American Forests Require Different Man- 

 agement from Those in Europe. 



they will be not only useless, but mischievous. Garden and 

 Forest, Vol. i, p. 26. 



E STUDY of European methods and results in 

 forestry by competent men is, of course, highly 

 valuable, but it is not enough. It is not even the 

 most important thing for us. Nothing can be very 

 useful to us which is not based upon careful study 

 of the facts and conditions which are peculiar to this country. 

 We should have in time a system of American forestry we 

 must have it, indeed, if we are to avoid serious disasters to 

 our national interests and civilization. We cannot import and 

 adopt ready-made European systems or methods. The for- 

 estry of this country must be the product of growth, which 

 has yet scarcely begun. It will be developed by continued 

 and widespread observation, and by constant comparison of 

 the results of practice. It is necessary to remind ourselves 

 that no useful system of forest management can be originated 

 or created by legislative enactment. There must be consider- 

 able special knowledge and considerable national good sense 

 regarding the needs of this country, behind forestry laws, or 



I am willing to confess that since I arrived in this country 

 I have tried hard to forget European forestry. The general 

 conditions in this country are so different from those prevail- 

 ing abroad that it is impossible and will be impossible at any 

 rate for generations to use European forestry methods in this 

 country. We would almost as well introduce Chinese meth- 

 ods ; they would not be any less adapted to this country than 

 the German methods, with one exception. What we can learn 

 abroad are the principles of silviculture. Notwithstanding the 

 fact that the forest is utilized in Europe to an extent that is 

 impossible in this country, in its commercial utilization 

 America is far ahead of Europe. In forest finance and forest 

 protection we have to tread our own path. It is necessary for 

 us to build up almost from the beginning a system of Ameri- 

 can forestry adapted to American conditions, and I think it is 

 worth while to spend one's life in so interesting a task. 



DR. C. A. SCHENCK. 



56 



