182 FORESTRY ALMANAC 



participates in the British Empire Forestry Association and has vari- 

 ous congresses of its own on the forestry question. 



Austria 



Austria's forests cover approximately 7,600,000 acres, of which 

 nearly two-thirds are in private ownership, about one-eighth in the 

 hands of the State and the remainder owned by communities and relig- 

 ious organizations. Dislocations incident to the war have transformed 

 Austria's commercial situation with relation to the consumption and 

 exportation of wood, but even with the partitions that have taken place 

 indications are that Austria will continue to be a large exporter. Strict 

 laws regarding the handling of private forests and a successful organ- 

 ization of the public forests have obtained in Austria in the past, 

 and their future administration remains to be seen. Effective educa- 

 tional facilities have been provided in the past, but they are at 

 present languishing somewhat for lack of financial support. 



Belgium 



About 1,300,000 acres go to make up the forest area of Belgium, 

 where nearly two-thirds of the forests are in the hands of private 

 owners and the remainder owned among public institutions, the State 

 and the communes. The latter hold the largest percentage of publicly- 

 owned forest. Some 75,000,000 cubic feet are cut from the Belgian 

 forests every year, an amount representing almost exactly one-half of 

 the annual consumption of wood. While the publicly-owned forests 

 are run according to continental methods of conservation, no restric- 

 tions are placed upon private owners in the cutting and management 

 of their holdings. Two state forest schools are maintained as well 

 as a depot for forest research at Groenendael. 



Belgian Africa 



About 450,000,000 acres of Belgium's possessions in Africa are 

 covered with forest growth of various species, some of it dense and 

 inaccessible. So far as import and export goes, however, the forests 

 have little present significance. There is no real forestry regulation 

 except in so far as permits are required for the cutting of saw timber 

 from the portions of the forest area reserved to the State. 



