54 Germany. 



market was rented to a corporation, excluding all 

 others except by permission of the company. This 

 was in 1785 supplanted by government administra- 

 tion of the woodyards. 



Another such monopoly was created in the "Nutz- 

 holzhandelsgesellschaft" (Workwood sales agency) 

 for the export trade of building materials from Kur- 

 mark and Magdeburg, which had prior right of pur- 

 chase to all timber cut within given territory, the 

 idea being to provide cheap material for the industries. 

 This, too, came into the hands of the State in 1771. 



In Prussia, to prevent overcharges, the Jews were 

 excluded from the wood trade in 1761. 



The exercise of the Forsthoheit (princely super- 

 vision), originating in the ban forests, and favored 

 by the mercantilistic and absolutist ideas of the 17th 

 and 18th centuries, gradually grew until the end of 

 the 18th century to such an extent that the forest 

 owners themselves were not allowed to cut a tree 

 without sanction of some forest official, and could 

 not sell any wood without permission, even down to 

 hop-poles, although the large landed property owners 

 vigorously resisted this assumption of supervisory 

 powers. Much discussion and argument regarding 

 the origin of this right to supervision was carried on 

 by the jurists upon the basis of Roman law doctrine, 

 and it was proved by them to be of ancient date. 

 The degree, however, to which this supervision was 

 developed varied considerably in the different parts 

 of the empire, according to different economic con- 

 ditions. The interference, and the protection of 

 forests appeared more necessary, where advanced 



