72 CANADIAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION 



excellent and we believe they will develop into good workers with the right 

 spirit, some contemplating courses elsewhere when they finish. We agree 

 with Dr. Fernow that a one-man department of Forestry is a doubtful venture, 

 but we hope, that by making a place for such instruction in the University 

 and the Province, additional teachers can be secured as the number of 

 students grows, and that the new Department, by seeking to deserve the 

 best, will, in time, take its proper rank with the Engineering and other 

 departments. 



As to the course of study which we believe is necessary for a prospective 

 forester, we can best answer this by a sentence from the catalogue of the 

 Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University. It says: "Forestry requires 

 a liberal knowledge, not only of Botany, Zoology, Geology, Physics, Chem- 

 istry, English and Mathematics, but also a liberal training in Economics, 

 French, German and similar subjects." "Why are such studies necessary?" 

 asks the man who scoffs at Forestry being learned in any school. Since one 

 of the prime requisites of the forester is the power of observation the ability 

 to see and interpret what he sees naturally the greatest stress is laid, in 

 the above list, upon the natural sciences. Botany is especially important to 

 furnish a foundation for Forest Botany and Wood Technology. The 

 histology of woody tissues assists in identifying woods and understanding 

 better the problems of seasoning and preservative treatment, while the study 

 of fungi enables him to counteract to some extent the ravages of decay in 

 growing trees and the finished product. Zoology puts him in touch with the 

 animals of the forest, and Entomology furnishes the knowledge for identify- 

 ing and combating its insect enemies. Geology and the study of .soils makes 

 him familiar with the physiography of any region to which he is assigned, 

 and he learns to .' pick out types of trees as determined by soil conditions. 

 Physics and Chemistry, more especially the latter, are of use to him when 

 investigating problems in wood preservation and utilization. Mathematics 

 and Surveying are of paramount importance, since a large part of the for- 

 ester's work is mapping. By means of forest maps he can point out to the 

 owner of a tract of timber its main features of topography and drainage, and 

 place, to a hair's breadth, a net-work of logging reads and spurs which will 

 tap the merchantable timber and bring it by the shortest route to the mill 

 or to market. Economics is necessary, because, first of all, "the forester is 

 a citizen and (especially if in State or Government work) must understand 

 all public questions and get in touch with the social and economic life of 

 the community." He should be a master of English, so that he can make 

 his reports short and to the point and at the same time pack them full of 

 what his chief and the people wish to know. A reading knowledge of French 

 and German will open to him the sylvicultural systems of Europe and he can 

 sit at the feet of nations who have been practising forestry for centuries. 



We believe that practical training in the woods should go hand in hand 

 with theoretical knowledge. All the forestry school courses are based on this 

 principle; field work forming a large part of them. Our field work was con- 

 tinued until cold weather and will begin again in the spring, consisting 

 largely of work in mapping, the estimation of timber, planting, and the 

 recognition of the different tree species and their individual characters. The 

 University of New Brunswick has six square miles of cut over lands close at 

 hand which have just been surveyed. These lands will be used as a practice 

 ground for the estimation of timber: to illustrate the effects of thinnings, 

 etc. If our men learn to make a good topographic map and a type map for 

 this area, they will acquire a valuable training for ihe work of mapping 



