226 FORESTRY IN FRANCE. 
beech and silver fir, are called “ delicate,” or trees of heavy cover. 
The spruce and the hornbeam are classed intermediately between 
kinds of light and heavy cover. This is a very important question 
for the forester, not only with reference to the method to be 
adopted for raising of a crop of any particular kind of trees, but 
also with regard to their coppicing power, their effect on the soil, 
and other matters. Trees of light cover, generally speaking, coppice 
better than those of heavy cover, but the latter have a much 
greater effect than the former in improving the soil. 
It is estimated that the 35,464 square miles of woods and forests 
yielded the following produce in 1876, viz., 17,896,227 loads (50 
cubic feet) of wood of all qualities, 321,741 tons-weight of tanning 
bark, 2556 tons-weight of cork, and 31,539 tons-weight of resin ; 
the whole being valued at £9,471,017. The average production 
of wood was therefore 39 cubic feet per acre; and the gross 
revenue, omitting that on minor produce, which was very small, 
was equal to 8s. 4d. per acre. But, in addition to this, it is cal- 
culated that the isolated trees, not grown for the sake of their 
timber, and vines yield together 35 million loads per annum, valued 
at £1,000,000 ; so that the total production of wood in France is 
raised to about 214 million loads, and the value of the wood, bark, 
and resin to about £10,500,000. This gives the amount of wood 
and the money value of the forest produce per head of the population 
as 291 cubic feet, and 5s. 9d. respectively. 
Of the 214 million loads of wood produced, about 4 million loads 
were timber, and the rest were firewood. The latter sufficed for 
the national requirements, but the former was far from doing so ; 
for the imports of wood of this class exceeded the exports by 
2,062,432 loads, valued at £6,408,000—that is to say, that it was 
less than two-thirds of the amount required. The question of foreign 
timber supply is, therefore, a very important one, even for France, 
which has 17 per cent. of its area under forest. 
CHAPTER II. 
FORESTS MANAGED BY THE STATE FOREST 
DEPARTMENT. 
Tue forest law of 1827, which is still in force, confirmed the 
previous legislation, under which all woods and forests which 
