Forest Conditions. 173 



members corresponding to the House of Representatives, 

 the Standesrath with 44 members, equivalent to the 

 Senate, represent the interests of the whole federation. 

 The administration of the cantons lies in the hands of 

 the "great" and "small" councils with an executive min- 

 istry of three members chosen for two years by the for- 

 mer council. The administration of the Bund is in 

 the hands of the Bundesrath of 7 members elected by 

 the parliament, which also elects one of the members as 

 president for one year. The Eeferendum, which, if 30,- 

 000 voters demand it within 3 months, requires refer- 

 ence of any law to the direct vote of the people is used 

 as a check on legislation. 



Although the larger part of the population of 3 

 million people is German, parts of Switzerland are 

 French and other parts Italian. 



Prom this brief statement of the political develop- 

 ment of the country it wiU appear that the development 

 of forestry must also have varied. 



Topographic and soil conditions necessarily had their 

 influence on this development also. In the plains, the 

 plateau, and the hill country the distinction of forest 

 and field as it now exists had been in general attained 

 in the 15th century, while in the mountain coimtry for- 

 est destruction began only in the 18th century and con- 

 tinued till the middle of the 19th century, stimulated 

 by the development of the metal industry and the im- 

 provement in means of communication. The clearings 

 made here were turned into pasture and, being over- 

 pastured, became waste lands. Thus owing to topo- 

 graphic and soil conditions a very uneven distribution of 

 forest has resulted and we find a variation in forest area 



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