1905 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



161 



and expenses, in order to report on 

 special subjects. This would benefit 

 the men and at the same time add to 

 our scanty forest literature. When In- 

 dian forest officers are willing to spend 

 their leave in study, they receive a 

 travelling allowance, as well as their 

 full pay. In order to induce European 

 study it might even be desirable to re- 

 quire a monograph on some European 

 system before advancing a man to pay 

 of $1,500 per annum. 



One of the objections to the run 

 of German foresters is that they find 

 it hard to accept new and advanced 

 idea's on thinnings, reproduction, etc. 

 They perhaps read about such topics 

 but do not become familiar enough 

 with the problem to actually put it in 

 practice. We might guard against 

 such stagnation by founding a short 

 post graduate course at one of the 

 best schools and require attendance 

 from men in government employ 

 after some years of service. In such 

 a short course only new and impor- 

 tant topics would be discussed. By 

 such personal discussion men tucked 

 away on forest reserves would be en- 

 abled to keep in touch with the latest 

 ideas far better than by reading. Such 

 a system would be in line with the war 

 college which our navy has established 

 at Newport. 



The question often arises whether a 

 man should study abroad immediately 

 after graduation from a forest school, 

 or later. From the employer's stand- 

 point the former is better. Fewer mis- 

 takes would be made. From the stu- 

 dent's standpoint it seems better to 

 engage in practical work for a year 

 or so before completing his technical 

 education. After two years of hard 

 study at a forest school, most men be- 

 gin to tire of books and want to put 

 their ideas into practice. After a 

 year's work they are in a better posi- 

 tion to know just what they want to 

 study. It is not necessary for the 

 graduate to spend a long time in one 

 country. With his forest school train- 

 ing to start with, four to five months 

 would be sufficient for Germany ; the 



first month spent in one place study- 

 ing the language and the details of the 

 management of that forest. With the 

 details of one forest well in hand, a 

 comparatively hurried tour will be of 

 far more value. It seems to me that 

 Americans are apt to make far too 

 hasty tours, and this without a pre- 

 liminary month of preparation. It is 

 a fact that spending only a few hours 

 in a forest when on tour often gives 

 one a false impression. It is only nat- 

 ural that the forester should always 

 show his best reproduction first and 

 thus, in a too brief stay, a visitor does 

 not see where and why the reproduc- 

 tion failed which is perhaps more in- 

 structive than seeing the successes. On 

 one slope the spruce has succeeded, 

 but look at the opposite side and we 

 only find failure. Two Americans not 

 long ago made this very mistake. They 

 wanted to see a large variety of for- 

 ests in a short time. They were us- 

 ually driven through the best portions, 

 took a few pictures from the carriage, 

 and rushed off to the next place. Their 

 antics lessened the German respect for 

 American foresters. On the other 

 hand, the "do a few places thorough- 

 ly" method is hardly the best, for the 

 forest school graduate who has had a 

 year or so of practical experience. Sel- 

 dom is a stay of over three days profit- 

 able compared with going on to a new 

 forest. Personally, I found European 

 travel so instructive that I should 

 strongly recommend even a short trip 

 of two months, rather than a longer 

 trip "when there is more time." With 

 a sensible amount of time at one's dis- 

 posal, say seven and a half months, I 

 should advise four and a half months 

 in Germany and three in France. This 

 is taking for granted that a man 

 knows something of both languages. 

 Men who have visited France claim 

 that the French methods are more 

 adaptable to American conditions ; 

 that there is more natural reproduc- 

 tion and less planting. On the other 

 hand, the German forest literature is 

 so superior to the French that more 

 time ought to be devoted to Germany. 



