Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 9.djvu/415

FORESTS 401 schools, with the result that sylviculture has been most accurately studied, and the economical management of woodland most successfully carried out in that country. The following eight academies existed prior to the unifica tion of the empire. Each large state had one school. They are now being remodelled with a central office at Berlin. Eisenach in Thuringia, Suxe Weimar. Tharant, near Dresden, Saxony. Neustadt Eberswald, near Berlin. MiuiJen in Hanover. Giessen in Hesse. Carlsruhe in Baden. Hohenheim, near Stuttgart, in Wiirtemberg. Aschaffenburg in Bavaria. The academies at Neustadt Eberswald and Aschaffen- burg are for the study of forestry alone, while in the others the pursuit of agricultural or engineering knowledge is combined with it. In Germany tho forest service is a state department, filled by youths of good position, who are specially trained for the purpose. The period of train ing extends over five years, and its course is thus described by Campbell Walker. 1 " Nothing struck me as more remarkable than the extent and varied nature of the studies required from forest candidates or pro bationers in Prussia, and the number of years they are content to spend, first in studying and then in waiting for an appointment. The would-be obcrforstcr must, after passing certain terms at a Government school of the first class, spend a year with an ober- fb rster in a revier, and then pass an examination as forest pupil, after which there is a two years course at a forest academy, and an examination in scientific forestry, land surveying, &c., on passing which the pupil becomes a forst-kandidat ; then other two years practical study, during at least nine months of which he must actu ally perform the duties of a forester, after which comes the final Government examination, on passing which he enters the grade of oberfdrster-kandidat. The difference betwixt the two examinations is that the first tests the candidate s knowledge of theoretical forestry and cognate sciences, whilst the latter tests his ability to apply what he has learnt and capability for employment as oberforster and in the higher grades. After passing the final examination the obcr- forstcr-kandidat is employed as an assistant in the academies and control offices, in making forest surveys and working plans, and sometimes acting in charge of a revier, receiving certain daily or weekly allowances whilst so employed. After five or six years of this probation he may look forward to being permanently appointed. Thus we have at least five years spent in study and other five in probation, the former without any pay, and the latter only with meagre allowances, whilst actually employed, before the would-be forest officer is installed ; and the time is generally much longer. Yet so great is the desire for Government service, and particularly forest service, in Prussia, and indeed in Germany generally, that there is no lack of competitors. " The forests form part of the revenue department, and are pre sided over by an obcrland-forstmcistcr and ministerial dircktor, aided by a revenue councillor and joint ministerial director and a numerous council, with suitable establishments and secretaries for the various branches The obcrland-forstmcister is governor of the academies, and at the head of each is an obcr-forstmcistcr, aided by a numerous staff of professors and assistants There is a control office of account at Potsdam, where all the forest accounts of the several provinces are finally audited before going to the ministry of finance The 12 provinces of Prussia are divided into 30 circles (Rcgicrungsbezirk], and to each of these an olcr- forstmeister is appointed to represent the forest department in the council of local administration (Rcgierung), and aided by councillors and by the forstmcistcrs, as a board, to represent forest interests in the Government, and administer the department to the best advan tage. Next in order come the forstmeisters, numbering 108, in charge of divisions with an average area of 25,000 hectares, and then the exe cutive officers, 706 oberforsters, with charges averaging about 3000 hectares, to each of which is attached aforstrcndant, or collector of forest revenue, and 3646 forstcrs (or overseers), with ranges of from 500 to 1000 hectares. The forests have all been surveyed, valued, and divided into blocks, and there are accurate maps representing the extent and situation of each forest district, and the description and age of the timber growing in each block. Whatever be the size of the woods every tree is recorded, and a working plan is drawn out and followed, certain species being destined to longer or shorter growth, according to their promise of vitality or liability to decay. It may be remarked that such maps form the starting point of every true system of forestry. " At Aschaffenburg, which may be taken as an example of German forest schools, candidates for Government for- 1 Reports OH Forest Management, London, 1872. est service must first pass the standard of the higher school or gymnasium, which includes classics, mathematics, natural history, and chemistry. They are usually seventeen to nineteen years of age, and they first become apprentices for one year, assisting in the practical work of a forest district. The forest curriculum extends over two and a half years. Besides the director, there are four professor*, who teach the following subjects : I. Forestry. General management, planting operations, valuation surveys, rotation and details of working plan, transport and sale of timber and other forest produce. II. Natural Sciences, with special reference to forest require ments : meteorological phenomena, organic chemistry, nutrition of plants, systematic botany and zoology, entomology. III. Mcclianics. Surveying and Engineering, with Road-makimj. IV. Forest Legislation and Police. Practical instruction is given in the laboratory, and excursions are made in the forests. The students who pass the final examination, after five years training, are qualified for appointments in the forest service. Careful observations are made at Aschaffenburg regarding the influence of forests on the air and soil, their hygienic import ance and effect on climate. Austria. Austria, including Hungary and Bohemia, possesses a vast amount of timber, about one-third of tho productive area being returned as woodland, and covering G6,000 square miles, situated more in the east than in the west. There are 2,330,000 acres of forest belonging to the state, chiefly in Croatia, Slavonia, Transylvania, and the Alpine regions throughout the empire. Dalmatia and Istria alone have a deficient supply of timber, owing to previous devastations; but the Government is here making great efforts to restore the forests. The prevailing trees in the higher altitudes are Abies excelsa and pectinata and Pinus montana and Laricio. The larch mingles largely with the pines. In the low-lying tracts of the Alps anil Carpathian mountains the beech is the principal tree ; in the north-west several species of oak ; in the south the elm, poplar, chestnut, and walnut. In Dalmatia and southern Tyrol the olive, mulberry, and fig trees abound. Austria produces annually about 67 million cubic feet of timber ; and of other forest products the following are principal items : 250,000 cwts. turpentine and resin. 4,000,000 ,, tanning bark. 500,000 cwts. gall-nuts. 100,000 potash. The total income in 1872 from the Austrian state forests was 4,148,000 gulden, the expenditure 3,049,000 gulden, leaving a net profit of about 90,000. The Austrian Government are wisely desirous to conserve and utilize their valuable forest property, and there is a state forest depart ment with a staff of 1170 persons, 22 of whom are skilled officers of high position. In parts of Bohemia and Hun gary entire forests have been destroyed, rendering useless much soil that is unfit for agriculture. Encouragement is given by the state to persons who make successful efforts to plant denuded ground, Scientific forestry is not so advanced as in Germany, but increasing attention is being given to the subject. Tho principal forest academies are at Marien-brunn near Vienna, with a large staff of professors, a laboratory and museum, and at Schemnitz in Hungary. The courses last three years after passing the gymnasium examination, as at Aschaffenburg. Other academies for training more exclu sively in the practice of forestry have a shorter course. Russia. The inequality of the distribution of wood in the Russian empire is very remarkable. The north of Great Russia, the government of Perm, and Finland have a large proportion of forest land, and the export of timber from Archangel, St Petersburg, and Riga is very great. In central Russia there are also large and valuable forests, but in the south they become scanty. It was recently reported at the annual meeting of the geographical society of Vienna by Councillor Wex, that the Volga is decreasing IX. 51