Whenever possible the forest student will find it of advantage to 

 sii]Dplement his systematic studies in this country by six months to a 

 year spent in studying the effects of forestry upon the forests in 

 Europe. Although European forest methods can seldom be adopted 

 without modification in this country, they have been rich in sugges- 

 tions 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 thor- 

 ough preparation for forestry as a profession should, however, in- 

 clude 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 suc- 

 cess in forestry, as in any other scientific profession, is a thorough 

 and systematic 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 

 undertakes to deal with them. 



POSITION OF FOREST ASSISTANT. 



There is no position in the Forest Service open to those whose train- 

 ing in forestry is incomplete. The position in the Service open to 

 trained foresters is that of forest assistant. It carries a salary of 

 from $1,100 to $1,200 a year in the beginning, with the payment of all 

 living and traveling expenses incident to field work. The position 

 entails a severe technical examination under the United States Civil 

 Service Commission, which no man may reasonably expect to pass 

 unless he has been thoroughly trained in forestry. 



THE OPENING FOR FORESTERS. 



The management of the National Forests requires the services of 

 many trained men. It is not always possible, however, for the Forest 

 Service to give employment to all the men who pass the civil-service 

 examination. And as the National Forests become more fully manned 

 the need for new men will of course decrease in proportion. The lack 

 of foresters to care for the forest interests of the several States is 

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



[Cir. 23] 



