PROBLEMS IN FOREST EDUCATION 



r T , HE Second National Conference on Education in 

 * Forestry, held at New Haven, was well attended 

 both by educators and employers of foresters, and fur- 

 nished much food for thought. Two entire days were 

 devoted to the presentation and discussion of committee 

 reports on the more important problems in forest edu- 

 cation now before the country. Several points stand out 

 rather prominently as a result of these discussions. 



It was the practically unanimous opinion of those pres- 

 ent at the conference that five years of college work are 

 essential for the preparation of a thoroughly trained pro- 

 fessional forester, irrespective of the particular field of 

 forestry in which he may later specialize. It was recog- 

 nized, however, that not all prospective foresters can be 

 induced to spend five years in preparing themselves for 

 their work, and that it is therefore necessary to formu- 

 late courses which will crowd as many as possible of 

 the more fundamental and essential subjects into four 

 years. On the other hand, many foresters from the West 

 Coast, who were prevented by distance from being pres- 

 ent at the conference, expressed themselves by letter as 

 believing that four years is ample time for the preparation 

 of fully trained technical men. This divergence of 

 opinion is perhaps due to differences in local conditions 

 and opportunities for employment in the East and in the 

 West. From a general educational standpoint it seems 

 certain that five years is none too much to give a man a 

 thorough grounding in such cultural subjects as litera- 

 ture, history, economics, and philosophy, in addition to 

 his more strictly professional work, and that in general 

 the best equipped man is one whose professional training 

 follows a four-year course in the liberal arts. With the 

 increasing complexity of civilization there is a constant 

 tendency to turn for leaders to men whose training em- 

 braces more than the narrow field of their own specialty, 

 and there is no reason why this tendency should not 

 apply to forestry as well as to other professions. 



Another point of interest brought out by the conference 

 was the constantly broadening scope of the field of for- 

 estry. Until rather recently there has been a tendency 

 on the part of the forest schools to turn out men trained 

 primarily in the art of forest production, in silviculture 



and forest management. The development of men to 

 harvest the forest crop, and to serve as logging engineers, 

 is now receiving' increasing attention, particularly on the 

 West Coast. The next step will undoubtedly be to pre- 

 pare men who are specialists in forest products for the 

 utilization of the forest crop. Other fields which are 

 gradually being developed include forest entomology, 

 forest pathology, city forestry, forest recreation, forest 

 zoology, etc. Looking at forestry in the broad sense as 

 co-ordinate with agriculture, there is no question but that 

 all of these various branches are a legitimate part of the 

 field and that men to handle them should be prepared by 

 the forest schools. In our judgment there is no ques- 

 tion but that the next ten years will witness a marked 

 development away from the training of all foresters 

 according to a single pattern, and toward the training of 

 specialists in the various branches of the work. 



The desirability of having forestry more generally 

 taught as a cultural and educational subject in the high 

 schools and colleges of the country was strongly empha- 

 sized. There appears to be a growing recognition of 

 the fact that some knowledge of our forest resources and 

 their place in the life of the Nation should be included in 

 the education of the great majority of our citizens. It 

 is to be hoped that some practical means may be found 

 for a marked development along this line. Other sub- 

 jects emphasized included vocational training in forestry 

 for such positions as guards and rangers, the development 

 of extension work with timberland owners and wood- 

 users, and the prosecution of forest research as a regu- 

 lar part of the work of the forest schools of the country. 

 Throughout the discussions the public service aspect of 

 forestry was constantly mentioned and the need for im- 

 parting the public service point of view to the forester 

 while at college accentuated. 



Altogether it is safe to say that those who attended the 

 conference went away with a broader vision which will 

 not only aid them materially in their own work, but will 

 react favorably on the education and general character 

 of future generations of foresters. It is to be hoped 

 that conferences of this sort will become a permanent 

 feature of forest education in this country. 



FOREST CONSERVATION IN TEXAS 



r pHE long fight the Texas Forestry Association has 

 * waged for a more adequate forest policy for this 

 State is beginning to show positive results. Governor 

 Hobby has named 50 prominent men and women as a 

 committee to draft bills, to be presented to the legislature, 

 for dealing with the forest problem, an action that in- 

 sures the careful attention of the next legislature to this 

 important matter. 



The appointment of this committee signalizes the begin- 

 ning of a new era of forest preservation and renewal in 

 the State. The legislature doubtless will not be able to 

 accomplish everything that is desired or necessary at this 



time, but a long forward step is certain to be taken, which 

 will relieve Texas of the menace of an early timber 

 shortage. 



Lack of a constructive forest policy is threatening the 

 destruction of the magnificent long-leaf, short-leaf and 

 loblolly pine forests of East Texas. At the present rate 

 of annual lumber cut, amounting to about 1.500,000,000 

 feet, by far the larger part of the virgin timber will have 

 disappeared in ten to fifteen years unless an efficient and 

 liberal reforestation policy is adopted. Originally there 

 were 30,000 square miles of short-leaf pine in Texas, 

 7,000 square miles of loblolly and 5,000 square miles of 



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