200 INSTBUCTION IN FORESTBY. Jan., 



has been washed and carried away, and barrenness succeeds to fertility. 

 Then you have long periods of drought, followed by terrible floods 

 and inundations, many of them being greatly destructive of life and 

 property. This has notoriously been the case in Southern France, as 

 it has also been in Italy and in Spain. 1 fully believe that the 

 destruction of forests in Spain is as great as anywhere in Southern 

 Europe, Turning to Kussia, we know that liussia is a country of 

 forests, naturally. But if you travel there you will find that Birch 

 forests have largely succeeded to the Pine. This means that ^i•here 

 Pine forests have been cut down without any provision for reproduction, 

 Birch forests grow up. Whenever you see a Birch forest there, you 

 will know that a reckless, unscientific felling of Pine trees has 

 occurred. This has no doubt affected the climate ; the alternation of 

 drought and flood is more frequent than it used to be between Moscow 

 and Odessa. Come to the next neighbouring country, Turkey. Around 

 Constantinople the destruction is patent to all travellers. Upon both 

 shores of the Bosphorus the population has hardly a stick to bless 

 itself with. Then sail down to the Levant. It was once the scene 

 of the greatest events, and a region most blessed with wealth and 

 fertility. It is now merely a shadow of what it was. The harbour 

 of Ephesus has been dried up from the silting caused by deforesting 

 on the adjacent hills. And crossing over to Cyprus, one of the latest 

 regions to pass under British sway, there again you hear of nothing 

 but destruction of forests. The goatherds of Cyprus have carried 

 the day, and innumerable goats are still allowed to browse upon the 

 young plants, with but little restriction ; and the sylvan glories of 

 Cyprus are now departed, and merged into darkness. Then again, 

 cross over to Syria, the opposite shore, and you hear the same story 

 there. Where now are the famous Cedar groves which existed in the 

 days when Hiram sent timber to Solomon in Palestine ? There are 

 only a few clumps of trees to mark what once was there. Where 

 are the Oaks under whose shade the patriarchs pitched their tents ? 

 Echo answers, ' Where ? ' Only a few feeble remnants remain. I 

 believe the only forests yet remaining within the old sacred limits of 

 Palestine are a few of the Oaks of Bashan. But they are situated on 

 the other side of Jordan, where the hand of destruction cannot reach 

 them. Next pass on to Persia. Why, Persia used to be an enormous 

 empire, but nowadays it is a decayed country. W^here are now the 

 vast populations it used to feed ? They have shrunk down to a petty 

 figure of some seven or eight millions. This is, of course, mainly 

 owing to the destruction of the forests. Alas ! the forests are gone, 

 the streams are dried up ; and though the old water-channels remain, 

 they may be very interesting to the antiquary, but are not useful to 

 the political economist. 



