THE NEW START 



The Forestry School at Michigan, 

 your Alma Mater, is celebrating the 

 beginning of a new era. The experi- 

 mental stage is over; we are no 

 longer on probation; it is a school of 

 forestry now, a real live affair, prop- 

 erly stocked and on a permanent 

 base; a thing to stay, to work, to win. 



Nine years ago Roth and Davis 

 started the course in forestry. Two 

 calipers and a wooden-board Faust- 

 jnan were the equipment, and oh! 

 how roomy seemed No. 4 in Wetst 

 Hall, when the foresters were in ses- 

 sion. 



But in spite of small equipment and 

 inadequate instruction, there was 

 growth as in the herds of Jaco'b. But 

 as in his case, Lea was substituted 

 and the trick repeated. More than 

 once we began the school year with 

 little more than big classes and a 

 bunch of promises. The bigger the 

 classes, the worse the bluff, the more 

 painful the situation. It could not go 

 on; men dropped out, and teachers 

 dropped out; reorganization was ab- 

 solutely necessary. The school must 

 cut down to where it could do the 

 work, or else the school must grow 

 to meet the requirements and do its 

 work. 



All this is past now. The (school 

 begins its tenth year with a general 

 rejoicing. No longer any "increases 

 in per cent.," no more promises, no 

 more excuses. 



President Hutchins and the Board 

 of Regents have definitely decided 

 that the School of Forestry at the 

 University is here to stay, that it is 

 to grow in efficiency and usefulness 

 to fully meet the demand for instruc- 

 tion in quantity and quality. 



For the first time the students are 

 met by a faculty, adequate in num- 

 ber, in preparation and experience to 

 give the students the help which they 

 have a right to expect in any institu- 

 tion which pretends to teach fores- 

 try. Roth and Davis (a 'bontanist 

 and not a forester at all) 1903-'0>5; 

 Roth and Mulford, with no help 

 whatever, 1905-'08; today it is Roth, 

 Sponsler, Lovejoy, Young, and Pot- 

 tinger, besides four assistants, each 



with a goodly amount of the experi- 

 ence of life, besides instruction in 

 school and actual trial in the woods. 



in equipment, too, it is no longer 

 a matter of a caliper or two, but the 

 University is ready to supply every- 

 thing that is needed. The budget for 

 this item alone is today almost as 

 great as the entire budget for the 

 school in its beginning. The most 

 important addition of the year is a 

 nursery ground, opposite >Ferry Field, 

 within 15 minutes' walk of the Cam- 

 pus, which is now being fenced and 

 put in shape for spring work. 



In the matter of housing, we fare 

 better than most departments, even 

 though this is but temporary and 

 plants for more adequate quarters are 

 agreed upon. 



In keeping with these changes, the 

 curriculum has been materially 

 changed for the better, and the next 

 announcement will show that for the 

 first time the simple and modest plan 

 of the "experiment stage" could be 

 given up, additional courses offered, 

 and the existing ones put on a basis 

 in keeping with the subject. 



Surveying is to be 16 hours "plus" 

 and half of this in summer camp. 

 Silviculture is more than doubled; 

 Utilization increased 50 per cent; 

 and a number of special courses add- 

 ed, especially in Protection, Forest 

 Improvement and Management. In 

 the past the student grew "grayr" 

 waiting before he could get into the 

 forestry counse. From now on every- 

 body gets forestry from the first year 

 to the end. Course One will go back 

 to second year, and Silviculture and 

 Mensuration begin in the third year. 



But all of these changes merely in- 

 dicate the real progress, the real 'be- 

 ginning of Michigan Forest School. 

 They are all but the visible sign of a 

 new spirit which has entered the old 

 halls; a spirit of work and of study, 

 a spirit of youth and enterprise, a 

 spirit which feels bound to "start 

 sumpin," as Lovejoy has it, one of in- 

 quiry and enthusiasm. And anyone 

 who sees Prof. Roth these day, 

 marching up to 407 Enginering 

 Building, or sees the crowd listening 



