FOREST POLICY. 3 



Obviously, financial forestry holds the leading position with the 

 private owner. Park forestry is mostly practiced by municipalities and 

 wealthy men. In all three cases, we might distinguish between forestry 

 in existing woodlands and forestry on soil now lying bare. 



B. — The desire of the commonwealth: 



I. — To preserve natural blessings supplied by the forest: 



(a) Water supply (for drink, irrigation, navigation, 



etc.). 



(b) Health. 



(c) Moderation of temperature. 



(d) Preservation of humidity. 



(e) Rain fall (?). 

 2. — To prevent calamities: 



(f) Excessive erosion and destructive floods. 



(g) Protection against avalanches, sand shifts, and 



rough winds. 

 3. — To preserve national resources: 



(h) Lumber industry (which is second only to agri- 

 culture, yielding over a billion dollars' worth 

 of products per annum). 



(i) Productiveness of soil fit for tree growth only. 



The desire of the private owner and the desire of the common- 

 wealth are frequently antagonistic the one to the other. The individ- 

 ual owner wants to use the forest to its utmost capacity for his indi- 

 vidual purposes; the public, on the other hand, wants the forest left 

 to nature, since the beneficial influences of the forest (a to g) are 

 best obtained from untouched virgin forests. A coppice forest exer- 

 cises the smallest influence on the natural blessings derivable from 

 the woods. 



(IIL) DEFINITION — FOREST POLICY. 



Forest policy, as a science, has to deal with the position occupied 

 by the forests and forestry within the economic system of a com- 

 monwealth. 



Forest policy, as an art or practice, is that part of governmental 

 activity which has the forests and forestry for an object. 



Outline of Following Paragraphs: 



I. — Introduction. 



(a) Characteristic features of forestry. (§IV. to §XIII.). 



(b) Direct utility (money made) and indirect utility (losses 



prevented) of the forest. (§XIV. to §XXII.). 

 2. — Statistics. 



(a) Consumption. (§XXni.). 



(b) Production. (§XXIV.). 



(c) Area. (§XXV.). 



(d) World's timber supply. (§XXVI.). 



