instruction in forestry. They are not attending a summer school, but 

 are taking a salaried position, the duties of which they will be rigidly 

 required to perform. Forest Students in the field are placed under the 

 supervision of trained foresters in the execution of technical forest Avork. 

 The head of the party is at all times willing, in so far as it does not 

 interfere with his own duties, to explain matters to the men under his 

 charge and to suggest and further lines of individual study. He has, 

 however, no time to deliver lectures nor to give formal instruction of 

 an3^ kind. The Forest Student has in his dailj^ work abundant oppor- 

 tunity to learn; whether he makes the most of it rests with him. 



POSITION OF FOREST ASSISTANT. 



The position in this Bureau open to trained foresters is that of Forest 

 Assistant. It carries a salary of from $720 to $1,000 a year in the 

 beginning, with the payment of all living and traveling expenses inci- 

 dent to field work. Forest Assistants generally spend about six months 

 of the year in the field ; the other six months are spent in the prepara- 

 tion of reports in Washington. The position entails a severe technical 

 examination under the U. S. Civil Service Commission, which no man 

 may reasonably expect to pass unless he has been thoroughly trained in 

 forestry. 



PREPARATION FOR FORESTRY. 



The preparation for forestry as a profession may best begin with a 

 college or university course, in which the student should acquire some 

 knowledge of the auxiliar3' subjects necessary in forestry. Of these, the 

 more important are geology, physical geographj^ mineralogj' , chemistry, 

 botanj^ in particular that branch which deals with the anatomy, phj^si- 

 olog3% and life history of plants, and pure and applied mathematics, 

 including a practical understanding of the principles of surveying. The 

 student who, in his college course, can include ph3^sics, meteorologj% 

 and political economy will be the better equipped to take up his tech- 

 nical forest studies. 



Graduation at a college or universitj^ should be followed bj^ a full 

 course at a school of instruction in professional forestrj^, of which there 

 are now several in this country. 



Vacations, during the course of training, should be spent in the 

 woods so far as possible. The student should take advantage of everj^ 

 opportunity to study forest conditions and to acquaint himself with 

 technical forest methods in field work. He should also see all he can 

 of lumbering, which, on its executive side, is closer to forestry than to 

 £iny other calling. A good knowledge of the lumberman's methods is 

 an essential part of a forester's education. 



Whenever possible the forest student should supplement his sj^stem- 

 atic studies in this countrj^ by six months to a yesir spent in studying 

 the effects of forestrj^ upon the forest in Europe. Although European 



