40 FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION January 



tion of wanton waste. The present slaughter is carried on in such a way 

 system of waste and destruction is sim- as to preserve and increase the race, 

 ilar to the practice that was followed while securing the maximum results in 

 regarding the American buffalo, which the shape of matured product. The 

 led to quick extermination. Scientific proper policy will not materially de- 

 forestry, on the other hand, means the crease the present output of forest pro- 

 handling of our forests as the farmer ducts, and will ultimately greatly in- 

 handles his herd of cattle. The young crease it, if we are consistent in apply- 

 are cared for to maturity, and the ing rational methods all round. 



EDUCATION IN FORESTRY IN THE 

 PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES* 



i* 



BY 



DR. GEORGE T. WINSTON 



President, North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. 



(^\ NE of the greatest problems be- ing of rural life are road building and 



^ fore the American people is the forest conservation. Indeed, they are 



building up of rural life. This prob- essential parts of agricultural educa- 



lem resolves itself into three great fac- tion, and they should be included in 



tors, to wit: Agricultural education, any complete scheme of agricultural 



road building, and forest conservation, instruction. The national government 



The national government, recognizing should add to the agricultural colleges 



the supreme necessity of agricultural departments of road building and for- 



education, has provided liberally there- estry, with adequate appropriations for 



for through the "Morrill Bill," estab- their support, and the state govern- 



lishing agricultural colleges in each ments should join in supporting and 



state and territory; the "Supplemental developing them. The problem is too 



Morrill Bill," increasing the appropri- great and the task too big to be under- 



ation for the colleges, and the "Hatch taken exclusively by the states. 

 Act," establishing agricultural experi- The conservation of our forests is 



ment stations in connection with the not a local matter, but a supreme na- 



agricnltural colleges. Various states tional necessity. Every use to which 



have supplemented the work of the na- wood is now applied, every influence 



tional government in the direction of exerted by forests upon water supply 



agricultural education by additional and water-flow, every reason that 



appropriations to the agricultural col- makes forests valuable today for 



leges, and by state agricultural depart- health, for pleasure, for sport, for 



ments, whose work supplements that scenery, for timber, for manufactures, 



of the colleges. This system of agri- for grazing, for soil preservation, for 



cultural education will not be complete flood prevention, is an unswerable ar- 



until it includes a series of agricultural gument for forest conservation, 

 normal schools for the training of Forest conservation means the pres- 



rural teachers in all subjects relating ervation of mountain soil from denu- 



to rural life. dation and of Piedmont soil from flood 



Of equal importance with agricultu- and destruction. Over 200 square 



ral education as factors in the upbuild- miles of soil is annually washed into 



*Read at Annual Meeting of the American Forestry Association, Washington, D. C., 

 January l(i and 17. 



