334 JOURNAIv OF FORESTRY 



are given in a table and the property changes are historically traced. 

 The majority holdings of the municipalities lie between 50 and 500 

 acres in size. The private forests originate mostly from sales of State 

 property and are mostly small, over 90 per cent less than 25 acres. 



The organization of the German State forest administration is then 

 described, this being the only forest of which the empire as such was 

 owner. A Landesforstmeister, three Oberforstmeister, or district offi- 

 cers, with a council of Forstrate, and a bureau of working plans ; 64 

 Oberforster in charge of the rangers, increased in number over the 

 French regime from 46, averaging about 10,000 acres; assistants 16 

 (Revierforster), Hegemeister 43, and 720 guards formed the per- 

 sonnel — altogether around 900 officials to manage, say, 350,000 acres. 

 The methods of administration are elucidated, and especially the fact is 

 accentuated of the avitonomous position which the Oberforster (super- 

 visor) occupies. This decentralization the author considers desirable 

 and to be envied, as also the right to the chase of small game, which 

 the French foresters do not have. 



Another advantage of the German administration is that the logging 

 is done under the direction of the forest officials, doing away with a lot 

 of undesirable regulations, which hamper the French administration ; 

 but, to be sure, also inviting some risks which the author recognizes. 



The most interesting part is the account of silvicultural management 

 and changes accomplished. Under the French regime there were still 

 65,000 acres of coppice in the State property, 40,000 of which in con- 

 version to timber forest. By 1898 it was all converted, but the author 

 claims that, due to ignorance of proper conversion methods (namely, 

 by planting instead of gradual change by natural regeneration), these 

 converted areas have become lamentable failures, mismanaged coppice 

 rather than timber forest. 



A subdivision into compartments according to Prussian method, in 

 plain rectangular, in mountain following contours, and doing away 

 with the French multiplication of small felling series, the author ap- 

 proves, as well as of the abandonment of a strict annual sustained yield 

 management for each small unit. 



But an "absolutely deplorable" innovation the author finds in the 

 almost general abandonment of natural regeneration and adoption of 

 the "Prussian" system of clear cutting and planting, which naturally 

 gives preponderance to pine and spruce over the hardwoods, and, in 

 order to meet the cost of this method, has led to a reduction of the 

 wood capital by lowering the rotation and to the cutting of the reserves 

 of old oaks, which the French are proud to accumulate. 



The author admits that in the fir forest of the Vosges these accumula- 



