Periodical Literature. 443 



POLITICS AND LEGISLATION. 



In south and west Germany state regulation 

 Regulation of communal forests has three main ob- 



of jects. In the first place, care must be ex- 



Communal ercised that the proper area is forested. 



Forests. This means a careful balancing of the needs 



of the community in question against the 

 welfare of the nation. Secondly, the communes have a tendency 

 to reduce their wood capital by overcutting and require, therefore, 

 technical advice as to what may properly be called increment. 

 Lastly, the services of a disinterested party are needed in valua- 

 tion for tax purposes. The communes are, of course, unfitted 

 to act in the role of both assessor and collector of taxes. 



The results of state supervision are generally satisfactory. 

 The cost of the work of valuation is borne by the Stale, while 

 the commune pays for protection and routine administration. 



K. W. W. 



Die IS Hauptversammlwrig des Deutschen Forstvereins. Forstwissen- 

 schaftliches Centralblatt. February, 1913. Pp. 78-91. 



The remarkable socialistic movement in 

 Social Germany, by which the lot of the laborer 



Improvement is being improved, is gradually being per- 

 of fected more and more. The latest im- 



Woodchoppers. provement refers to the woodchoppers in 

 the Saxon forest department, described by 

 Oberforster Dr. Moller. There existed voluntary woodchoppers' 

 aid associations in Saxony long before the imperial care of la- 

 borers was thought of, and these continued to function after the 

 latter had been inaugurated. This mixed system had its disad- 

 vantages. 



With the year 19 13, the woodchoppers in the State forests are 

 obliged to join the pension system of the Saxon railroad men. 

 This affects about 4000 workmen who secure an invalid and life 

 insurance, to which the State contributes half the premiums. 

 The laborers are classified in wage classes ; they pay and are 

 paid according to this classification and the length of time they 

 have been in the class ; the classes within which forest laborers 

 appear ranging from $140 to $300 per annum, as annual wages 



