Although European forest methods can seldom be adopted without 

 modification in this county, they have been rich in suggestions in the 

 application of practical forestry to American forests. The American 

 forest student who puts aside a chance to see forestry in Europe makes 

 the same mistake that a medical student would be guilty of who 

 ignored an opportunity to practice in the best hospitals abroad. 



College or university training, followed by a full course at a forest 

 school and supplemented by work in the woods in this country and in 

 Europe, may not be possible for every student of forestry. A thorough 

 preparation for forestry as a profession should, however, include these 

 lines of work. How many of them the student may omit and still retain 

 a fair chance of success in his profession can not be laid down altogether 

 within hard and fast lines, although study at a forest school has become 

 essential. A great deal must depend upon a man's zeal and industry, and 

 upon his natural fitness for forest work On the other hand, the man 

 who is considering forestry as a profession will do well to remember 

 that the only sound basis for success in forestry, as in any other scien- 

 tific profession, is a thorough and systematic preparation; that no mat- 

 ter how high his natural abilities may be, the insufficiently trained 

 forester can not hope to compete with those who have enjo3 T ed full ad- 

 vantages in their preparation; and that in this country, perhaps more 

 than in any other, forest problems present difficulties which require, 

 above all, a thorough understanding of his work in the man who under- 

 takes to deal with them. 



THE OPENING FOR FORESTERS. 



The management of the National forest reserves requires the services 

 of many trained men. The Forest Service will require an increasing 

 number of suitably prepared foresters to supply its needs. The lack of 

 foresters to care for the forest interests of the several States is alread}- 

 making itself strongly felt. An increasing number of foresters will be 

 required by private forest owners, as the great holders of timberlands 

 come to realize more generally that conservative lumbering pays better 

 than the methods usually employed. The Forestry Bureau in the 

 Philippines offers what is in some ways an unrivaled opportunity to 

 trained men. 



As regards compensation, forestry offers the well-prepared man a fair 

 living. It is naturally impossible to foretell what eventually will be 

 the pay of foresters in this country. It is reasonably certain, however, 

 that their salaries will never be large. Trained foresters in the employ 

 of the Forest Service now receive from $900 to $3,500 a year. 



Approved : 



James Wii.son, 



Secretary of Agriculture . 



Washington, D. C, September 1, 1905. 



