Development of Silviculture. 207 



to be "cured." Among the former there were 31 which 

 50 years ago were considered by engineers incurable. It 

 is estimated that with the expenditure of $600,000 per 

 annum the work may be finished by 1945. The names 

 of Matthieu and Demontzey, especially the la^er, are 

 indelibly connected with this great work. 



5. Forestry Science and Practice. 



Outside of this work of reclamation it cannot be said f 

 that the French foresters have developed forestry science 

 or practice to a noticeable extent. The forest ordinance 

 of 1669, attempting to improve the method of exploita- 

 tion hitherto practiced, namely, the unregulated selection 

 forest (jardinage), prescribed the method a tire*aire, 

 which consisted in leaving a certain number of seed trees 

 per acre, no matter* for what species or conditions of soil 

 or climate, although, it seems that as early as 1520 one 

 of the grandmasters, Tristan de Rostaing, had pointed 

 out the faults of this method and recommended the 

 method of successive fellings (shelterwood system). 

 This prescription, applied uniformly as a matter of law, 

 removed from the officials all spirit of initiative and de- 

 sire or requirement of improving upon it. Xo knowledge 

 beyond that of the law was required of them, hence no 

 development of silvicultural methods resulted during 

 the 17th and 18th century. The seed trees left on the 

 felling areas grew into undesirable and branchy "wolves," 

 injuring the aftergrowth, or else were thrown by the 

 wind or died, and many of the areas became undesirable 

 brush. Not. until the first quarter of the 19th century 

 was the change in this method proposed through men 

 who imported new ideas from Germany. Large areas of 



