268 FORESTRY IN FRANCE. 
pay, they are given a fixed quantity of firewood per annum, and 
they are allowed to cultivate a plot of ground not exceeding 2} 
acres, and to graze two cows in the forest. 
Each guard has a beat which he is bound to visit daily, the 
average size of such charges being about 1200 to 1300 acres, or say 
two square miles. The head guard has four or five guards under his 
orders ; he superintends their work, and communicates to them the 
instructions received by him from the sub-divisional officer. The 
duties of the subordinate staff are chiefly those of protection ; they 
act as forest police, and have the power to serve summonses, as 
well as to arrest delinquents. They are bound to report all offences 
committed within their beat; and should they fail to do so, they 
become responsible for the payment of any fines or compensation 
money which might be levied from the offenders. Acting under 
the orders of the sub-divisional officer, they superintend all work 
going on within the limits of their charge ; and in addition to this, 
they, under his direction, tend the young plants, prune the stems of 
the reserved trees, fill up small blanks in the forest, and perform 
such-like minor operations with their own hands. Rewards are 
given annually to men who have specially exerted themselves in 
this manner; but they are forbidden to accept, without special 
sanction, any gratuity from “communes” or private proprietors for 
services rendered by them in the execution of their duties. They 
are entitled to a pension when they have attained the age of fifty- 
five years, and have completed twenty-five years’ service, including 
the time spent in the army. 
As above stated, one-third of the appointments to the grade of 
sub-assistant inspector are reserved for the promotion of deserving 
members of the subordinate staff. Ordinarily, men so promoted 
must have at least fifteen years’ service, and be less than fifty years 
of age ; but they can be promoted after four years’ service, if they 
have passed successfully through the secondary school at Barres. 
Military Organisation.—Under the law which provides that all 
men belonging, in time of peace, to regularly organised public 
services, can, in time of war, be formed into special corps, destined 
to serve with the active or with the territorial army, the members 
of the Forest Department form a part of the military forces of the 
country ; and the officers of the superior and the subordinate staff 
are organised by conservatorships into companies or sections, 
according to their numerical strength. In case of the mobilisation 
of the army, the Forest Corps is at the disposal of the War 
