330 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLIV. No. 1132 



tise. Forestry education and forest con- 

 servation have moved forward together. 

 Without the one the other would be impos- 

 sible. 



Forestry education began in the United 

 States more than a century ago, but not in 

 schools. It began with the first desultory 

 efforts of a few far-seeing enthusiasts, who 

 had a clear vision of the future, to interest 

 the public in forest conservation. Little 

 progress, however, was made until the 

 early eighties when more systematic propa- 

 ganda was undertaken. A forest commis- 

 sioner was appointed by the United States 

 Department of Agriculture. The impor- 

 tance of this office has steadily grown. In 

 1886 it became the Division of Forestry, in 

 1901 the Bureau of Forestry, and in 1905 

 the Forest Service. Practically all of the 

 early work of this branch of the govern- 

 ment service was educational in character, 

 viz., systematic propaganda showing the 

 need for forest conservation. Great assist- 

 ance in this important movement was 

 brought about in 1882 through the forma- 

 tion of the American Forestry Congress, 

 which later became the American Forestry 

 Association. The proceedings of this soci- 

 ety contain the complete history of the 

 progress in establishing our present forest 

 policy. Its journal American Forestry has 

 been a leading force in shaping public 

 opinion' favorable to forest conservation. 

 Forestry commissioners were appointed in 

 various states in rapid succession, and state 

 and local forestry associations were formed. 



All of the above forces working together 

 so shaped public opinion that it became pos- 

 sible to enact legislation in 1891 making 

 the public ownership of forests possible. 

 Prior to this date New York and a few 

 other states had begun the establishment of 

 state and communal forests, but purely for 

 the purpose of protection, recreation and 

 sport. Up to this time forest conservation 



in the United States was not in the woods. 

 It was chiefly educational propaganda— 

 the shaping of public opinion in the desire 

 for forest conservation. National forests 

 were established in rapid succession after 

 the above date. Many states began or 

 continued the policy of acquiring forest 

 property for state forests; and later, here 

 and there throughout the country, but par- 

 ticularly in the east, counties, cities and 

 towns began to acquire adjacent lands for 

 communal forests. 



The establishment of public forests has 

 gone on until at the present time approxi- 

 mately one fifth of the forests in the United 

 States are public forests, to be held for the 

 production of timber and for protective pur- 

 poses. During the long period of propa- 

 ganda leading to the approval of, and the 

 desire for, the public ownership of forest 

 property in the United States, the burden of 

 developing public opinion favorable to for- 

 est conservation fell upon the shoulders of a 

 small number of men who were willing to 

 contribute their time and money toward 

 what they believed to be a great and press- 

 ing public need. As time passed, this small 

 group grew into a vast army and public 

 opinion favorable to forestry was the inevi- 

 table result. It is the writer's belief that 

 no republic can reach even the beginning 

 of forest conservation unless some of her 

 citizens recognize the need and are willing 

 to sacrifice their time and money for this 

 public necessity. 



I purposely place great emphasis upon 

 the period of educational propaganda be- 

 cause without it our remarkable develop- 

 ment in forestry during the past twenty- 

 four years would have been impossible. A 

 great constructive movement in forestry 

 can not be initiated in a republic witlwut 

 the people solidly behind it. Our construc- 

 tive work of the past two and a half 

 decades rests upon years of organized edu- 



