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

by B. E. Fernow

Of the 204,000 square miles of territory, just about 18 per cent. is wooded, which, with a population of nearly 40 million, leaves only about .6 of an acre per capita.

In its present condition this area does not produce more than one-third of the home demand, which requires on the average an import in excess over export to the amount of about 25 million dollars ($33 million in 1902), representing over 110 million cubic feet annually, mostly workwood, while the export is of mine props and railroad ties at about half the value of the imported wood.

Since, in 1892, there were still nearly 12% (over 15 million acres) waste land, opportunity for enlargement of the forest area seems to exist. It appears that about two-thirds of this waste land is capable of bearing forest, and the existing forest area is capable of much larger production than the present; three quarters of the production being fuel wood.

The distribution of forest area is very uneven, varying from 3.5 to 56 per cent. in the various departments. Only about 20% of the area is located on the mountains, 19% in hill country, and 60% in the plains.

Six forest regions may be differentiated according to Huffel, which, however, are mainly geographical divisions: the northeast; valleys of Seine and Loire; northwest and central; southwest and Pyrenees; Mediterranean and Pre-alps; Alps.

Hardwoods, oak (40%), beech and ash, etc., occupy fully 80%, while pine—the two species silvestris and maritima, largely planted—represents the bulk of the 20% of coniferous forest area, fir, spruce and larch in the mountains forming a very small part.

Only 25% of the forest area is timber forest, 38% is coppice, and 35% coppice with standards, 2% being in process of conversion into timber forest. In the State forests alone, however, 68% are timber forest or in process of conversion to that form.

Of the 227 million acres, hardly more than one-third, belonging to state and communities, are placed under the régime forestier, i.e., supervised and managed under working plans. The larger area is under coppice.

Three-fourths of the communal and one-sixth of the state’s timber forest is managed under selection system. Combinations of farm and forest culture (sartage and furetage) are still quite extensively practised. The production of saw-timber under these practices is naturally small. Of the 40 cubic feet of wood per acre produced in the better class of managed state and communal properties, only 10 cubic feet are saw-logs, and if the private forests were taken into consideration, the average product, on the whole would appear still smaller, the private properties being mostly small, poorly managed, and largely coppice. Neither the owners, nor their managers and guards have, as a rule, any professional education, although the means of obtaining it exist in the schools at Nancy and Barres.

Blessed for the largest part with a most favorable climate and with rich soil of tertiary formation, the difficulties in forestry practices experienced by other, more northern and continental countries are hardly known. Hence many practices which are successful in France might in Germany prove disastrous, and such yields as some of the oak forests show, unattainable.