Administrative Organization. 311 



members. Gradually an organization took shape 

 under the direction of these two forestmeisters, and, 

 finally, in 1863, the modern forest department and 

 forest policy was established by law, placing the 

 State domain and other public forests under an effec- 

 tive management, making provision for the extinction 

 of the ruinous rights of user and also for reducing 

 the mismanagement of private forests. 



The forest service, as now constituted after a re- 

 organization in 1906, is in the Department of Agricul- 

 ture under a dkCjo.r (Skovdirector) and 4 Forstmeister 

 or inspectors with some executive officers under 

 various names, and 360 rangers (skogsvogternes), 

 including the rangers employed in the public forests 

 outside the State domain. The ranges are so large, 

 sometimes several million acres, and many of them 

 so inaccessible that only the most extensive manage- 

 ment is possible; the officials being poorly paid and 

 poorly educated, the management is, of course, not 

 of a high order. 



Besides a "forest engineer," who is a public lecturer, 

 the officers of the forest department are under the 

 obligation of advising private forest owners in their 

 management, under contracts somewhat similar to 

 the present practice of the U. S. Forestry Bureau, the 

 owners agreeing to follow the advice. 



Since 1860, the State has begun to purchase forest 

 lands for reforestation in the forestless districts and 

 where, for protective reasons, it is desirable. In late 

 years, regular appropriations of $15,000 to $20,000 

 were annually made for this purpose, besides extra- 

 ordinary grants. In this way, the cut-over lands, 



