LUMBERMEN SHOULD PRACTICE FORESTRY 129 



a class, our lumbermen are no more selfish or 

 greedy than men in many other branches of busi- 

 ness. They have worked under peculiar condi- 

 tions in the United States. Our population was 

 small as compared with our vast forest resources. 

 Conditions imposed in France and Germany, 

 where the population is so dense that more con- 

 servative systems of lumbering are generally 

 practiced, were not always applicable in this 

 country. Furthermore, our lumbermen have 

 known little about scientific forestry. This 

 science is comparatively new in America. All our 

 forestry schools are still in the early stages of 

 their development. As lumbermen learn more 

 about the value of modern forestry they gradual- 

 ly are coming to practice its principles. 



The early lumbermen often made mistakes in 

 estimating the timber yields of the forests. They 

 also neglected to provide for the future produc- 

 tion of the woodlands after the virgin timber was 

 removed. Those who followed in their steps have 

 learned by these errors what mistakes to avoid. 

 Our lumbermen lead the world in skill and inge- 

 nuity. They have worked out most efficient meth- 

 ods of felling and logging the trees. Many foreign 

 countries have long practiced forestry and lum- 



