REPORT ON FORESTS. 317 



country is impressed with the fact that they are an honest, solid, 

 wide-awake, up-to-date people. 



The forests of Denmark are of special interest to Americans 

 because a large percentage of the forest is owned by private 

 parties. The excellent system of forest management is the 

 result of private enterprise. Only six per cent, of the country 

 is wooded. These woods are mostly on the islands. Jutland is 

 mainly heathland. The soil of the country is sandy. A calm 

 day is rare, and without eternal vigilance and care a large part 

 of the country would blow or wash into the sea. 



The production of Danish forests is high. They produce 4.8 

 cubic meters of wood per year per hectare. The highest yield 

 in Germany is in Erfurt, which is 4.5 cubic meters. 



The ease of importing both coal and wood cause great compe- 

 tition. Denmark is near to Norway and Sweden, which are 

 great exporters of wood, and near to England, a great exporter 

 of coal. Sixty per cent, of the Danish forests are beech, which 

 is used for fuel, butter-tubs and wooden shoes ; seven per cent. 

 is oak, which is used for ship building, and twenty-one per 

 cent, conifers. The Danes have outgrown the notion that 

 conifers are preferable to hardwoods. Even the forestation of 

 heathlands with conifers is regarded a necessary evil, and they 

 cherish the hope that some day the soil will be fit for hard- 

 woods. 



The wood is sold direct to the purchaser without auction, and 

 the foresters are more on the order of enterprising business men 

 than mere administrative officers who spend most of their time 

 at the desk writing reports. The position of chief forester in 

 Denmark requires a knowledge of commercial principles and 

 business skill. These men are granted much freedom and con- 

 fidence by their employers. They receive a share of the profits 

 and are therefore financially interested in every operation. 



There is no great secret to their methods. It is simply the 

 application of great skill and economy. They simply do what 

 pays the best ; that is, employ those principles of business 

 management which produce the largest returns in the shortest 

 length of time, preserving at the same time a sustained yield 

 and desirable soil conditions. 



