Los Angeles herald., 1909-12-27
FORESTS PROTECTED
IN SWITZERLAND
ORDINANCE OF. BERN ISSUED
600 YEARS AGO
Timber Output Carefully Regulated by
Government and the Benefits
of the Method Are
Recognized

Switzerland recognized the benefits Of
forest protection and development 600
years ago, when the forest ordinance
of Bern was issued. The Sihlwald of
Zurich, one of the most perfectly man
aged and most profitable forests in the
world. has been handled under a work.
ing plan since 1850. The little Alpine
republic still reports progress i'm forest
work, aud the American consul, writing
from st. Gall, says;
THE government of Switzerland has
sc carefully regulated the timber out
put that 1t has never been permitted to
exceed its natural growth. The thick
growth of timber on the mountain
sides, purposely allowed to become
dense has perceptibly lessened the dan
ger and frequency of avalanches and
landslides, which in former times were
so frightfully destructive. TO control
the spring floods in the rivers and
streams massive dams, fortified by
thickly planted trees, have been erected
at exposed places. In the extraordinary
attention paid to its timber lands the
government has taken into account also
the necessity for sheltering and pastur-
ing cattle, the maintenance of the soil,
the roads, and the natural springs. eli
mate, and the control of mountain
streams.
Are Not Diminished
"The actual forest area of Switzer-
land comprises 2,205,5 sos acres. 21.4S per
cent of the entire surface of the coun-
try, 77,004 acres of which belong to the
state and 2,12S,504 to the cantons, COM
munes, municipalities and private cor
porations. Seven hundred and eighty
one acres of the state forest are set
aside as a nursery. From this nursery
in 1908 more than 22,000,000 young trees
were taken and transplanted in the va
rious forests.
Swiss forests are classed as protect
ed and non-proteCted.' The former are
those which are situated on mountain
/ slopes where the imminence of wash
cuts, stone and ice chutes, landslides
and avalanches calls for the constant
exercise of extraordinary care and at
tention. The 'non-protected' are those
OH comparatively level ground, requir-
ing only ordinary attention to keep
them in good condition. Because of the
character of the country, the great ma
jority of the forests are protected.
THE law provides that the forest
area shall not be dimished and that
all forests shall be maintained in a
fairly dense condition. Even in private
forests close cutting or clearing up is
strictly forbidden, especially in ex-
posed places, without the consent of the
federal authorities, and then only in
small areas and when prompt refor-
estation is guaranteed. Trees for cut
ting are carefully selected by forestry
, experts.
Roads Are Excellent
Through the forests there are ex-
cellent roads, made largely by the cam
tonal authorities. The year 1908 was
marked by such activity in road con-
struction that the state, which bears
a proportion of the expenes, paid
to the cantons the sum of 6,634,0 600 on
their account alone.
Spruce is the most important tree
in the Swiss forests, and then in order
of their Importance come the white fir,
beech, larch. pine, cypress and few
other varieties.
"The principal revenue derived from
the Swiss forests is from the lumber
output, there being no manufactures of
resin, turpentine and similar by-prod-
ucts. To offset the cutting, there were
planted in 1908 23,096,225 trees of which
10 031, $50 were confer and 5,064,635 de-
ciduous and no less than seven tons of
seed were sown.
Returns Are Gratifying
statistics of the receipts and ex-
penditures of all forestry work in the
country are not available, but a
couple of cases may be cited which
show gratifying returns. The total
receipts from the sale of wood in 1908
from 2421 acres of state forests in the
canton Of ST. Call are given as S24,-
457.37 and the expenditures as S,104.Sl,
leaving q clear profit of s17,352.56. In
the forests of the town of Winterthur,
amounting TO 2S"3 acres, the receipts
We're $51,174.63 and the expenses $2l,-
63450, leaving a net profit of $29, 540.13,
or an average profit of about S1042 per
acre.
1T is not to be presumed that the
revenue from the entire Swiss forest
area can be approXimated by taking as
basis the earnings of the st. Gall or
Winterthur forests, which have been
for many years under most intelligent
and excellent management, but the uni
versal opinion among forestry officials
is that the jealous care with which
the Swiss timber lands have been
guarded has vastly benefited both ma
tional and cantonal treasures from the
financial point of view"