219] (lOrernmenf F<-<>xlry Abroad. 35 



foresters, and took the organization of the felling, planting and care 

 of their timber seriously in hand. But the chief gain lay in the fact 

 that the mountain cantons applied themselves to the work. St. 

 Gallen, Luzern and Freiburg had already begun, and now went 

 vigorously forward. Graubunden, Tessin and Wallis passed forest 

 laws and appointed forest officers, partly at once, partly later; but 

 still the progress made \vas slow. The cities everywhere made 

 important contributions toward a better system by the introduction 

 of a wiser treatment and by the appointment of foresters of their 

 own, and so set a good example to the cantons and private forest 

 proprietors. Those cantons of the plains also which had formerly 

 given scant attention to their communal forests, as was here and 

 there the case, now supervised and managed them better. 



"Taken as a whole, Forestry has made satisfactory progress as 

 regards legislation, the improvement of forest management and the 

 increased number of forest officers, from the beginning of the 40's 

 on. In 1865 the Swiss Forest School was established (as a fifth 

 department of the Polytechnicum at Zurich), and provision was 

 thus made," says Prof. Landolt, "for a forest staff of our own, 

 educated with special reference to our own conditions. 



" The Swiss Forestry Association was founded in 1843. Through 

 frequent agitation, and by setting forth what action was necessary, 

 it has rendered great service to the cause of forest protection. It 

 has moved successfully, among other things, for the foundation of 

 a forest school, the examination of the higher mountain forests, 

 the passage of a new forest law, and the correction of the torrents. 



"In 1854," continues Prof. Landolt, "I called the attention of 

 the Association to the investigation of the mountain forests. In 

 1855 I was entrusted with the preparation of a memorial to the 

 Federal Assembly, which was approved and presented in the 

 following year. In 1858 the Federal Assembly appointed a commis- 

 sion of three men with authority to study and report upon the Swiss 

 Alps and the Jura in regard to geology, forestry and police regula- 

 tions, bearing on water supply. From the appearance of the final 

 report of this commission in 1861, the improvement of Swiss for- 

 estry has been kept steadily before the Confederation. In 1875 a 

 federal forest inspector was appointed, and a year later the first Swiss 

 forest law was passed. This law does not extend to the whole of 

 Switzerland, but only to the Alps and the steeper foot-hills. More 

 recently attempts have been made by the cantonal government and 

 the Forestry Association to extend its influence to the Jura or to 

 the whole of Switzerland, but the need of such action is not yet 

 clearly apparent." 



