290 Italy. 



for popular treatises on silviculture. A forestry journal 

 came into being, furthering the propaganda. In 1860 a 

 very well written account of "Present Conditions of For- 

 estry and Production of Sulphur in Sicily/' a collection 

 of reports, was published by Shiro. In 1860 also, an 

 investigation of forest conditions in each province was 

 ordered by royal decree, and propositions for their im- 

 provement were called for, which led to legislative pro- 

 posals, introduced in 1862, and legislation enacted in 

 1863. 



The law of 1863 still treated each province independ- 

 ently: forest inspectors for each province, and for 

 Naples an Inspector General, with district foresters and 

 a large number of forest guards were appointed. 



Another law, applicable only to certain parts of the 

 Kingdom, was enacted in 1874, intended to check the 

 progress of deforestation and prevent turning waste 

 woodlands into pasture; these absolute forest soils were 

 to be reforested within five years. The law remained a 

 dead letter, yet it is still in force in part, with modifi- 

 cations enacted in 1886. 



The final unification as far as legislative unity is con- 

 cerned, was completed in 1877, and in that year the first 

 general forest law for all Italy was enacted. 



This law, which has mainly in view the protective in- 

 fluence of forest cover as a factor in the public welfare, 

 established provincial forest commissions, unpaid, who 

 were to enact rules and regulations best adapted to their 

 localities. The Board of Commissioners consisted of the 

 prefect of the province, ex-officio president ; an inspector 

 of forests, the technical ofiicer who administers the gov- 

 ernment property; an engineer appointed by the gov- 



