Forests and Forestry 131 



obtaining a revenue ; and in doing so it may calculate 

 its profit either upon the cash outlay, with com- 

 pound interest, without considering in the com- 

 putation the rental value of the soil, or it may 

 include the latter. In either case the methods of 

 treatment adopted will be somewhat modified. As 

 yet no American government has ventured upon 

 such an enterprise, but either system of state fores- 

 try is in full working order in several European 

 countries. Which of the two systems is adopted 

 depends on fiscal rather than forestal reasons. 



A government also may manage its forests with a 

 view to furnishing a steady and ample supply of raw 

 material to the industries of its people. In such a 

 case it would be of secondary importance whether 

 the forest afforded a large or small revenue. It 

 might even be expedient to run it at a loss. Upon 

 this system many of the public forests of Europe 

 were managed a hundred years ago, but at present 

 the aim to produce the largest possible revenue has 

 almost entirely superseded it. The system is akin 

 to that of a furniture manufactory which raises its 

 hard woods on its own land ; or the manner in 

 which the farmer treats his timber-lot. 



A third object of the management of public 

 forests may be the protection of the climatic and 

 physiographical interests of the country. The set- 

 ting aside of large forest reservations in the moun- 

 tain regions of the West by the United States 

 government has been principally for this purpose. 

 The States of Pennsylvania and New York also 



