REPORT ON FORESTS. a7 
‘country is impressed with the fact that they are an honest, solid, 
wide-awake, up-to-date people. 
The forests of Denmark are of special interest to Americans 
because a large percentage of the forest is owned by private 
parties. The excellent system of forest management is the 
result of private enterprise. Only six per cent. of the country 
is wooded. ‘These woods are mostly on the islands. Jutland is’ 
mainly heathland. The soil of the country is sandy. A calm 
day is rare, and without eternal vigilance and care a large part 
of the country would blow or wash into the sea. 
The production of Danish forests is high. They produce 4.8 
cubic meters of wood per year per hectare. The highest yield 
in Germany is in Erfurt, which is 4.5 cubic meters. 
The ease of importing both coal and wood cause great compe- 
tition. Denmark is near to Norway and Sweden, which are 
great exporters of wood, and near to England, a great exporter 
of coal. Sixty per cent. of the Danish forests are beech, which 
is used for fuel, butter-tubs and wooden shoes; seven per cent. 
is oak, which is used for ship building, and twenty-one per 
cent. conifers. The Danes have outgrown the notion that 
conifers are preferable to hardwoods. Even the forestation of 
heathlands with conifers is regarded a necessary evil, and they 
cherish the hope that some day the soil will be fit for hard- 
woods. 
The wood is sold direct to the purchaser without auction, and 
the foresters are more on the order of enterprising business men 
than mere administrative officers who spend most of their time 
at the desk writing reports. The position of chief forester in 
Denmark requires a knowledge of commercial principles and 
business skill. ‘Twhese men are granted much freedom and con- 
fidence by their employers. "They receive a share of the profits 
and are therefore financially interested in every operation. 
There is no great secret to their methods. It is simply the 
application of great skill and economy. They simply do what 
pays the best; that is, employ those principles of business 
management which produce the largest returns in the shortest 
length of time, preserving at the same time a sustained yield 
and desirable soil conditions. 
