REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. II5 



REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 



History of Forestry. By Bernhard E, Fernow. Revised and 

 Enlarged Edition. 516 pp., including Index. University 

 Press, Toronto, 191 1. 



Dr Fernow always manages to make interesting whatever 

 he writes about, and his History of Forestry is no exception to 

 the rule. In it he has a subject which is itself most fascinating, 

 and it is made the most of in this important book. Much 

 need was felt for such a work, as the information could 

 otherwise be obtained only by patient search through many 

 books — chiefly German and French. 



Although usually given little attention, few will deny the 

 usefulness of a study of history as it relates to the forest. 

 The fact is that forestry requires to be considered in this 

 way more than most subjects. We hope and believe that our 

 country has awakened to a new sense of its responsibilities 

 in regard to silviculture, but development in that direction is 

 only commencing, so that it behoves us to see how other 

 countries have advanced and to examine closely the lines of 

 progress. When this is done, it is wonderful how similar the 

 successive stages of evolution are seen to be in countries differing 

 fundamentally in other respects. 



The forest history of Germany is taken by the author as a 

 kind of type or standard, and dealt with more fully than that 

 of other countries. In view of the leading position occupied 

 by Germany in all branches of forestry, this preference is 

 justifiable, besides which Germany is the only country provided 

 with an extensive literature on the subject. Dr Fernow follows 

 chiefly Schwappach's Forst und Jagdgeschichte Deutschlands 

 in this section of the book, but instead of making a division 

 into four periods three are considered, namely: (i) to the 

 end of the Middle Ages; {2) to the end of the eighteenth 

 century; and (3) the modern period. 



The first of these is probably less interesting to English 

 readers than the later history, as it is largely concerned 

 with ancient conditions of ownership, the establishment of 



