INTRODUCTION. 3 



the common law. 1 It is then that the State is able to assist in 

 the protection of forests by the enforcement of rational forest 

 laws in its capacity of supreme supervisor entrusted with the 

 carrying out of certain duties. 



Thus, whilst the discovery and notification of a forest mis- 

 demeanour, the extinction of a forest fire, the destruction of 

 injurious insects within one's own woods, and the like, are classi- 

 fiable under Protection of Woodlands, yet the punishment of the mis- 

 demeanour, orders regarding measures to be taken for the preven- 

 tion of forest fires, and special rules or orders relative to injurious 

 insects in other woods in general, are classifiable under Forest Law. 



In the following, only the former is dealt with, the Protection 

 of Woodlands. 



3. Establishment for carrying out Protective Measures. 



The duty of carrying out protective measures in the sense 

 above indicated extends to all those concerned in the administra- 

 tion of the forests, from the lowest to the highest official, but of 

 course in varying degree. 



The principal duty of the protective establishment, consisting 

 of the foresters, assistant foresters, wood-reeves, overseers, and 

 keepers, whose knowledge of forestry has simply been confined to 

 the practical side, is the protection of the forests against the 

 actions of men, against mischief or misdemeanour, whilst the 

 administrative officers, stewards, or agents have, as a rule, only to 

 supervise and direct the operations of their subordinates. A 

 second part of the protective duty that concerned with the 

 animal world, and particularly with regard to insects is as much 

 the duty of the administrative as of the protective establishment, 

 and involves a constant watchfulness to discover any impend- 

 ing danger, so as to take measures for its prevention. A third 

 and highly important part of the Protection of Woods devolves 

 solely on the administrative establishment, namely, the protection 

 afforded by judicious location of the annual falls, arrangement of 

 work, and tending of woodlands so as to resist storms, snow accumu- 



1 In Bavaria, for example, special orders are enforced, whenever there is danger of 

 any insect calamity, to ensure the removal of coniferous stems to over half a mile 

 from the forest, or else in regard to barking of the logs, in order to prevent large 

 attacks of Bostrichini in consequence of the immense fellings sometimes necessitated 

 (as at present, in consequence of the spruce moth). Trans. 



