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

by B. E. Fernow

In 1791, after the revolution, the royal property became national domain, and by further spoliation of church property, and otherwise, attained an area of 4,300,000 acres. In the law of 1791, a distinction was made between the inalienable domain, which comprises roads, canals, fortresses, harbors, etc., and the alienable national domain, including the forest and other property derived from royal or crown domains. To this national domain was added, by the law of 1792, the forest property of the refugees of the revolution which was, however, later for the most part restored or indemnified. Finally, when, by the treaty of Basel (1795), the French frontier had been pushed to the Rhine, the total state forest had grown to around 6,500,000 acres, nearly one-third of the total forest area.

But, through sales and otherwise, this area had, by 1815, been reduced to 3,200,000 acres, and during the period until 1872, the area had been further again reduced to less than 2,500,000 acres. At present (1905) it comprises 2.9 million acres, or less than 12 per cent., of the total forest area, 55 per cent. of which comes from the original royal domain, 22 per cent. from original church property and 23 per cent. from recent acquisitions, secured under the laws of reboisement of mountains, sand dunes, etc.

The communal property developed largely in a similar manner as in Germany, from the Mark, and through the feudal system, with its rights of user as a result. In the twelfth century, the grandees or seigneurs were active in colonizing their domains, acquired as fiefs or otherwise, with serfs and others, giving them charters for villages with communal privileges and rights. Under this method, another kind of communal forest property grew up, by written instruments or contracts, in which limitations and reservations of rights are imposed by the seigneurs. One of the most usual conditions of the contract was the prevention of clearing or sale; at the same time a new set of rights of user, this time on the part of the seigneur, brought new complications. One of the worst features originating in the 14th century as an outgrowth of feudal relations, was “the right of the third” (triage), which gave to the seigneur, whenever he wished to exercise it, one-third of the property free of all rights of user. In this way, the communal area was diminished until, in 1667, the widespread abuse of this right led to an ordinance abolishing it. It was, however, re-established by the ordinance of 1669 in all cases where the forest had been gratuitously ceded by the seigneurs, or when the remaining two-thirds was deemed sufficient for the needs of the parish. Not until 1790-1792 was this exorbitant right finally abolished.

As an outgrowth of the revolutionary doctrine of 1793, the most radical legislation decreed presumptive ownership by the municipal corporations of all lands for which the claimant could not show a deed of purchase, excluding any title acquired as a result of feudal relations. The day of revenge of all old wrongs had come, and, appeal to justice being useless, the municipalities increased their holdings freely. Although later legislation attempted to arrest this public theft and to restitute some of the stolen property, much of the communal forest area of to-day consists of this kind of ill-gotten property.

Another method of increasing municipal properties was by exchange of territory for the rights of user. Efforts to get rid of these rights, which grew up as described and to prevent their extension were instituted much earlier than in Germany, Philip of Valois expressly forbidding such extension as early as 1346. Nevertheless they continued to grow so that, by the middle of the 18th century, they were as general and afforded as great a hindrance to forest management, as in Germany. The ordinance of 1669 also provided for the extinction of these rights, apparently without much success, and the troublesome times after 1789 increased their number. Only when the orderly regime following the reign of Napoleon gave rise to the Code Forestier (1827), was a systematic attempt for their extinguishment by the cession of territory and cash payment begun, and by this time the extinction may be considered practically concluded, at least for the state and communal property.

Private property, not seignorial, was but little developed before the 16th century; after that the frequent sales by the kings and barons gave rise to small forest owners, so that, by 1789, over 10 million acres were in such possession. During the 19th century this grew by purchase, by cessions, and by reforestation of waste lands to double that amount, not less than two million acres being added by the latter cause alone, while some decrease came from clearings.

In 1905, private holdings comprised 15 million acres or 65 per cent. of the total; the communal and institutional forests 4.8 million acres or 21 per cent., leaving for State forest 2.9 million acres, or a little over 12 per cent. of the total of 22.7 million acres. Twenty-two per cent. of state and communal property is, however, waste land, and such areas in private hands may be six times as large; there being altogether between 14 and 15 million acres of waste lands.

2. Development of Forest Administration.

In the earlier times, and, indeed, into the 18th century, the most important use of the forest was in the mast from oak and beech for the pigs and pasture for the cattle, besides firewood, for which mostly the soft woods were used. This was given free from the royal domain, and the administration consisted mainly in regulating this use. The main incentive for the regulation of forest use on the part of the king were the interests of the chase.