36 THE STATE IN RELATION TO FORESTRY. 



(1) The personal interests of the members of the commune are 



likely to injure the sustained yield of the forests ; the 

 poorer members especially urge more extended utiUzation 

 than the forests can stand permanently. 



(2) Communes which are in debt or propose special works, 



such as the construction of roads or communal buildings, 

 are inclined to meet their liabilities by overworking the 

 forests. To meet this difficulty the French law lays 

 down that 10 per cent, of a communal forest is to be 

 kept in reserve. 



(3) The forests of commimes are not always of a sufficient 



extent to secure a competent manager for them at a 

 reasonable outlay. 



(4) The maintenance of communal forests tends to consoUdate 



communal life, especially in small communes such as 



villages, which, in many cases, meet all expenses with the 



receipts from the forests. 



The manner and extent of State control depend on the con»«titu- 



tion of the commune and on the degree of political education of 



its members. In the case of towns, supervision by the State is less 



frequently necessary than in the case of rural communes. It is of 



importance that supervision should not go beyond what is really 



required. It suffices to ensure that the forests shall be managed 



economically and their yield capacity not reduced. The State 



supervision differs much in different countries. In some cases it 



suffices to prohibit devastation, the sale or division of the forests, 



their conversion into fields or meadows without previous sanction 



in each case. In other cases, the State insists on the forests being 



worked in accordance with previously approved working plans. 



In various countries the communal forests are managed by 

 Government forest officers in the same way as State forests. 

 Where the forests of a commune are not large enough to occupy 

 a fully competent manager, they are managed together with those 

 of neighbouring communes, or with State forests. This method 

 of management has yielded excellent results. It is essential that 

 in all these cases the communal authorities co-operate with the 

 manager. The disposal of the yield is, as a rule, left to the com- 

 mune, and also the appointment of the subordinate staff subject 

 to the approval of the supervising authority. 



