C—3a

The consensus of opinion amongst British forestry educationists was that time and facilities to undertake research was desirable, and'in spite of inevitable financial difficulties the trend was in the direction of larger teaching staff to achieve this objective. CHAPTER X—SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 238. The following conclusions and recommendations are submitted, in the conviction that they are to a greater or lesser extent, applicable to all countries seeking the highest possible standards in forestry education and research. For convenience of presentation, Education and Research are dealt with under separate headings ; where they impinge, the liaison is discussed under Education. Education 239. The Principle of Academic Freedom is Recognized in European Higher Forestry Education.—The Schools of Forestry visited may be classified as follows : (a) Faculty of an Independent C/"wwers%.—Hann-Muenden (Germany); Florence (Italy); Oxford ; Edinburgh. (b) Faculty of a State University.—Helsinki (Finland). (c) Faculty of a State Agricultural College, or Technology Institute.—Aas (Norway); Zurich (Switzerland) ; Copenhagen (Denmark ). (d) A State College of Forestry. —Stockholm (Sweden); Nancy (France). With exception of the British, German, and Italian schools, all are State institutions ; this suggests the possibility of less academic independence in the latter cases, but, in fact, there was no evidence of this, due to both protective constitutional measures (representative Advisory Boards), and to traditional forest policies of non-interference in internal educational administration—e.g., the French National School of Forestry, Nancy. Thus, although systems of European forestry education differ in many respects, an accepted common denominator is academic freedom. 240. The Reputation of a School of Forestry Depends Upon the Standing and Numerical Strength of its Staff. No apology is offered for this conclusion, which, whilst axiomatic in Europe, is inclined to be overlooked in newer countries of the English-speaking world. Two factors are involved : quality and quantity; both are equally important. As a result of the relatively few but representative contacts made with European forestry educationists, the opinion is held that the average standard of professorship is impressively high, widely experienced, and in general, inspired by long and worthy traditions.

241. Numerically the position in 1949 was as follows :

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School. Forestry Professors and Lecturers. Basic Science or Part-time Lecturers. . Approximate Current Annual Intake of Students. Hann-Muenden 9 11 * 25 Nancy 10 26 Zurich 7 2+* 20 Florence 9 2+* 12 Helsinki 8 14 100 Stockholm 7 6 25 Aas (Norway) Copenhagen 11 5 5-f* * 30 (alternate years), 10 Oxford 11 * 25 Edinburgh 5 * 30 * Denotes additional basic science lecturers of another faculty or institution.