Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-10-14
HUNGARIAN FOREST SCHOOLS.
The System of Instruction in Develop
ing Forests and Protecting Trees.

So long ago as 1879 the Hungarian Par
| 1ament realized the necessity of pro-
| tectlnS and developing the forests and of
| encouraging the planting of trees With
'ilS OBJECT II took a step far in advance
! OF other nations 1t passed a law enact
ing inter ALA that after 1889 the owners
OF all forests of a certain size should not
employ as a forest ranger or gamekeep-
| er any one who had not passed an ex-
| animation at Il forest school.
| 1t became necessary at once to estab-
fish schools in which young men could
prepare themselves, both theoretically
and practically. in those branches of
science with which every samekeeper or
| forest ranger should be familiar The
| Government maintains four forest
| schools in different parts of the king
dom. of which that at Vadaszerdo near
| Temesyar, is the largest and tie hest
| equipped Some account of the school
| based upon a recent visit may be of in
| terest
| Principal Torok is the director at Vad-
| aszerdo and he is assisted by five pro-
| fessors. No student is allowed to enter
until he has passed an examination in
| the elementary subjects taught in the or
| binary schools: he must be of good
health and character and between II and
| % years of age. He pays for food. lodg-
| ing and uniform less than ETA year
during his first two years. Even this
small payment is RENTED in the case of
poor and deserving lads, and as a mat
ter of fact of the 81 students now at
Vadaszerdo only eight pay any fees at
l all Every, tIl6pnf school
must stay at least two years the u most
promising pupils at each school spend Il
| third year at Vadaszerdo. entirely at the
expense of the State, acting IS projects
over the other youths.
The students in their first year study
physical geography, botany, horticulture
and agriculture. as well as history and
| the Hungarian language; they also re-
| ceive practical instruction in keeping
bees. dressing vines and pruning and
grating fruit trees. In their second year
they are taught every kind of forest lore
how trees should be planted, how and
when they should be cut down, what in
sects and animals are the enemies OF
| each particular kind OF tree. and how to
protect the trees against them. which
kind of tree is best suited for firewood.
planks, railroad sleepsrs, etc.
During both years they are also taught
| to hunt and shoot. and to understand the
! use of the scientific instruments in the
observatory which measure the amount
of sunshine daily, the moisture Of the at
mosphere, and the radiation of the earth.
The men in the third year pursue these
studies further learning also to make
plans and estimates for the erection OF
cottages and wooden bridges.
Around the college spread the gardens.
the nursery grounds, and a large extent
Of forest. Here every kind of European
tree is represented and here each stu
dent puts into practice swhat he has
learned in the lecture room. These
| grounds cover altogether 1000 acres. Ii
them the breeding of pheasants and deer
| is conducted on a large scale. For this
purpose a large staff of forest rangers
| and gamekeepers is maintained all the
year round.
| These men, like the students, are of
! every race in Observation-Disclosures
Serb, German and Magyar. A large in
| come is derived from the sale of the
game and of young trees and timber,
with the result that the school, though
| generously equipped for its purposes,
| costs the State nothing: on the contrary,
it returns to the public Exchequer more
than $4,000 per annum, at the same time
distributing practically free large num-
bers of young trees to land owners who
| require them-London Times.