CHIEF FIRE WARDEN. 87 



The central administration of the forests is directly un- 

 der the department of the interior, without intermediate 

 officers. The service is under the charge of the chief 

 (the director of the forests), and there are 4 forest in- 

 spectors, 25 forest officers, i forest engineer, 2 assistants, 

 7 forest planters and 363 forest guards. The yearly 

 salary of the chief (the director) is $1,450, without addi- 

 tions. The inspector's salary is $800, increasing up to 

 1970. The forest officers, $480, increasing to $800. All 

 these functionaries have their traveling expenses paid 

 when traveling in the service of the state. The officers 

 and the inspectors hand in every year a report to the 

 director, who publishes a report on forest matters 

 generally every third year. The only forest periodical in 

 Norway at present is the ' 'Tidsskrif t for Skovbrug, ' ' 

 (Periodical for Forestry), published by the Norwegian 

 Association for Forestry. 



PRIVATE FORESTS. 



The aggregate extent of private forests is 18,000,000 

 acres, of which about 276,000 acres are managed on 

 forestry principles. The average value per acre is from 

 $4.28 to $5.36, and the average annual rate of net income 

 is from 55 to 60 cents per acre. The cutting undoubtedly 

 exceeds the natural increase of the forests. The supply 

 of wood is consequently decreasing, and the size of the 

 trees decreases. The government purchases annually 

 forests to the amount in value of $21,440. It has three 

 large and several smaller nurseries. These supply the 

 required number of plants to the public and to private 

 parties. It has also four seed establishments, which sup- 

 ply the public and private demand for tree seeds. It also 

 has two elementary schools of forestry, and it tries through 

 its functionaries to instruct forest owners in rational 

 management of the forests. 



