A Brief History of Forestry.: In Europe, the United States and Other CountriesFernow, B. E. (Bernhard Eduard)
History
A Brief History of Forestry.: In Europe, the United States and Other Countries
Fernow, B. E. (Bernhard Eduard)
Forests and forestry -- History
That supply of workwood is insufficient for the needs of the population,
and is decreasing, is attested by the fact that the importations more
than doubled in the decade from 1892 to 1903 to near 14 million dollars,
80 per cent. of which was saw material, in addition to 2 million dollars
of wood manufactures, while nearly 5 million dollars’ worth was exported
in the last named year, mostly cork, casks, thin box-boards, olive wood
manufactures, and charcoal. No better picture of the forest conditions
can be had than by a statement of the home production, which, in 1886,
(last official data) was placed at 48 million cubic feet of workwood,
valued at 3.4 million dollars, 223 million cubic feet firewood, valued
at 4.1 million, 106 million cubic feet charcoal, worth 3.6 million, and
by-products to the large amount of 6.4 million dollars, altogether a
little less than 17.6 million dollars. Firewood and charcoal, which
represent over 80 per cent. of the product, are, of course, furnished by
coppice, and in addition by the pollarded material, almost the only fuel
to be had.
The ownership of the forest area is for the greater part private (53 per
cent.) and communal (over 43 per cent.), the State owning a little over
400,000 acres, less than 4 per cent. The State property being so small,
supervision of communal and private forest has become the policy.
The State forest is of two classes, the alienable, under the Department
of Finance, the larger part, about 375,000 acres, and the inalienable,
so declared by law of 1871, which was then about 115,000 acres, and was
placed under a forest administration in the Department of Agriculture;
but of this about 20 per cent. is not forest, and even in 1896, some of
this small area was sold so that now only 40,000 acres remain. This area
is to serve for demonstration of model management, and to supply
government needs. Beech and oak with fir, pine and larch, mostly in
timber forest, characterize this property, which is managed mostly in
selection system. Curiously enough, in 1888, the difficulty of disposing
advantageously of the old timber is complained of, due to lack of means
of transportation. The personnel of the administration consists of a
central bureau with one Inspector General, three Inspectors, and a
Council. For each province, and in some cases for two or more provinces
together, an Inspector with several Sub-inspectors and a number of
guards or _brigadieri_ are charged with the management of the State
property and the enforcement of the forest laws.
2. _Development of Forest Policy._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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