THE FORESTS OF A NEW REPUBLIC 



BY E. F. PRANTNER, EDITOR, CZECHOSLOVAK REVIEW 



FORESTRY in the new Czechoslovak 

 Republic is receiving the serious 

 attention its importance as an eco- 

 nomic factor warrants. About 12,500,- 

 000 acres are given over to forest culti- 

 vation, or, in other words, approximately 

 30 per cent of the republic's whole area 

 of over 55,000 square miles. The pro- 

 portion of the forests differ in the vari- 

 ous sections Moravia boasts of 28.6 per 

 cent, Bohemia has 29.6 per cent, Slovakia 

 shows 34.5 per cent, and Silesia leads 

 with 34.8 per cent. 



It is significant that of late years for- 

 ests have decreased throughout the world 

 to an appreciable extent. Nevertheless, 



WELL FORESTED HILLS 



Pines and firs cover most of the land in Bohemia, 

 while in Slovakia and Carpathia the leaf forests 

 prevail. 



the territories now comprising the 

 Czechoslovak Republic, during the period 

 1875- 1 910, added no less than 170,000 

 acres of forests to their forest domains, 

 or about 1,375 acres per year. 



During the war considerable lumber- 

 ing was done in Czechoslovak forests, 

 but not to the extent of materially re- 

 ducing the whole or impairing their use- 

 fulness. 



In the Bohemian lands (Bohemia, 

 Moravia and Silesia) the needle forests 

 predominate. The pines and firs cover 

 78 per cent of the forest area, the leaf 

 timber 9.1 per cent, and the mixed about 

 12.9 per cent. In Slovakia and Car- 

 pathian Russia, the new territories, it is 



SB 



FOREST AND FARM 



Between forest areas are numerous stretches of 

 farm land, well cultivated by thrifty, intelligent 

 farmers. 



noteworthy that the leaf forests prevail, 

 forming about 67 per cent of the whole, 

 and the needle forests make up the bal- 

 ance, or 33 per cent. Ownership of these 

 forests is singular. The state owns about 

 1,400,000 acres, charitable institutions 

 own 600,000 acres, municipalities hold 

 2,500,000 acres and the large estates, 

 held by private owners, cover 8,000,000 

 acres. It must not be taken for granted 

 that the extensive Czechoslovak forests 

 were given over to the uses of the whole 

 people. On the contrary, all the bene- 



MUNICIPAL FOREST LANDS 



Jn many cases the municipalities of Slovakia materially reduce or entirely abolish taxation 

 by profitable lumbering operations on their holdings. 



