144 Germany. 



foresters to increase supervision, excepting again Pfeil 

 in his earlier writings: he modified his views later by 

 recognizing supervision as a necessary evil. Cotta, 

 who was inclined to favor free use of forest property 

 sought to meet the objections to such free use by 

 increasing the state property. 



The main incentive urged by the earlier advocates of 

 state supervision was the fear of a timber famine. This 

 argument vanished, however, with the development 

 of railroads, and was then supplanted by the argu- 

 ment of the protective functions of the forest, a classi- 

 fication into supply forests and protective forests 

 suggesting differences of treatment. Nevertheless, 

 the belief that absolute freedom of property rights 

 in the forest is not in harmony with good political 

 economy a belief correct because of the long time 

 element involved still largely prevails. The diffi- 

 culty, however, of supervising private ownership, 

 and the advantages of state ownership find definite 

 expression in the policy which Prussia especially is 

 now following, in acquiring gradually the mismanaged 

 private woodlands and impoverished farm areas for 

 reforestation, making annual appropriations to this 

 end. Many other states also are beginning to see 

 the propriety of this movement. 



On the whole the systematic study of the economics 

 of forestry has been rather neglected by foresters, 

 although the subject was discussed by early writers, 

 Meyer, Laitrop, Pfeil, and in modern times by R. 

 Weber, Lehr and Schwappach ("Forstpolitik," 1894). 

 The latest comprehensive volume on this subject 

 comes from Endres (1905). 



