Early Practices. 451 



was combined with the agricultural school at Komaba; 

 five years later both were joined to the University of 

 Tokyo. 



With the transfer of the forestry bureau to the De- 

 partment of Agriculture and Commerce in 1881, and a 

 reorganization in 1886, a new era seemed to be prom- 

 ised, yet a substantial progress in organized forest 

 management of the State property does not seem to 

 have been made for another decade at least, the slow 

 progress being largely due to lack of personnel and 

 the continuance of mixed property conditions, which 

 involved not only uncertainty of boundaries, but also 

 mixed ownerships. 



Although this last trouble, namely of mixed owner- 

 ship by State and private individuals, had been recog- 

 nized as inimical to good management, it was deliber- 

 ately increased by the law of 1878 in a curious way, 

 reviving an old custom, namely by permitting private 

 inviduals to plant up clearings in the State forests; in 

 this way, these individuals secured a certain percen- 

 tage, usually 20 per cent., of the eventual profits aris- 

 ing from the results. Some 200,000 acres were 

 planted under this arrangement. 



To remove the boundary difficulty, a survey of the 

 boundaries of State property and adjustment of 

 property rights, as well as segregation of the State 

 lands to be disposed of, namely small lots and others 

 not needed, was ordered in 1890. 



It was then also that the first provisional working 

 plan for the fellings on State lands was elaborated, 

 and gradually with the progress of the survey, more 

 permanent plans were adopted for district after district. 



15a 



