EDITORIAL 



167 



perimentation, patient observation of forests of all kinds 

 in short, "forest research" on a nation-wide scale. 



Forest research occupies a prominent place in the 

 forest policy recommended by the recent National Agri- 

 cultural Conference. It occupies an equally prominent 

 place in the resolutions passed at the recent annual meet- 

 ing of the American Forestry Association. 



Says the Agricultural Conference : 



"Research in forestry has already produced results 

 of incalculable value to the people of the United States 

 and is essential for future progress. Therefore, research 

 in methods of maintaining and increasing the produc- 

 tivity of forest lands and in methods of utilizing forest 

 products should be promoted in every practicable way." 



The resolution of the Association points out that "the 

 establishment of an effective practice of forestry in this 

 country depends upon a basic knowledge of the life and 

 growth of our trees and the characteristics of their 

 products," and that "both scientific research in the lab- 

 oratory and field experimentation and demonstration" 

 are needed to gain this knowledge. The Association 

 therefore urges upon Congress a better financial support 

 of forest experiment stations and of the Forest Products 

 Laboratory at Madison, Wisconsin. 



The protection of forests from fire has been much 

 emphasized in the last two or three years as a part of our 

 national program of forestry. Fire protection is highly 

 necessary, but it is not all of forestry any more than 

 killing army worms and chinch-bugs is all of agriculture. 

 Forestry is more than mere protection ; it implies the 

 growing of the best possible crop of timber both in 

 quantity and in quality. It means much more than letting 



nature run wild ; it means a constant tending of the forest 

 throughout its life. The difference between a wild forest 

 and a cultivated forest is like the difference between a 

 wild plum thicket and an orchard. 



What has forest research to do with all this? Simply 

 this : Forestry is coming sooner in this country than most 

 people believe. But who knows how to practice forestry? 

 Outside of the National Forests, a few state forests, and 

 a few forest schools, there is no body of knowledge of 

 even elementary forestry. For vast areas of forest land, 

 our ignorance of what to do to make them grow really 

 good crops of timber is profound. Some of these days 

 the nation will establish a national program of forestry, 

 and then we shall suddenly find that laws will not make 

 forests grow and we shall be sadly lacking in the know- 

 edge of how to make them grow. 



Forest experiment stations should be established imme- 

 diately in all the chief forest regions to work out these 

 main problems of reforestation and forest management. 

 They will cost this rich and powerful country only half 

 a million dollars a year an insignificant sum to make us 

 leady for the day when we shall begin to grow timber 

 on a national scale. 



We urge the members of this Association to use their 

 influence not only to help these bills through Congress, 

 but to spread the idea of forest experiment stations far 

 and wide, through newspapers, clubs, labor unions, 

 chambers of commerce, schools and the like. Here is a 

 big, concrete job in forestry worth any man's best efforts. 

 Forestry must not remain in the stage of glittering gener- 

 alities. There has been plenty of talk ; let us now get 

 down to hard work on specific jobs. 



WILL BUSINESS MEN HEED THE FOREST SITUATION? 



A LONG with coal and transportation, forests are first 

 ^^ essentials to the prosperity of American business. 

 As evidenced by the experience of 1920, an acute wood 

 shortage pinches first the wood-using industries. Its 

 effects then spread rapidly into related industries which 

 use raw wood or forest products in more limited amounts. 

 Soon business generally is disrupted and thrown into 

 confusion. The coal mines are crippled by lack of mine 

 timbers. The railroads are crippled by lack of railroad 

 ties. Newspapers suspend publication or reduce their 

 editions, and so on. It is a blood-letting malady which 

 overtakes business in diverse and insidious ways. 



The forest problem is thus a vital problem for Ameri- 

 can industry. It calls for the best and most enlightened 

 thought which the business men of the country can 

 bring to bear upon it. It must be worked out in a prac- 

 ticable and businesslike way and on the principle that 

 good business is good only when it promotes the public 

 welfare. 



It is encouraging that the business men of the coun- 

 try have already begun to take note of our forest situa- 

 tion. American Forestry awaits with keen interest the 

 report soon to be made by the Forestry Committee of the 

 Chamber of Commerce of the United States. Mr. David 



L. Goodwillie, a box manufacturer of Chicago, is chair- 

 man of this committee and has associated with him men 

 representative of various lines of American industry. 



This committee represents the greatest organization of 

 business men of this country. It has spent many weeks 

 investigating various conditions throughout the United 

 States. It has held public hearings from New York 

 to California. Lumbermen, wood users, foresters, law- 

 yers, tax experts and economists have been heard. It 

 has had the benefit of information gathered through 

 years of effort by the Federal and State governments. 

 It has had ample opportunity to view all important 

 angles of the situation and to arrive at definite conclu- 

 sions. 



No greater opportunity ever existed to acquaint the 

 business men of the country with the true state of our 

 forest affairs. The character of the committee's report 

 will largely determine its effectiveness. If the commit- 

 tee finds the situation to be deserving of consideration 

 by the business men and they can hardly find other- 

 wise and makes definite, clear-cut suggestions of reme- 

 dial action, the subject will be brought to the attention 

 of the Chamber's 800,000 members. This in itself would 

 be of tremendous educational value. 



