The First
Forest Fair
Dr.
С. Л.
Schenck marie forestry
history in 1908 while in charge of
the famous Billmore forests.
«1/
HOWARD K. KUIMtll.L
forest Enjlneer (Retired)
1( is almost universally known that
the first engine-propelled airplane
flight was made in 1903 by the Wright
Brothers at Kill Devil Mill on the North
Carolina coast.
It is fairly well known that the first
forestry school in the United States
was founded September 1, 1S98. on
the George W. Vanderbilt Estate at
Billmore under the inspiring leader¬
ship of Dr.
С. Л.
Schcnck. Vander¬
bilt's forester.
Very few people, including Tar
Heels, arc aware of the fact that North
Carolina also has the honor of holding
the first Forest Fair in the United
States. Dr. Schcnck. after 13 years
of forestry experiments (1895-1908)
in Billmore Forest and Pisgah Forest,
held the Billmore Forest Fair Novem¬
ber 26. 27 and 28. 1908.
According to the November 27.
1908. issue of the Asheville Gazette-
News, November 26. 1908. ‘‘marked
an epoch in American Forestry."
Eighty-five foresters, forestry stu¬
dents, state commissioners of forestry,
statesmen, botanists, lumbermen and
newspapermen from all parts of the
United States and also from Canada
and England attended the 3-day Bilt-
morc Forest Fair.
Forty-four experimental plots were
inspected in Billmore Forest Novem¬
ber 26 and 27 and 16 plots in Pisgah
Forest November 28. Billmore Forest
had an area of some 10.000 acres and
Pisgah Forest, 1 20,000 acres.
The Aslu-ville Gazelle-News of No¬
vember 28. 1908, reported as follows:
"At 8 o'clock this morning Dr. C. A.
Schcnck and his guests left Billmore
for Pisgah Forest to spend the last day
of the Billmore Forest Fair in the forest
primeval. The party arrived at Pisgah
Forest about 9:30, where carriages
were awaiting them for the drive up
Davidson's River and thence to the
Pink Beds, embracing about 120,000
acres of some if not the best hardwood
forests now extant.
“Whik* the past two days the visitors
were shown what man can do in the
way of regeneration, today they arc
seeing what nature is doing along the
same line after scientific cutting, and
it might be added, Dr. Schcnck’s lum¬
bering operations have proved ex¬
tremely profitable from a financial
standpoint.
‘‘Many of the visitors declared that
they have learned more about forestry
during the past two days than they
could possibly have learned in a life¬
time had this opportunity not been af¬
forded them. Many of them who had
never had an opportunity of meeting
Dr. Schcnck expressed themselves sur¬
prised to find a man so ambitious and
enthusiastic, at the same time so ex¬
tremely practical. Such an expression
came from B. L. Elliot, Commissioner
of Forestry for Pennsylvania, one of
the sages of the profession, who says:
‘that man Schcnck is a wonderful
man; so full of energy, knows so much
and at the same time is ready and
willing to admit his mistakes so others
may profit by them.'
“Yesterday was spent on the estate,
visiting many plantations similar to the
ones visited the day before, which was
extremely interesting, the party enjoy¬
ing a 'possum hunt and barbecue last
night."
Dr. Schcnck presented to each guest
a 55-pagc illustrated book with de¬
scriptions of the cuttings and plantings
on 63 plots, all of which were in¬
spected except the last three. Time ran
out the third day before plots No. 61.
62 and 63 could be reached.
Dr. Schcnck in the winter of 1895-
1896, desiring to prove to Mr. Vander¬
bilt and to all America that forest
planting could be done by a good
forester at a reasonable expense,
started with 45 acres of steep slope on
Long Ridge (plot No. 2) which had
been cleared for farming 60 years
previously and abandoned 30 years
On this area and many others em¬
bracing abandoned fields, pastures ano
orchards, experiments were made with
some 20 species of hardwoods and 1 2
of softwoods (evergreens).
It should be remembered that
Dr. Schcnck was the first author and
the Biltmore Forest School the first
publisher of a scries of textbooks on
forestry, namely: Sylviculture; For¬
est Mensuration; Forest Management;
Forest Finance; Forest Policy; Forest
Protection: Forest Utilization ( Fog¬
ging and Lumbering).
In 1953 Dr. Schcnck edited and
published The Billmore Immortals, a
volume containing 50 biographies of
alumni of Billmore Forest School.
Dr. Schcnck’s latest book is the
Story of Biltmore Forest School and
will be published early this winter by
the American Forest History Founda-
12
THE STATE. December 4. 1954