28 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



forests, give good reason for the fear of irreparable injury to the commerce 

 of the important towns on the upper waters of that river, unless measures 

 are taken to prevent the expansion of ' improvements ' which have already 

 been carried beyond the limits of a wise economy." 



In our vast Indian Empire, the Government, until quite recently, per- 

 mitted a wholesale destruction of the forests, but has now begun to open its 

 eyes to the disasiirous effects produced, and has appointed forest conserva- 

 tors, whose duties are to see that the trees cut down are replaced by others, 

 as the consequences of the reckless destruction of the Indian forests by 

 demands for railroad and other uses, have ah-eady made themselves felt by 

 the greater frequency of seasons of drought and famine, with all their 

 attendant miseries ; and with such data as are accessible in late reports, it 

 cannot be doubted that these calamities are chiefly due to the denudation of 

 the forests. 



It is believed, however, that with a general scheme of forest conserva- 

 tion, by which the annual growth might be made to balance, as near as 

 may be, the annual consumption, these evils would be greatly mitigated, if 

 not removed entu'ely. 



During the last half-century, great attention has been paid, both in 

 France and Germany, to the art of "Forestry" — an art which comprises 

 an extensive range of knowledge of various sciences, amongst which botany, 

 chemistry, geology, and vegetable physiology, take the first rank. The area 

 of the French State forests is put down at 3,130,000 acres, to which may 

 be added 5,350,000 acres belonging to " Communes," corporations, hosj)!- 

 tals, and other public establishments, and the whole of these forests are 

 under the management of the French administration of Forests. In the 

 " Vosges" the destruction had gone so far that the humidity had diminished, 

 while the soil had become more arid and inundations more frequent. In 

 the Department of the " Gard" it did not rain in 1837 for more than nine 

 months, and the supply from wells was most seriously diminished. At 

 "Berjiers" it was reported that the vast forest, which once sheltered that 

 place, having been destroyed, the loss of the olive crop was the immediate 

 consequence. Violent storms and torrents of rain certainly fell from time 

 to time, but these did more harm than good, as the water ran off the land 

 without penetrating into it. Such has been the result, in France, of the 

 destruction of a great extent of her forests ; but the regulations at present 

 in force for their conservation and " reboisement " are of the most stringent 

 nature. 



In Prussia proper, out of 35,000,000 of " hectares,"* 8,000,000 are 

 classed as forests, out of which nearly 4,000,000 are private forests ; in 

 * A "hectare" is eq^ual to about 2J English acres. 



