309] Gocentnient Forestry Abroad. 3 5 



impoverishment of our forest domain. It was then that a man of 

 genius, Bernard de Palissy, called the carelessness of his times in 

 respect to the forests ' not a mistake, but a calamity and a curse for 

 France.' 



' Henry IV made every effort to put an end to the -destruction, 

 but it was reserved for Louis XVI, or rather for his minister, 

 Colbert, to reconstruct on a solid basis the foundation of forest 

 ownership. The law of August, 1669, which is in itself a whole 

 forest code, will remain a legislative monument from which we 

 cannot too much draw our inspiration." 



The history of forestry in France continued to be 

 associated with illustrious men in more recent times, 

 among whom Recamier, Duhamel and Buffon were 

 the first to -'define the first principles of a rational 

 forest management, based on the knowledge which 

 had been gained of vegetable physiology." 



France differs from Germany in the unity of her 

 forest law. The Forest Code. 1 which closed in 1827 

 the series of forest enactments since the time of Col- 

 bert, is still in force. Its provisions, altered but little 

 by the political changes which have passed over them, 

 are valid for the whole of France. 



In accordance with them certain classes of forest 

 property are to be administered directly by the State 

 forest service, along the lines which it marks out. 

 These are the woods and forests which formed part 

 of the domain of the State, those of communes and 

 sections of communes, those of corporations and 

 public institutions, and finally those in which the 

 State, the communes or the public institutions have 

 joint rights of property with individuals. 



The area of forest owned by the French govern- 

 ment reaches a total of 2,657,944 acres, or about one- 

 ninth of the whole wooded area, which itself covers 

 17 per cent, of the country. Considerably more than 



'Consult Code de la Legislation Forestiere^ per A. Puton, Paris, 1S83. 



