Opening for Foresters 15 



acres; that the greater part is culled, cut and burned over; that even 

 today about eigty million people, with a most extraordinary and con- 

 stantly increasing consumption of wooi, depend upon a judicious use 

 of what there is left of the old forests on these woodlands, and that 

 the most diligent care of the woods will be -necessary |to guard against 

 a serious disturbance in our economic relations, which probably can 

 not be avoided entirely. 



It will require the trained heads and hands of several thousand 

 good men to start the work of improving our woods, and it will require 

 the continuous effort for all time of many thousand more to continue 

 the work successfully. 



Fortunately it may be said that a general awakening to the needs 

 of better treatment of woodlands has taken place. All classes of 

 people are beginning to realize a few simple and important truths: 

 That not all land is plow land; that it is poor business to destroy a 

 forest and throw away the land when with a little care it might be 

 logged and still a valuable forest be left for future use; that it is 

 wasteful to leave the large areas (in the aggregate) of non-agricultural 

 lands in a non-productive waste-land condition. 



As a consequence of this awakening, guided and promoted espec- 

 ially by the intelligent and energetic efforts of the United States De- 

 partment of Agriculture in its Forest Service, hundreds of owners of 

 woodlands have of late called for the advice and assistance of men 

 trained in the right use and care of woods. That thfs demand for 

 help will increase is certain, and it is reasonable even to believe that 

 quite a rapid increase of this demand may be looked for. As it is, 

 there are hundreds of estates now in charge of untrained men, who 

 are unable to provide more than mere patrol service, while the service 

 of a trained man would not cost any more and would certainly yield 

 larger returns. 



Besides the owners of estates whose lands are held for various 

 reasons, there are numerous parties engaged in dealing in timber land 

 for the purposes of direct exploitation (lumbering) or for speculation, 

 who employ well-paid men as "timber-lookers," "estimators," or 

 "cruisers," to perform the work of timber^or forest survey, usually 

 with a view to determining the present market value of the woods. 

 That a trained man who sees not only the merchantable stem but also 

 appreciates and is able to report intelligently all features which make 

 up the forest and its wealth, would be more useful than the untrained 



