Forest Organization. 155 



ble, the Emperor setting a good example in 1858 by re- 

 nouncing his superior right to forest reservations in the 

 Alp districts. 



The best exemplification of the spirit of the Austrian 

 forest poUcy and of the methods of forest organiza- 

 tion and administration is to be found ia the adminis- 

 tration of the provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina de- 

 scribed in a volume just published by the veteran Aus- 

 trian forester, Ludwig Dimitz.* 



Here the Austrian government has in the short time of 

 25 years succeeded in bringing orderly conditions into 

 the forest management. Until 1878 these countries 

 were provinces of Turkey and were annexed to Austria 

 as a result of the Eusso-TurMsh War. The Turks had 

 already attempted a management of the forest lands, 

 which were, in their entirety claimed by the Sultan. 

 Property conditions being entirely unclear when the 

 Austrians assumed the administration, these questions 

 had first to be settled by a survey. This survey resulted 

 in showing a forest area of 6.3 million acres, 51% of 

 the land area, of which probably all but about 1.5 mil- 

 lion acres is private or communal property; half of the 

 state property is fully stocked and it is estimated that 

 about 100 million cubic feet is the annual increment. 



5. Progress of Forest Organization. 



Since 1873 working plans according to unified princi- 

 ples have been prepared for most of the State property so 

 that by 1898 about S2% was under regulated manage- 

 ment. 



* Die /orMichen Verhaltnisse und Einrichtungen Bosniem iind der 

 Herzegovina., Ludwig Dimitz, Vienna, 1905, pp. 389. See Forestry Qoarterly, 

 Vol. Ill, p. 143. 



