THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 75 



still lags behind the progressive mo'dern nations in all that re- 

 lates to the protection, preservation and conservative use of 

 the forests. 



Perhaps the scientific treatment of forestry has reached 

 its highest development in Germany where the problem of in- 

 creasing not only the forest output but also the profits has been 

 solved. The timber lands of Germany are three times better 

 in quality today than before forestry was introduced. In 

 France, the foresters have begun to create the difficult art of 

 controlling the floods of mountain currents, by planting trees. 

 That they have not finished their work is proved by the dis- 

 astrous floods of the past spring, which are said to have arisen 

 from the deforested areas. They have also removed the danger 

 of wandering sand dunes by fixing them in place, by means of 

 huge forests of pine, thus creating a property worth millions. 

 The advance of forestry, and the miethod's of forestry in the 

 republic of Switzerland are well worth our attention and imi- 

 tation, for they have developed a wonderful type of govern- 

 ment forest policy and demonstrated, beyond contradiction, 

 the great yield in woodi and money that forestry may bring if 

 applied steadily for a number of years. And so the strides 

 which forestry has been taking abroad could be exemplified in 

 all the European countries. In Australia, Italy, Norway, and 

 Sweden, it is well established as part of the national govern- 

 ment. Turkey, Greece, Spain and Portugal give attention to 

 their forests, while England, though she devotes little time to 

 the problems of forestry in her own country, has made great 

 progress in Canada, the Cape of Good Hope and British In- 

 dia. Indeed, in the last country in a little over thirty years, 

 she has created a service of wonderful merit and achievments. 

 What lessons can we learn fiom the success forestry has at- 

 tained abroad? Briefly these first, that forestry pays and 

 pays best where expense is not spared; second, that since it 

 takes so long to repair forest waste, immediate action is ne- 



