862 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



ters. After several years of service in 

 this corps, during part of which time 

 they may be granted leave of absence in 

 order to take part in actual forestry 

 work, they are eligible for appointment 

 to the forest service. The object of 

 this training is evidently to secure men 

 of good physique and of certain moral 

 and intellectual attainment for the 



^ A Russian Cossack. 



NOTpOIOW CLOSELY HIS UNIFORM RESEMBLES THAT OF 

 V .W^t, THE FOREST OFFICERS. 



forest service, and at the same time to 

 make them available for military service. 

 In Russia iboth the upper and lower 

 grades of forest officers were for many 

 years recruited directly from the mili- 

 tary service. In 1837 the first technical 

 forestry education in the country was 



given as a part of the training at a 

 regular military school. In 1867, how- 

 ever, the forest service began to be 

 transformed from a military to a civil 

 organization, and since that time the 

 higher officers, at least, have as a rule 

 not been men trained primarily for 

 military service. The lower officers, 

 such as guards, however, are still 

 recruited as far as possible from those 

 who have already passed the military 

 service to which all able-bodied citizens 

 arc liable, and particularly from those 

 who have served as non-commissioned 

 officers. 



While it is impossible to state exactly 

 how many men are included in the 

 State forest services of the warring 

 countries, a rough estimate of their 

 total mmiber is as follows : 



Higher Lower ^ ,^j 

 Grades Grades 



Russia _ - 3,500 31,000 34,500 



Germany ....__. 1,500 7,800 9,300 



Austria-Hungary il,000 6,600 7,600 



France 700 3,800 4,500 



France also has some 600 forest 

 officers in its province of Algeria, many 

 of whom are undoubtedly engaged in 

 the war. Belgium, with only 450,000 

 acres of State and communal forests, 

 has only about 150 foresters in its 

 State service. In Servia and Turkey 

 forestry has not as yet been developed 

 to any extent, and the number of men 

 employed is undoubtedly very small. 

 England itself has practically no State 

 forests and only a few foresters in 

 private employ. In British India, 

 however, a large force is employed for 

 the handling of the 149,000,000 acres 

 under the management of the forest 

 department. Canada also has a moder- 

 ately large and steadily growing forest 

 force, and foresters from both of these 

 countries are certainly fighting for 

 their mother country. 

 In round numbers, then, there are 

 probably in the neighborhood of from 

 55,000 to 60,000 foresters employed b^ 

 the Governments of the various coun- 

 tries and their provinces engaged in 

 the present war. Of these it can safely 

 be assumed that from two-thirds to 



