The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1876-04-08

every where abundant, and the rains prcflse and
frequent \ recent visitor, ~bo sought the island.
with which he bai been familiar in the time Of it..
greatest beauty. FOR The sake q botanical study, 4
year or tR9 since. Quad . third part Of il reduced
10 lu after desert. Toe short ecpiguS showers had
ceased, AMI she process u iesiccatou vas gradually
extending over the island. An attempt &c restore
the former fertility by means q planting VS. made
too la.e. one planter has sci a thousand trees, bu,
every o1e Of them failed
The island Z Curacao was again SAYS Mr.
HCugh, within the memory Of living persons s. gar
den Of fertility, bat row whole plantations, with
their once beautiful villas and terracei gardens, are
nothing but an arid waste and yet, sixty miles
away, along the Spanish Main. the raukest vegeta-
ton covers the hills, aud the burdened clouds shower
down abundant blessings"
1.-The history Of the forests Of France would alone
be ample 70 MI all the space at our command. The
recent desolation wrought BY Goods IS fresh IN the
memory Of all. by the destruction in France Of a
great extent Of forests writes DR.. Brown, in order
10 replace them by cultivated fields, the temperature
has become very irregular heavy rains. storms, and
dryness have each done their work upon the soil,
aud made crops every year more aud more uncertain. >
In the Fosges, the destruction Of forest has gone so
far that agriculture has suffered, the soil has become
arid, and inandations are frequent. In the Depart
ment Of the Gard. in 1887, no rain fell FOR nine
months Nismes, named from the forest which once
surrounded Il, i now amid an arid waste. At
BezeTs, the Agricultural Society reported in 1897
tlit the forest which once sheltered the place having
been destroyed the loss Of the olive crop was the
consequence The authorities of the Isere represent
ed, In 1893. that the destruction Of the forests had
altered the temperature, augmented dryness, and
seriously affected the crops. From Provence, from
the valley OF the AOselle, from that of the Haute
Garonne, from the Heraul,, and from the Eastern
Pyrenees, come complaints of the same nature. The
regular rainfall has been diminished, the tempera-
ture has changed and become uncertain, and partial
and Irregular storms have proved curses rather than
blessings wherever the forests have hpan ruthIpSslV
swept away
What are the remedies ? Appoint a Supervisor
of Forests, a man regularly educated in one of
the admirable forest schools of Germany. Let
him have supreme control of all forest lands be-
longing to government. Let him visit the lands
on each island in regular rotation. Under him
let there be in every island Foresters, Tor it may
be made the duty of the Sheriffs) to superintend
the regular cutting and removal of the mature
timber and the protection of the land for the new
growth. Put an end to the short-sighted system
of leasing government lands by which a premium
is placed upon destruction of forests.
There is no shadow of a doubt among i'm
partial observers, that the cattle are the main
cause of the destruction of our forests. After
all that can be said about the ravages of the
worm in some localities, the fact remains that
where cattle are kept off the forest is rapidly re-
newed, otherwise it much more rapidly disap-
pears. The wild cattle, which are useful to
nobody, but very mischievous to the general good
of the country, ought to be hunted down and
slaughtered.
To show the care and attention which is given
to forest management in Germany at the present
day, we again quote from the Edinburgh ReUie,o:
"The staff for the administration of forests in
Hanover consists of two branches, which may be
described as preparatory and administrative. All
preliminary arrangements, on taking q piece of forest
land into culture by the State, are conducted by the
EiRrichtungS-Bureau, or Survey Office. This con-
sists of a VorStand, or superintendent ; draughts-
men. and clerks, who are generally practical fores-
tiers and a staff Of surveyors and valuators, who
are generally candidates for the office of O5erforster,
the third grade in the system of permanent admins
tratiOn. The surveyor surveys the whole tract Of
forest, and delineates, with the aid of the valuator
the blocks or subdivisions into which 1t is to be d-
vided for permanent culture. \ detailed plan is
drawn up for the future management, pointing out
the mode in which the successive periods are TO be
worked of, the roads which it will become necessary
to make for transport, and the usual details of the
condition of the forest. This plan together with a
complete code of rules, is handed over for the guild
ance of the permanent forest officers.
"The permanent administration consists of one
ForStdirektOr, and ObsIJOrStmetSter, who is also a
councillor twenty FOrStmcisterS in charge of circles
of divisions, who form also a consultative council
112 ObertorsterS, in charge of districts of about
II 900 acres each; 400 foresters; and 343 overseers
and under -fOresters, who watch the forests, and su-
pervise the work executed by contract or by day
labour. A cashier is attached to each Over-forester,
who receives and disburses all money in and from
the forest cash-chest, on the order of the Over
forester. A perfect financial check is thus maintain
ed, under the control of the Forester-master. The
duties of these officials are confined to superinten-
dence. The ObetorSters spend the greater part of
their time in the forest, supervising the actual opera
tons. So regular and efficient is the entire system
that the state Of each block of the forest is generally
found to be in accordance with the programme laid
down on the original working map.
"There is a forest academy at Munden, and an
other at Neustadt-Eberswalde, near Berlin. y
special branch OF the Revenue department of Prussia,
presided over by an ObeTLand-f oTStmeiSter and Min
iSteriaL DirektOr, with suitable branch establish
ments, exist; and the Oberland-forstmeisie is cura-
tor or governor of the academies. There is also a
special office of control for forest accounts at Pots
dam.
Captain Campbell Walker, to whom we shall have
occasion further to refer, speaks with admiration Of
the extent and variety of the studies required from
forest prObationers in Prussia, and the number of
years which they spend part in study, and then in
waiting for appointments. A candidate must keep
certain terms at a government school of the first
class; then spend a year with an O6eUorsteT, then
pass an examination as forest-pupil. A two years
course Of study at a forest academy succeeds, closed
by an examination in scientific forestry, land-survey-
ing, &c; on passing which the pupil becomes a
FOrst- RdndidOt In this capacity he passes two
more in study; during nine months Of which
he must do actual duty as a forester. Then comes
the final government examination, directed to ascer-
tain the capacity of the pupil for applying theoreti-
cal knowledge. as to the acquisition of which he was
previously examined. On passing this, the aspirant
for employment is ranked as an O6er5forSter Kan
did0t, in which capacity he is employed as an assis-
in the academies and control Offices, in making
surveys and plans, or in charge of a ReUier or dis
trict, receiving daily or weekly allowances. After
five or six years of this probation he may expect q
appointment. He will then have spent
five years in study, and five more in probation, on
very meagre allowance; and is rarely promoted to
higher grades than that of Oberforster, unless he has
a two years curriculum at a university.
Such is the degree Of care which the Prussians con-
slider requisite for the education Of their forest
oficers.''