G A SUSTAINED TIELD. 



is only too often felt by him in its fullest force, the result being 

 premature exploitations at the sacrifice of capital and income in 

 the future. 



If the owner is a Public Foundation or a Commune or Muin- 

 cipality, it is necessary to determine the capacity of its forest, and 

 assure the yield being sustained as accurately as possible. It is 

 obvious that the Commune is an imperishable collection of indivi- 

 duals, every generation of which has an equal right to enjoy the 

 income derived from the communal property, either by receiving 

 its own share of the produce, or by selling it in order to cover the 

 annual budget expenditure. The same is the case with Public 

 Foundations. But Communes and Public Foundations both par- 

 take of the same character as the State as regards their constitu- 

 tion, while they resemble the private individual in that they are 

 subject to constantly pressing needs, since their resources are, as 

 a rule, limited, and are often represented wholly by the produce 

 of their forests. Every year their budget expenditure is based upon 

 the quantity and value of this produce. It thus becomes important 

 to correctly determine in advance the annual quota of such produce, 

 which must on that account vary as little as possible from year to 

 year. Besides this, it is indispensable to preserve and to save up 

 resources in ordinary years in order to provide against future' un- 

 expected contingencies. The law itself has provided for this by 

 ruling that one quarter of the forest of every such proprietor shall 

 be reserved in view of extraordinary wants. Very often the condi- 

 tion of assuring a sustained yield, which places an effective check 

 on immoderate cuttings, becomes an essential guarantee for the 

 preservation of a communal forest. It is for this reason that the 

 Eoyal Edict putting into force the Forest Code, while refralninw 

 from laying Communes under the obligation of organising their 

 woods with a view to increased production and the rearing of high 

 forests, has at least fenced round the exploitation of their 

 forests with wise restrictions. To respect these restrictions is of 

 the highest importance. 



Lastly, in the case of forests belonging to the State, the question 

 of assuring a sustained yield may be subordinated to the treat- 

 ment which the crops stand in need of. There can be no dispute 

 that the duty of the State is to bring iuto existence the largest 



