EDITORIAL 



THE PRESIDENCY OF THE AMERICAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION 



^^=^HE appointment as ambassador to Russia of the Hon. Curtis Guild 

 L) deprived the American Forestry Association of a president of distin- 

 ^^"^ guished public service, who brought to this office enthusiasm and a 

 strong belief in the cause which had developed by official contact during six 

 years of service as lieutenant governor and governor of Massachusetts while 

 that state was shaping a constructive forest policy. The directors of the asso- 

 ciation found a satisfactory solution of the problem presented by his retire- 

 ment when they elected Robert Perkins Bass, governor of New Hampshire, to 

 the association's presidency. Governor Bass is no tyro in the field of forestry, 

 for he has worked at its problems on his own i)roperty, and he made an 

 admirable record for public service as a member and as president of the 

 New Hampshire Forestry Commission. 



Governor Bass has another year to serve as governor of New Hampshire, 

 and as there are many and grave questions of state to be worked out and his 

 first duty is to the state, he can hardly be expected to engage in any very 

 active service for the association during that period, but there can be no 

 doubt that his judgment and his personality will be an active force behind the 

 policies of the governing board from this time as long as he holds the office. 



A FOREST SCHOOL FOR LANDOWNERS 



^^=^HE forest administration of Vermont is showing many examples of 

 C^ practical ideas in state work. One of the most recent is the school of 

 ^^^ ten days' duration, held at the Downer state forest in August. The state 

 forest service saw that there was provision at numerous institutions for the 

 education of foresters of all grades, but that there was a real need of an 

 opportunity for the landowner, the non-professional, to acquire some of the 

 underlying principles of practical forestry in the limited time which can be 

 spared by busy men. 



How little these principles are understood by most woodland owners we 

 all know, and this ignorance is one of the reasons for slow progress in forestry. 

 In our eastern states much depends upon the attitude of the farmers and other 

 small landowners, their intelligent application of the fundamentals of forestry 

 on their own holdings, and their view as citizens of forestry as a question of 

 public economics. 



The making of a professional forester is a long educational process, like 

 that of preparing a man for any highly specialized calling; but there are 

 broad principles which every citizen should know, and simple facts important 

 to every owner of woodland, which can be taught by competent teachers in a 

 short period of concentrated work, with the illustrative material at hand. It 

 is this, as we understand it, that the Vermont summer school aims to accom- 

 plish. It strengthens its appeal to those whom it wishes to reach by includin*' 

 in its instruction the tree problems of the horticulturist. "^ ** 



This is a good move for the general advancement of forestry ideas. To 

 make them of full service such schools should be largely attended by the 



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