Forest Practice. 233 



Alpes francaises criticizes severely as improperly 

 extravagant the large expenditures in places where 

 the result does not warrant them, and proclaims as 

 illusory some of the methods adopted. 



5. Forestry Science and Practice. 



Until the 16th century, whatever regulations 

 had been issued regarding forest use were merely of 

 administrative or police character and had nothing 

 to do with management or silviculture, except per- 

 haps so far as the number of baliveaux, reserved 

 trees to be left, might be considered as bearing upon 

 the subject. The reformateurs who were from time 

 to time appointed had to deal only with judicial ques- 

 tions and abuses; and usually the ordinances referred 

 only to special forests, but in 1563, the Table de 

 marbre of Paris issued instructions which were to 

 serve in all forests. 



A futile attempt to secure statistical knowledge of 

 the forest domain was made, apparently with a view 

 to regulation of the cut, by de Fleury, the chief of 

 the forest service in 1561. In default of data from 

 many of the maitrises, a provisional partial order 

 to regulate the cut was issued in 1573, which remained 

 in force for a hundred years, and was regularly dis- 

 regarded, extraordinary cuts being made without 

 authority and with the connivance of the officers. 



An ordinance of 1579 describes the deplorable con- 

 dition of the forests at length, and calls for statistical 

 data, but again without result. A number of further 

 ordinances also made no impression upon the callous 

 and corrupt officials of the forest service. 



