C()aracteri0ttc ftatmtsi of ifore0trp 



(IV.) GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 



A country without forests is never a prosperous country. The 

 destruction of the forest seems to be, however, more a sign of econ- 

 omic decrepitude than a cause of economic decrepitude. 



The industrial system of a country is a quadruped, with com- 

 merce for its head, transportation for its body, and agriculture, for- 

 estry, mining, and manufacture for its legs. The inter-dependence 

 between these various industries is such as to lay the animal lame 

 if one of its legs is hurt. 



Books on forestry frequently state that twenty-five per cent, of 

 a country should be kept under forest cover. Exact figures cannot be 

 given. It may be said, however, that a continental climate requires 

 a larger percentage of forest cover than a maritime climate. In ad- 

 dition, the percentage is affected by the density of population and 

 the configuration of the country. 



Forestry as a business has many drawbacks (compare VI.); hence 

 the investor, generally speaking, is averse to embarking in forestry. 



In Europe, a paternal and strong-handed government, since olden 

 times, has enforced the preservation of the forests at the expense of 

 the owners, making them responsible for maintaining that forest area 

 v/hich is desired by all. In modern states, such forcible compulsion 

 at the expense of a few will be impossible. Here, two courses are 

 open to a farsighted government, namely: either to offer such finanT 

 cial inducements to its suojects owning forests which will induce 

 them to adopt conservative forestry; or, to buy up forests and forest 

 land, and to undertake forestry on the people's account. 



It is doubtful which of these two courses is the cheaper and the 

 preferable one for the commonwealth. No government officer, gen- 

 erally speaking, is a good business man, since he is never allowed to 

 be financially interested in the undertaking, and no business flourishes 

 in the long run in which the leaders are not financially engaged. 



On the other hand, if the first course alone be followed, it will 

 still be necessary for the government to employ a staff of officers 

 superintending private owners. Further, the short-lived human being 

 will necessarily engage in short-sighted forestry, and the far-sighted 

 ends at stake in forest policy can be only partially obtained in this way, 



A combination of both methods (state ownership plus private 

 forests under the inducement system) seems to Doctor Schenck to 

 be the best means leading towards an adequate area of well-managed 

 forests. 



(V.) ABSOLUTE FOREST LAND. 



Forestry is one of the " soil industries." These may be arranged, 

 according to the intensity of labor required, as follows: Ranching; 



