The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1879-04-26

and 1867, 126 saw-mills l,2l3 forest house
lodging I,4O0 guards, and 9.436 miles of roads
l take these statistics from n textbook publishes
at Paris in 1876.
The moving sand-hills along the sea shore
especially ON the Bay of Biscay, constitute
grave menace TO the inhabitants, whose estate
are exposed to be buried by their incessant march
The fxation of these by plantations of mari
time pines and other sand-loving plants, b,
methods first put in practice by Bremontier n
the beginning Of this century, is Justly considered
a work Of national utility and of general security
There are about 195 900 acres of dunes sub
mitted to the administration, of which l9O,OOt
acres were re-wooded in 1868. According Il
LippincOtt's Gazetteer, there is a tract covered
with sea pines extending 100 miles by seven.
REGIME OF THE " NAUREs'' AND OF THE 4" EsTEREL.'
In a region of ancient Provence which contains
275,l10 acres of forests belonging as much to the
State and to the communes as to private lndI
yiduals, fires constitute a public danger which the
law of July 6, 1870, was intended to avert: The
right which proprietors have of lighting fires IN
their forests and in their 80 landes " is suspended
during certain periods OF the year, during which
the Project of the department forbids all fires by
vator of Forests and by the advice of the Council
Of Prefecture.
1t appears that in the year 1866 France i'm
ported wood valued at 1S0, 400 900 francs, and
exported to other countries $4,000, 900 francs
worth.
EXTRACTS FROM THE FOREST CODE.
All forest agents and proposes are forbid
den to deal in wood in any way, to take any part
in selling government timber, to collect fines or
rents due the government, to serve on juries, to
engage in hunting, or even to marry without
authorization of the conseryator. They are reg
ularly commissioned and sworn in. Each one
has a marked hammer, which is the public mark
of his employment. This is registered at the
Office called CRETE du tribunal and the falsi-
hcation of it is visited with heavy penalties.
PROTECTION OF GOVERNMENT FORESTS.
The removal or even extraction of stones, turf
and various products other than wood is punish
cd as a a" deli" or misdemeapor, though in any
land not forest it could only give rise to a civil
action for damages.
Any person passing through the forests outside
OF the ordinary roads with an axe or other instru-
ments for cutting wood, without special permits
sion, is liable to be arrested and fined. In the
same way vehicles of all kinds and animals are
not tolerated in the forest land, whether wooded
or not, except on the ordinary roads. The cut
ting and removal of trees is forbidden, distinction
being made between those greater and those less
than two rs inches) in circumference.
There are special clauses to protect nurseries by
which the cutting or removal of plants is punish
ed by fines ranging from 10 to 300 francs, and
imprisonment at discretion Of the Judge.
There are various minute provisions regarding
the mutilation of trees, as cutting of the tops,
stripping off the bark, cutting off the principal
branches, DC.
SALE OF GOVERNMENT TIMBER.
The timber in the public forests is generally
sold by order of the director-general in one of
two ways. By the first method the right is sold
to cut the standing wood within certain definite
limits, called a "coupe sur pied" The con-
tractor is bound by numerous conditions: some OF
which will be mentioned below.
By the second method the administration hires
wood cutters to prepare the lumber, which is
afterwards sold either as a whole, or by measure.
This is called a "coupe faconnee."
Sales OF wood are always made by public auc-
ton. Notices must be posted up fifteen days be-
forehand in the chief place, at the place of sale
and in the adjoining communes, a copy of the
conditions is d deposited with the secretary of the
president OF the sale, and various other formali-
ties are required by the law. The auction is pre-
sided over by the project, sub-prefect or mayor,
IN presence of a forest agent and of the collectors,
So receveurs charges de lencaissement,' who
form the " bureau of adjudication There are
two methods used, by the first of which the price
at which the wood is offered is gradually lowered
until a purchaser pronounces the words 81 take"
b the second, very small candles serve to meas
ure the time during which there is an opportu-
nifty for a bid t"le temps du concours.'O
Whenever standing timber is sold at auction,
the boundaries of the cutting are marked by a
forest agent, and certain trees are marked by a
hammer as reserved. Any Infringement on these
is heavily fined. All cutting or removal of wood
before sunrise or after sunset is absolutely pro-
hibited under a fine of 100 francs. The con-
tractors or purchasers of standing timber are
allowed to build huts for their workmen but
only in places assigned in writing by the forest
agents. 1t is the same with the special roads
made to carry away the timber. If they are
necessary, they are TO be constructed only on
lines pointed out by the forest agents and men,
fUnnnA IN Ehn a. W. --.-.
bring cattle into the clearing to cart off his wood,
but 1t is stipulated in the contract that the ami
mails shall be muzzled with basket work or iron
wire to prevent their browsing, &c.
RIGHTS OF coNNoNERs.
The forest laws of France have limited and reg
ulated commonable rights to wood and pasture.
Thus, all prescriptive rights to the pasturage of
sheep and goats in forests are abolished for the
past and prohibited for the future, both in the
forests of private persons and in those of the state
and communes.
Common rights concerning other animals are
subjected to numerous legal restrictions, and par
ticularly to the obligation to obtain q preliminary
Z" delivranee " before exercising the right. This
" delivrance p" is founded upon the necessity for
surveillance upon the use made of his privilege
by the commoner, and it is the act by which the
proprietor authorizes and regulates it. 1t con-
sists in the designation of n canton '' defensable,"
that is to say, judged capable of supporting with
out grave inconvenience, the introduction of cat
tie, and 1t specifies the number of cattle and the
duration of the pasturage, as we'll as the roads
leading to this canton. In case of dissatisfaction
an appeal can be taken to the council of prefec-
ture. For the state and the communes the des-
IgnatIon OF the pasture is made by the forest
agents. and it must be renewed annually, gener-
ally by February LIST.
Another restriction is this. that the commoners
enjoy this privilege only for animals intended for
their own use, and not for those which they raise
for sale or export. All animals must be marked
and the brand registered. The commoners must
also fasten a bell or the neck of every animal ad-
united to pasturage under penalty of q fine of 2
francs for each animal. If mmu have q
common right of pasturage they are obliged to
form a common herd and to appoint a common
herdsman, who is responsible to the forest agent.
Heavy penalties are incurred when cattle are
found outside of the prescribed limits or in
greater number than that fixed by the declara,
ton. In 1866 there were 295 ,1OI acres subject
to common rights of pasture.