The School of Forestry in the Escurial in 



Spain« 



By the Eev. J. C. BEOWN, LL.D. 



In France aud in Prussia, in Bavaria and Austria, in Piussia, in 

 Finland, and in Sweden, there are Schools of Forestry, having designa- 

 tions indicative of their being such. In the kingdom of Wurtemburg 

 the School of Forestry is combined with a school of agriculture ; in 

 the Grand Duchy of Baden the School of Forestry is included in the 

 Polytechnicum or Technological School. In Spain the School of 

 Forestry is such, pure and simple ; but it bears the designation 

 La Escucla Especial de Ingcnicros de Monks (The School of Mountain 

 Engineers). In France not a little has been done by Ics Inrjenicurs 

 dcs Fonts et Chaussees (or the Engineers of Eoads and Bridges), in 

 carrying out, in connection with the officers of the Forest Service, the 

 rehoisemcnt of the mountains, or the replanting of them with trees, &c., 

 with a view to arresting and preventing the destructive consequences 

 and effects of torrents. The designation of the Spanish School of 

 Forestry indicates that something similar to this is the main and the 

 special duty of the corresponding body of engineers in Spain. Their 

 duties relate primarily and specially to the creation rather than to 

 the exploitation of forests. It is located in the old palace of the 

 Escurial. It is under the control of the Minister of Instruction, and 

 it is regulated under a decree issued under date of 24th October, 1870. 

 Under a previous decree, of 23rd October, 1868, the prescribed course 

 of study embraced a period of three years. By that now in force the 

 curriculum has been extended to embrace a period of four years. 



In order to gain admittance to the school, the applicant must be 

 accredited by certificates or diplomas of having passed an academic 

 examination in the following subjects, — Spanish grammar, Latin 

 grammar, geography, and the general and detailed history of Spain ; 

 and he is admitted after passing, with approval, an examination in 

 the school on the elements of natural history, the elements of the 

 theory of mechanics, descriptive geometry and its application to pro- 

 jections and to perspective, physics, chemistry, lineal, topographical, 

 and landscape drawing, and his knowledge of the French and German 

 languages. 



