FOREST EXPLOITATION IN UFA. 37 



tions of which relate to forest masses, and not to the trees 

 individually. It is thus in the manoeuvring of a corps 

 d'armee, or of a battalion, or of even a platoon of soldiers, 

 the individuality of the soldier is effaced. Attention to 

 be given to the development of each subject pertains to 

 arboriculture, whilst it is the development of the forest 

 mass which is what pertains to sylviculture ; no doubt the 

 forest mass is composed of trees, as the army is composed 

 of soldiers, and it is no more possible to lay down strictly 

 rules of sylviculture without taking into account the 

 requirements of the tree, than it is to determine the 

 manoeuvres of an army without having regard to the 

 constitution of the soldier, to his strength, and to the 

 maintenance of his health. But it seems as unreasonable 

 to try to maintain any exploitation whatever without 

 risking the loss of some shoots, or of some trees, the 

 maintenance of which might be useful, as it would be 

 strange for a warrior to hesitate to lead a battalion under 

 fire, through fear that some men may be struck by the 

 enemy's projectiles. In our fellings under this modifica- 

 tion of coppice wood growing in a timber forest, what 

 imports it that some stumps here and there may die ? 

 They will be replaced ten times, and a hundred times, 

 more abundantly by the natural sowings. 



' 2. The exploitation does not relate any longer to shoots 

 in the dominant state, as in Furetage ; and it does not 

 relate to shoots in the dominated condition alone, as in 

 ordinary coppice woods under timber; it relates actually 

 mainly to what is in the intermediate condition, and each 

 exploitation removes first what is in this intermediate 

 state, and then a portion only of what is in the dominant 

 state, consisting of abandoned reserves. 



' Is it further required to give the means of comparing 

 this modified Furetage with the old Furetage ? 



' It is clear that the first-mentioned method stands to 

 the second as Taillis sous futaie, coppice under timber, does 

 in relation to simple coppice ; but the difference, it seems, 

 is more accentuated, as in simple coppice there are still 



