INTRODUCTION XVll 



It is as a silviculturist that the French forester is at his best, and regu- 

 lation statistics are rarely allowed to interfere with silviculture. One 

 State forester was deliberately departing from his working plan because 

 good silvics demanded a group-selection cutting instead of the shelter- 

 wood. 



The success of the State Forest Administration is largely due to its 

 splendid 'personnel; the Director is the only political appointee, and no 

 doubt this position will soon be assumed by a technical forester with 

 breadth of vision. Though woefully underpaid, even in these times, the 

 morale of the service has not been broken and it is most unusual for a 

 forester to retire to take a more lucrative position elsewhere. The 

 authority is clearly decentralized and the Conservator (or "District 

 Supervisor" as the position really is) has full authority to handle his 

 district without undue interference. Given more money for a modern 

 office estal^lishment he would be able to spend more time in the forest 

 with his inspectors — a needed improvement. 



One of the perplexing problems which confronts the American student 

 of French forests is to understand the units of measure in common use. 

 For example, a stand of 200 cubic meters, or steres per hectare, conveys 

 no concrete idea to the forester accustomed to speaking in terms of board 

 feet or cords per acre. To avoid this difficulty the American units of 

 measure have been adopted in this study and the following equivalents 

 used in conversions: 



1 pound (avoirdupois) = 0.4.53.59 kilogram 



1 pound (Troy) = 0.37324 kilogram 



1 millimeter = 0.03937 inch 



1 centimeter = 0.3937 inch 



1 meter = 3.28083 feet 



1 meter = 1.09.3611 yards 



1 kilometer = 0.62137 mile 



1 square millimeter = 0.00155 square inch 



1 square centimeter = 0.1550 square inch 



1 square meter = 10.764 square feet 



1 square meter = 1.196 square yards 



1 square kilometer = 0.3861 square mile 



1 hectare = 2.471 acres 



1 cubic millimeter = 0.000061 cubic inch 



1 cubic centimeter = 0.061 cubic inch 



1 cubic meter = 35.314 cubic feet 



1 cubic meter = 1.3079 cubic yards 



1 liter = 1.0.5668 quarts (liquid) 



1 liter = 0.26417 gallon (liquid) 



1 liter = 0.9081 quart (dry) 



1 liter = 0.11331 peck 



1 hectoliter = 2.83774 bushels 



1 gram = 15.4324 grains 



