38 EDUCATION IN FORESTRY. 



The point has been raised that it is already possible for any one who is 

 willing to spend the time and money to obtain an education in practically any 

 combination of subjects that he desires ; in other words, that if a man wishes 

 to become proficient in engineering, chemistry, botany, and ' .vestry, the courses 

 to enable him to do this are already in existence. To a considerable extent this 

 is true. Theoretically, any man can, if he desires, take a complete course in 

 mechanical or civil or electrical or chemical engineering, and follow this up 

 by a complete course in forestry, or vice versa. Practically few men have the 

 time or money to take any such combination, while those who have are usually 

 unwilling to make an expenditure which will not apparently yield a corre- 

 sponding increase in financial remuneration immediately upon graduation. A 

 further difficulty is that many of the courses would not be presented in such 

 an order or such a way as to give the student the best preparation for his 

 subsequent work, and that comparatively little advanced instruction can now 

 be obtained in such specific subjects as kiln drying, wood preservation, timber 

 testing, wood distillation, etc. There appears, therefore, to be as ample justifi- 

 cation for the introduction of special courses for the training of men to enter 

 the field of forest products as there was for special courses in such fields as 

 chemical engineering, sanitary engineering, and electrical-railway engineering, 

 all of which are of comparatively recent origin. 



The committee feels that the ideal training for any professional man is a 

 four-year course in the liberal arts followed by as many years of specializa- 

 tion as may be needed to train him for work in his chosen field. Such a com- 

 bination gives a breadth of view and a background for a man's professional 

 work and other activities that can be obtained in no other way. The committee 

 recognizes, however, that this ideal is impossible of general accomplishment, 

 and that the demand both on the part of industry and of the students themselves 

 for a preparation that will enable them to take up their professional work in 

 the shortest possible time makes it necessary to offer opportunity for early 

 specialization. The committee therefore recommends the inauguration of courses 

 which will enable a man to complete the necessary foundation work in four 

 years and to do a certain amount of specialization in the fifth year. In doing 

 so, however, it wishes it clearly understood that it does not regard it as pos- 

 sible to turn out a thoroughly trained specialist in five years, and that it be- 

 lieves at least one or two years of additional graduate work to be necessary for 

 this purpose. 



The committee believes that the essential basis for an adequate course in 

 forest products consists of a thorough training in the fundamental sciences of 

 mathematics, physics, chemistry, and botany. With these as a foundation their 

 practical application to specific problems is comparatively easy. Some training 

 in the more directly applicable of the applied sciences is, of course, highly de- 

 sirable and even essential. As a general rule, however, it is more important for 

 the student to know why rather than merely how : principles are more valuable 

 than isolated facts. On the other hand, these principles should not be taught 

 in the abstract, but should be given life and interest by teaching them so far as 

 possible with special reference to the student's future activities. 



Fundamental work in the pure sciences should be concentrated in the first 

 two years and largely completed by the end of the third year. It should be 

 followed and to some extent accompanied in the third and fourth years by 

 work in the applied sciences, such as steam and gas power, electrical engineer- 

 ing, machine design, forest mensuration, chemical technology, wood distillation, 

 timber testing, etc. Then in the fifth and subsequent years opportunity should 

 be afforded for advanced vrork in the particular field which the student plans 



