24 MICHIGAN FORESTRY. 



portation of timber impossible, many of the towns began to feel the evil 

 effects of this bad usage, and conservative men began to plead for protection 

 and better care of the forest. This agitation required time, but as early as 

 the year 1165 the authorities of certain districts began to issue regulations and 

 organize a suitable service to prevent further forest destruction. The matter 

 was sporadic ; the greater part of that immense forest was still to be subdued, 

 but nevertheless the good work of a reasonable care and use of the forest 

 spread from these many centers, and by the year 1300 a considerable number 

 of districts had regulations concerning the cutting of timber, and in several of 

 them future clearing without official permit was forbidden. 



By this time, too, there had established itself in all the better settled dis- 

 tricts certain rules concerning the use of the forest, the running of stock, the 

 hunting, gathering of grass, fruits and seeds, the manner and time of felling 

 timber, etc., had become matter of public discussion and official instruction, 

 and thus forestry grew up, as it were, side by side, with the primitive agricul- 

 ture of those times. 



By the year 1600 the dangers of forest destruction and the proper use of the 

 forest were quite fully understood throughout Central Europe, and practically 

 all accessible forests of France, German, Austria and the neighboring states 

 were under some form of control. At the same time the ownership of the for- 

 est was established, and instead of being commons, the forest now had passed 

 into the hands of definite owners, a large portion fortunately falling to village, 

 town, church and state. 



A very instructive case in this connection is the forest property known as 

 Sihlwald, belonging to the city of Zurich, Switzerland, ever since about the 

 year 1000 A. D. As early as the year 1314 there existed here a forest service, 

 and in the year 1342 the principal forester of the Sihlwald became the "Sihl- 

 herr, " and as such was a member of the town council. At the same time a 

 definite system of cutting timber had developed, and by the year 1422 the 

 budget or amount of timber to be cut each year was determined and pre- 

 scribed by the council, which expressed itself appropriately in its city 

 order about as follows; "In order that this forest shall not be overcut or 

 damaged, but shall be used in an orderly manner, maintained and its growth 

 preserved for our children, therefore it is decided that the forester shall not 

 order or cut more than 36,000 pieces (about 900 cords.) " From the year 1630 

 to the present time a record has been kept of the amount of tim.ber cut each 

 year, and it is evident that we have here a forest property in the possession 

 of this town for about 1,000 years, under good management for over 600 

 years, yielding every year its regular crop of timber and in better shape today 

 than it was ever before. 



It was in such ways as these that the forests of Central Europe attained 

 their present form and systems. 



At present, Germany, for instance, has 25.7 per cent of its land area in 

 forest, nearly half belonging to private persons, the other half to the states and 

 corporations (cities and villages, etc.). About two-thirds of these woods are 

 under state control, the other third being in the hands of private persons 

 entirely free to do as they please with their forests. The state forests and 

 those under state control are, as is so well known to all American travelers, in 

 excellent condition and under the most perfect management. That these for- 

 ests are not merely a hobby or an expensive luxury is best proved by the fact 

 that, for instance, the state forests of Wurttemberg, Baden and Saxony pro- 

 duce a yearly income over and above all expenses of over $5.00 per acre. To 

 be sure, such an income is not produced by neglecting the forest and leav- 



