186 Forestry Quarterly 



10. It possesses an instructional and experimental value, espe- 

 cially at the present time, when forestry in America is still in its 

 formative period. 



11. The subdivision lines afford a place for stacking wood and 

 a means of transporting it. 



12. The subdivision lines afford a means of getting to forest 

 fires, and form a base for controlling them and such other destruc- 

 tive agents as wind, insects, and fungi. 



Anyone who undertakes the subdivision of a forest will 

 naturally try to inform himself concerning the experiences and 

 conclusions of others. At least a few of their many experiences 

 may have found their way into print. A study of the literature 

 in the English language upon this subject will soon reveal the 

 fact that it is limited in extent and superficial in treatment. On 

 the other hand, an attempt to study the German literature upon 

 this subject will soon disclose the fact that it is just as voluminous 

 and digested as the English is limited and superficial. German 

 foresters have been engaged in this special kind of work since 

 1750, but in particular from 1810 to 1850, when H. von Gotta 

 and G. L. Hartig were at their height. It is in their writings, 

 and to a more limited extent in that of their contemporaries and 

 immediate successors, that one finds a complete and clear discus- 

 sion of the general procedure followed in subdividing a forest 

 area. Most of the later writers concern themselves more with 

 the improvement of existing subdivisions and the coinage of new 

 terms, than with the fundamental procedure followed in subdivid- 

 ing a forest. 



The German foresters learned at an early date that the division 

 of the aggregate forest area into units was a prerequisite to 

 orderly procedure. Four kinds of grades of units are usually 

 recognized, viz : directive, inspective, executive, and protective. 

 The State-owHcd forest land of Saxony is divided into nine dis- 

 tricts and each district is subdivided into twelve forests (remere), 

 making a total of 108 forests. The State forest land of Austria 

 is divided into seven districts, which are in turn subdivided into 

 196 forests and 1,078 ranges. Each forest or executive charge is 

 subdivided for managerial reasons into numerous compartments 

 and subcompartments. The compartments and subcompartments 



