152 Austria-Hungary. 



assistants as superior officers, and the rest of the organiza- 

 tion is also very nearly the same as that in vogue in most 

 German States, each province having a directive service 

 of "Oberforstmeister" with "Forstmeister" as inspectors, 

 and "Oberforster" with the assistance of "Forstwarte" 

 as executive officers. In addition a special corps of 

 *^forest engineers" and "superior forest engineers" is 

 provided for the elaboration of working plans. Lately 

 (1904) a re-organization of the central office provided, 

 besides the department of administation of State and 

 Funds forests, a department of reboisement and correct- 

 ion of torrents, and a department of forest police charged 

 with the promotion of forest culture, including the 

 education of foresters and similar matters. 



Most of the State property is located in the Alps and 

 Carpathian mountains at an elevation above 2,000 feet, 

 hence financial results do not make a good showing. 



Since 1885 it has been the policy to add to the State 

 forest area by purchase, and by 1898 over 350,000 acres 

 had been added to it. 



4. Development of Forest Policy. 



Besides the State forest administration a very unique 

 institution was organized to supervise the general forest 

 protective policy of the empire. Originally the regular 

 circuit or district governments had charge not only 

 of the management of State forests but also of the 

 forest police and the regulation of the management of 

 communal forests, mostly without technical advisers, and 

 the different provinces had developed this service very 

 variably. While in some provinces no special effort was 

 made to look after these interests, the laws remaining 



