Comment 659 



Woodchoppers are probably also scarce, and felling budgets 

 will probably fall behind as well as planting operations if the war 

 lasts beyond spring. 



If the Germans succeed in keeping their enemies out of the 

 country, the efifect of the disturbance of regular administration 

 will be negligible, but if the country has to suffer an invasion, 

 especially on the Russian frontier, where extensive areas of 

 coniferous forest are located, the loss by fire will undoubtedly 

 be heavy, and it will require a long time to bring back the equilib- 

 rium of age classes, which it has taken a century to establish. 

 The same causes of forest destruction which have been active 

 in France and Belgium may repeat themselves on German soil. 



Of course, all scientific and experimental work is for the 

 time abandoned, and after the war for some time there will be, 

 no doubt, curtailment necessary in this direction for financial 

 reasons. The question may be raised whether financial difficulties 

 after the war may not influence the forest policy of the German 

 states, should Germany lose and be mulcted by her enemies. In 

 our opinion, there is no danger in that direction, the management 

 under sustained yield in the state forests has proven too well 

 as the best financial policy to be easily abandoned. The time for 

 sale of state forest property as a financial need is passed. After 

 the war of liberation 100 years ago, it was Hartig's merit that he 

 prevented the sale of state forests ; they were mortgaged instead, 

 and it is only within a few years that the mortgage on the 

 Prussian forests had been entirely paid off. At that time the 

 forests were not one-tenth as valuable a property to loan on as 

 now when their regular income could be capitalized at 600 million 

 dollars for the Prussian forests, and for that of the whole of 

 German forests at two billion dollars. The communal forests 

 will not either be allowed to be disturbed in their administration 

 more than necessary. 



In Austria, conditions are more variable than in Germany, the 

 far eastern forest areas being still exploited, and there as well as 

 in the western part of the bulk of the properties is in private hands. 

 Financial necessity is much more likely here to disturb the man- 

 agement for sustained yield, or urge less conservative exploitation. 



Whatever happens, whoever the victor, such a dislocation of 

 financial and industrial activity as this world war necessarily 

 brings about can only be detrimental to all peaceful enterprises, 

 such as forestry. 



