145 



is as follows, viz., head guard, three classes, 36 to 44 ; guard, two classes, 

 28 and 30 with an additional 2 after fifteen years service. 



They must live in or near the forests, where they are provided, as far as 

 possible, with accommodations for themselves and their families in houses specially 

 built for them ; but if such houses are not available, they receive a lodging 

 allowance. In addition to their pay, they are given a fixed quantity of firewood 

 per annum and they are allowed to cultivate a plot of ground not exceeding two- 

 and- one-half acres, and to graze two cows in the forest. 



Each guard has a beat which he is bound to visit daily, the average size of 

 such charge being about 1,200 to 1,300 acres, or say two square miles. The head 

 guard has four or five guards under his orders : he superintends their work, and 

 communicates to them the instructions received by him from the sub-divisional 

 officer. 



The duties of the subordinate staff are chiefly those of protection ; they act 

 as forest police, and have the power to serve summonses as well as to arrest delin- 

 quents. They are bound to report all offences committed within their beat : and 

 should they fail to do so, they become responsible for the payment of any fines or 

 compensation money which might be levied from the offenders. Acting under 

 the orders of the sub-divisional officer, they superintend all work going on within 

 the limits of their charge ; and in addition to this they, under his direction, 

 tend the young plants, prune the stems of the reserve trees, fill up small blanks 

 in the forest, and perform such like minor operations with their own hands. 

 Rewards are given annually to men who have specially exerted themselves in 

 this manner ; but they are forbidden to accept without special sanction, any 

 gratuity from " communes " or private proprietors for services rendered by them 

 in the execution of their duties. They are entitled to a pension when they have 

 attained the age of fifty-five years, and have completed twenty-five years' service, 

 including the time spent in the army. 



As above stated, one-third of the appointments to the grade of sub-assistant- 

 inspector are reserved for the promotion of deserving members of the subordinate 

 staff. Ordinarily men so promoted must have at least fifteen years' service,- and 

 be less than fifty years of age ; but they can be promoted after four years' service, 

 if they have passed successfully through the secondary school at Barres. 



Military Organization. Under the law which provides that all men belong- 

 ing, in time of peace, to regularly organized public services can in time of war, 

 be formed into special corps, destined to serve with the active or with the terri- 

 torial army, the members of the forest department form a part of the military 

 forces of the country ; and the officers of the superior and the subordinate staff are 

 organized by conservatorships into companies or sections, according to their 

 numerical strength. In case of the mobilization of the army, the forest corps is 

 at the disposal of the war minister, and its various units assemble at previously 

 determined points. The students of the forest school at Nancy receive military 

 instruction and are drilled, the time passed at the school counting as service with 

 the colors. The officers of the superior staff hold rank as officers of the reserve, 

 or of the territorial army, and in time of war may be employed either in com- 

 mand of the companies and sections of the forest corps, or otherwise as may be 

 ordered. From the day that they are called out, the companies form an integral 

 part of the army and enjoy the same rights, honors, and rewards as the other 

 troops which compose it. They are inspected by their own officers annually in 

 time of peace, and the head guards, and guai'ds who form the the non-commis- 

 sioned officers and rank and file of the companies enjoy at all times certain privi- 

 leges as soldiers. 



10 (F.) 



