412 ITALIAN FORESTS. [April 



willow-growers can deal with them profitably. They grow well in 

 sandy loam, and will do moderately well in a gravelly soil. There 

 are more than twenty varieties of this group, but only two that 

 grow well in Scotland, S. purpurea and S. Kirksii ; the latter is 

 known by nurserymen under the name of Whipcord. The demand 

 for this willow is somewhat limited, and it cannot therefore be 

 recommended for general cultivation." 



& 



ITALIAN FORESTS. 



BY HENRY F. MOORE, FROME, SOMERSET. 



A MOST interesting Eeport on the Forests of Eastern Tuscany has 

 just been issued by the Foreign Office, having been sent by 

 Consul-General Coinage from Florence. These woods are generally 

 composed of beech, oak, and cliestnut trees, the forest of Camaldoli 

 being planted with firs in addition; they occupy some 74,000 

 hectares of the total area of the province, and with the exception of 

 Camaldoli, which is State property, appear all to be in the hands of 

 private owners. The care of the woods is entrusted to private 

 guards appointed by the proprietors, but recognised by law. This 

 system, owing to the absence of control over the guards, and their 

 general ignorance of the duties they have to perform, is very defec- 

 tive. The present condition of the woods in general is stated to be 

 not altogether bad, although reafforesting, its proved advantages 

 notwithstanding, is carried out in exceptional cases only. Proprietors 

 as a rule appear not to be possessed of capital sufficient to enable 

 them to sacrifice immediate to future profit. The principal products 

 of the woods are timber, rough and sawn, firewood charcoal (the 

 trade in which is active and the industry general in the mountain 

 districts), and oak bark for tanning. 



In the proximity of the Giogo Scali, one of the higliest points of 

 the Apennines of the Casentino, a narrow valley opens from north 

 to south, and descends rapidly to the Bifolco Bridge, leading to the 

 village of Loci. The valley is traversed in its whole length by the 

 Arcliiano torrent, and has its upper portion covered with fine woods 

 which compose the inalienable State forest of Camaldoli. The forest 

 is placed in the forestal district of Paterno (province of Florence), 

 and is under the management of a resident sub-inspector of woods, 

 assisted by a brigadier and three forest guards. 



The total superficial area of the forest is 1442'20 hectares, of 

 which 949'35 hectares are wooded, and 492'85 hectares are divided 



