108 THE BOOK OF FORESTRY 
the end of the supply of first growth timber is in sight 
a different attitude is taken. Many concerns, especially 
paper companies with large sums invested in thei 
manufacturing plants and costly machinery, are taking 
measures to derive a sustained yield of timber from 
their forest holdings. That is, by cutting each year nc 
more than the forest actually grows, their supply of raw 
material will be continuous. The German forests have 
long been cut upon this principle and as a result of 
their careful methods the annual yield of saw timber 
has vastly increased during the past fifty years. Studies 
of this kind require scientific methods, so trained 
foresters are largely replacing the old timber cruiser, 
whose experience and judgment were his stock in trade. 
“Cruising” the Forest.—Let it not be thought that 
the young fledgling forester can beat the cruiser at 
his own game, for he cannot. <A lifetime spent in 
the forest has trained the faculties of the old ‘‘land 
looker’’ until his judgment and intuition are un- 
canny. He can find his way without a compass 
through the thickest forest. He can trace old 
boundary lines and discover old corners where the 
young forester sees nothing. He ean pace distances 
with exactness, estimate heights and diameters with the 
greatest accuracy and when it comes to allowing for 
hidden defects in a tree, the college-trained man is a 
tyro beside him. Such an eye and such judgment will 
come only after years of experience and upon his own 
ground his practical experience is far superior to 
theoretical training. However, take the cruiser outside 
his own region and his experience is useless; conditions 
are different, the trees are shorter or more tapering 
and his judgment is at fault. Here is where the use of 
a system comes into play, for a well-trained forester can 
