204 



Sierra Club Bulletin. 



FORESTRY NOTES. 



Edited by Professor William R. Dudley. 



Municipal P^'^i^sylvania, by the passage of a bill during the 

 ^ recent legislative session, has made possible the 



establishment of municipal forests adjacent to its 

 towns and cities. The bill is entitled: "An Act to permit the 

 acquisition of forest or other suitable lands by municipalities, for 

 the purpose of establishing municipal forests and providing for 

 the administration, maintenance, protection and development of 

 such forests." The bill was presented and especially advocated 

 by the American Civic Association, and Dr. Rothrock, the State 

 Forester, says the State is indebted to the President of the Associ- 

 ation more than to any other one man for its introduction and 

 passage. Although the principle is new to America, except in 

 sporadic cases, it has been long developed into a system in all 

 the states of Continental Europe, where such forests are known 

 as communal forests, and are managed with great thrift and 

 economy, sometimes by men chosen by the communities, some- 

 times by the government forest service in the interest of the 

 community. A Pennsylvania Forest Commissioner reports some 

 instructive details from the government reports on the forests 

 of Baden which is more richly forested than most German states. 

 Somewhat more than one-third of Baden is forested. 577,465 

 acres, — less than one-half the total forested area, — are owned by 

 communities and corporations, such as churches, schools and 

 hospitals. Indeed, 1350 of her 1564 communities own forests, and 

 287 corporations, such as above named, also have woodlands to 

 manage. The forests are systematically examined and a definite 

 amount is allowed to be cut yearly, which is well within the 

 yearly renewal from growth. These woodlands are a source of 

 sure profit. The city of Baden has 10,576 acres, which yields a 

 net profit of $6.25 an acre yearly. Freiburg owns 8,085 acres, 

 yielding a profit of $5.79 an acre. The profits of Heidelberg are 

 less, because Heidelberg is still acquiring forest land. Case after 

 case could be cited where the entire public expenses of the com- 

 munity are met by the yearly profits on the woodlands, and 

 some even derive a surplus sufficient after a time to build water- 

 works and the like. For instance, the village of Aufen, with 

 only 220 inhabitants, owns 163 acres of woodland. "This gives 

 2,000 board feet of firewood to each citizen, and 85,000 board feet 

 of timber sold nets more than $1,400, which is sufficient for all 



