116 THE FOBESTS OF SWITZERLAND. [Dbc, 



THE FOBESTS OF SWITZEBLAND. 



^FECIAL attention has been drawn to this subject by the 

 group devoted to the representation of Forestry in the Swiss 

 National Exhibition held recently at Zurich. The promoters 

 of this enterprise have collected much interesting material in the 

 shape of maps and plans, as well as specimens of the various 

 trees and plants grown in the forests of Switzerland. An official 

 report drawn up by Professor Landolt of Zurich is also full of 

 valuable information on the subject. 



Out of the entire superficial area of Switzerland (15,714 square 

 miles), the wooded portion represents 17| per cent. About two- 

 thirds of this part belong to the cantons and various local bodies, 

 while one-third is in the hands of private owners. Both these 

 main divisions have certain features in common, such as the 

 subdivision into small portions. Forests of wide extent do not, 

 as a rule, exist, the reason being th«,t all places suited to agri- 

 culture or pasturage have long been cleared. The yield of these 

 forests in wood and other products (including the cost of obtaining 

 them and the transport) represents an annual value of about 

 i^l, 600,000 sterling. This does not by any means cover the total 

 requirements of the country, and there is annually received from 

 other countries about li millions sterling worth of wood. 



The intervention of the State in the regulation of forests seems 

 to have been prompted in the first instance by fears as to an 

 insufficient supply of wood — the earliest record of this action on 

 the part of the Swiss Government dating as far back as the seven- 

 teenth centur5^ The measures then adopted were based upon the 

 limitation of exports, and upon the restricted use of wood in the 

 country itself. In the earlier part of the eighteenth century, the 

 development of cultivation seems to have been seriously 

 attempted, the planting of AVillows and Poplars on marshy land 

 having then been enjoined. About the year 1760 several 

 disinterested men gave their serious attention to forest matters, 

 and strove to effect certain needed improvements, drawing up 

 proposals on the subject in a detailed form. Acting on these 

 counsels, the authorities did not merely content themselves with 

 renewing previous injunctions as to economy in the use of wood, 

 but established a better system of cultivation than had hitherto 

 been in force, appointing in some cantons special officials to see 

 to the carrying out of the forest regulations then introduced. 



These measures were successful ; but the years of war which 



