288 Italy. 
administration in the Department of Agriculture; but 
of this about 20 per cent. is not forest, and even in 1896, 
some of this small area was sold. This area is to 
serve for demonstration of model management, and to 
supply government needs. Beech and oak with fir, pine 
and larch, mostly in timber forest, characterize this 
property, which is managed mostly in selection system. 
Curiously enough, in 1888, the difficulty of disposing ad- 
vantageously of the old timber is complained of, due to 
lack of means of transportation. The personnel of the 
administration consists of a central bureau with one In- 
spector General, three Inspectors, and a Council. For 
each province, and in some cases for two or more prov- 
inces together, an Inspector with several Sub-inspectors 
and a number of guards or brigadieri are charged with 
the management of the State property and the enforce- 
ment of the forest laws. 
2. Development of Forest Policy. 
For centuries, since the fall of the Roman Empire 
(476 A. D.) until the end of the eighteenth century, 
Italy has been the victim of war and strife with neigh- 
bors or within its borders, being divided into numberless 
commonwealths, almost each city being independent. 
Hence no economic improvements could take place 
until, under the influences of the French Revolution, the 
regeneration period began. Not, however, until the 
seven or eight states which the Congress of Vienna 
(1815) had established were moulded into one united 
Italy under Victor Emmanuel, during the years 1859 to 
1870, could an effective reconstruction be inaugurated. 
It is true that some of the republics in earlier times 
