AT THE present time silviculture is practiced upon only a small percentage of the forest lands in the United States and most of the lands upon which it is practiced are those owned by public agencies. To many young men now studying forestry it may seem surprising that greater advance toward application in the woods has not been made during the period since the forestry movement started. However, as a matter of fact real field application of silviculture scarcely dates back 30 years. Good technical management of the national forests began when the U. S. Forest Service was created in the first decade of the present century and this marks the first application in this country of forestry methods on areas of any size. From the long range view point rapid progress has been made during these three decades, culminating in the achievements of the last few years.