Development of Silviculture. 207 
to be “cured.” Among the former there were 31 which 
50 years ago were considered by engineers incurable. It 
is estimated that with the expenditure of $600,000 per 
annum the work may be finished by 1945. The names 
of Matthieu and Demontzey, especially the latter, are 
indelibly connected with this great work. 
5. Forestry Science and Practice. 
Outside of this work of reclamation it cannot be said 
that the French foresters have developed forestry science 
or practice to a noticeable extent. The forest ordinance 
of 1669, attempting to improve the method of exploita- 
tion hitherto practiced, namely, the unregulated selection 
forest (jardinage), prescribed the method 4@ tire-aire, 
which consisted in leaving a certain number of seed trees 
per acre, no matter for what species or conditions of soil 
or climate, although, it seems that as early as 1520 one 
of the grandmasters, Tristan de Rostaing, had pointed 
out the faults of this method and recommended the 
method of successive fellings (shelterwood system). 
This prescription, applied uniformly as a matter of law, 
removed from the officials all spirit of initiative and de- 
sire or requirement of improving upon it. No knowledge 
beyond that of the law was required of them, hence no 
development of silvicultural methods resulted during 
the 17th and 18th century. The seed trees left on the 
felling areas grew into undesirable and branchy “wolves,” 
injuring the aftergrowth, or else were thrown by the 
wind or died, and many of the areas became undesirable 
brush. Not until the first quarter of the 19th century 
was the change in this method proposed through men 
who imported new ideas from Germany. Large areas of 
