Part 4 (1/2)

The object and methods of one of the a.s.sociations is described by its Secretary as follows:

”A field hitherto narrow but continually broadening, and offering much opportunity for those with peculiar qualifications, is the management of the cooperative forest work carried on by timber owners in many localities, often jointly with State and Government. This movement originated in the Pacific Northwest, where it still has the highest development, but is extending to the Lake States, New England, and Canada.

”As a rule the primary object of these cooperative a.s.sociations is fire prevention and their local managers must have demonstrated ability to organize effective patrol systems, build telephone lines, apply every ingenuity to supplying and equipping their forces, and, above all, to handle men in emergencies. But in most cases the a.s.sociation of forest owners to this end has led also to progress in many other matters inseparable from improvement, such as study of reforestation possibilities, forest legislation, educating lumberman and public in forest preservation, and the extension of cooperation in all these as well as in fire prevention from private to State and federal agencies.

”The development of such activities is already employing several highly paid men who can command the confidence, not only of forest owners, but also of the public and of public officials. Advisers in legislative as well as technical forestry matters and particularly proficient in all that pertains to forest protection, their usefulness lies as much outside their own a.s.sociation as within them, and to be successful they must be skilful organizers and campaigners. It is these men who have developed to its highest extent the adaptation to forestry propaganda of modern publicity and advertising methods.

”As a rule, however, these may be described as graduate positions, filled by men of experience and acquaintance with the several agencies involved, rather than by newly fledged Foresters. A practical knowledge of protection problems is essential.”

Forestry a.s.sociations offer a different, but often a most fascinating field, of work for the trained Forester. There are at present 39 such a.s.sociations. The work which they offer has much in common with the duties of a State Forester.

Fish and game a.s.sociations are beginning to employ Foresters, realizing that the wise handling of the forests may well go hand in hand with the care of the game and fish which the forest shelters and protects.

Eventually nearly all such a.s.sociations which control any considerable body of land in timbered regions may be expected to utilize the services of trained Foresters of their own.

In addition to the work for lumbermen and for a.s.sociations of various kinds, land owners in considerable variety have begun to employ Foresters. Among these are coal and c.o.ke companies, iron companies, wood pulp and paper companies which are beginning to look after their supply of timber; powder, arms, and ammunition companies, hydraulic and water companies; a great corporation engaged in the manufacture of matches; and a number of railroads, including the Delaware and Hudson, the Illinois Central, and the Pennsylvania. In addition to the need for cross ties, railroads are among the largest consumers of lumber. The Foresters who work for them are largely occupied with growing the wood supplies which the railroads need, and nursery practice often occupies a very large share of their attention.

FOREST SCHOOLS

Since the first one was founded in 1898, the number of forest schools in the United States has increased so rapidly as to create a demand for forest instructors which it has been exceedingly difficult to fill.

Indeed, the increase in secondary forest schools, or schools not of the first grade, has doubtless been more rapid than the welfare of the profession or the sound practice of forestry required, and the brisk demand for teachers has led some men to take up the task of instruction who were not well fitted for it.

There are in this country to-day 23 forest schools which prepare men for the practice of forestry as a profession, and 51 schools which devote themselves to general instruction in forestry or to courses for Forest Rangers and Forest Guards. The approximate number of teachers in all forest schools is at present 110, and this number will doubtless be still further increased by the addition of new forest schools or the expansion of old ones, while a certain number of places will be made vacant by the retirement of men who find themselves better fitted for other lines of work.

The teaching staff at three of the princ.i.p.al forest schools of the country is as follows:

At School A, 5 men give their whole time to forest instruction, and 14 give courses in the forest school.

Schools B and C have each 4 men who give their whole time to the work; and 4 and 20 respectively who give lectures or individual courses.

In addition to the work for lumbermen, a.s.sociations, railroads, and others just mentioned, an increasing number of Foresters are required to care for the forests on large landed estates in different parts of the country. Work of this kind is at present restricted almost entirely to the East, and especially to New England, where several firms of consulting Foresters give to it the larger portion of their time. Some of the men thus employed are as fully occupied with the tasks of the professional Forester as any of the men in the Government service, while others give a part of their attention to the general management of the property, or to the protection and propagation of game and fish.

THE OPPORTUNITY

GOVERNMENT SERVICE

There is no more useful profession than forestry. The opportunity to make himself count in affairs of public importance comes earlier and more certainly to the Forester than to the member of any other profession. The first and most valuable, therefore, of the incentives which lead the Forester to his choice is the chance to make himself of use to his country and to his generation.

But if this is the first matter to be considered in deciding upon a profession, it is by no means the last, and the practical considerations of a fair return for good work, bread and b.u.t.ter for a man and his family, the certainty or uncertainty of employment,--such questions as these must have their full share of attention.

There are in the United States Forest Service 1059 Forest Guards, 1247 Forest Rangers, 233 Supervisors, and Deputy Supervisors, and 115 Forest a.s.sistants and 177 Forest Examiners who, as already explained, are the technical men in charge of practical forestry on the National Forests.

The six District offices together include in their members.h.i.+p about 50 professional Foresters, and about 65 more are attached to the headquarters at Was.h.i.+ngton, so that allowing for duplications there are about 335 trained Foresters in the United States Forest Service.