Literature on Forest Policy. 133 



whose volume on Bodenkunde (1893) may be consid- 

 ered the standard of the present day. 



The question of the climatic significance of forests is 

 one which first became recognized as capable of solution 

 by scientific means when the movement for forest ex- 

 periment stations began to take shape and the systematic 

 collecting of observed data was attempted. Most of the 

 problems are still iinsolved. 



With the aspects of political economy in reference to 

 forest policy the foresters had occupied themselves but 

 little, leaving the shaping of public opinion to the Cam- 

 eralists, whose influence lasted long into the century. 

 These produced a good deal of literature in the early 

 years of the century when the question of retaining 

 or selling state forests was under discussion, and, under 

 the influence of the teachings of Adam Smith, their 

 opinion was mostly favorable to sale. Only gradually 

 was the propriety of state forests recognized by them, 

 till finally the leading economists, Kau, Eoscher and 

 Wagner, took a decided stand in favor of this view. 



The foresters naturally were for retention of the ex- 

 isting State properties, but one-sided mercantUistic 

 views regarding their administration persisted with them 

 till modem times. 



WedeTcmd as early as 1831 advocated the theory 

 which is now becoming a practice, that the state should 

 not only retain, but increase its present forest property 

 by purchase of all absolute forest soil for the purpose of 

 reforestation. The erratic and radical Pfeil alone was 

 found with the Cameralists on the opposite side in 1816, 

 but by 1834 he had entirely gone over to the side of the 



