A Brief History of Forestry. / In Europe, the United States and Other Countries

by B. E. Fernow

In 1878, the State forests were placed under a special bureau organized by Matsuno, who had studied forestry in Germany (Eberswalde) for five years. But it was not academic knowledge that was needed in the situation; it was necessary first to mould public opinion in order to secure means for administrative measures.

This he set himself to do through public addresses and pamphlets, and by organizing a society of friends of forest culture, and finally, in 1882, by establishing an experiment station at Nishigahara, and, a year later, a dendrological school, which four years later was combined with the agricultural school at Komaba; five years later both were joined to the University of Tokyo.

With the transfer of the forestry bureau to the Department of Agriculture and Commerce in 1881, and a reorganization in 1886, a new era seemed to be promised, yet a substantial progress in organized forest management of the State property does not seem to have been made for another decade at least, the slow progress being largely due to lack of personnel and the continuance of mixed property conditions, which involved not only uncertainty of boundaries, but also mixed ownerships.

Although this last trouble, namely of mixed ownership by State and private individuals, had been recognized as inimical to good management, it was deliberately increased by the law of 1878 in a curious way, reviving an old custom, namely by permitting private individuals to plant up clearings in the State forests; in this way, these individuals secured a certain percentage, usually 20 per cent., of the eventual profits arising from the results. Some 200,000 acres were planted under this arrangement.

To remove the boundary difficulty, a survey of the boundaries of State property and adjustment of property rights, as well as segregation of the State lands to be disposed of, namely small lots and others not needed, was ordered in 1890.

It was then also that the first provisional working plan for the fellings on State lands was elaborated, and gradually with the progress of the survey, more permanent plans were adopted for district after district.

By 1899, the adjustment had progressed far enough to begin the restoration of properties, which the State had improperly claimed, to their proper owners. It was then also that the Imperial forests, intended for the support of the Imperial household, were increased to about 5 million acres.

Meanwhile, the personnel had increased in numbers and improved in character. In 1904, the organization of the forestry bureau under the Minister of Agriculture and Commerce, arranged somewhat after German models, consisted of one director and four forest commissioners with ten clerks, forming the head office; the sixteen districts into which the State forests were divided were presided over by 32 conservators and 80 inspectors, while 325 district officers with 880 assistants and 626 guards, altogether over 1,800 employes, formed the field force. In 1910, the number had increased to 2500, mainly by additional rangers. This organization applies to the State forests under control of the Department of Agriculture. Strangely enough, those in Saghalien, Hokkaido and Formosa are not under that department, but under the supervision of the Minister of Home Affairs, and are merely exploited, while the Imperial forests are under the Household Department. In 1907, only 7 per cent. of the State forests were under working plans.

The need of supervision of the ill-managed private and communal forests, mostly located near the settled portions, early attracted the attention of the new regime, mainly on account of their protective value. Annual losses through floods to the amount of four million dollars, and similar losses due to unchecked forest fires gave the incentive to the passage of a law, in 1882, simply forbidding all forest use in protection forest, which simple prescription evidently did not work until a further revision was made in 1897. This latter does not confine itself to legislation for protection forests alone, but also authorizes the supervision of supply forests, under the special control of the local governors. Under this law, which also extended the assistance of local authorities to would-be planters, aided by reforms in the corporation system, remarkable activity in planting waste lands ensued, so that in the next two years not less than one million acres of communal property was set out with trees, numbering over 800 million, while in the State forests, some 400,000 acres of vacant land had been planted by 1970. Some sand dune planting and reboisement works are also the result of this legislation. Further legislation more closely defining State control was had in 1907.