FORESTRY IN GERMANY. 59 



Large numbers of rafts float down the Oder river whenever there is suffi- 

 cient depth and width of water, many of them bound for Stettin, Hamburg, 

 and Berlin. The dams and locks at this city, however, are a drawback to 

 this method of lumber transportation, necessitating the construction of 

 narrow and short rafts, which can pass through the locks in two sections. 



TREES. 



In the forests of the low lands pine and oak trees predominate, but the 

 larger forests on the right of the Oder consist almost exclusively of pines. 

 The oak forests in the valleys of the Oder and Neisse are decreasing in num- 

 ber and size, but are still of considera.ble extent in the neighborhood of 

 Ohlau, Breslau, Brieg, Leubus and Neusalz. The royal hunting forest near 

 Ohlau comprises many fine specimens of old deciduous and evergreen trees. 

 Larch, birch and beech forests are to be seen at Trebnitz, Miinsterberg and 

 Nimptset. 



FOREST PRIVILEGES. 



Common forests, or such in which the population at large have privileges, 

 do not exist. Pasturing cattle is occasionally permitted, against remunera- 

 tion, if the cattle are under the care of a herdsman. Swine are also frequently 

 admitted into the forests if they are properly guarded. They are thought to 

 be destructive of insects and their eggs. 



FOREST ADMINISTRATION. 



The three administrative districts into which Silesia is divided have each 

 a head forest master, who is a member of the district government, and to 

 whom are subordinate the various head foresters having supervision of the 

 state, city and communal forests. Under the control of the head foresters 

 are the foresters, gamekeepers and guards, and the wood laborers. The 

 planting and felling of trees are regulated by the head foresters under general 

 or special instructions. Among the duties of the foresters are the protection 

 and preservation of the trees and game; the selection of sites for wood cut- 

 ting, making reports on drainage and- irrigation, the disposal of cord and 

 dead wood, and the prevention of violation of the game laws, whether by the 

 gaming lessees or by poachers. All grades of foresters are entitled to a pen- 

 sion when too old or otherwise incapacitated for service. Wood can be cut 

 in the/ state forests and jn the communal and other forests under control of 

 the state only in conformity with a plan drawn up or sanctioned by the 

 forest authorities. 



FOREST REVENUES. 



The sales of wood from the state forests in Silesia in the fiscal year 1 884— 

 1885 yielded the sum of ^1,216,628, namely, 1841,757 from lumber and oak 

 bark, and ^370,872 from fuel wood. In addition, the leasing of the right to 

 shoot game in these forests yielded upward of |s,ooo. 



