FOREST ADMINISTRATION. 19 



' That the mortgagees of the domains who are entitled 

 only to enjoy the ordinary fellings of coppice, which are 

 always kept in the condition of coppice not being con- 

 tent with this, have presumed to cut the shoots of fellings 

 in the timber forest, which were assuming the character 

 of timber trees, as at Amboise, Montrichard, and Loches, 

 which will lead in the end to the ruin of these timber forists, 

 and will bring an unjust advantage to the said mort- 

 gagees, and a considerable deteriment and damage to His 

 Majesty. 



* That the officers of the Marble Table of the Palace in 

 Paris remain in a very blameable way asleep, while the 

 officers in the provinces, over whom the said officers of the 

 Marble Table and especially the Frocureur- general should 

 keep watch, as the greatest enemies which the forest have, 

 who injure and ruin them the greater part of them having 

 no idea of their charge beyond doing this, is bad enough; but 

 these officers of the Marble Table are still more to 

 blame, and more especially so the Procureur-general, in that 

 they do not decide appeals from the Forest-master, if they 

 do not feel themselves some personal interest in the 

 arrangements which they make with the appellants for the 

 modf^ration of the restitutions and penalties. And in regard 

 to this there is one thing should be noticed : it is that 

 in no case have the penalties imposed by the masters ever 

 been increased at the Marble Table ; on the contrary, they 

 always diminish them ; and the reason why they do so is 

 this, they allege that they are bound to make the penal- 

 ties received by them payable to the Receiver in Paris, 

 this being a fund for the guarantee of salary ; from all 

 which it comes to pass that misdemeanours or depredations 

 being but slightly punished, if punished at all, the neigh- 

 bouring inhabitants commit them without any dread. 



' We are astounded by the number of fires which occur 

 in the aforesaid woods, there being no forests in which 

 there have not been many within a few years past ; and 

 recently they have extended to Chinon, to Amboise, to 



