GREAT TEACHER OF FORESTRY RESIGNS 



211 



Park," a most useful book. In addition he continued 

 the publication of the Quarterly, acted as editor for the 

 Journal, became a member of the Conservation Commis- 

 sion of Canada, in which capacity he, with his colleagues, 

 White and Howe, conducted some very important field 

 studies, notably the "Forest Survey of Nova Scotia," and 

 the "Survey of the Trent Watershed," both published 

 in book form by the Commission. 



Fernow, as few men have ever done, blazed trails 

 in the wilderness ; he did his work well, the trails are 

 now traveled by many, the wilderness is opening up. 

 New conditions of supply and demand, of industry and 

 transportation ; conditions long foreseen and foretold 

 by the master, are now extending the trails, and expand- 

 ing them into broad highways, where travel is com- 

 fortable and work does not require the self-sacrifice and 

 special abilities of the pioneer; he led the way in forest 

 education of our people and our foresters ; he laid plans 

 and began the great task of gathering the information on 

 which forestry in North America must base its work ; he 

 secured the first important forest legislation for the nation 

 and directed most of the pioneer legislation in our states ; 

 he gave us a forestry journal ranking with the best; he 

 planted in the New World the right ideals without which 

 forestry will never succeed in any country. 



To know Fernow, the man, one must have had 

 the privilege of seeing him in his home, on trips in the 

 woods, on water, on the ice, with his family and friends ; 

 must have walked with him in the forest; or climbed 

 Mt. Lafayette ; have seen him in a company of scientific 

 men, whether mining engineers or entomologists; have 

 heard him among the foresters and economists of the 

 world gathered at the international congress at Brussels ; 

 have heard him discuss philosophy with Dr. Ward, and 

 more than all, have seen him seated at his piano, playing, 

 enraptured, far away in another, gentler world. 



For having enjoyed this privilege for years, the writer 

 expresses his gratitude to his wise friend and patient 

 teacher. 



What Dr. Fernow meant to his students in college is 

 best stated by a few, among the many. 



Walter Mulford, Professor of Forestry at the University 

 of California: 



To those of us who have had the good fortune to have 

 been long in Dr. Fernow's class room, there is no need to 

 speak of what he did for us there. To the less fortunate 

 ones we can only say that we regret their loss in not 

 coming in contact as students with the strength and the 

 beauty of his leadership. It is the leadership of the 

 first great teacher of forestry in the western hemisphere. 



C. R. Pettis, State Forester of New York: 



Dr. Fernow not only "blazed the trails" in American 

 forestry, but, through his untiring efforts, he established 

 principles and left forest monuments which make him 

 the foremost American forester. His wonderful knowl- 

 edge and enthusiasm made him a great teacher; his 

 individual personality is admired by all; his kind help- 

 fulness appreciated by all with whom he came in con- 



tact, and his work something that cannot yet be fully 

 measured, but, as time passes, will be found a basis for 

 our silvicultural work. 



E. A. Sterling, of James D. Lacey and Company, New 

 York, Timberbrokers: 



Each receding year emphasizes the value of the asso-' 

 ciations made and the relationships established while 

 in college, so, in looking back to the days spent at 

 Cornell in the pursuit of forestry knowledge, under 

 Dr. Fernow, one of the most vivid and treasured mem- 

 ories is the strength of his personality and the value of 

 his guidance and inspiration. 



The scholastic things we were supposed to acquire have 

 merged into a broad background of subsequent ex- 

 perience, but the personal associations gained during those 

 years stand out more prominently and assume new im- 

 portance as time goes on. The problems in forest finance 

 and the involved theory of some old world teacher are 

 long forgotten, but the personality of the man who 

 patiently labored with his students to make them both 

 foresters and men, will never be erased, nor can he 

 wholly appreciate the helpful influence which he exerted. 



So to Dr. Fernow, as Dean of the forestry profession 

 in America, as he was Dean of Forestry at Cornell, goes 

 the most heartfelt appreciation of his work, both as a 

 teacher and as an educator in the much broader field 

 which has been covered by his activities. Two decades 

 have demonstrated the soundness of his vision in build- 

 ing up the foundation of a forestry profession at a time 

 when it seemed unneeded, and of little practical applica- 

 tion, and not only laying the foundations, but in helping 

 rear the structure which gradually rose from it. He 

 has exerted an influence which is appreciated not only 

 by those fortunate enough to have been his students, but 

 by all who think broadly and see clearly. 



Philip W. Ayers, Forester of the Society for the Pro- 

 tection of New Hampshire Forests: 

 To have been a student under Dr. Fernow is a life- 

 long inspiration. Not only the breadth of his scholarship 

 in forestry, but also his enthusiastic devotion to the sub- 

 ject, his belief in it, his sense of its usefulness, were all 

 impressive. To each of us personally he was kindness 

 itself ; the hospitality of Dr. and Mrs. Fernow can never 

 be forgotten. To both my earnest, best wishes. 



Raphael Zon, U. S. Forest Service, Chief, Forest Inves- 

 tigations: 



The appointment of B. E. Fernow as Professor Emeri- 

 tus at the University of Toronto, and his retirement 

 from active teaching, marks not merely a change in his 

 private life but also an epoch in the development of for- 

 estry in North America. While the period which Dr. 

 Fernow typifies is rapidly becoming history, his teach- 

 ings and his contributions have the quality of permanence. 

 They have been always a source of inspiration and guid- 

 ance to the pioneers of forestry ; they will be infinitely 

 more so to the actual managers of our forest lands as 

 soon as real woods forestry comes into general practice. 

 As with any great teacher, it is not the kind of theory 

 that he happens to advocate that really counts, but the 

 ability to teach how to think in his particular field. 

 Theories come and go, but the ability to orient oneself 

 in the details of complex problems is a lasting asset; he 

 who teaches to meet ever-changing problems, not by a 

 ready-made theory or hypothesis, but by a critical atti- 

 tude and ability to discern between the essential and 

 non-essential, is building on a solid foundation. 



As a student under Dr. Fernow, I am personally in- 

 debted to him for whatever mental equipment in forestry 



