»S4 



Canadian Forestry Journal. 



struction work, including buildings, 

 telephone lines, etc., Prussia spends 

 about 16 cents per acre and the Un- 

 ited States about 3.5 mills. In real- 

 ity the comparison ought to be re- 

 versed, for construction work con- 

 stitutes an exceedingly important 

 part of the first organization of a 

 forest. 



The great yield of timber and 

 large returns in money from the 

 European forests are the result of 

 careful, intelligent forestry. Not 

 only are the forests protected, but 

 they are constantly improved; they 

 are properly thinned to obtain the 

 best possible conditions of growth, 

 and open areas are planted with 

 trees when reproduction cannot be 

 secured naturally. All of this in- 

 volves expenditure of money. Such 

 improvement work costs in Prussia 

 $1,700,000 each year, or 23 cents per 

 acre. Even in India there is an ex- 

 penditure of over $173,000 a year 

 for cultural operations. The ex- 

 penditure in the United States is 

 only about $50,000 for this item, a 

 sum so small that it can hardly be 



expressed in terms of expense per 

 acre. 



One of the great problems in the 

 United States is the training of men 

 to handle the work of the national 

 forests. At the present lime the 

 number of trained men available for 

 the administration of the forests is 

 entire!}^ inadequate. The country is 

 fortunate in having private schools 

 which are educating men for feder- 

 al service. The United States For- 

 est Service is aiding these schools to 

 a small extent, but the total amount 

 expended is probably not over $1,- 

 000. This may be compared with 

 $50,000 spent in Prussia, $37,000 in 

 France, and $26,000 in. India. 



It is obvious from this brief com- 

 parison of expenses in different 

 countries that the amount of money 

 spent on the administration of the 

 National Forests in this country is 

 exceeding small, and it is perfectly 

 obvious to anyone who knows the 

 conditions that a very much larger 

 amount is required to accomplish 

 the purpose of the people of the Un- 

 ited States in managing their gov- 

 ernment forests. 



Expenditures for Forestry in Prussia, France, India, and the United States. 



PRUSSIA. 



(From the budget of 1908). 



Recurring Expenses : Amount. Per acre. 



Superior staff $i,433 590-oo $o. 19 



Subordinate staff 2,468,9 i. 00 .33 



Rents and expenses of offices 870,08500 .12 



Scientific work and education 96,750.00 .or3 



Extraction of forest products 3,082,750 00 .42 



Cultural work 1,710,500.00 .23 



Tonstruction and maintenance of building^s 598,750.00 .08 



Construction of roads, dams, etc 57 ''50°°° -08 



I and purchase 262,500.00 .04 



Administration of communal forests 492,000.00 .07 



Other expenses 68j. 914.00 .09 



Total $12,521,250.00 



Extraordinary expenses i, i49'45000 • '^ 



Grand total $13,670,700.00 



Average • 1-823 



