Ban Forests. 191 
dle of the 18th century they were as general and afforded 
as great a hindrance to forest management as in Ger- 
many. The ordinance of 1669 also provided for the ex- 
tinction of these rights, apparently without much suc- 
cess, and the troublesome times after 1789 increased 
their number. Only when the orderly regime following 
the reign of Napoleon gave rise to the Code Forestier 
(1827) was a systematic attempt for their extinguish- 
ment by the cession of territory and cash payment begun, 
and by this time the extinction may be considered prac- 
tically concluded, at least for the state and communal 
property. 
2. Development of Forest Policy. 
As in Germany, the king, in addition to the ban and 
in addition to the rights of ownership to certain forest 
properties, had early asserted a superior right of the state 
to restrict the exercise of private property rights. Espe- 
cially on land located in proximity to the royal 
woods, was the management of private property placed 
under supervision. 
Ordinances like those issued by the German princes 
regulated the use of forests in France during the 12th to 
17th century ; the first ordinance on record being issued 
by Louis VI (1215). These ordinances usually ap- 
peared under the name Le fait des eaux et foréts (the 
matters of waters and woods). The latter term was 
used exactly like that of the German Forst, designating 
the reserved territory under the ban, while bois is used 
to designate actual woodland (silva). 
The royal forests were early placed under an adminis- 
tration, the principal officers of which were the grand 
