Ordinance of 1669 had a profound effect. It 
was the forerunner of modern conservation 
laws. 
When Colbert came into power he found that 
inefficiency and corruption in the then forest 
service had resulted in disastrous inroads upon 
the forest capital of the nation. His famous 
dictum, “France will perish for lack of woods,” 
has become one of the classic utterances. But 
Colbert did not stop with a well turned phrase. 
At his insistence an investigating commission 
was set up with drastic powers to remedy mat- 
ters. The commission did its work without 
fear or favor and made a most thorough house 
cleaning. The result was the new order of 
things that followed lasted down to the polit- 
ical upheaval which accompanied the French 
revolution. It is true not all of the provisions 
of the Forest Ordinance of 1669 were con- 
SOME FEATURES OF 
FRENCH SILVICULTURE 
From the standpoint of silvicultural manage- 
ment one of the most interesting things about 
French forestry is the conversion of coppice, or 
sprout woodlands, into “high” forest; that is, 
stands where the trees originate from seed. 
Naturally enough the average private forest 
owner in France inclines to the method of cop- 
pice. Reproduction is easy, the rotation is short 
and he can receive his income at shorter in- 
tervals. But from the standpoint of the state 
high forest is distinctly preferable. Only from 
the veterans which develop from seedling trees 
can be secured the large sized and mature tim- 
ber of high quality that the requirements of 
certain industries demand. The state is in busi- 
ness for all time and can afford to take a lower 
VIEW OF 
MONT PELF, 
A FORESTED 
RIDGE IN 
THE FOREST 
OF SENONES, 
VOSGES, 
TAKEN IN 
DECEMBER, 
1918— 
SCENE OF 
GREAT 
BATTLE 
sistently observed, but in general the broad 
policy was carried out. Under Napoleon the 
essential features of the old ordinance were re- 
enacted, and again in 1827 when was estab- 
lished the “Code Forestiere,” which with but a 
few trifling changes remains the forest law of 
France to this day. 
One especial feature of the Forest Ordinance 
of 1669 was the provision to insure the con- 
tinuance of the forest. Reproduction was to be 
effected under what was known as the “‘methode 
a tire et aire,” by leaving standing eight seed 
trees per hectare (2.41 acres), under a system 
of successive clear cutting. The method did 
not always work satisfactorily because the seed 
years often did not coincide with the cuttings. 
It also had other technical defects. But it was 
a great improvement over previous methods and 
as such its influence was widely felt, not only 
in France but throughout Europe. Colbert de- 
serves gratefully to be remembered as a wise 
friend of the forests. 
interest rate than can the individual. Further, 
the state can, and should, take account of the 
indirect benefits resulting from forests, as the 
individual owner cannot. So in France the gen- 
eral policy has developed that it is the duty of 
the state to grow the forests which must be 
managed on long rotations and as speedily as 
may be to transform the state forests now un- 
der coppice into true high forest. 
Interesting examples of conversion are to be 
seen in the Forest D’Ecouves, near Alencon, in 
the northeastern part of France, and in the for- 
ests under the direct management of the Na- 
tion School of Forestry at Nancy; the forests 
of Heye and Amance. By a series of succes- 
sive cuttings, under a sort of modified shelter- 
wood method, the older trees of coppice origin 
and the standards, or seedling trees that formed 
the upper story over the coppice, are gradually 
removed and their places taken by groups of 
seedling trees resulting from natural reproduc- 
tion. In the end the forest becomes a stand 
(47) 
