During the century, the means of increasing knowledge in forestry
matters have grown in all directions; schools, associations, journals
and prolific literature attesting the complete establishment of the
profession and practice.
* * * * *
The master schools which began to take shape at the end of the last
century, and a number of which were found in the beginning of the
century as private institutions, were usually either of short duration
or were changed into state institutions: they became either “middle
schools” for the lower service, or else academies. For the higher
education, the chairs of forestry at the universities continued to do
service, as at Heidelberg, Giessen, Leipzig, Berlin, etc., but, as these
were mostly occupied by Cameralists (although Hartig in 1811 filled a
chair at Berlin), and were intended for the benefit of such rather than
of professional foresters, the education of the latter was somewhat
neglected. Most of the existing institutions had their beginnings in
private schools. Both these and the state schools passed through many
changes. The first high class forest academy was established at Berlin
directly by the State, in 1821, in connection with the university. Here,
Pfeil was the only professor of forestry subjects, the other subjects
being taught by other university professors. The fact that in the
absence of railroads a demonstration forest was not easily accessible,
and perhaps the friction between Pfeil and Hartig brought about a
transfer to Neustadt-Eberswalde, in 1830, with two professors till
1851, when a third professor was added (now 16 with 8 assistants!). At
the same time the lectures at Berlin were continued by Hartig, until
1837.
In Saxony, Cotta’s private school became a state institution in 1816,
the forest academy of Tharandt, with six teachers (now 13), and later,
in 1830, an agricultural school was added to it.
In Bavaria, a private school was begun in 1807 at Aschaffenburg. It was
made a state institution, divided into a higher and lower school, in
1819, but was closed in 1832 on account of interior troubles and
inefficiency. It was re-opened and re-organized in 1844 with four
teachers, and was intended to prepare for the lower grades of the
service. Meanwhile the lectures at the University of Munich,
supplementing this lower school, were to serve for the education of the
higher grades. A reorganization took place in 1878, when a special
faculty for forestry was established at Munich, with Gustav Heyer as
head professor. This was done after much discussion, which is still
going on throughout the empire, as to the question whether education in
forestry was best obtained at a university or at a special academy. The
present tendency is toward the former solution of the question since
railroad development has removed the main objection, namely, the
difficulty of reaching a demonstration forest. Nevertheless, Prussia
retains its two forest academies Eberswalde and Münden (since 1868) for
the education of its forest officials, the other state academies being
at Tharandt and Eisenach, while chairs of forestry are found at the
universities of Tübingen (since 1817), Giessen (since 1831), and
Munich, and for Baden at the polytechnicum in Karlsruhe (1832). For the
lower grades of forest officials there are also schools established by
the various governments (3 in Prussia, 5 in Bavaria).
In 1910, the school at Aschaffenburg was discontinued and the entire
education of foresters for Bavaria left to the University.
* * * * *
Although as early as 1820, Hundeshagen had insisted upon the necessity
of exact investigation to form a basis for improved forest management
and especially for forest statics, and, although, in 1848, Carl Heyer
elaborated the first instruction for such investigations which he
expected to carry on with the aid of practitioners, the apathy of the
latter and the troublesome times prior to 1850 retarded this powerful
means of advancing forestry. During the decade from 1860 to 1870,
however, the movement for the formation of experiment stations took
shape, the first set being instituted in Saxony, 1862, by establishing
nine stations for the purpose of securing forest meteorological data;
the next in Prussia, in 1865, to solve the problems of the removal of
litter; and in Bavaria (1866), also for the study of forest meteorology
(Ebermayer), and of the problem of thinnings. But not until Baur, 1868,
had pointed out more elaborately the necessity of systematic
investigations, and a plan for such had been elaborated by a committee
instituted by the German Foresters Association was a system of
experimentation as organized in modern times secured (1872). The various
states established independently such experiment stations, but at the
same time a voluntary association of these stations was formed for the
purpose of co-ordinating and planning the work to be done.
* * * * *
Forestry associations instituted merely for the purpose of propaganda,
were apparently not organized. The first association of professional
foresters appears to have been formed as the result of Bechstein’s
conception, who proposed in connection with his school (1795 at Gotha,
1800 at Dreissigacker) the formation of an academy of noted foresters.
As a result, the _Societät der Forst- und Jagdkunde_ was formed, in
which all the noted foresters joined with much enthusiasm, and, in 1801,
a membership of 81 regular and 61 honorary members was attained. At the
same time the official organ _Diana_ was founded (1797), in which the
essays of the members were to be printed; after having passed four
censors. Two sessions were to be held annually. This much too elaborate
plan for the then rather undeveloped education and deficient means of
transportation defeated to some extent the great object. By 1812, it was
thought necessary to divide the academy at least into a northern and
southern section, and for the latter an additional journal, edited by
Laurop, was instituted. The interest, however, decreased continually,
and by 1843, at Bechstein’s death, the academy was abandoned.
At the same time, there had sprung up a number of local associations in
the modern sense. The first, in 1820, composed of the foresters and
agriculturists of Nassau; the next, in 1839, of the foresters of Baden,
and, by 1860, nine such local societies of foresters were in existence,
and they have since increased rapidly until now some thirty may be
counted. The desire to bring these local associations into relation to
each other led to the first Forestry Congress in 1837 (Congress der Land
und Forstwirthe), meeting at Dresden. At that time, and in the
congresses following, the agriculturists played a leading part, so that,
in 1839, the South German foresters separated, and peripatetic
congresses were held every one or two years. In 1869, a general
organization was determined upon, and, in 1872, the first general German
Congress of Foresters met, holding yearly meetings thereafter. A rival
association having been organized in 1897, two years later an
amalgamation of the two was effected in the _Deutscher Forstverein_ (now
over 2000 members). The most striking feature of this forceful means of
advancing forestry is the institution of the _Forstwirtschaftsrat_
(1890), a permanent committee of about 50 members, which is to look
after the political and economic interests of forestry, forming a
semi-official national council.
There also exists an international association of forest experiment
stations.
* * * * *
In the _magazine_ literature, the Cameralists dominated until the
eighteenth century. The first journal edited by a forester was
_Reitter’s_ “_Journal für Forst- und Jagdwesen_” which ran from 1790 to
1797. During the first part of the century many others were started,
especially after 1820, usually failing soon for lack of support. Hartig
himself participated in this literature with five volumes (until 1807)
of the _Journal des Forst-, Jagd- und Fischereiwesens_ and later (1816
to 1820) with the semi-official journal _Forst- und Jagdarchiv_. Pfeil’s
_Kritische Blätter_ were continued by him from 1823 to 1859, when
Nördlinger had the editorship till 1870. An irregular publication of
much note was Burkhardt’s “_Aus dem Walde_” (1865-1881).
Some of the journals founded in earlier times have continued, with
changes in title and editorships, to the present day. Of these, it is
proper to mention as the oldest, “_Allgemeine Forst- und Jagdzeitung_”,
founded by v. Behlen, 1825, later conducted by G. Heyer;
“_Forstwissenschaftliches Centralblatt_” (1828); “_Zeitschrift für
Forst- und Jagdwesen_” founded in 1869 by Dankelmann; “_Forstliche
Blätter_” founded 1861 by Grunert, continued by Borggreve until 1890.
The _Tharandter Forstliche Jahrbücher_ were begun in 1842,
and the _Mündener Forstliche Hefte_ in 1892. In 1893, the
_Forstlich-naturwissenschaftliche Zeitschrift_ was established to
discuss mainly the biological basis of forestry (changed in 1903 to
_Naturwissenschaftliche Zeitschrift für Land- und Forstwesen_).
For the lower grades there has been published, since 1872, _Zeitschrift
der deutschen Forstbeamten_. Several lumber trade journals also discuss
forestry matters. A weekly journal, _Silva_ was begun in 1908.
To assist in keeping track of the historic and scientific development of
the art, an annual summary of magazine literature is being published.
The first effort in this direction was made in 1876 by Bernhardt’s
_Chronik des deutschen Forstwesens_, which was continued for several
years, but is now supplanted by _Jahresbericht über die Leistungen und
Fortschritte der Forstwirthschaft_ (since 1880).
Besides this more scientific magazine literature, “_Pocket Books_” and
“_Calendars_” have been published from early times, the regular annual
appearance of the latter, giving detailed statistics, personalia, tables
useful in the practice, etc., dates from 1851.
* * * * *
With the accomplishment of the unity of the empire in 1871, with the
establishment of the Experiment Stations and their association in 1872,
and with the organization of the Society of German Foresters, which
dates from the same year, a new and most active era in the development
of forestry science may be recognized, the tendency of which is to lift
the art out of the shackles of empiricism, and place it on a more
scientific basis.