that he knows is, that, come when it may, it will be on one of the subjects to which the lectures for the day are devoted.

At the end of the lecture session, generally before Easter, there are examinations on the whole of each course. These, as well as those already spoken of, are viva voce, and in order to prevent partiality the questions are chosen in the following manner:-A book is published before the examinations commence, giving for each subject thirty sets of four or five questions, numbered from one upwards.

The student on arriving draws one of thirty numbers placed in a bag, and he is then examined on the set of questions indicated by the number drawn. The professors, however, reserve the right to ask a question not indicated in the set drawn. These examinations last from half to three quarters of an hour. For each there are three professors; one acting as president and the others as assistants. Each gives marks, and the average of the three estimates determines the final mark for each examinee. Every student has three clear days to prepare for each examination.

Marks are given also for all the drawings executed during the year. These, like those for the smaller examinations, count only for a proportion of their value, and are added to those given for the final examination in order to the determination of the class list.

The studies after Easter form the most enjoyable portion of the whole course. In the first year a month is spent at some place, such, for instance, as Gérardmer in the Vosges, where there are forests, portions of which are surveyed by the students, who are divided into sections, as already intimated. Immediately on the completion of the observation of angles and of the chaining, rough plans are made in order to detect and correct any grave error before leaving that part of the country, and more finished plans, combining the results of all the sections, are executed on returning to Nancy.

In this district, too, a road is planned out, each section taking a part of the work.

These practical operations are of very great importance, as they serve to elucidate what has been said in the lectures, and to impress each point more firmly on the mind.

After this comes the very best of the whole year, the time spent in making a tour to see some of the principal forests of France. The parts visited are the Vosges and the Jura, and, of course, in this manner the school passes through some of the finest scenery of the country.

The object is twofold: first, to see the forests themselves; and secondly, to study general natural history, and to make a collection of plants for an herbarium.

The Professors of Sylviculture, who accompany the school,

describe the soil, climate, and position of each forest, the treatment to which it has been subjected, and the effects of the operations performed therein, praising the good and condemning the bad. The students take notes, which are to aid them in writing a memoir on returning to Nancy.

For the second object, the Professor of Natural History accompanies the school, and gives notes on all the geological formations which present themselves, and also on the different plants which he directs the students to collect. These are such as are found in forests generally, or which denote the presence of some particular soil. The effects of the ravages of different insects, with their modes of life, &c., are also pointed out.

On returning to the Forest School, a general memoir of this tour is made, and each student arranges his herbarium, labels being affixed to the specimens, denoting the place and date of finding, together with the class, family, genus, and species.

After all this has been finished, come the examinations for the end of the year. In these, questions can be put on any part of the course of lectures as well as of the practical course; or the student may be required to give a description of any forest visited, or to state where he has seen any particular fact illustrated. Marks are given for the examination itself. To these are added a proportion of those gained in the examination at the close of the lecture session, as well as of those for the exercises done in the practical course, and thus the place in the class-list for the year is determined.

The examinations are finished by the middle or end of August, when the vacation, which lasts until the commencement of November, begins.

In the second year, lectures are delivered on the same four classes of subjects.

Those on Sylviculture commence with a revision of the first year's course, and go on to describe the "Aménagement" of a forest. The "Aménagement" forms the basis of the management of each forest, giving, in fact, the plan on which it is worked, regulating the thinnings and clearings to be applied to it, the age at which the wood should be cut, and the amount that can be cut yearly without endangering the existence of the forest.

Perhaps the best idea of the meaning of the word "aménagement," of which there is probably no exact equivalent in English, will be gathered from the following definition given in the course at the Forest School :

"L'aménagement d'une forêt est une opération qui consiste à régler le mode de traitement et les exploitations de cette forêt en vue des besoins du propriétaire et de la consommation," which may be anglicised thus:-The aménagement of a forest is an operation which consists in regulating the mode of treatment and the cuttings

in this forest, in view of the necessities of the owner and of the general consumption.

The Mathematical lectures consist of a course on Mechanics, with special reference to the different kinds of saw-mills, and a short course on Triangulation and the use of the Theodolite.

Those on Natural History embrace three courses: one on Mineralogy, one on Geology, and one on Zoology. Of the last, perhaps the most important part regarding the forests is that which treats of insects and their ravages, and the higher animals by which they are kept in check.

The legal studies are restricted to forest law, treating specially of the French Code Forestiere.

As in the former year, examinations are held constantly on the last ten lectures, as well as at the end of the lecture session and at the end of the year. They are conducted in the manner already described.

After Easter the school commences its travels, but there is now no real tour. The students go to some locality where the different kinds of saw-mills can be seen in action. Drawings of the machinery are made from actual measurements, and are coloured so as to indicate the material of which each part is composed. General directions are given to the students, and each is at liberty to take what sections he thinks most necessary. They are also to obtain all the information needful to determine the efficiency of each machine and the probable cost of construction, so as to be able to deduce its value as a commercial speculation.

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The School is also required to make a triangulation of a tract of country, and for this purpose they adopt as a base some line which has been calculated by the Ordnance Survey of France, which would, of course, be more exact than one measured by the aid of ordinary instruments. In this triangulation the method of sections is again adopted, each having a certain number of signals assigned to it, and being responsible for the exactitude of the results obtained.

The practical application of the course on the "Aménagement of Forests" is generally made in the forest of Haguenau, which in one part consists of "hard wood," oak, hornbeam, and beech, the first being often remarkably fine; whilst the other part is almost exclusively composed of Scotch fir. The students have to form a plan for the "aménagement" of the portion of forest which is allotted to them, generally from 1500 to 2000 acres. Of course, before proposing any scheme, it is necessary to know the contents and condition of the forest. In order to this, it is divided into parcels, homogeneous as to climate, soil, aspect, and also as to the kinds and ages of the trees found in them. Each of these is described, and they are then grouped so as to form masses which may as

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much as possible be cut at the same period, and in such a manner as to satisfy the rules laid down for the good management of forests. Two of these "aménagements" are executed here; one in the "hard wood " and the other in the Scotch fir. Another had before been effected in the forest of Haye, near Nancy, which has hitherto been treated as coppice, but is now gradually being changed into a real timber forest, in which the reproduction is to be effected by natural seeding. This "aménagement" had for its object to show how the change might be completely effected with as little loss and as much regularity as possible. These "aménagements include the principal cases likely to occur in France.

In the principal Examinations of the second year the professors give specimens of rocks, plants, and wood to be determined. Respecting the plants the student is required to state the class, family, genus, and species to which each belongs.

For the final class-list a proportion of the marks gained in the first year counts with those of the final examination, which itself forms about half of the total, the other half being supplied by the marks of the first year, the marks at Easter of the second year, and those for the different exercises during that year.

These examinations bring the course at the Ecole Forestière to a close; and those who have satisfied the examiners have invariably been found perfectly competent for all their professional duties. Whether the system inculcated at the Ecole Impériale Forestiere, with the modifications necessitated by the differences of climate, can be successfully applied to the forests of India, is the problem now awaiting solution."

The students who enter under the auspices of the French Government, must be between the ages of eighteen and twentytwo, thus resembling the majority of the undergraduates at our English universities. The contrast as to the discipline maintained in the two cases is very striking. From the table given above it will be seen that the whole day, from eight in the morning until five in the evening, is necessarily spent at the Forest School, for the students are not allowed to leave the premises, except during the hour devoted to breakfast. From five o'clock until ten in the evening they are at liberty to employ their time as they think fit, provided they do not infringe any regulation of the School.

The police of the establishment is carried on by three " Adjutants," one of whom is always in the room allotted to the men of each year during the study time; acting, in fact, as an usher, and reporting to one of the professors who holds the post of "Inspector of the School." The third has nothing to do in the School, but parades the town in plain clothes during the evening when the students are allowed to be out. The latter are obliged to return

to the School at or before ten o'clock, and to sign their names on entering. If the signature is not in the customary handwriting of the student, he is liable to be put under arrest, that is to say, he is not allowed to leave the School during a certain number of days.

Arrived on the premises, they are allowed to be in each other's rooms until eleven o'clock, but after that hour each must go to his own room and remain there. To ensure this, and for the maintenance of order generally, an adjutant makes his rounds on the staircases, and has the power to enter any room, after having knocked. At midnight he retires to his room at the foot of the staircase. The other adjutants do not lodge at the School. New buildings have, however, been recently erected; and in future they will all be lodged on the premises. The supervision is thus very complete; in fact, seen from an English point of view, the students are treated rather as boys, than as men responsible for their own conduct.

In order to represent the School on any public occasion, to maintain internal good order, and to decide differences which may arise among the students, a "Commission" of seven members is elected. It consists of a "President" chosen from and by the students of the Second Year, together with a "Papa" and two "Commissioners" chosen by the men of each year from their own number. The President has only a casting vote. The commission is recognized by the authorities, and through it hints are sometimes given to the students in a semi-official manner, which to some extent mitigates the pressure of the School regulations.

An hour on alternate days is devoted to regular instruction in horsemanship, but beyond this there is no athletic exercise, a fact which contrasts strongly, and perhaps disadvantageously, with English public schools and universities.

The English students speak most highly of the uniformly kind manner in which they have been received by the French with whom they have come in contact, whether professors or pupils; and it is to be hoped that the kindly feeling thus commenced will be constantly maintained.