1901 



AMERICAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION. 



11 



STUDY IN EUROPE FOR AMERICAN FOREST STUDENTS. 



By Overton W. Price. 

 Superintendent of Working Plans, Division of Forestry. v 



THE training necessary for an Amer- 

 ican forester has not yet been fixed 

 by hard and fast lines. The neces- 

 sity, however, for a man to map out his 

 course and to supply his deficiencies largely 

 on his own responsibility has disappeared 

 with the establishment of American forest 

 schools. They have already done much 

 to set a high standard for technical train- 

 ing and thereby to hasten greatly the_ 

 sound development of forestry in this 

 country. With the creation of opportuni- 

 ties for systematic study at home, it is 

 natural for the forest student to jump to 

 the comfortable conclusion that study 

 abroad is no longer essential. He soon 

 becomes aware also of the familiar fact 

 that European forest methods can rarely 

 be applied without modification here, and 

 this may seem to him to remove all prac- 

 tical advantage from studying them on the 

 ground. He sees, too, that there are now 

 fewer trained men in this country to sup- 

 ply the need for foresters than there are 

 likely to be in the future, and he naturally 

 wants to get his start with as little loss of 

 time as possible. 



It is true that there are few European 

 forest methods which we can use entirely 

 without modification. It is also true that 

 European methods have been rich in sug- 

 gestion in the application of practical for- 

 estry to American forests. The American 

 forest student who puts aside a chance to 

 see forestry in Europe makes the same 

 sort of mistake that a medical student 

 would be guilty of, who ignored an oppor- 

 tunity to walk the best hospitals. The 

 work which falls to a forester here requires 

 of him a more comprehensive grasp of his 

 profession than is needed where forestry 

 is already established upon a firm footing. 

 In Europe, forest management, in order 

 to be successful, has only to follow those 

 methods which have been proved advis- 

 able. In this country, the forester must 

 depend for the most part upon his own 



ability to make the most of forest problems. 

 And since he has but few patterns to fol- 

 low at home, it would seem that the more 

 he knows of the practice and development 

 of forestry abroad, the better equipped 

 will he be for his work. 



Three questions are likely to present 

 themselves to the forest student who has 

 decided to supplement in Europe the course 

 of study which he has followed here: 

 where to go, how long to stay, and the 

 probable cost of the undertaking. 



Those who have been well grounded at 

 a forest school and have seen somethuig of 

 American forests and American lumber- 

 ing, can gain much from a year abroad. 

 Those who wish to follow to the end a 

 particular line of investigation may use 

 two or three years to advantage, but for 

 the usual purpose of the forest student, one 

 year will suffice. The right man, equipped 

 with a good knowledge of German and a 

 carefully considered plan of campaign, can 

 gain something from a six months' stay. 

 It requires, however, a thorough prepara- 

 tory knowledge of European forest condi- 

 tions, to lend practical benefit to a shorter 

 trip. The disadvantage for the forest 

 student of flying trips to Europe can 

 scarcely be put too strongly. 



The forest student, with one year 

 abroad at his disposal, will probably find 

 it advisable to spend the first one or two 

 months, according to his requirements, on 

 one range under an English-speaking forest 

 officer. This will enable him to brush 

 up his German without loss of time, and 

 steady work in the same place for a month 

 or more will give him the insight into 

 European forestry which he needs, much 

 better than would the same period spent 

 in a cursory inspection of several ranges. 

 English speaking forest officers are rare 

 in Europe. The Uehlingen range in the 

 Southern Black Forest, under the charge 

 of Oberforster Jager, has been the start- 

 ing point for several American students, 



