GENERAL SUPERVISION OF THE FORESTS. 71 



a certain amount of supervision on the part of the State is 

 frequently indispensable for the following reasons : — 



(a) The personal interests of the members of the commune 

 for the time being are likel}' to injure the sustained yield of 

 the forests ; especially tlie poorer members constantly urge 

 more extended utilization than the forests can stand. 



(b) Communes which are in debt are inclined to meet their 

 liabilities by overworking the forests. 



(f) The forests of a commune are not always of sufficient 

 extent to secure a competent manager for them at a reasonable 

 outlay. 



{(J) The maintenance of communal forests tends to con- 

 solidate and strengthen communal life ; hence it is of import- 

 ance to the State as a whole that communal forests should be 

 maintained. 



The manner and extent of State control over communal 

 forests is not in all cases the same. They depend on the con- 

 stitution of the commune and the degree of political education. 

 Hence in the case of large towns supervision by the State is 

 less frequently necessary than in the case of rural communities. 



It is of importance that supervision should not go beyond 

 what is really required. It is a mistake to demand more, 

 than that the forests shall be managed economically and 

 their yield capacity not reduced. As a matter of fact, 

 State supervision differs considerably in various countries; 

 the following are its principal forms : — 



1 . (irncral Supervision of the Forests. 

 The object of this is to maintain the general productiveness 

 of the communal jn'operty ; it comprises prohibition of 

 devastation, control over the sale of forests, their conversion 

 into fields or meadows and compulsory reafforestation. 



2. Tcchnicdl Sitperi-ision of Management. 

 This is generally arranged so that the working plans, 

 deviations from them, conversion into fields, sales and 



