150 Austria-Hunga/ry. 



conditions wotdd most likely be secured; but since 

 here the property was not as in Bohemia in large estates 

 but in small farmers' hands, the result was disastrous; 

 as we shall see later, it merely led to increased devasta- 

 tion. 



The same result followed the increase of private peas- 

 ant ownership which came with the abolishment of 

 serfdom in 1781. In 1783 an ordinance fiiU of wise 

 prescriptions against wasteful practice intended for the 

 Northwest territory sought to check the improvident 

 forest destruction. 



A further wholesome influence on private forest man- 

 agement was exercised by the tax assessment reform in 

 1788, when not only a more reasonable assessment but 

 for the first time a difference was made in taxation of 

 managed as opposed to unmanaged woods and the epoch- 

 making fertile idea of the normal forest was announced 

 (see p. 108) . At the same time the hunting privileges 

 and other burdens, hampering forest properties, were 

 abolished and measures for the extinguishment of the 

 rights of user enacted. 



3. State Forest Administration. 



The State domain in the first half of the 19th century 

 had been reduced by sales from nearly 10 million acres 

 to 4.5 million acres, and to a little over 3 million acres 

 in 1855. In that year about one-half of this property 

 was handed over to the National Bank to secure the 

 State's indebtedness of $30,000,000, and between 1860 

 and 1870 large sales reduced the domain to its present 

 size, when (in 1872) a new policy and the present organ- 

 ization was instituted. 



