i9i i-3 



Forestry in Norway. 



389 



established by Parliament. From that date up to the present 

 time the Service has increased from a staff of two to upwards 

 of five hundred men. The present staff ranges from the Chief 

 of Bureau to the Divisional Guards (usually local landowners, 

 paid a small annual fee for their services). The scale of pay is 

 low, but it must be remembered that living is cheap in the 

 country districts and that travelling expenses and about 5s. 

 a day extra are allowed to all officers while on tour. 



The Bureau is entrusted with the general management of 

 the State woods and afforestation areas, including matters 

 of law, finance, and valuation. Among other matters, 

 it deals with the conservation of woodlands, and has 

 power to deal with concessions granted to foreigners 

 and companies. With the earliest mention of the timber 

 trade in Norway we have records of timber export duties 

 and the like, but little attempt was made to prevent over- 

 cutting. During the fifty years of its existence, the present 

 Department has done valuable work defining the boundaries 

 and peasant rights in the Government forests. The first 

 measure of conservation was passed in 1892, forbidding any 

 exportation of timber from the provinces in the extreme north 

 for a period of three years. By a Law of 1893, since amended, 

 the supervision of private forests was entrusted to the local 

 Councils. 



The damage done to woods by fire in former times was 

 very extensive; the area destroyed duririg the last century 

 being estimated at over 70 square miles. Effective legisla- 

 tion, which dates from 1893, has been greatly aided by the 

 extension of road, rail, and telephone, by which means 

 assistance is now quickly procured. 



The financial position of the State Woods for the last fifty 

 years may be briefly shown as follows : — 



Profit on State Woods £S93,3%9 



Value of Peasant Rights 3 8l >944 



Rise in Value — 



{a) Of Original Woods ... ^361,708 

 {6) Of Purchased ... 79> 2 46 



^440,954 



Less Cost of Improvement Schemes 



Total . 



^1,416,287 

 21,673 



Net Profit in Fifty Years 



...^i,394,6i4 



