42 EDUCATION IN. FORESTRY. 



From still another angle leadership in the matter falls upon the foresters. 

 Forestry as a profession aims primarily at the conservation and perpetuation 

 of our forest resources. In attaining this end it must take into account three 

 distinct but closely related fields of activity (1) raising the forest crop 

 (silviculture and forest management), (2) harvesting the forest crop (lum- 

 bering and logging engineering), and (3) utilizing the forest crop (wood 

 utilization). Underlying all three is forest economics. The way in which 

 each of these fields is handled reacts directly upon the effectiveness with which 

 our forests are used and must necessarily be a matter of concern to the 

 forester. So far foresters have interested themselves in these activities in 

 approximately the order named. The production of the forest crop for a time 

 absorbed practically their entire attention. Then they became interested in 

 its harvesting and turned to the technically trained logging engineer. Now 

 their attention is being attracted more and more to its utilization, with an 

 increasing realization that the way in which this is handled has a very direct 

 bearing on forest conservation. Furthermore, the very fact that wood is an 

 organic product and that its utilization is closely connected with its produc- 

 tion and its harvesting make it highly desirable that men working in the field 

 of forest products should have the forester's point of view, which can of 

 course be secured to best advantage if the leadership in their training is 

 taken by the forest schools. 



Obviously this does not mean that all of the work must be given in depart- 

 ments or schools of forestry. Even those forest schools which go farthest in 

 this direction do not attempt to give all of the required subjects. In the judg- 

 ment of the committee the exact amount of work which should be given in the 

 various departments or colleges is a matter to be worked out locally. In some 

 cases a considerable number of subjects, such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, 

 engineering, mechanics, machine design, steam and gas power, etc., can undoubt- 

 edly be given to best advantage in the colleges of engineering or science, while 

 the work in wood identification and structure, tree diseases and injuries, forest 

 mensuration, the practice of forestry, timber seasoning, wood preservation, wood 

 distillation, etc., would naturally be given in the forest schools. In other cases 

 the forest schools themselves may desire to go somewhat further than this. The 

 important point is that the work should be developed under the leadership of 

 the forest schools in as close cooperation with the other colleges as local con- 

 ditions make desirable. 



The committee feels that it is also important that the work should be .under- 

 taken at first at a comparatively small number of institutions having strong 

 staffs in both forestry and engineering. It is obviously not within the province 

 of the committee to suggest what institutions these should be. It does, however, 

 Wish to emphasize the fact that in its judgment there is danger in having the 

 work undertaken too generally and by schools not thoroughly equipped to 

 handle it. After it is once well under w T ay at a few institutions and the best 

 lines of development have been indicated by actual experience, it can be ex- 

 tended to others as rapidly as the need for additional men becomes apparent. 

 This raises the entire question of promoting- economy and efficiency in forest 

 education by having different schools specialize along different lines. 



The question as to the degree or degrees which should be granted men with 

 this sort of training seems to the committee of comparatively minor importance 

 at this time. At the end of four years the degree of B. S. would seem to be 

 appropriate. At the end of five years there are several possibilities. Among 

 these may be mentioned master of science in engineering, in chemistry, or in 

 forestry, engineer in forest products, chemist in forest products, and master of 



