FORESTRY COMMISSIONER. 103 



PRUSSIA. 



STATE FORESTS. 



The extent of the state forests of Prussia is 6,955,227 

 acres. Included in this, however, are 715,637 acres not 

 designed for tree culture. In addition, the extent of 

 forests belonging to municipalities is 2,563,812 acres; be- 

 longing to churches, 207,752 acres; belonging to corpora- 

 tions, 555,900 acres; private forests, 10,828,730 acres; 

 making an aggregate extent of 21,111,421 acres in the 

 whole kingdom. 



The prevailing kinds of trees in the state forests are 

 Scotch pine, larch, beech, red pine, fir and oak. The 

 value of the land varies so much, rising from a small 

 amount to 1700 per acre, that it is impossible to give an 

 average estimated value. The annual aggregate expense 

 of administration (state forests) is as follows: The office 

 expenses and maintenance, including expense for educa- 

 tion in forestry, etc., averaged in the years 1893 to 1897, 

 per annum, 18,500,000. The annual aggregate revenue 

 in the years 1893 to 1897 amounted to $17,200,000, be- 

 ing at the net rate of $ i. 50 per acre of actual forest. The 

 number of acres sown or planted with forest annually dur- 

 ing the years 1893 to 1895 was 44,830. 



The area of evergreen forests annually reforested from 

 self-sown seeds is extremely small in comparison with the 

 sections which are replanted either by seeds or seedlings. 

 In the case of Scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris) artificial re- 

 generation by seeds or seedlings forms the rule. An excep- 

 tion is made only within a small territory where the June 

 bug (Melolontha vulgaris) has appeared, during the last 

 years, doing considerable damage in the eastern part of 

 Prussia (Heath Forests, Johannisburger Heide). The 

 natural regeneration of the Scotch pine has been adopted 

 within this territory as a means of preventing the atta 



