* 338 OUR NATIONAL PARKS 



In France no government forests have been 

 sold since 1870. On the other hand, about one 

 half of the fifty million francs spent on forestry 

 has been given to engineering works, to make 

 the replanting of denuded areas possible. The 

 disappearance of the forests in the first place, it 

 is claimed, may be traced in most cases directly 

 to mountain pasturage. The provisions of the 

 Code concerning private woodlands are substan- 

 tially these : no private owner may clear his 

 woodlands without giving notice to the govern- 

 ment at least four months in advance, and the 

 forest service may forbid the clearing on the 

 following grounds, — to maintain the soil on 

 mountains, to defend the soil against erosion and 

 flooding by rivers or torrents, to insure the ex- 

 istence of springs or watercourses, to protect the 

 dunes and seashore, etc. A proprietor who has 

 cleared his forest without permission is subject to 

 heavy fine, and in addition may be made to re- 

 plant the cleared area. 



In Switzerland, after many laws like our own 

 had been found wanting, the Swiss forest school 

 was established in 1865, and soon after the fed- 

 eral forest law was enacted, which is binding 

 over nearly two thirds of the country. Under 

 its provisions, the cantons must appoint and pay 

 the number of suitably educated foresters re- 

 quired for the fulfillment of the forest law ; and 

 in the organization of a normally stocked forest, 



