REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON SPECIALIZATION BY STU- 

 DENTS IN THEIR WORK FOR THE PROFESSIONAL 

 DEGREES OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN FORESTRY 

 AND MASTER OF FORESTRY BEFORE THEY HAVE COM- 

 PLETED THE GENERAL COURSE COVERING THE FIELD 

 OF FORESTRY. 



Query: Should specialization follow or precede conferring of the 

 professional degree? 



In accepting this assignment, certain doubts have arisen concerning the 

 exact limit of the topic, since other phases of specialization are being handled 

 by another committee. 1 



In an explanatory letter Dean Tourney interpreted the question as follows: 



44 To what extent should men be encouraged to specialize after their general 

 science work and before they have had training covering the general field of 

 forestry?" 



It is a trite statement that all educational systems are now in a rapid state 

 of evolution. This is particularly true of forestry education, dating back but 

 22 years in this country. Our profession is changing ; new needs have arisen and 

 are arising; new methods must be adopted to provide for them. Agriculture 

 30 years ago comprised merely field tillage. Now the leading agricultural 

 college in the country trains men for 71 different lines connected with the 

 utilization and conversion of these crops; and to agronomy has been added 

 animal husbandry, and cheese and butter making; even experts in milk dis- 

 tribution are turned out by this institution, believing that the times demand 

 efficient and economical distribution as well as scientific production. 



Forestry, like its sister art, agriculture, deals with a land problem. As in the 

 case of agriculture, it is now rapidly expanding, and we at Syracuse are firmly 

 convinced that forest conservation must be practiced in the pulp and sawmill, 

 and in the marts of trade, in order to reduce the drain upon our forests by 

 eliminating waste and putting our manufacturers in a position to adopt the 

 best methods of forestry practice. In short, forestry includes not only crop 

 production silviculture but the utilization and distribution of manufactured 

 products, like lumber, paper pulp, etc. So much for the background. 



To return to the question asked, under no circumstances would we encour- 

 age men to specialize before receiving their professional degree. On the con- 

 trary, given time and money we would urge every man who wished to make 

 the most of himself in the forestry profession' to take a four years' liberal edu- 

 cation a classical course if you please. After receiving a thorough training in 

 English, modern languages, history, literature, economics, and psychology, with 



1 In presenting the report the chairman of the committee said : " Before taking up the 

 question it should be announced that the committee has not met, and while views have 

 been exchanged to some degree, it is largely my own presentation. I have outlined the 

 contents of this report to the other members of the committee and requested them 

 to send in individual opinions by mail in case they could not be present." 



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