A Brief History of Forestry. In Europe, the United States and Other Countries

"A Brief History of Forestry" by B. E. Fernow is a historical account written in the early 20th century. The book provides a comprehensive overview of the development of forestry practices and policies across various regions, including Europe and the United States. It likely examines how historical, political, and economic factors have influenced forest management and conservation efforts throughout time. The opening of the text introduces the author’s motivation for compiling this information based on a series of lectures given at Yale University. It emphasizes the importance of understanding the historical context of forestry, as this enables readers to analyze the development of current practices and avoid past mistakes. Fernow highlights how forestry as a discipline has evolved, often dictated by necessity and the pressures of human expansion on natural resources. He sets the stage for a discussion that will span ancient practices to modern conservation measures, revealing how deeply intertwined forestry is with civilization's growth and industrial progress. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Bernhard Eduard Fernow was the third chief of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Division of Forestry of the United States from 1886 to 1898, preceding Gifford Pinchot in that position, and laying much of the groundwork for the establishment of the United States Forest Service in 1905. Fernow's philosophy toward forest management may be traced to Heinrich Cotta's preface to Anweisung zum Waldbau or Linnaeus' ideas on the "economy of nature." Fernow has been called the "father of professional forestry in the United States."