FORESTRY COMMISSIONER. 69 



into consideration, as far as may be, that there should be 

 such areas and stocks of wood in store for the future as 

 are available for the decennium. Within such a decen- 

 nial period the yield of the cuttings varies according to 

 circumstances; as a rule, however, there is but little dif- 

 fering one from the other. The extent of the state for- 

 ests being on the increase, the proceeds will naturally in- 

 crease. The forests are divided into parts of 10 100 

 acres in size, according to the nature of the soil or the 

 species and age of the stock of wood. Within each de- 

 cennial period a certain number of such divisions are des- 

 tined for cutting, and the latter is commonly to be finish- 

 ed and the areas restocked with plants at the end of the 

 period. 



Private persons are prohibited by the law of Septem- 

 ber 27, 1805, from cutting away those remnants of the old 

 forests of the country still existing in the said year. In 

 cases of offence, means are placed in the hands of the gov- 

 ernment to force the owners to restock the cleared area 

 under control of the state officer in charge. Consequently 

 but very few forest areas have disappeared in the course 

 of the nineteenth century. The many new plantations in 

 Jutland which have risen by means of government sub- 

 ventions disbursed through the ' ' Hedeselskabet, " are 

 subject to the same prohibition of clearing. Finally, 

 under the guidance of a board of administration not ap- 

 pertaining to the state forestry service, the government 

 has caused the waste sandy downs on the west coast of 

 Jutland to be planted in order to subdue the sand drift in 

 those parts, which had in former times caused great dev- 

 astation. At the close of 1899 about 27,000 acres of 

 sand downs had been planted with a good result. Dam- 

 ages by forest fires occur every year, but they have hither- 

 to been rather insignificant. On account of the dense 

 population of the country the casual forest fires are quick- 

 ly quenched. The principal cause of such fires is care- 



