NOTES 605 



of shares in the new undertaking. The district in which the conces- 

 sion is located is granted at a moderate price for pubhc use, 5 per cent 

 of the power developed, and the State receives 5 per cent under the 

 same conditions. The most important condition is the limitation of 

 the period for which the concession is granted to not less than 60 

 years and not more than 80 years. After this period the waterfalls, 

 dams, water mains, pipes, etc., all become the property of the State 

 without compensation. 



In regard to mining, the law provides that prospecting and trial 

 operation may be carried on without concession, but the right to mine 

 must be secured through concession. This imposes several conditions, 

 including the right of the Government to impose a tax of 3 per cent 

 on the output of the mine. Furthermore, the concession is granted 

 only for a fixed period not exceeding 80 years, after which the own- 

 ership of the property, together with the machinery and improvements, 

 reverts to the Government without compensation. 



So far as forests are concerned, foreigners are not allowed to 

 acquire any property without concession. Citizens and Norwegian 

 stock companies may buy timber areas not exceeding 250 acres. From 

 250 to 1,250 acres may be bought by Norwegian citizens, or local com- 

 munities, with the restriction that they must not own over one-tenth of 

 the total timber area of the district, and the community has the right 

 of pre-emption in all such purchases. In addition, special laws have 

 been enacted regulating the cutting of protection forest and other 

 forests. 



This law, and especially the feature that relates to the reversion to 

 the State of mines and water powers, was attacked by conservatives 

 as being socialistic and unconstitutional, and as retarding progress by 

 keeping foreign capital out of the country. Those favoring the law, 

 however, preferred to insure to the people of Norway as a whole full 

 control over their natural resources, even if progress should be 

 rendered somewhat slower thereby. As a matter of fact, rapid indus- 

 trial progress is being made under the law and the feeling that the new 

 industries really belong to the whole people has created a confidence 

 and optimism that will insure the healthy development of the resources 

 of the country. 



S. T. D. 



The Cascara Bark Industry on the Siuslaw National Forest 



The peeling of cascara bark (Rhamniis purshiana) has for many 

 years been one of the local industries of the homesteaders in the 



