52 TRANSACTIONS OV ROVAI. SCO'lTISH AKUORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



with, and Italy has started in its place a new forest school on a 

 very generous scale at Florence. One great point is that there 

 are no less than 60,000 acres of forest to be reached within four 

 miles of Florence. A properly trained forest service is perhaps 

 more needed in Italy than in any other part of Europe, for there 

 are millions of acres of bare land on the mountains. The 

 configuration of the country is such that the *' restoration " of the 

 mountains is of very special importance to the agricultural lands 

 below and to the water system. The State is buying land, either 

 already under forest, or bare — this last with the view of 

 afforestation — at a considerable rate. In 19 13 alone it seems 

 to have purchased nearly 30,000 acres, and acquisitions 

 amounting to 24,700 acres are contemplated. Besides 

 educating the Government Forest Service, the new forest school 

 will admit others who may wish to obtain a technical forest 

 education — such as proprietors of woodlands, land agents, etc. 



XI. France had, before the war, set aside a credit of two 

 million francs as a beginning of forest work in Morocco. The 

 intention was to take in hand the cork oak forests, which are in 

 a terrible state, first, and then to pass on to the cedar forests of 

 Fez and of the Atlas mountains. 



XII. The Jievi/e Scientifiqiie says that the forests of German 

 Alsace-Lorraine cover 1,111,500 acres, 31 per cent, of the area 

 of the province. Two-thirds are hardwoods, one-third conifers — 

 partly pine (Haguenau), and partly silver fir and spruce (Vosges). 

 188,500 acres are still worked as coppice. The gross revenue is 

 ten million francs (somewhere about ^400,000), and the net 

 annual return is about 14s. 6d. per acre, which is somewhat low. 



XIII. The area of the forests of Switzerland is only vaguely 

 known, since they have not yet been fully mapped. From such 

 information as is available it appears that some 2,320,000 acres 

 are wooded, which is 227 per cent, of the whole country. Of 

 course the Alps comprise an enormous area of unproductive 

 ground. The Jura is the most thickly wooded part. The spruce 

 accounts for 40 per cent, of the forests, the silver fir 20 per cent., 

 the beech 25 per cent., and various species 15 per cent. The 

 Government forests are much less extensive than those of 

 communes, while the area privately owned is small. The forests 

 are divided into "Forests of protection," and "Free forests." 

 The former must be worked under Government orders, and the 

 Government grants large subsidies in connection with them. 



