The first forest schools in Austria were established through private
effort, namely one in 1800 in Bohemia by Prince Schwarzenberg, and
another one in Moravia by Prince Liechtenstein, these two being the
largest forest owners in Austria. In 1805, another private forest school
was opened in Bohemia, and at the same time the state institute near
Vienna came into existence. This was, in 1813, transferred to
Mariabrunn, and, after various changes in the character of the teaching,
was, in 1867, raised to the dignity of an academy with a three years’
course. In 1875, it was transferred to the _Hochschule für Bodenkultur_
at Vienna, an agricultural school, which had been instituted in 1872,
intended to give the higher scientific education in both forestry and
agriculture by a three years’ course. The course was, in 1905, increased
to four years. During the years from 1875 to 1904, over 2,600 students
in forestry alone had attended this excellent school at which over 70
professors and instructors are employed.
* * * * *
For the lower grades of foresters, schools were from time to time opened
in addition to the private ones first mentioned. Such so-called “middle
schools,” were founded at Eulenberg (1852), Weisswasser (1855)
transferred to Reichstadt, and Lemberg (1874), at which latter the
course is two years in the Polish language, and one at Bruck (1900),
where the course is three years. At present, there are five middle
schools in operation.
For the education of guards, three Forstwart schools were instituted in
1881 and 1883, one each for Tirol, Styria and Galicia, where, in an
eleven months’ course, 15 forest guards at each receive instruction. In
addition there are five schools of silviculture where the course is one
year. Besides these schools, courses in forestry of shorter duration are
given at three other institutions.
Besides these schools, the promotion of forestry science is, as in
Germany, secured by forest experiment stations, which came into
existence as a result of the earlier deliberations of the German
foresters. The first proposition to establish such a station was
submitted in 1868, but its establishment was delayed until 1875, when
such a station was instituted at Vienna in connection with the school
there. The results of the investigations are published from year to year
and have enriched the forestry literature in the German language with
many important contributions.
* * * * *
A very active association life exists in Austria, largely due to the
influence of the many large private forest owners. Curiously enough, the
first attempt at forming a society of foresters in Bohemia was
suppressed by the authorities, probably for fear of revolutionary
tendencies, and the effort simply resulted in a literary or reading
association to obviate the need of private purchase of books. Not until
1848, the very year of the revolution, did the Bohemian forestry
association become a fact, and, under the leadership of the large forest
owners among the nobility, it has become the strongest in Austria,
issuing a bi-monthly association journal from the beginning. Another
strong local association which dates its beginning as a society for
agriculture back to 1770, is the Moravian-Silesian Forestry
Association, which segregated from the mother society in 1850, first as
a section, and, having by 1858, attained a membership of 1,000, it
constituted itself as a separate association in 1886. Besides these,
many smaller ones exist in Austria. In 1852, a general Austrian forestry
association was founded, which, in 1854, began the publication of a
quarterly journal and held sessions in various parts of the empire; but,
by and by, the interest seemed to flag, the attendance at the meetings
became smaller and smaller, and finally the association was abandoned
after a rival, the Austrian Forestry Congress, had been organized in
1874, which later became the _Oesterreichische Reichs-Forstverein_.
In Galicia and in Bukowina, the foresters meet as a section of the
Society for Soil Culture. The same method of forming forestry sections
of the agricultural societies is followed in other parts of the empire,
and at least a dozen or more other local foresters’ associations might
be mentioned, in which owners of forest properties are as fully
represented as professional foresters; and their activity is not only to
be found in literary labors, but also in practical work. In addition to
the meetings of these local societies, representative congresses have
met annually at Vienna since 1876, and have become powerful agents for
improving legislation and practice.
* * * * *
Although, as was natural, owing to the difference in conditions the
forestry literature in Austria began much later than that of Germany, a
very active progress is noticeable since the middle of the last
century, and the Austrians are vying successfully with the Germans in
this direction. The names of _Fioceli_, _Pokorny_, _Böhm_, _Wiesner_,
_Molish_, _Willkomm_, _Hempel_ and _Kerner_ in the direction of forest
botany, _Wessely_, _von Lorenz-Liburnau_, _Feistmantel_, _Dimitz_,
_Wachtl_ (Entomology), _Dombrowski_ (encyclopedia 1886), _Exner_,
_Janka_ (wood technology), _Guttenberg_ (forest mensuration and
regulation), _von Seckendorff_, _Schiffel_ (forest mensuration),
_Cieslar_, _Reuss_, _Böhmerle_, _Hufnagl_, _Marchet_, and many others
are familiar to all German readers. In addition a very considerable
literature in the Bohemian language is in existence, some in the Italian
by Austrian authors, and some in the Slavonian.
The magazine literature began with publications by various forestry
associations which became active after 1848. At the present time weekly,
monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, yearly and irregular publications to the
number of not less than 14 in German, in addition to several in
Bohemian, may be counted, among which the monthly _Centralblatt für das
Gesammte Forstwesen_, in existence since 1875, and the weekly
_Oesterreichische Forstzeitung_, since 1883, are perhaps the most widely
known.