^-§$^ SICRAGE ITEM F80CliSSlNG-CNE Ipl-F19E U.B.C. LIBRARY Aftcsinort i>Cxr U'uU i\:o. bD^\<\- V\x (1.% -y 5^^-^ "? 1*' .'-■■ ^, 1^. SCHOOL F O I\^E ST EnGINEE I^S IN SPAIN. SCHOOL OF FOREST ENGINEERS IN SPAIN, INDICATIVE OF A TYPE FOR A BRITISH NATIONAL SCHOOL OF FORESTRV. COMPILEIJ BY JOHN CROUMBIE BROWN, LL.D., Formerly Lecturer on Botany in University and King's College, Aberdeen ; subsequently Colonial Botanist at Cape of Good Hope, and Profts.or of Botany in the South African College, Cape Toivn ; Fellow of the Linnean Society ; Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society ; and Honorary Vice-President of the African Instilule of Paris. EDINBURGH: OLIVER AND BOYD. TWEEDDALE COURT. LONDON : SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, AND CO, 18 8 6. PREFACE. In the spring of 1877 I published a brochure entitled : The Schools of Forestry in Europe : a Plea for the Creation of a School of Forestry in Connection with the Arboretum at Edinburgh, in which I submitted for consideration the opinion that with the acquisition of this Arboretum, and with the existing arrangements for study in the Univer- sity and in the Watt Institution and School of Arts, there are required only facilities for the study of what is known on the Continent as Forest Science to enable these Institutions conjointly, or either of them with the help of the other, to take a place amongst the most completely equipped Schools of Forestry in Europe, and to under- take the training of foresters for the discharge of such duties as are now required of them in India, in our Colonies, and at home. On the loth of May, 1885, it was ordered by the House of Commons that a Select Committee be appointed to consider whether by the establishment of a Forest School or otherwise our woodlands could be rendered more remunerative. By this Committee valuable evidence was collected, and on the 24th of July they agreed to the following report : — " Your Committee are of opinion that at this late period of the session it will not be in their power to conclude their investigation ; they have there- vi PIIEFACE. fore agreed to report the evidence already taken to the House, and to recommend that a Committee on the same subject should be appointed in the next session of Parlia- ment." And this was done ; but in like circumstances, and with like result. Meanwhile, at the meeting of the British Association for the advancement of science held in Aberdeen in the autumn of the year, the general Committee of that body adopted a resolution that Sir A. Taylor, Professor Bayley Balfour, Dr. Croumbie Brown, Dr. Cleghorn, and Sir John Lubbock, be a Committee for the purpose of considering whether the condition of our forests and woodlands might not be improved by the establishment of a forest school. I was called to give evidence before the Committee of the House of Commons appointed last summer to consider this matter. In reply to a query then put to me I stated, amongst other things, that I could not name any School of Forestry which I could propose as a model for a School of Forestry which would meet the wants of Britain, but that the School of Forest Engineers in Spain was one of a type which might be followed with advan- tasfe in the organisation of a British National School of Forestry if it should be determined to establish one in Edinbuigh, which offered special facilities for the establish- ment of such a School. The following compilation has been made to illustrate what is implied in the opinions which I then expressed. 1 adhere to these opinions, but I consider that valuable suggestions which might be utilised in the organisation of a British National School of Forestrj? may be derived from a knowledge of what arrangements exist in other Schools of Forestry on the Continent of Europe than PREFACE. vii that specified; and I have prepared for the press a companion volume on the Schools of Forestry in Germany, the Fatherland of Modern Forest Economy^ and the land in which Schools of Forestry originated. In this I have given accounts of the Schools of Forestry in Saxony, Prussia, Hanover, Saxe Weimar, Hesse Darmstadt, Baden, Wurtemburg, and Bavaria ; with notices of an exhaustive discussion of the relative advantages of having a School of Forestry in the country in immediate proximity to a forest in which the students might be exercised in forest operations, or of having it established in connection with a University, or some similar seat of learning ; and of stations for experimental research and observation established at the sites of Schools of Forestry. In connection with this intimation I may mention that in the Plea, &c., to which I have referred, I have given notices more or less extended, of the existing Schools of Forestry in Russia, Saxony, Hanover, Hesse Darmstadt, Wurtemburg, Bavaria, Austria, Poland, Russia, Finland, Sweden, France, Italy, and Spain. In the Journal of Forestry information is given in regard to the course of study followed at Hohenheim, in Wurtemburg, vol. i., pp. 81-87; at Carlsruhe, in Baden, pp. 394-398; and at Evois, in Finland, pp. 545-.5.51, 701- 707. In regard to this last, details are also given in a volume entitled : Finland : its Forests and Forest Manage- ment. In a similar volume entitled : Forestry of Norway, information is given in regard to instruction in Sylvicul- ture given in the Agricultural School at Aas ; and in one entitled Forestry in Poland, Lithuania, and the Baltic Provinces of Russia, are given the code of regulations V-iii i>REFACfi. prescribed for the institution of Agriculture and Forestry at Novoi Alexandra. It is my belief that a light will be found thrown upon any or all of these notices of Schools of Forestry if the reader have, previous to the examination of them, glanced at a volume published by me entitled : Introduction to the Study of Modern Forest Economy ; and in connection with this, another entitled French Forest Ordinance of 1669, with Historical ^Sketch oj Previous Treatment of Forests in France. JOHN C. BROWN. Haddington, 10idifx of First Year, 49 Sub-Section I. — Applied Mathematics (p. 49). Sub-Section JI, — Applipd Chemistry (p. 49). X CONTENTS. Section II. — Hooks approjniate to Studies of /Second Year, ...... 50 Sub-Secticn I. — Meteorology, Climatology, Stations of Obgei ration and Experimental Ee&earch (p. 51). Sub-Section II.— Construction (p. 59). Section III. — Books appropriate to Studies of Third Year, ... . . 64 Sub-Section I. — Mineralogy and Geology (p. 64) ; Sub-Section II. — Applied Zoology (p. 66). Sub-Section III. — Applied Botany (p. 69) ; Excursion into the Field of Botany (p. 70) ; The Temperature of the Tree (p. 77) ; Topical Botany (p. 84). Sub-Section IV.— Sylviculture (p. 86). Section IV. — Hooks appropriate to Studies of Fourth Year, Xilometry and Forest Ordaiacion, , 90 Section V. — Books relative to Forest Industries, . 100 Sub-Section I. — Preparation of Timber, Firewood, and Charcoal (p. 101). Sub-Sectiou II. — Collection and Manipulation of Resin (p. 103). Sub-Section III, — Collection and Manij)ulation of Bark and Cork (p. 113). Section VI. — Books relative to Jurisprudence and Political Economy, . . . . .118 • Organisation of the Government of Spain (p. 120). Section VII. — General Forestal Literatare, . . 135 Chapter V. — Fortst Excursions, . . .145 Excursions (p. 145) ; Excursion to Gerona (p. 153) ; to Austria (p. 155) ; to Scandinavia (p. 155) ; to America (p. 1.56) ; to Algeria (p. 158) ; to Naples (p. 160). Chapteu VI. — Corps of Forest Engineers and Staf of Teachers, , , , , .162 CONTENTS. XI PART II. Practical Arrangements in accordance with those in the School of Forest Engineers in Spain, snitahle for a British Natio^ial School of Forestry, . .168 Chaptek I. — Appropriate Site for a British National School of Forestry, . . . ,170 Advantages offered by Edinburgh (p. 171) ; Additions required (p. 173) ; Facilities for Practical Training (p. 175). Chapter II. — Scholastic Arrangements, . .178 Section I. — Conditions, .... 178 School under Science and Art Department of Com- mittee of Council on Education, (p. ITS) ; Professorship of Forestry in University (p. 180) ; or in connection with Watt Institute (p. 183 ; or in connection with some Public Body (p. 184). Section II. — Cturiculum of Study, . . . 186 Object aimed at (p. 186) ; Teachers (p. 187) ; Students (p. 189) ; Suggested Programme (p. 190). Section III. — Expense, . . . , 19.5 Expense of such Schools on the Continent (p. 195) ; Expense of Royal School of Mines in London, and of Pioyal College of Science in Dublin (p. 198) ; Scholar- ships for Students in connection with these (p. 198) ; Expense of British Students of Forestry at Nancy (p. 200), and at Cooper's Hill (p. 201). Chapter III. — Relative Importance to a School of Forestry, of Scholastic Surro^mdings, and of Adjacent Forests, , . , .205 Prevalent Feeling in favour of Adjacent Forests (p. 205) ; Opinion of Dr James Brown (p. 206) ; Extent to which a different feeling prevails on the Continent (p. 212) ; Exhaustive Discussion of the Subject at Congress of German Forestal Authorities (p. 214.) xii CONTENTS. Chapter IV. — Forested Lilcratare, . . . 218 Limited Forestal Literature in Britain in Comparison with that of the different Countries on the Continent (p. 218) ; Late Increase in the Publication of such Works in Britain (p. 220) ; Reason of past want of Literest in Modern Forestry (p. 230) ; Notices of Pecuniary Returns (p. 232.) ERRATA. PAOB LIKB roR MiAn 2 12 de Don. 5 9 Ley La La Ley. 7 11 Arices Arias. 7 37 Francesco Goercia Francisco Garcia. 14 19 los Horas las Heras. 19 9 jardine Jardin. 21 27 unsabo no sabe. 55 14 Frederico de Botello Frederico de Botella. 55 23 Torea Teoria. 58 26 and 27 Ildefonsa Ildefonso. 58 28 Fonienta Fomento. 58 38 Guadalajara Segovia. 67 17 adeocuardos adecuados. 69 32 Seriex Sereix. 84 9 Sciencas Ciencias. 86 18 des del. 87 15 Pamagua Paniagua. Page 167. — By later information, I learn that now the allowance for travelling expenses is to students 40 reals, or Ss, and to profeesori 100 reals, or £1 a-day, when on excursions. SCHOOL OF FOREST ENGINEERS IN SPAIN. CHAPTER I. ORIGIN OF A CORPS OF FOREST ENGINEERS IN SPAIN. The treatment of forests in Spain for many ag'S seems to have differed little from that of the treatment of forests in other countries, differing chiefly in this : for while Id many other lands the disposition to practice a wasteful destruc- tion of forests was to some extent held in check by measures adopted by kings and nobles to secure for them- selves what are called the pleasures of the chase, and this leading them to punish unmercifully the destruction by others of trees which afforded covert tor their game, — this does not seem to have been the case, or the case to the same extent, with the successive rulers of the Peninsula, who were all of them of different races from the later conquerors of Central Europe. The present endeavour to secure the conservation,economic exploration, improvement, and so far as practicable and expedient the replenishing and extension of existing forests in Spain may be said to have originated, or taken a fresh departure in the issue of General Ordinances in reference to these in 1833. Tiiere had been previous legislation in regard to the forests ; and some of the laws and official instructions which had been issued were not unimportant. Among those deserving of notice are such issued by Don Fernando and Donna Isabel in 1496, and others by Don Carlos 1. and Donna .Juana in 1.518. And a memoir on 8 2 FORESTRY IN SPAIN. the then state of agrarian law by the illustrious Jovellanos, published towards the close of the last centur}', made manifest the necessity which there was for a development and improvement of the agricultural capabilities of the country, and arrest of the bad administrative management to which were being subjected the extensive but fast dis- appearing masses of the public forests. It was published originally in 1796; successive editions appeared iu 181 4 and 1820, and yet another edition followed in 1834. It is entitled Informe de la Sociedad Economica de Madrid, al Real y Supremo Conspjo de Castilla, en el Expediente de ley Agraria Extendido por su Individuo l)e Numero de Melchor Gasjya^' de Jovellanos a N ombre de la Junta Encargada de sa Formacion y Con Arreglo a Sus Opmiones. — ' Statements of the Economical Society of Madrid to to the Royal Council of Castile in regard to the Agraiian Law, prepared by one of their number in the name of a Committee charged with the work, and in accordance with their views.' 'i'he edition of 1820 is considered the most trustwoithy of the earlier editions, as it was prepared under the auspices and direction of the Economical Society, following most scrupulously the original, corrected by the author, so as not to reproduce inaccuracies which had appeared in other editions. Amongst points discussed, which relate more imme- diately 10 forestal matters, are those connected with C(Mn- mons, lands belonging to communal councils, and public forests, which, with some trifling exceptions, it was at that time considered would be best protected from destruction by their pasi>ing into the hands of private proprietors. It is a prevalent opinion amongst students of forest science that while coppice woods may be exploited by private proprietors, without detriment to public interests, timber forests, and more especially timber forests from which are expected trees of very large growth, can only be satisfactorily administered by the State. It has thus come to pass that importance has been attached as a point of OfelGlN OP FOREST ENGINEERS IN SPAIN. 3 some interest, to what were the views of Jovellanos on this matter. In a Catalogue Raisonne prepared and printed for private circulation, by lino Sr. Don Jose Jordanay Aiorera, of upwards of eleven hundred books, MSS. and charts in Spanish, original or translated, bearing upon forest science, the author writes thus of a treatise included in a collection of published works by Don Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos, entitled Hepresentacion de la Villa de Gijon para que se 'prorogue el arbitrio de vino y sidra para Fuentes, Calles y Plantios : — ' For this work we are indebted to the illustrious author of the Informe Sohre La Ley Jgraria, which, notwithstanding its unpretentious appearance, is one of the greatest importance in deter- mining precisely what were the opinions of that enlightened patriot in regard to the nature, the advantage to the country, the utilisation, and the possession or tenure by the State of the public forests, in regard to which many, misled it may be by the brevity or conciseness of his statements, have supposed that he spake doubtingly, rather than with certainty, in regard to the question of the absolute and entire alienation or sale of the forest possessions of the country. From the text of the Hepresentacion it is apparent at least that his opinion did not go so far as this, but rather that on the contrary he assigns to public forests advantages, ami a utilisation of a national character impossible to be obtained from forests held only in the interest of a private proprietor.' And he remarks in regard to the Jiepresentacion : — 'One of the most noteworthy paragraphs in it is the following : — Nor is less certain the necessity of creating on the approach to this town a plantation of pines on the extensive sand plain stretching away to the east and the south, the sand composing which is kept in continuous movement by the wind, enters the streets and accumulates in them, obstructing and embarrassing the public way to the great trouble of passengers, and the great discomfort and annoyance of the inhabitants, 4 FORESTRY IN SPAIN. ' It is the case that with a view to remedy this evil there have been constructed protective banks, in regard to which this town addresses a separate representation to your Highness ; but much more important would be such a plantation of pines as has been spoken of which would be productive of two great benefits — one arresting and breaking the force of the winds, and the other clothing and solidifying the ground, delivering this beautiful town for all time coming from an enemy which has been destructive to it in many ways, and proportionally producing an abundance of wood so necessary at the entrance to a port which has its little shipbuilding yard, where are being constructed continuously boats, pinaces, launches, and other vessels used in fishery and commerce. ' This is the more desirable because it would lead the town to extend other plantations in its immediate vicinity, for which it holds lands more extensive and well adapted for the purpose than may be imagined, affording protection to the new highway which is being constructed by orders of his Mfi jeHty ; and giving shade to the new promenade and canals of the Humedal, made by permission of your Highness ; and crowning with trees the forest of Santa Catalina, which protects this coast town on the north. ' All of these plantations, and many others which might be made in the vicinity of tliis town, were proposed to our Town Council by our compatriot D. Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos.' It has been for many years past a subject of keen contro- versy, I may say of bitter dispute, between the Govern- ment and the students of forest science in Spain, whether it Avould tend to the saving or the ruin of the country to alienate the State forests, which, it is alleged, would almost cortainly issue in the destruction of them ; and it supplies to the opponentsof alienation a sentimental satisfaction tofind that Jovellanos, to the publication of whose In for me Sohre ley Agrnria is attributed the modern development of forest science and forest economy in Spain, of whom it had been alleged thathe was opposecl to their views, was DlllGI^' OF S'ORfiST ENGINEERS IN SPAIN. 5 really at cue with them. What however chiefly interests us is that this work of Jovellano's marks the rise of the present interest in forestry manifested in Spain. In a work by Sr. Don Francisco Garcioa Martino, entitled Los Monies y el Cuerpo de Ingenieros en las Cortes Con- stituents— the Forests and the Corps of Forest Engineers in the Cortes and Legislative Assembly, the author, hav- ing referred to the work, proceeds : — 'The weJl-remembered Informe Sobre ley la Agraria of the distinguished Jovel- lanos produced a profound sensation in the beginning of the present century amongst the illustriouij men of the country who realised the necessity of developing more fully the pi'oductions of our soil. The doings denounced in that celebrated document, with impregnable proofs of the vices inherent in the administrative management of our public forests, led to the serious consideration of that department of spontaneous products, which, with the abrosration of certain ordinances relative to the marine trade, were left abandoned and at the mercy of interested persons, and the ever-increasing pecuniary necessities of the municipal proprietors. Under the inspiration of the views of Jovellanos, they broke the fetters which pre- vented liberty being enjoyed by agriculture. Thus was extended its sphere ot action ; but under the pretext of convenient, useful, and even necessary forest clearings, there were committed such abuses in the forests, and our best forest masses were felled in such a way that the Government saw itself under the necessity of legislating anew in regard to forest property, and of doing so in accord- ance with the prevailing views of the day. Reformed France and cultured Germany set the example of restrain- ing and repairing destructions which ignorance and administrative errors on the one hand, and wars and political confusion on the other, had produced in their forest riches.' Sr. Marti noSj in his introduction to this work, having fe KORBSTllY IN SPAW. alluded to tljc important measures which had bceti previously adopted with a view to tlie developmeut of the agricultural capabilities of Spaiu, to the good service which had beeu done by the several corps of engineers, and to what more might have been done, writes:— 'The law of the 22nd December, 1833, promulgating the fcneral ordinances relative to forests, recognised the fact of the progressive destruction of these, and to meet them created a Geueral Directory, to the charge of which were committel all those denominated public forests. The Admiralty lost then all the privileges it had previ- ously exercised in regard to inspection, marking and appropriating trees. This was a reasonable and just arrangement ; but on the other hand the interests of the State were doomed by the limitation in Art. 24) that no other proofs will be admitted beyond authentic titles of pro- prietorship and uninterrupted possession for more than thirty years ; which is a period far too brief in a matter pertaining to lands without fixed boundaries, and aban- doned from remote times. Moreover, while there is mani- fested an interest in the proper regulation of this branch of the service in these ordinances, comprising in all 23G articles, of arrangements in regard to administration, conser- vation, sales, felling, utilization, policy, legal proceedings and penalties, there is apparently a la^k of sound doctrine and of special knowledge of the matter in hand. It is a collection of practical rules, some of them contradictory and others impracticable, but they tended, beyond all doubt, to restrain abuses by imposing severe penalties for these. It is an almost literal translation of the French code, applied without sufficient study to our country ; it opened the door to great abuses ; and it was the occasion of no small destruction of the riches, the conservation of which it was designed to secure.' What was now felt to be of imperious necessity was that those employed in this department should possess the requisite special knowledge. To meet this it was there OtllGtN OF FOREST ENGINEERS IN SPAIN. 7 were issued special decrees on the 30tb April and on the 1st May, lS3o. It was said in Art, 7 of the former; — ' There shall be created in the corps of the civil engineers other two bodies (besides those of roads and of mines), geographic engineers and Avoodland forest engineers, so soon as the formation of primary schools of both shall admit of their being established.' The second postpones till the 1st of October following the creation of a special school for forest or woodland engineers, under the direction of the inspector of forests, Don Sandalio de Arices ; and in Art. 7 it says : — ' When it shall be the case that there shall be created a corps of wood- land or forest engineers, the director of the school shall be assigned rank and position in this, with due considera- tion of the services which up to that time h^ may have rendered.' The civil war, and other matters of greater importance demanding attention, prevented the realising of this patriotic purpose at this time. But subsequently both purposes were carried out ; and in studying the general question of forestry in Spain we find that the develop- ment of the School of Forestry, La Escuela especial de Ingenieros de Mantes, and that of the corps of forest engineers, Cueiyo de Ingenieros de Mantes, were con- current, each reacting upon the other, the instruction and training received in the school qualifying the members of the corps to make a progressive advance in the discharge of their professional functions, and this making new demands on the teachers of aspirants for such appoint- ments. Thus, in marked parallelism, may be observed what is stated in regard to the development of the School of Forestry in a work by Sr. Don Carlos Castel y Clemente, entitled Noticia Sohre la Fundacion y Desarrollo de la Escuela Especial de Ingenieros de Mantes : Notice of the Foundation and Development of the Special School of Forest Engineers, and in the arguments of the treatise by Sr. D. Francesco Goercia Marti no, entitled Les Monies y el Cuerpo de Ingenieros en los Cortes Constituents. CHAPTER II. ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE SCHOOL OF FORESTRY. The Cuerpo de Ln/enieros de Monies, or Spanish Corps of Forest Engineers, is recruited exclusively from the School of Forestry, Escuela Esjjecial de Inyeuieros de Monies. Such a school was instituted by decree of the 1st May, 1835 ; but many modifications were subsecjueutly made in the arrangements and organisation, more especially in 184!3 and 1846, when the school acquired something of the development whicli it now presents as a State institution under the Minister of public works and the Director General of public institutions. It was for a considerable time located at Villaviciosa dOdon, near Madrid ; but in 1809 it Avas transferred to one of the buildings pertaining to the palace of the Escurial, not far from the Sierra Guadarama, about two hours' distance by rail from Madrid. T«^ Sr. Don Carlos Castel y Clemente we are indebted for much information in regard to the early history of the diffusion of forest science in Spain by schools of forestry. In the latter end of 1870, in accordance with instructions given to him, he undertook to collect information which might serve as the basis of a memoir on the subject ; and in the following year the substance of this was published by him in a brochure entitled Nolicla Sobrela Fundacion y Besur- rollo de la Escuela Especial de Ingem'eros de MonlfS, in the introduction to which honour was done, a-s was most meet, to Sr. D. Bernardo de la Torre Rojas, founder, and for many years Director of the first school of forestry in Spain, the acknowledged ' father of the Spanish School of Forestry.' After sketching triefly the reckless destruction of forest ORiGtN OF THE SCHOOL OF FORESTRY. 9 wealth in Central Europe in byegone times, to arrest which was again and again attempted by legislation in France and other countries, but with little effect, he refers them to what was done in Germany : — ' In the seventeenth century originated in some of the States of Germany the application of technical science to the treatment of forest masses. The rules, the aphor- isms, and the whole of the directions which are compressed in the forestal knowledge of the ancients, are principles iudetinite, obscure, uncertain, unconnected, destitute of method or systematized relations. Moser created in 1757 the first body of systematic teaching on the subjects and to the impulse given to this by him, and the weighty energy of Laugen, Laspar, Zanthier, and others, are we indebted for the formation of the first plans of scientific treatment of forests begun in 1731 in the forests of the Dukedom of Brunswick. He, in his time, Langen having been the first to do so, perceiving the necessity of entrusting the management of the forests to a specially educated and trained body of officials, possessing all necessary know- ledge and information, with a view to raising up a body of such men, established the first school of forestry in Wernigerode in the year 1772. But others consider as the first school that founded by Zanthier in llsenberg, which was followed some years later by the establishment of that by Haase in Lauterberg, that which G. Hartig founded in Uungen in 1791, that founded in Zillbach by H. Cotta in 179-3, and various others, all due to the efforts of individuals, and manifesting that essentially practical character which was so requisite to meet the requirements of the time and the conditions in which the distinguished founders were placed, but they lacked means which would allow of there being given to them the influence and development which became needful. ' Contemporaneously with the schools there were pro- duced also new methods, or systems of exploitation ; and the names which have been cited are those of men who proved authorities of the highest rank, who have opened 15 FOtlfeSTRY In StAIN. up new paths in forest study. For me it is impossible, nor does space permit me, to produce a chronological and critical narrative of the principal phases through which the newborn forest science passed in its evolution and succes- sive development; fresh in the memory of many in Spain must be the remarkable articles written under the title, iSiste/nas Forestales, by tlie erudite Forest Engineer, His Excellency Sr. D. Agustin Pascual, the first Spanish writer on Jasaaomy, and formerly professor in our School of Forestry, to whom it is enough that I thus refer while passing on to state succinctly the new form, and report the multiplication and general organisation of forestal schools which occurred in Germany and in some other countries in Europe. ' The primary organisation of the schools founded in Ilscnberg, Wernigerodc, Lauterberg, Hungen, Zillbach, VValterhausen, Rottenhaus, Castell, &c., in the period from 17(iG to 1805, was that of several other private centres of instruction, which died out with their founders, or suffered the fate which befell these in the course of their existence. All these made themselves remarkable by the great impulse and development which they gave to the diffusion of forest science, and by their having raised up a numerous and distinguished body of men to assist and direct at a later time the work of brintjincj into order the forests of the districts in which they were situated. There stands out prominently amongst all these the school founded by Cotta. He, being charged with the reduction to an orderly condition of the forest of Fishbach, spent some years in the execution of this work, during these years giving theoretic and practical instruction to the young men who assisted him there : thus was insti^ tuted the new centre of forestal instruction of Zillbach. Such reputation was acquired by this establishment of modern times, that in 1795 there was granted to it a sub- vention from the State, by means which Cotta was enabled considerably to augment the means available then for the prosecution of study. In 1810 Cotta was appointed bfetGlN 0^ THE SCttOoL 0^ FORESTRY. U Director of forest maaagement in Saxony. He at once perceived and pointed out the lack which existed of a skilled staff of officials, who should execute and assist in the execution of his projects, and with a view to meeting this desideratum the forest school of Zillbach was trans- ferred to Tharand in 1811, and was ceded to the Govern- ment on the 12th of May. 1816. Converted into a Govern- ment academy, and furnished with all necessary resources, the school of Tharand, devoted to the instruction of the forest engineers of the State, very soon flourished bene- ficently, attracting to study there the studious youth of many different countries, and serving as the sharp edge of a wedge for the general diffusion of those truths whicli, spreading themselves a little latter in different countries, proved the occasion of there being opened other schools which take pride in calling themselves daughters of the Saxon academy. 'In their turn, in Austria and Russia — nations which, if they did not take the first step, followed at once the advancing march of the States of Germany — there had been organised Schools of Forestry ; those in A ustria hav- ing the character of a private establishment in the begin- ning, but those of Russia being Government institutions from the first. Amongst those, the first established — that founded in 1770 by Ehrenwerk in Rotherhaus, in Bohemia — continued till 1791. This was succeeded by another, established in the beginning of the present century in Kruman ; and coincident with its appearance we meet with the schools of Eisgneb in Moravia, Eisgenstadt in Hungary, and Gratzen in Bohemia. ' Passing from private seminaries to public and Govern- ment institutions, there were founded the schools of Datschetz in Moravia, and that of Plass in Bohemia, opened in 1823 and 1880, in which there is some Govern- ment intervention, but this is very limited. When the Government was once convinced — as was the case like- wise with the Government of Germany — of the urgent necessity there was for entrusting the administration of 1* ForiEstRY In s'paVs. forests to a staff of officials endowed with special scieutific knowledge, tlicy arranged in 1805 the opening of a course of practical instruction in sylviculture in Purkersdorf, near Vienna ; and subsequently, in 1813, increasing the staft' of professors, and with a well-considered plan of instruction, this school was transferred to Mariabrun, not far from the capital of the empire. In 1827 the plan of study was changed, and the subjects of study were divided into four seviestres, or half-year sessions ; ulti- mately, in 1852, this was reorganised by distributing over three years tlie study of the different prescribed subjects which comprised the course followed by forest engineers. ' Other schools exist in Austria, due — some to the initiation of private individuals, others to the action of provinces, and most to tlie eyertions of forestal associa- tions, which have increased in that country. Such, for example, is the school of sylviculture in Weisswasser, that in Aussee, that of Kreuz, and others. ' A faithful imitator of Germany, and endowed with a great amount of practical spirit, Russia in the beginning of the present century introduced the forestal instruction imported from the academies which were founded years before by those who well merit the name of Fathers of the present forest science. The scliools of Zarsko-Selo and Kafelskoy, ci'eated in 1803 and 1804, propagated the movement which was being initiated by the successful scholars of the German schools. These being reorganised in 1813, the school was removed to St. Petersburg, where, in 1829, the new school received the name of Forest Iti^stitute, and was some time later made more complete by the establishment of a school of practical forestry at Lissenoy. Russia has now additional schools, which may be reckoned amongst the means available for forestal instruction. These are called schools of the Steppes, amongst which, deserving special mention, is that opened in 1842 in Anadol, the highest lying and most barren spot in the Steppes of Kkatherinoslav ; the primary object of which is to educate and train sylviculturists for the Origin of Tflfc school of forestry. 13 management of steppe lands of that extensive dis- trict. 'In regard to France, into which the ideas prevailing in Germany penetrated without difficulty, they then perceived also the necessity of entrusting the administration of public forests to a staff of officials possessed of a know- ledge of the several departments of forest science ; and, to secure this, they instituted in Nancy, in the year 1824, the school where the forest engineers thenceforward have received instruction. The tirst director of this school, M. Lorentz, having been educated at Tharand, the school was formed after the model of the earlier schools of Germany, and its organisation was accordingly similar to that of those schools ; and it has long maintained a well-deserved consideration for the zeal, and energy, and work of its professors. ' Such, in rough outline, is a sketch of the history of forestal instruction in Europe, reflecting the dominating ideas of different nations in which schools of forestry had been established, when first there was heard in Spain a voice with authority proposing to open for her also a road which might lead to the corisideration and restoration of her diminished forest riches.' Sr. Castel, in his treatise on the origin and develop- ment of the school, writes, in accordance with what has been stated in the preceding chapter in reference to the General Ordinance of lS33,cited in the preceding chapter.as Lssued to prevent a progressive devastation and destruc- tion of forests in Spain. In reference to the General Ordinance of 1833, he says : ' While tfiese General Ordi- nances put an end to some vicious practices and privileges which could not be sustained, and created a General Directory, to the charge of which were committed all the forests now designated public, they did not break with the traditionsand proceedings of established usage coming down from the olden times, manifesting a lack of special know- ledge of the matter in hand, and great if not al)solute 14 FORESTRY IN SPAIN. ignorance of the good doctrine which found its birth, some fifty years before in the schools of Germany, and had cast its dawning light upon the northern slopes of the Cordilleras of the Pyrenees.' Two years later, by Royal decree of 30th April, 1835, it was established, that within what was called the corps of civil engineers, there should be established a depart- ment designated Inspector of Woods, so soon as the creation of the necessary school should admit of this being efficiently organised ; and next day (1st May), there was prepared a Royal decree, according to which the said school of forest engineers was established in the capital of the kingdom, in October of the same year, under the direction of Don Antonio Sandalio de Arias. The year, however, closed without the project being realised, and the subject might seem to be forgotten. But some years later a son of Cotta, who with Hartig founded the original school of forestry in Saxony, was invited by Senor Don Martin de los Horas, Intendente de la Real Casa y Patrimonio, to come anil organise a scientific management of the forests of the Royal patrimony. He could not come : and to meet the more pressing require- ments of the case two young men were sent, at the charges of the Royal treasury, to the forest academy at Tharand, to go through the course of study required of them as fore.\<'U.. Deutzia gracilis. Zucc-Erica scoparia., L., Eriob- otiya japonicti Lindl., Eucalyptus globulus. Labill., iCoinyuiusjaiMiniciis. Ii., Kvunymus japonicus var. argenteu. THE SCHOOL OF FORESTRY IN THE ESCURlAL. 39 L., Evonyuiusjapouicus var. aurea. L , Forsythia viridissima. Lindi., Frangula vulgaris. Reichb., Genista florida. L.. Gyneriimi argenteura. Nees., Hibiscus siriacus. L., Ilex aquifoliuru. L., Jasmiuum fruticans. L., Jasmin, nudiflorum. Lindl., Jasmin um otMcinale. L., Juglans regia. L., Juniperus oxycedrus. L., Juniperus virginiana. L., Lavandula spica. L., Ligustrum japonicum Tliunb., Ligustrum vulgare. L., Ligustrum vulgare. L., Ligustrum fol. variegatis. L.. Lonicera hispanica. B. et K.^ Magnolia grandiflora. L., M ah oniasequi folium, Nutt., Mahonia Fortunei. Hort.,Morus alba. L., Mja'tus communis. L., Nerium oleander. L.. Paliurus australis. Gaertn., Paulownia imperialis. Sieb., Philadelphus coronarius. L.,Phlomis fruticosa, L., Photinia serrulata. Lindl., Pinus Austriaca. Tratt., Pinus halepensis. Mill, Pinus insignis Duugl, Pinus laricio. Poir., Pinus pinaster. Sol., Pinus pini^a. L., Pinus pinea. var. fragilis. Lois., Pinus sabiniana. Dongl., Pinus Strobus. L., Pinus sylvestris, L., Pittesporum chinense. Don., Platanus vulgaris. Spach., Populus alba. L., Populus balsamilera, L., Populus canadensis. Mich.,Punicagranatum. L., Punica granatum llore pleno. L., Quercus suber. L., Rhamnus Alaternus. L., Rhus thyphina. L., Robinia .pseudo-acacia.L., Rosa bengalensis. Hort.,Rosa centifolia. L., Rosa Daraascena, Mill, Rosmarinus officinalis, L., Ruscus aculeatus. L., Salix babylonica. L., Sarothamnus purgans G et G., Sequoia g'gantea. Endl., Spartium Junceum. L., Syringa persica. L., Syringa vulgaris. L., Thuja orientalis. L., Thuja gigantea. Doug., Ulmus campestris. L., Viburnum opulus. L , Viburnum tinus. L., Weigelia rosea. Lindl. Besides these, there had been planted during the years 1871-1876, while it was in connection with the school park of the Casita de Arriba, in the vicinity of the Escurial, specimens of the following species of trees : — Abies pectinata. D. C, Abies pinsapo. Boiss., Acer pseud oplatanus. L., Argania Sideroxylan. Roem. et Sch. ^sculus hippocastanum. L., Castanea vesca. Gaertn., Celtis australis. L., Cupresus fastigiata. D. C, Cupr. glaucu. Vf) F0RE8TRY IN SPAIN. Laink., 'Jiipr. liorizoutalis. Mill., Cytisun Lahuriiiim. L., EucalipLus glubulus. Lauill., Fagus yylvatica. L., Fcaxinus uxyphylla. Biel)., Gleditschia triacauthos , Juglans regia. L., 'fuuipcius uxycedrus. L., Paliurus australi. Gaertn., P, caiiarieusis. Bucb., P. lariciu. Poir., P. piuaster Sol., Pinu- piiiia. L., P. sylvestris. L , Robiuia pseudo-acacia. L., (»>iiercus ilex. L., Q. robur, L. — V. pcduuctulata., Q. robur, L. — V. Sexilirioia., Q. anber. L,, Q. toza. G, Thuya orient- alis. L., Ulmu.s campestris. L. In tbe capital, moreover, there is the valuable Butauic Garden, to which there is free access for all, and in where there are not only umbrageous walks, lined with trees labelled with their popular scientific names, but numerous trees so labelled growing freely in the enclosed spaces. It was removed from a situation on the road leading Irom the palace to the Prado to its present position, by desire of Carlos III., and it abounds in the products of foreign climes. In the first year ot the present century M. J, F. Bourgoing, who had been Minister Plenipotentiary from France to the Court of Madrid, wrote thus of the foundation of the present fame ot this garden : ' At the commencement of his admini- stration of the Indies Galvez earnestly recommended to all officers — civil, military, and ecclesiastical — within the whole circuit of the colonies, to transmit to Spain "whatever appeared worthy of notice in the three kingdoms of nature. His directions were complied with, at least with respect to the vegetable kingdom. Scarcely a year elapses without announcing tbe arrival from the Spanish Indies of some new plants, which augment the collection of the metropolis, or at least the importation of seed, of roots, and slips, which they endeavour to naturalise in the Botanical Garden at Madrid. Young botanists, whom the Court maintain in Mexico, Peru, and elsewhere, transmit along with their consignments a description of the plants immediately within their observation, and of the soil and atmosphere which appear most congenial with them, and of the culture THE SCHUUL Ot FORESTRY IN THE ESCURIAL. 41 they reciuirc. Cont'onuably witli these iustructious the professors of botany deposit the germs transmitted to them in the earth ; and attended by their disciples the}' watch with the most wistful solitude their dififerent appear- ances during growth, in order to compare the properties of these exotic plants with the description that has been sent to them.' Such are some of the provisions made for the study of applied botany. Mineralogy, geoJogy, and zoology, with much besides, are all included in the Natural History in which the aspirant is examined before being admitted into the school; but there the prosecution of the study of each is continued. Under tbe head of Applied Zoology is comprised : — I. A statement of difference between the general zoology and that of zoology pertaining to the department of forests ; observa- tions on the organography and physiology of animals ; and on organic harmonies, analogies, and homologies. 2. The classification of animals and nomenclature adopted 5 general theory of classifications. 8. General study of the vertebrates, with a description of the indigenous species useful or damaging to the forests. 4. Forestal entomology ; the importance of the study of insects with an application to the department of forests ; a description of all the species useful and detrimental to sylviculture ; study of preventive and destructive measures employed against those which are detrimental. 5. Geographical zoology, giving an idea of the distribution in the Peninsula of those animals to which pertains a forestal interest. For the study of Applied Zoology there are in the cabinet of zoology the following collections : — A collection of forty-five species of mamifers, in which there are, or were in 1877, when Senor Castel prepared the statement, comprised ninety-two specimens, amongst which predominate the insectivora, carnivora, rodentia, pachydermata,and rumlnantia, being the groups most impor- 42 FORESTRY IN St'AIN. tant in sylvicultuie, aud auiuugi^t tbese are specimens ot all the species found in the forests of Spain. Another is composed of 103 species of birds, of which there are 141 specimens : the most numerously represented being the raptores and the passeres. Another of 37 species of reptiles and bactrians, and some river fishes. A collection of l(j41 specimens of insects, distributed under 522 genera and 1000 species, comprising a great part of the foreign as well as indigenous species useful and hurftul to forests. 25 picture-frames contain woods attacked by insects ; in each of these is a specimen of the wood, with the damage done, and the insects by which it is attacked. A collection of nine anatomical frames represent in wax figures, on a large scale, the digestive apparatus of certain insects, the ovaries and spawn of the lobster, and the nervuus system of the cephalopods, prepared by D. Jacinto Castro, the naturalist preparer of the school. There are also two collections of shells, composed one of 102 species, and the other of 196 species, consisting of 400 specimens, the latter prepared by Senor D. Luis Urrejola, an engineer- in -chief of the corps. Besides these, there are sundry small collections for use by the professors and in the practical studies of the alumni. The programme of Sylviculture studied in this the third year of the course, comprises : — 1. The natural history, &c., of different species of trees cultivated. 2. Extent of succes- sive fellings, and duration of cycle or period embraced between sowing and clearing of successive crops; and methods of exploitation : timber forests, coppice woods, and mixed forests. 3. Methods of felling, and theory of clearings. 4. Sowing, gathering, and preservation of seeds. 5. Preparation of the ground for sowings. 6. Season, and method most to be preferred in different cases. 7. Plan- tations, perche.s, and poles. 8. Cultivation of wood, and of drift sands. 9. Reboisement and creation of turf on mountains. 10. Pastures and protection against trespasses. THE SCHOOL OF FORJESTRY IN THE ESCURIAL. 4S In the cabinet of sylviculture, writes Senor Caste!, for a practical acquaintance with the implements of labour employed iu sylviculture, not only in Spain but also in the principal agrico-forestral centres abroad, there is located in the school a maguiticent collection of 400 specimens ot these, of perfect construction, and arranged with great taste. They comprise implements used in turning over earth, such as spades, hoes, pickaxes, two- pronged forks, rakes, weed-hooks, &c.; together with these are those used in the surveying and treatment of trees, among which the most important arc axes and saws of a great many different forms.* There are also an abundaiico of mattocks, knives, adzes, hooks, mallets, hammers, rammers, gouges, augurs, gimlets, scrapers, shears, &c., &c. ; and there are not awanting those modest aids in sylviculture — sowers, planters, transplanters, pruners, &c. i'ruit gatherers, tree ladders, resin collectors. scrapers, resin tree openers, hooks for use in rafts of wood, timber, scythes, &c , complete the collection, which, when shown at some exhibitions, has had awarded to it the highest distinction granted for this class of objects. This cabinet contains also a collection of 60 ploughs, harrows, rollers, levellers, rakes, scythes, axes, mattocks, two-pronged forks, and sowing machines, perfectly executed on the scale of |th and ^th of full size. In the studies of the fourth year are comprised xilometry ; forest ordenacion gnd exploitation ; forest industries ; political economy and administration of law ; while drawing- is practised continuous from tlie commencement of the curriculum till its close. ■^ Among the axea in this cabinet there deserve special notice the pruning hand-axe used in Arragon ; the French hand-axe ; the common axe with one cutting edge, lioca; the comniou hatchet with lon^ handle ; axe used in cutting for resin in L'ocu ; small pitch-maker's hatchet for cutting pitch- wood ; hatchet for splitting wood; French Hatchet for testing; pitcli-niaker s axe with shield; pitch-maker's hatchet without shield, for use on foot ; testing hatchet with two edges, used in Cuenca ; testing hatchet used in .Jaen ; pointed axe used in charcoul making in Cuenca ; common wood-cutter's axe; American testing axe ; workman's a\e used in Segovia; testing and felling axe used in Jaen, called the Biscayan axe ; axe of Dabie ; axe of Chambray ; axe of Ma(;on, called TaiiUiuaic ; licipzig axe; fireman s pointed axe; luaikiiig hatchet used in forcstral districts ; English woodman's ax«, &c. 44 FORESTRY IN SPAIN. The progiaiiiiuu of studies in Xilometry cuiuprise : — 1. A discussion of the general forms affectt'd by the ditferent parts of a tree ; the geometric and dendometric volumes of these. 2. Descrijjtiou of dendometric instruments, and the management and comparison of these 8. The deter- mination of the cubic contents of trees considered isolated or individually. 4. The apparent, and the real volume ui wood; xilometers: description, comparison, and use ol them. 5. The determination of the normal co-efficient. (). Methods of determining the value in respect of the weight and density of the timber. 7. Increase of wood in growth, and determination of future and of maximum increase. 8. The branding or marking of timber. In the cabinet of xilometry are various compasses for the determination of diameters in the trunks of trees ; tap(; measures, and other metrical cinctures ; rules for marking of timber fit for cutting ; ordinary circumference meters; circumference meters of Bouvart ; dendrometer by right angled triangles ; dendrometers by arc of a circle; dendrometers by the square or the perpendicular. In connection with the study of the ordtaaclon ut forests for successive thinnings and fellings, or the partition and arrangement of sections, attention is given to — 1. Definitions of terms in use in Dasonomia, or forest science, a term derived from Daso forest, and Nomos law. The object of dasocracia and divisions of the subject. 2. The lesfal and natural condition of the forest. 3. Forestal condition ; dasometry, forest measurement; and dasography, or preparation forest maps. 4. Forestal condition, deter- mination and survey of partitions designed for tellings, and epidometry, or measuration of the trees. 5. Selection of kinds of trees to be felled, and of treatment to be adopted ; that of coppice-wood or timber forest, and duration of cycle of operations. 6. Methods of exploitation ; exposition of that devised by J. L. Hartig and by E. Cotta. 7. Rational or scientific methods. 8. General plan of exploitation. 9. Special plan of operations in the first THE SCHOOL OF FORESTRY IN THE ESCURIAL. 45 period. 10. Determination of the maximum possible production ; reserves, and successive revision of scheme of exploitation. 11. Systematic management of irregular forests. 12. Valuation of forests, interest, dues, profits. 13 Value of the soil. 14, Value of the vegetable covering of the ground. 15. Value of the forest. The programme of studies under the head of forest industries embraces: — 1. The physical properties of different kinds of woods, and deductions from these relative to principal applications which may be made of them in civil and naval architecture. 2. The exploitation of primary and secondary products of forests ; and the transport of these by land and Water. 8. Storage, and storage charges of wood ; its conservation by means of substances injected into it; and the preparation of wood pulp. 4. The collection of resin, and preparation of products derived from resin. .'>. The preparation of charcoal, charcoal fuel, and potash. 6. Barking of trees, the disposal of bark, and the manufacture of cork. 7. Collection and preservation of seeds for employment in manufactures. 8. Manufacture of oils, essences, and acids from forest seeds. It. Panage and swine herding, ami disposal of prunings. 10. T^tili.sa- lion of dead wood, branches, leaves, and poai. in one section of the Cabinet of Forest Industry, continod to objects from Spain, there is a collection of models representing a secherie for drying seeds; fanners for dislodging fine seeds ; vertical and horizontal furnaces used in Sweden in the fabrication of vegetable carbon ; three carts for transport; and 'pequiras, or piles t)f pine wood burnt to make pitch, from Sierra Segura ; tools used in disbarking the cork oak, and in the manufacture of corks; and the more important implements used in the collecting of resin ; various collections of wood arranged in boards ot different sizes, comprising specimens from (he different provinces of Spain ; and a collection of 200 species of these woods, the produce of indigonon.s plants, arranged according to the method of Kossmoessler : cojjpo- 46 FOKERTRY FN SPATX. tioiis of charcoals and potashes, ashes, liarks, resins, o-uras, norks, esparto grass, and palms. In a second section, conUiining colonial products, Hif preserved products of the Island of Cuba — a forestal collection presented to the school by D. Francisco de Paula, a member of the corps of forest engineers — composed of 36 cases, each containing leaves, branches, a board speci- men of the trunk, charcoal, firewood, bark, and any other product of the plant to which it is dedicated, and a collection of woods comprising 200 specimens. Of products of Porto Rico there are two collections of woods in boards, and composed of 200 specimens of forest trees produced in that island, and another collection of woods in blocks from the same localiiy. Of products of the Philippine Islands iheie are a collection of woods consisting of 90 species, comprising the principal kinds growing in the Archepelago. :ind a collection of textile m.iterials, and articles fabricated of forestial products of the Philippine Islands, The programme of study in the administration of justict.' comprises: — I. FuinJameutal principles in regard to the State, the rrovernmcnt, and the Administration ; and the character and range of the administrative organisation of the country. 2. The administrative organisation of thu country, and territorial limitations of the authorities, of the functionaries, and of corporations in active adminisfra- lioii, in cfmsiiltatioii, and in setticni'^^'nt of disputes, '.',. Duties and legal position of public emplo\«'s in general; legislation in regard to administrative matters of general application, such as those relative to undertaking public service, responsibility, &c. 4. General idea of ancient legislation in the branch relating to forests. 5. Special legislation relative to the facultative or professional, and the administrative service in the public forests; forest exploitations, delimitations, watching, fires, &c. 6, Transfer of property ; acquisition of forests by the state; excambs; ex-appropriation. 7. Policeof the State forests; penal portion of the ordinances ; forests belonging to private proprietors, THE SCHOOL OF FORESTRY IN THE ESCURIAL. 47 The study in Political Economy comprises: — 1. Defini- tions and general idea of the science. 2. Production and capital, and natural differences observable in capital. 3. Natural agents concurring in production. 4. The study of labour; of the general conception of this, and of advantages and disadvantages resulting from division of labour, o. Idea of value in things ; prices ; interest. 6. Influence of the quality and quantity of the production on the increase or diminution of population. 7. Consumption of products. Drawing is practised from the commencement to the close of the professional curriculum. The instruction in this per- taining to what may be required in the work to which the students aspire, comprises: — 1. Topographic drawing; the representation of lands, according to the generally accepted principles of procedure ; hand-drawings, washed witii China ink, or with an application of colours and conven- tional tints. '2. Di'awings of machinery, and elevations of buildings. 3, Phytographic drawings, or representations of species of vegetables. 4. Dasographic drawings, com- prising plans or charts; phytographic, geognostic, forest partitions, &c., &c. CHAPTER lY. THE LIHRARY. Together with the liberal provision which has been made in the School of Forestry in the Escurial, for the prosecution of studies prescribed for candidates for admission into the corps of Forest Engineers in Spain, inclusive of an extensive museum, with apartments devoted to the exhibition of implements and objects pertaining to .'ach department of study, and appropriate laboratories, rhero is a spacious library, richly furnished with works treating of all the sultjects embraced in the course of study. From the work of Senor Castel on the foundation and development of the school it appears that in 1877, when that work was pubHshed, th -re were in the library 2505 scientific and professional treatises, comprising 5349 volumes of letterpress, and 31^ atlases of plates, diagrams, and maps, pertaining to these works. In these works there are supplied the means of prosecuting the study of any or all of the subjects brouglit under the consideration of the student in the class, or otherwise engaging his thoughts — 659 treated of Mathematical Sciences ; 231 of Physics ; 1189 of Natural History ; 182 of Ethics and Politics ; 71 of Literature and Language; S3 of History and Geography ; 24 of Arts and Manufactures; and 6G were Encyrlopaidias or classed as Miscellanies. The numbers have been increased since then, and every branch of study is well represented. THE LIBRARY. 4& Section 1. — Studies of First Year. As has been slated, the studies during the first year of the professional course relate to Topography, Integral and Differential Calculus, Descriptive Geometry, Applied Mathematics and Applied Chemistry. Sulj-SecUon 1. — Applied Mathematics. lu the Library there were 6 works on subjectis pertaining lo Mathematics, 218 on Pure Mathematics, and 435 on Mixed and Applied Mathematics ; in all, 1015 volumes. Suit Section '1. — Applied Chemistry. Amongst .-subjects to which attention is given in the study of applied chemistry is Tannin. A good illustration of the mode and exhaustive character of the instruction given in Applied Chemistry is supplied by a treatise on Tannin by Professor Don Carlos Castel,which is at the command of the students. The subject in this is thus stated :— To determine the intrinsic value of the tannin or astringent substances pertaining to tannin, produced by the vegetables of five or more of the province of Spain, and in regard to each to state with the nearest approxima- tion attainable, the age of the plant, and thereafter its growth, habitat, seasons of the year most favourable for the collecting of the produce, and the routes or means of export or transport of this to market ; a treatise adopted by the Royal Academy of Exact Physical and Natural Sciences at their annual meeting in 187G, In the introduction to this treatise, citing words with which M. J. Pelouse in 1833 opens his valuable work on tan- nin and its sources, to the effect that there is no organic sub- stance, in regard to which there have been so many enquiries, and yet in regard to which the history is so greatly desid- erated— Senor Castel cursorally reviews what had been done by chemists in different countries during the forty years pre- iS »0 FORfiStRY IN St'Atk. cctiiug the date of his memoir. In successive chapters he discusses the uature aud properties oftaiiniu ; the questiou, Is the tanniu contaiued in dift'erent vegetables identical ? and the physiological action of tannin. Treating next ol analysis, he states the general ideas involved in these ; exaiuiues different methods of analysis; and gives — 1. A detailedexpositiouofthe methods of Monier and Lowenthal; he then gives tabulated results of analysis performed to determine the (juantity of tannin contained in different plants ; analysis performed by various observers giving the popular and scientific nam is of the plants ; conditions of the plant in regard to age, or aught else deserving of notice, in regard to the season of the year at which the bark was collected, &c. ; the part of the tree subjected to an analysis, the percentage of tannin obtained, and the name of the experimenter. 2. Analysis made by Neubauer, giving specification of bark operated on ; the percentage of tannin soluble in cold water; the additional percentage obtained by solution in warm water, and the sum of the two. o. Analysis made by T. Hartig, in regard to which are specified relating to the material, a number of parti- culars, including the part of the oak whence each W£is taken, fruit, bark, leaves, or roots; the character of the forest — timber-forest, coppice- wood or medium ; from what part of the tree the bark was taken, the degree of shade under which it grew, and the season of the year at which it was collected — some of these particulars being given in regard to some, others in regard to others, of the specimens operated on, and all of these strictly classified. There are stated then the <|uantity of extract obtained from a gramme of material in the open air, according as this was in winter, or spring, or in both ; next, the tannic acid contained in one gramme of dry material, as calculated by the volumetric method, and as calculated by precipitation, and in both cases according as it was in winter or in spring, and in many cases in both. 4. Analysis of plants gathered in Spanish localities, in which are given the names of the plauts; the province and the pueblo or THE LIBEAHY. Si towuyhip ; the age of the plant ; the month in which it was gathered ; the portion or part of the plant analysed ; the colour produced by the salt of iron, and the tannin contained in 100 parts of dry material ; and the results of experiments on the influence of light. In the next chapter are discussed tannin plants, and causes determining the greater or less abundance of tannin, under the headings of general ideas, flowers, fruits, leaves and galls, barks, and determination of the times most favour- able for the debarking of the trees in regard to the conserva- tion and develoi^ment of these; does the richness of the bark- iugs vary with the season in which the debarking occurs ? the age at which the debarking should be executed, and the methods of utilisation most convenient for the Casquizales ; the influence of heat, humidity, soil, and light on the pro- duction of the tannin ; methods of disbarking trees. And the chapter closes with a detailed account of the principal lignous plants made use of in the tannin industries. Section 2. — Studies of the Second Yeaii. The studies of the second year embrace, as has been stated, theory and application of Mechanics, Geodesy, Meteorology and Climatology, Construction and Drawing. Sub-Section 1. — Meteorology/ and Climatology. In Spain, as in other similarly situated countries — in which are included some of our colonies and dependencies — tyiestions connected with meteorology and climate, and as pertaining thereto, means of preventing disastrous conse- quences from drought, torrents, and inundations, and of securing an equitable diffusion in time and space, if not also an increased rainfall, and humidity of soil and climate, are of importance. In illustration to what students have thus been trained to attempt and accomplish, I may refer to papers of b^ FORESTRY IN SiPAiK. iore^itral, Qieteorulogical, aud otlicr coguatc subjects, by Seuor Don Bafael Alvarez Sereix, member ot" the Corps of Forest Engineers, an eleve of the School of Forestry, and now Director-General of Geography and Statistics in Madrid, wliich have appeared in Spanish periodicals, and been rc-publshed in two series, entitleil Estudios Botanico- Forestales ; and others which have been published in a Volume entitled Cuestiones Cientificas, copies of whicli are at the command of the students. One of the papers published by Senor Alvarez, under tlie title of Estudios Botanlco-Forestales, is entitled 'The InHueuce of Forests on Climate,' based on the valuable treatise on the subject by M. A. C. Becquerel. In tliis the term rendered forest is used as one applicable to a con- siderable extent of country covered with a spontaneous growth of an arborescent vegetation. And following Humboldt, the author says the climate of a country is the result of the calorific, aqueous, aerial, luminous, and electric phenomena, Avhich may cause one determinate locality to pre!y Senor Alvarez is one under the title Trabajos de Ebermayer. On the works of Ebermayer, in which are discussed successively the influence of forests on the humidity of the atmosphere ; on the humidity of the ground ; on the temperature of the ground ; on the temperature of the atmosphere ; and on the constituents of the atmosphere. The views of Ebermayer are also brought forward at great length in a brochure entitled Breves Consideraciones sobre Estatica Quimica — Brief remarks on forestal chemical statistics — by Senor D, Luis de la Escosura y Coronal, Chief in Corps of Forest Engineers. In this the author sought to give as detailed an analysis as possible of the valuable work by that distinguished Professor of Agricultural Chemistry and of Geognosia, in the Royal Central School of Forestry at Ascaffenburg, entitled Die gesammte Lehre cler Waldstreu, mit Huecksicht auf die chemische Statik des Waldbaues. Unfer Zugrnndlequng der in dem Kcenigl, Sfaatsforsten Bayerns angehtellten Uvtersuchungen — a work, to follow a description given of it by M. Grandeau, methodical in the highest degree, and written with sobriety and lucidity, the perusal of which is lightsome and inter- estingf, notwithstanding the numerous statistical and analytical data which it contains ; and beyond all manner of doubt one of the most important forestal works of our age. The author commences with the study of the formation of the covering of the forest ground ; that is of the condi- tions of the fall of the leaves, comprising the causes, the times, the quantative importance according to species of trees, the altitudes at which they grow, &c. In the second chapter he takes up the data procured by analysis, in reference to the chemical composition of the ground covering, and of the wood *. determining thus the chemical statistics of the forests. In the third he brings under considera- tion the physical properties of that covering, and the influence which this exercises on the physical properties of the ground. In the fourth, attention is given to THE LIBRARY, 55 chemical modifications experienced in the ground-covering of forests, and its chemical action on the ground. In the fifth and last chapter are brought under consideration the influence on the forest of the removal of the leaves and other debris constituting the ground-covering of the forest. In an appendix is given a statistical comparison between agricultural and sjlvicultural productions, and tabulated statements of numerous data which had served as a basis for the conclusions of the author. In 1879 was published a brochure entitled Inundaciones y sequias medios de defensa — In forme redactado por acuerdo de la Junta Directiva de la Sociedad Geografica de Madrid, con motivo de la Inundaciones de Murcia ; por El Exmo, Senor Don Frederico de Eotello y de Homos — which is full of important and interesting details, iUustrative of the production of torrential rains, and consequent torrents in mountainous i-egions, and wide-spread inundations on plains ; all which, it is shown, might in many cases, if nnt also in every case, be prevented by planting the basin receiving the rainfall with herbage and bushes and trees. In the following year (1880) was published, Lluvias e Inundaciones : Distrihucion general de las aquas en toda la superficie del gloho y pariicularmente en Espanna ; Torea de las Avenidas, de los rios y medios de evitarias y resistirlas • por D. Vincente de Vera y Lopez, Doctor en Ciencias, Qui- mico del Ayuntamiento de Madrid; con un prologo, de D. Manuel Maria Jose de Gaibo. After notices of the general distribution of the rainfall over the surface of the globe, and illustrations of the effect of circumstances upon this, the author takes up the con- sideration of the rainfall in different regions in the Peninsula, and the local conditions of these. There is given then an exposition of the theory of floods, with details of the action of geographical position in regard to latitude on varying degrees of humidity in the atmosphere ; of the influence of the geological character of the ground ; ae FORESTRY IN SPAtN. details of different phenomena of rivers flowing over permeable and impermeable lands; of the action of vege- tation on the rainfall. Passing then to the consideration of great inundations, details are given in regard to inun- dations of the Amazon, of the Mississippi, and of inundations •within the temperate zones, and local conditions by which they are affected. The author next proceeds to the consideration of torrential inundations in Spain, in Almeria, and in the basin of the Lorga ; floods of the Sangonera and of the Segura ; floods in the great Cuencas ; inunda- tions of the Dnero and of the Rodano ; and the inundations of 1857. Information is given in regard to the effects of inundations, and to the alluvial deposits left by inundations. There follows a review of the hydrography of the Peninsula, in which it is shown that to the mountainous character of the country is attributable the fact that there are no great rivers there ; with notices of the various slopes of the country toward the sea, and of the districts included in each. In discussing means of preventing inundations there are brought under consideration, in succession, the contour of the country, and the effects of vegetation ; the geological character of the ground in each locality; the permeability of the ground, pantanos, or large reservoirs ; lateral or littoral deposits ; canals ; the riches lost in the sea ; and the extent to which the water might be utilised. In the conclusion of the work the author refers to the importance of international arrangements of meteorological observations, and of works designed to prevent the abrasion of the banks of rivers by dykes and other vvorks of defence, a measure which had commanded attention in many countries. The advanced forest economy of the day is based on scientific observations, and scientific reasoning. In the first-formed schools of forestry, such as those under Hartig and Cotta, observation was combined with instruction and practice. The importance of this was felt deeply by two Cerman foresters, Handshagen and Von Wedekind, and in ThE LIBRARY. r,7 18^6 the latter made an eftbrt to organise a society to conduce to prosecuting forestal experiments, but did not succeed. In 18G8, at a congress of German foresters, held in A^ienna, the subject was brought under discussion. A committee was appointed to consider on what plan such forestal experiment stations as were considered desirable should be organised. ' They agreed ' — says Mr Adolphe Leue, in a paper read before a Convention of the Ohio State Forestry Association, held in Cincinnatti in August, 1883 — ' On a plan of organisation, and questions to be subjected to investigations and experiments. The report was adopted by the German Foresters' Congress, and submitted to the several Governments, which were to bear all the expen.ses of these stations. ' The first station was organised on the 16th April, 1870, at Baden, Saxony, Prussia, Wurtemberg, Austria, Bavaria, Brunswick, and Hesse followed in the order mentioned. ' The great aim of these stations is,' he says, ' to furnish a scientificfoundation forarational management of forest,based upon exact experiments and careful investigation. They are intended to determine the significance of forests in the economy of nature, to try the various methods of forest management, to examine the advantages which one method may have over the other, and, finally, to establish a plan of forest administration, which will enable the owners of forests to realise the greatest possible profit from forests, and at the same time reduce the expenses of their administration. ' Among the many problems to be solved through the agency of these stations, are the following : to determine the influence of forests upon soil and climate ; to investi- gate the relative value of the several methods of thinning ; to establish reliable tables of increase, and methods of valuing forests ; to study the foes of the forest, both animal and vegetable, and to devise means of succe.ssfuUy com- 58 FOEESTP.y IN SPAIN. bating them ; to detenuine the value of forest-litter upon the growth of trees ; to test the relative value of forest implements; to devise new methods of obtaining forest products, and to find new uses for the same ; in short, they are intended to furnish the means by which to increase the wealth of the owners of forests, and thus that of the entire country, and to furnish legislative bodies with the foundation necessary for a just taxation of forests, and for a wise and beneficient code of forest-laws.' These stations are State institutions, connected with schools of Forestry. In Prussia, with the Forest Academy at Eberswalde. In Bavaria, with the University at Munich. In Saxony, with the Forest Academy at Tharandt. In Wurtemberg, with the University of Tubingen. In Baden, with the Poletichnicum at Carlsruhe. In Thuriugia, with the School of Forestry at Eisenach. In Hesse, with the University of Giessen. A desire was felt by eleves of the School of Forestry in Spain that they should be enabled to join the union, and take part in the prosecution of observation and experiment; and that to them should be allotted observations connected with meteorology and climatology : and in 1882 was published, under the title Estucion Meteorologl ca- Forefttal