(i74 JOURNAL Ol- FOKKSTRV 



g-uaranty that he will take adequate steps for the reproduction of the 

 cut-over lands. 



In each Province a special forest commission is in chari^e of the 

 supervision of the cutting and the execution of the law. If it is evident 

 that a forest area has heen cut in such a way that the law has been 

 broken, the commission will either deprive the owner for a time of the 

 right to any further cutting on the total area of such forest or restrict 

 the cutting on a part of the land. Necessary measures will be taken by 

 the commission to reforest the cut-over area at the expense of the 

 owner, if he shows unwillingness to do this work himself. 



// the tijiibcr in a forest has been sold by the ozvner to be cut by 

 another party, the person zvho contracted for the logging must report 

 in detail to the local forest commission regarding the proposed plan 

 for the cutting. The same rule regarding the reporting of proposed 

 cutting of timber applies to the owner of a forest zvhen he intends to 

 cut timber on his holdings mith a viezv to selling it to sazvmills or other 

 wood-using industries establishments, or otherzvise to exploit his tim- 

 berland for commercial purposes. 



It is a noticeable fact that the Government has placed the matter of 

 supervision in the hands of special forest commissions throughout the 

 country who are conversant with local conditions and the problems of 

 forest conservation. This seems to be a very practical measure, because 

 it would be very difficult for the ordinary courts to decide whether the 

 forest law had been violated, as it would be necessary to have detailed 

 knowledge of the principles of forestry to pass judgment in each case. 



The forest commissions, of which there is one in each Province, 

 receive their orders from the Government Forest Service and work 

 directly under it. The members are appointed for a period of three 

 years and have several assistants. Each commission has three mem- 

 bers, one appointed by the Forest Service and the other two by the 

 Department of Agriculture. The Government defrays the expenses 

 of the commissions. In every cotmty or commune there is a local 

 forest commission reporting to the provincial forest commission. Their 

 expenses are paid by the county or commune where they operate. In 

 case a forest owner refuses to obey the orders of the provincial forest 

 commission, the matter is referred to the courts. 



By comparing the new Finnish forest laws with the Swedish and 

 Norwegian laws it is seen that the Finnish laws are less strict than 

 the Swedish, but more severe than the laws in Norway. The Norwe- 

 gian laws are based on the dimension of trees, which is considered 



