The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1920-12-29
COMMENDA.
FORES

the annual growth must eG<S
ceed the annual cut, says the
can Forestry Association Of
mSton, which is cambaigniu2
national forest police i'm this eul<
dhd Tor better fire protection for
forests. The ne% republic sets A lir1
example to this the older oac. ff&
Association points out, for here~ n,
are cutting our forests or destrovinfs<
them 10y fire about four tim.s faster|
than they are being produced.
Ihe Association calls attention. to
the war time value of forests as we'll
| as the peace time value following
news dispatches giving an iii.eryiew
with Victor Dverack, who sa IS war in
central Europe seems inevitable to
MN between the Poles and the
CZechs. In Slovakia he SAYS the
Czechs have tried to rule by arms but
the locally enrolled soldiers are fee
ing 10 the forests.
Forestry in the new Czechosloyak
ltepublic is receiving the serious at
tentlon its Importance as an economic
factor warrants. About 12,500,0 600
acres are given over to forest culti-
!
mately 80 per cent of the republics
whole area of over $1,000 square
miles, writes e. F. Prantzer in the
American Forestry Magazine OF
washington. The proportion of the !
forests differ in the various sections
Moravia boasts of 2S.6 per cent, Bo-
hemia has 29.6 per cent Slovakia
shows 34.5 per cent, and Silesia leads
with 34.S per cent.
1t is significant that of late years
forests have decreased throughout the
world to an appreciable extent New
ertheless, the territories now compris-
ing the Czechoslovak republic, dur
ing the period 1S75-1910, added no
less than 10000 acres of forests TO
their forest domain, or about 1875
acres per year,
During the war considerable lum.
bering was done in Czechosolavk for
ests, but not to the extent of mate
rally reducing the whole or impair
ing their usefulness.
In the Bohemia lands (Bohemia.
Moravia and Silesia) the needle for
ests predominant. The pines and ffrp
cover IS per cent of the forest area,
the leaf timber 81 per cent, and the
mixed about 1873 per cent. In Slova.-
kia and Carpathian Russia, the new
territories, it is noteworthy that the
leaf forests prevail, forming about 67 {
per cent of the whole, and the needle y
forests make up the balance, or s3
per cent. Ownership of these forests
is singular. The state owns about a.
100000 acres, charitable institutions
own 600, 600 acres, municipalities hold
100000 acres and the large estates,
held by private owners, cover S,000,-.
coo acres. 1t must not be taken for
granted that the extensive Czechoslo-
wax forests were given over to the
use of the whole people. On the con-
trary all the benefits to be derived
lenured to the foreign nobility and the
wealthy owners, when the mere walk
ing through one of these private for
ests was presumptive evidence of a
wrongful intent. OF the vast estates
held by individuals about 64.35 per
cent of the whole in Bohemia, were
owned in parcels larger than 1,250
acres in extent, while minor holdings,
those less than 1850 acres in area
were held by the poorer classes.
slightly different condition pre-
walls in Slovakia. Here the state owns
about 10000 acres, municipalities
hold 2000, 000 acres and private own
erS have . 250,006 acres This is the
entire forest area of Slovakia, COM
prising about 100000 acres. In many
instances, the municipalities of Slova-
Sia were enabled to materially reduce
or totally abolish direct taxation
linn lAa,
holdings.
A novel feature of Czechosloyak
forest development is the principle
that the annual growth must equal or
exceed the annual cut. This is a wsie
and farsighted policy. 1t is estimated
that 6,6O0,900 cubic meters of fra
wood and 100000 cubic meters sof
commercial timber are cut yearly. The
quantity used for fuel during and
since the war will be greatly reduced,
In the very near future through stim-
ulated production of bituminous coal.
Ignite and oil. At the prevailing
prices for lumber competent authori-
ties estimate the value of the annual
timber cut to be about $120, 100000.
The policy now pursued in lumber
ing operations is to allow the cutting
or only mature timber On the other
hand it restricts the cutting of timber
to such quantities as are added to
standing timber. That is il the in
crease in standing timber in a given
year amount to 100000 cubic me-
tiers, then the cut for that year may
be about the same quantity. If IL is
more or less the cut must correspond.
hn
main features of the laws governing
/ the Czeohoslovak forests. Without Of
tcial sanction. no soil once used for
| forest purposes may be used for any
other; all numbered areas must be re-
forested within five years: no forest
may be wilfully destroyed, or cut in
such way as 20 impair it's usefulness
for forest purposes. Regarding fire