanical Laboratory of 

 the Carnegie Institution would not be able to do a great service 

 along these lines. 



The importance and need of silvicultural investigations 

 scarcely needs comment, yet it might be well at the outset to 

 emphasize certain fundamental concepts. Forests are one of our 

 greatest natural resources. Unlike coal, iron, oil, etc., they can 

 be grown to insure a continuous supply. Forests are not huge 

 zuarehouses of standing logs from which we can take our annual 

 supply ad infinitum; they are not merely aggregations of indi- 

 vidual trees; they are complex communities of living organisms 

 capable of response to environmental factors not unlike human 

 beings. It follows then that in order to replace what we take 

 from the forest, in other words, in order to grow a ucvcrf ailing 

 supply of timber intelligently and economically, we must under- 

 stand these complex living organisms and communities, must 

 study their behavior and requirements and ascertain the condi- 

 tions under which they grow best. This domain is forest ecology 

 or silvics. 



It has been asked, Does forestry in its present stage of develop- 

 ment need this kind of work? Is not this work ahead of the 

 times ? Is it not of too little practical value to demand our atten- 

 tion at present? It will be my purpose to show at this point 

 of my paper that, while this class of work is not absolutely 

 essential to forestry at the present time, it is extremely desirable 

 that it be begun in a scientific manner at the earliest possible 

 moment, in order to put American forestry upon a firm scientific 

 basis. The present status of forestry in the United States em- 

 phasizes the necessity of beginning soon. A brief word as to 

 our present stage of development may be in order. 



Forestry either of an intensive or an extensive nature is being 

 practised in many parts of the country to-day. Both private and 

 public corporations are engaged in one or more of the main phases 

 of it, viz. : silviculture, forest protection, forest administration, 

 or forest utilization. In the field of forest protection gigantic 



