GERMAN FOREST MANAGEMENT — PRUSSIA. 225 



FOREST ADMINISTRATION. 



The care and active legislative consideration of the forest wealth, dates back fully three cen- 

 turies. The so called "Forstordnungen" (forest ordinances) of the sixteenth and seventeenth 

 centuries laLd the foundation for the present system, and in some States, like Wurttenaberg, were 

 never repealed, but merely modified to adapt them to modern views of political economy. The 

 end of the seventeenth century brought much discussion into the subject of forest legislation, as 

 in all other public affairs, and even conservative Germany was led beyond the point of equilibrium, 

 and in most States the State supervision, especially of private forests, was abandoned. This led 

 to the division and parceling of forest properties, and with the diminutive holding came misman- 

 agement and to considerable extent the complete devastation. This condition never affected any 

 of the State forests nor the majority of corporation forests, so that these properties continued on 

 their way to improvement. The wretched condition of many of the private forests is deplored, 

 exposed, discussed, but so far those States which gave the private forest free have been unable to 

 do more than to teach by example and to encourage, both means entirely ineffective when ? as is 

 usually the case, the owner is too poor to handle a forest. What remains to be done is being done 

 as fast as means and opportunity offer. The State buys these half wastes, restocks them at great 

 expense, and thus public money pays for public folly. 



To provide for a suitable and efficient forest service Germany has expended large sums in 

 promoting forestry education. At nine separate colleges men are prepared for this work, and the 

 forest manager ("Oberfoerster," "Eevierfoerster") in any of the State forests is a college-bred 

 man with a general education about equivalent and similar to that leading to a degree of bachelor 

 of science in our better universities. The organization in all German States is similar — a central 

 office at the seat of government, manned by experienced foresters, acts as advisor to the govern- 

 ment, shapes the forest policy of the State, introduces all large measures of refonn, etc., and acts 

 as court of appeal in important forest cases. In each province, if the State is large (if not, the 

 central office acts), a provincial forest office sees after the work of the province. This office 

 cooperates with the forest managers in preparing plans for every piece of forest land, in deter- 

 mining the cut of the year, and it also examines the work as well as the records of every district, 

 and acts as tribunal for the province in forest matters. But the real managers of the forests are 

 the "Oberfoerster" or " Revierfoerster," each of whom has on an average about 10,000 acres of 

 forest land for which he acts as responsible director. lie lives in the forest, keeps himself 

 informed as to all details, plans for every piece of ground (his plans must be approved by his 

 superiors), and executes all plans. He determines where and when to cut, to plant, to build roads, 

 ancj it is he who sells the forest products. In all cases he has a number of assistants and guards 

 who act as police, and at the same time as foremen to the laborers, directing their work and 

 keeping their time, or measuring their cut or work. The district which the Oberfoerster manages 

 forms the unit in all records and transactions. All forest officials of any responsibility are 

 employed for life or good behavior, their requirements, duties and rights, rates of pay, pension, 

 etc., are all clearly set forth in the forest laws of every State. 



In the following pages the conditions and results of forest management in the leading States 

 are fully set forth, based upon the latest official data available. 



Forest Management of Leading- States. 



PRUSSIA. 



The Kingdom of Prussia, with its 30,000,000 people and an area of nearly 90,000,000 acres of 

 land, representing all natural conditions from the low coast plain to the precipitous mountain 

 system, with its busy centers of manufacture and commerce and its distant rural provinces, 

 stands out to-day as the strongest example of the great benefits of scientific forestry. 



The forests of Prussia cover 8,192,505 hectares (about 20,300,000 acres), or 23.5 per cent of the 

 total area. This proportion of forest varies for different parts of the Kingdom from 16 per cent to 

 39 per cent; it is below the average of 23 per cent in seven provinces, of which only Sehleswig- 

 Holstem falls below 16 per cent, and is above the average in six provinces, some of which, like 

 Brandenburg, belong to the densely populated portions of the Kingdom. The area relations 

 H. Doc. 181 15 



