THE EXHIBITION AT PARIS. 99 



Austria is exceedingly rich in forests. The official notices furnished 

 to the Jury of the Exhibition state that a third of the area of the empire 

 fit for use is covered with forests. Notwithstanding this vast propor- 

 tion, in some parts people fear the want of wood, land it requires the 

 greatest caution of the foresters to prevent the annihilation of those 

 beautiful trees. 



In particular the forests of the Rhine-provinces of Prussia, of Thu- 

 ringia, of Baden, and of Bavaria, were rendered prominent by the 

 French, English, and Spanish Government-commissioners, who travelled 

 through Germany by order of their Governments ; and Mr. Vicaire, the 

 Inspector-general of Forests and Imperial Domains, stated with great 

 satisfaction that near Metz already the same way of cultivation of forests 

 had been introduced as exists in the neighbouring Prussia. In France 

 there have been issued, within the last ten years, many enactments ; 

 large sums have been voted for the plantation of the mountains with 

 trees, and many books written ; but in reality nothing has been done ; 

 nay more, it is forgotten that such enactments even exist. 



From different countries were exhibited at Paris collections of many 

 kinds of forest wood. The crown is due to the English colonies ; their 

 collections were the richest, most beautiful, and best arranged, and con- 

 tained the rarest specimens, some of them quite new. 



Canada had exhibited all its productions of industry and raw pro- 

 ductions together, all laid out with elegance and taste, and thus fur- 

 nished so beautiful a collection that it deserves to be marked as the 

 most distinguished. Canada exports every year wood to the value of 

 fifty millions of francs, most of which is sent to England ; in particular 

 their Conifers are renowned in commerce. There were exhibited sixty- 

 four kinds of wood, thirty-two of which were collected on an area of 

 sixty joch. All were beautiful specimens ; not only sections, boards, 

 staffs, hoops, posts, as they appear in commerce, but also joiners' work. 



Amongst these specimens were excellent kinds, as White Pine, Yel- 

 low Pine (Finns mitis), Red Larch, Tamarac (Larix Americana). White 

 and Yellow Pines and Eed Larch are very much valued for timber, even 

 for ship-building (the Yellow Pine), which at present is much in de- 

 mand. The Oaks (Quercm rubra, macrocarpa, coccinea) do not furnish 

 useful timber for ship-building, being liable early to the attacks of the 

 so called red-worm ; therefore it is said that ships constructed of this 

 material are of little use after three years. 



