288 FEATURES OF FRENCH NATIONAL FOREST ADMINISTRATION 



The paths are cleared of pine needles twice a year — in October and 

 May — and at the same time the trails are repaired. In the Toulon 

 Inspection the needles fall in July and August during the danger season, 

 and in May a path was noticed which was covered with needles. 



When fighting fire in this locaUty, even with fire lines, it is usually 

 necessary to back-fire, although occasionally it is possible to station 

 men along the paths or fire lines and beat out the fires with boughs. 

 The night is invariably considered the best time for fire fighting, since 

 there is less wind."* 



Fire Insurance in France. — In theory there is more need for fire 

 insurance of forests than there is of city dwellings. In practice there 

 is but little forest-fire insurance even in European coimtries where the 

 fire danger is much less than in America because the rates are so high 

 that private owners cannot afford it, while it is the policy of govern- 

 ments not to insure. A number of companies pretend to insure forests 

 but most of them refuse when it comes to the point; they will only insure 

 forests where the danger is so small that there is no object in insuring. 

 Where the risk is great the rates are prohibitive. 



Ordinarily companies only insure broadleaf high forests, coppice, or 

 coppice-under-standards which do not contain more than 10 per cent 

 of conifers in mixture. The insurance of forests which contain a larger 

 proportion of conifers than broadleaves or where the conifers are less 

 than 10 years old is rarely agreed to, and then only in the north or 

 center of France where the fire danger is much less than in the south. 

 Insurance companies do not ordinarily insure the theoretical damage '' 

 to management following fire or the loss of sprouting capacity. They 

 refuse to insure cover, regeneration, felled timber and bark, and debris 

 of every kind which has fallen on the ground.'^ 



Typical rules concerning the insurance of forests are: 



"Based on the average price at the day of exploitation and based upon half of this 

 average price if the forest is under management or on half the usual age at the time of 

 felling if the forest is not run under formal working plan. 



"1. For the coppice. To value the capital insured by calculating the value of the 

 cutting at different ages according to the amount grown at the time the fire takes place 

 with poUcies fixed for 10 years and a re-valuation at the end of each decennial 

 period. 



"2. For the reserves. To value the capital to be insured by classes by determining 

 for each diameter class the value of the average tree and the average number of trees 



*> For Landes methods see pp. 203-205. 



» For a detailed discussion of French damage appraisal methods see "Incendies en 

 ForSt," by Jacquot. This has been translated and published in English. A critique 

 of (company) forest fire insurance is given by Jacquot in "Assurance des Forfits Contre 

 Incendie." Le Mans, 1909. 



" "Assurance des For^ts Contre I'lncendie," par M. Deroye, Besancon, 1911. 



