72 



in charge of the division, and accounts rendered to the head office in Hanover, and thence 

 to Berlra. 



All the forests have been surveyed, valued, and divided into blocks in this manner ; — 



Besides those already enumerated, there is, for the sole purpose of measuring, 

 valuing, and framing working plans for the forest, a superintendent, draughtsmen, and 

 clerks, generally practical foresters, and a staff of surveyors and forest valuators, who 

 are generally candidates for the position of over-forester. 



When a forest was about to be taken in hand and worked systematically, a sur- 

 veyor and valuator were despatched to the spot, the former working under the directions 

 of the latter, who placed himself in communication with the local forest officer and the 

 inhabitants interested, and obtained from them all the information in his power. The 

 surveyor first surveyed the whole district, then the different divisions, as pointed out by 

 the valuator, who defined them according to the description of the timber standing, and 

 any conditions affecting the nature of the trees to be grown in future. While the sur- 

 veyor did this, the valuator valued the trees, formed a register of rights with a view to 

 commutation, considered the best plan of working the forest, the roads, in fact, all which 

 enabled him to form a plan for the head office, and a subordinate plan to be handed over 

 to the executive officer as his " standing orders." 



The valuator and surveyor return to head-quarters, and prepare the maps and plans, 

 which are submitted to the board of forest-masters, the forest-director and other council- 

 lors of the Finance Department, who are thus prepared to listen to any objections made 

 by communities or individuals, which are very rarely made now, as the people have 

 learned that the action of the officers is not adverse to their interests, and are willing to 

 allow them to settle matters. 



The executive officer has thus in his hands maps showing each division of the forest 

 tract in his charge, and instructions — the quantity to be felled yearly, the extent to be 

 planted, the state in which the forest should be ten, twenty or a hundred years after the 

 plans were made, all calculated — so that the over-forester has only to carry out the 

 instructions given him, allowance being made for unavoidable difficulties — failure of seed, 

 occurrence of storms, and the like. 



The forest-masters have no executive work, but control four to six over-foresters, of 

 whose labours they make frequent reports to the Director (both in forest and office work). 

 The over-foresters give annual reports of operations. They spend most of their time in 

 the forest, supervising the felling, planting, sowing, thinning, carting and selling of tim- 

 ber. The laying down of roads is done by a forest officer, but the actual work is carried 

 out by the local officer, who has also much office work, giving grazing licenses, etc., and 

 preparations of returns, but his work is out of doors compared to that of the forest-master, 

 who has more office work : comparing operations and rates in the districts, Collecting 

 statistics, settling disputes, and as a member of the forest committee, revising working 

 plans. 



The main object aimed at in any scientific forestry is, to convert the natural forest, 

 consisting of trees, young and old, good and bad, too thick and too thin, into blocks of 



trees of the better description, of the same age, and capable of being worked that is, 



thinned out, felled, and reproduced, or replanted, in succession, a block being taken in 



