1254 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



THE PARK OF A BELGIAN ESTATE OCCUPIED BY THE GERMANS. HERE TIMBER WAS CUT AND PRACTICALLY ALL OF 

 THE UNCUT TREES WERE KILLED BY FIRE AND SHELLS. MANY OF THE FINE PARK LANDS OF BELGIUM ARE IN A SIM- 

 ILAR CONDITION. 



ciduous forests under the forestry administration having 

 been 577,419 francs in 1910, we can infer from this that, 

 for the total area of indeciduous forests, the proceeds of 

 the exhaustive cuttings amounted in 1910 to approxi- 

 mately 1,765,165 francs, representing a total volume of 

 126,083 cubic meters. 



"According to the same data we find that in 1910, in 

 regard to the provinces of Hainaut, Liege, Luxemburg, 

 and Namur, as referred to in Your Excellency's answer, 

 the area of indeciduous forests is 204,158 acres, the 

 proceeds from exhaustive cuttings 859,615 francs, and 

 the volume exploited 61,401 square meters. 



"The revenues of the preceding years are practically 

 the same as those of 1910, and may be considered as nor- 

 mal and as representing the maximum yield. 



"Now, Your Excellency writes us that, according to 

 anticipations, the cuttings of indeciduous timber will not 

 exceed an area of 4,940 acres in these four provinces. 



"This area will be taken from the growths offering the 

 heaviest dimensions and representing a present value of 

 12,500,000 francs at the least. 



"This quantity therefore considerably exceeds not only 

 the maximum yield of the four provinces contemplated, 

 of which we did not even deduct the forests comprised 

 in the line-of-communications zone, but it also exceeds 

 that of the whole country. 



"Under these circumstances, and inasmuch as it has 

 already been necessary, for the needs of the Nation under 

 present conditions, to dig deeply for the last two years 

 into our forest reserve by means of extraordinary cut- 

 tings, it is to be foreseen that, through the fellings con- 



templated, the resinous lumber resources of Belgium will 

 be reduced beyond all proportion, if indeed they are not 

 exhausted completely for the years to follow." 



To this Von Bissing, evidently short of arguments and 

 without doubt somewhat peeved, said he was familiar 

 with the statistics and "I cannot deduce therefrom any 

 reason for suspending or modifying my instructions." 



There was nothing further to be done. The cutting of 

 usable trees and the destruction of the young growth 

 continued. 



The damage done to the various forests is indicated 

 in the following reports of the Forestry Society now 

 available : 



"The operations of the occupying nation had begun — 

 one must break one's hand in in all things — by cutting 

 down the resinous trees. As early as July 7, 1916, we 

 were informed of the seizure of the resinous forests 

 belonging notably to the communes of Chimay and 

 Forges, to Mr. F. Brugmann in the territory of Escaillere 

 and of the Riezes, and to Mr. Ch. Malengreau in the 

 commune of Macquenoise. 



"The exploitation of the spruces on the Revers d'Oise 

 and in Fagne, the two cantons belonging to the city of 

 Chimay, and that of the wild pines, in the commune of 

 Forges, was carried out quickly ; the case was the same 

 with wild pines about sixty years old, planted as tall 

 sentinels at the entrance of the oak groves of the com- 

 mune of Salles and in regard to which they already dis- 

 pensed with the formality of sending a notice of seizure. 

 This latter cutting was exploited at the end of September, 

 1916; it was the same way with some spruces which the 



