FIFTH NATIONAL CONSERVATION CONGRgSS 159 



FORESTRY SUBJECTS FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS IN AGRICULTURE AND 



HORTICULTURE 



TWENTY-FIVE American institutions, chiefly agricultural colleges and 

 departments in agriculture in State universities, either require, or offer 

 as optional subjects, a certain amount of forestry in the regular agri- 

 cultural and horticultural courses leading to a degree. 



There appears, however, to be no uniformity in the character of the work 

 offered by the different institutions and the amount. So far as one can judge 

 from the catalogs, the subjects taught in many instances are academic in character 

 and only indirectly relate to technical forestry. In some instances the instruc- 

 tion is given by botanists, horticulturists or others without training in technical 

 forestry and without the point of view of the forester. 



The large number of institutions well distributed over the country offering 

 instruction in forestry subjects to college students taking courses in agriculture 

 or horticultvire and the many students that avail themselves of this instruction 

 warrant greater uniformity in the work in order that the training may be of 

 more useful and practical value. 



In more than two-thirds of the institutions (See Table III) which offer 

 forestry subjects in connection with courses in agriculture and horticulture, the 

 work is limited to a single term, and in some instances to a half-term of the 

 junior or senior year. 



It is recommended by the sub-committee that the work should cover ap- 

 proximately twenty weeks and consist of the following two courses: 



a. Introduction to forestry. 



b. Farm forestry. 



The purpose of the first of these two courses is to give the student a general 

 knowledge of the subject and the importance of forestry in the economic develop- 

 ment of the country. The time devoted to this course should be only one-fourth 

 that given to the course in farm forestry. 



The latter course should be sufficiently comprehensive to cover all phases 

 of forestry that relate to the production and utilization of timber on the farm. 

 It should cover approximately fifteen weeks with one field exercise or laboratory 

 period of three hours and two lectures or recitations each week. 



It is desirable that the student of agriculture or horticulture should not be 

 required to give more than this amount of time to the subject in order to get a 

 general knowledge of the methods of handling woodlands. When possible, how- 

 ever, opportunity should be given students who wish to take additional work to 

 do so. This extra work should be given in a supplementary course in which the 

 work of the general course is amplified or else the work reduced to such special 

 topics as are most important in the particular locality. 



The following list of topics should be covered in the course in farm forestry ; 



1. Identification of the common forest trees of the vicinity. 



a. In summer condition. 



b. In winter condition. 



