Feb. 1885.] EDITORIAL NOTES. 243 



Editorial Hotes. 



The Changes in the French Foeest Service. — We hope in our 

 next to refer at length to what the new organ of the iUves of 

 Nancy, La Foret, calls the unexampleil catastrophe to tliis magnifi- 

 cent service, caused by the recent vote of the Chamber of Deputies. 

 Meanwhile we note in passing that the style of this new periodical 

 does credit to Nancy students. All of them are bachelors of science, 

 while many are bachelors of letters, consequently they are up in 

 arms against a measure putting them nearly equal with the working 

 foresters from the school at Barres, and repudiating that right of 

 advancement, in virtue of superior age, which they had associated 

 with their more diflScult student career, as already their own. The 

 Minister of Agriculture must now suppress 120 superior agents of 

 the service. In Ilcvnc dcs Eaux d Forets, as well as in our young 

 contemporary, a table of the changes incident on this revolution is 

 given. The number of entries, " Admitted to the rights of retire- 

 ment," or, " Advanced to be honorary conservator," tells that a Life of 

 hard State service with scant pay, may terminate in pinching 

 jjoverty. Agents at fifty-six years of age must now retire. 



The Timber Market in 1884. — The annual review number of the 



Tivibcr Trades Journal bristles with statistics relative to tliis topic 

 so interesting to politicians and estate proprietors. On behalf of the 

 latter, we note that the most salient feature of the home-grown 

 timber trade was an overstocked market, caused mainly by the great 

 storms of last winter, specially with respect to ordinary-sized oaks, 

 beeches, larch. As small supplies are coming into the market, 

 firmer prices are looked for. The prices of large oaks were not 

 affected by the blow-down ; those for quarter boards being difficult 

 to procure, 5 s. a foot was freely given for clean butts. And the 

 demand for cleaving oak used for wheel spokes, kept pace with the 

 supply. Good ash butts have commanded satisfactory prices during 

 the year. Beech, on the other hand, has been lower than during 

 many past seasons. There has been an extra supply of sycamore, 

 which, however, maintains the market price for good lots. The 

 popular use of wych elm for M'heelwright timljer keeps up the 

 demand. Poplar is difficult to place, the consumption apparently 

 diminishing. 



