4-02 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS OF 



benefit the College and College Forest was, in the main, established in view of 

 the interests of the State in the proper use of its Adirondack and Catskill Forest 

 reserve. 



The object of presenting to the public the condition of this experiment will 

 probably be best accomplished, without going into too much detail, by reprinting 

 the contents of the first two reports of the Director, prepared for the Legislature, 

 thus placing them within reach of a larger number in the form of this bulletin. 



By way of accentuating some of the contents of these reports, it appears desirable 

 to preface the same by a discussion of three essential points, which have been merely 

 alluded to in the body of the reports, namely : 



1. That applied forestry is a business for the purpose of producing values for the 

 future rather than the present. 



2. That forestry, therefore, and for other reasons, is peculiarly a business for the 

 State, and does not usually recommend itself to private enterprise, except under 

 special conditions. 



3. That forestry is based upon the recognition and application of natural and 

 economic principles and laws, which are applicable in all parts of the world alike, 

 with such modifications as the different economic conditions necessitate. 



Forestry a Easiness. 



It is hoped that it will appear clearly from the perusal of these pages that for- 

 estry is not only an art, but a business. The art consists in growing the crop,, the 

 business consists in growing the crop most economically, and in finding a market for 

 it where it can be sold with profit. 



As in all other producing business, the market question is, therefore, the first and 

 foremost one to be settled. For if the crop cannot be marketed, it is useless to grow 

 it, and we may leave it to nature to provide the forest cover — and finally it must 

 bring a profit, be it large or small, direct or indirect, but a profit, or else the object 

 of forestry is not attained. 



It will be apparent from this statement to every intelligent man that such a busi- 

 ness, the management of a forest property, cannot be carried on without considera- 

 tion of the business conditions immediately surrounding the particular property. 

 Hence it is also self-evident that the procedures which are correct under one set of 

 conditions may not at all recommend themselves under another set of conditions. 



For instance, what may be proper to do in Germany or in India may not be proper 

 to do in the United States, if business results are looked for. Again, what the State 

 with its long life and farther reaching interests and providential functions may do 



