METHODS OF FOREST POLICY. 267 



now seem to be working evil, and to render useful 

 those now running to waste." 



In this way we come to the function of internal 

 improvement. As a matter of fact, these princi- 

 ples have found expression in the forest policies 

 of various European nations, as we shall see in the 

 next chapter. 



The forcible reforestation of denuded mountain 

 slopes by the owners with the financial aid of the 

 state, as carried on in France, Italy, Switzerland, 

 and Austria, is an admission of this double obliga- 

 tion, namely, that of the owner to keep his prop- 

 erty in proper condition and that of the state to 

 secure internal improvement. Such improvements, 

 to be sure, must be palpably of public benefit and 

 not of advantage to individual interests only ; where 

 forest growth would be simply useful, the state may 

 employ ameliorative measures, indirectly encourag- 

 ing private enterprise, but where a forest growth 

 is indispensable to the public welfare, its duty is 

 farther reaching, and coercion or other interference 

 is called for. It will appear at once that the dis- 

 tinction is one which must be made in each individ- 

 ual case. The adequacy of the interest for which 

 the state enters must be apparent. 



As to the methods and manner of applying these 

 principles, a variety may be suggested. The de- 

 termination as to the protective quality and neces- 

 sity of maintaining the forest property as such, and 

 the quality of the state's interference, may be pre- 



