7^4 JOURNAL OF FORESTRY 



1,400,000 cu. m. (350,000,000 board feet) a year, in the opinion of the 

 ItaHan foresters, exceeded the normal capacity of the forests ; i. e., 

 that even at such a rate of cutting the forests were overcut. Such 

 was the situation before the war. 



The timber situation became more serious after the war. While 

 during the war the consumption of wood for ordinary purposes was 

 greatly reduced, the war activities, on the other hand, called for large 

 amounts of timber for defensive purposes, barracks, aviation, crating, 

 and other military uses. The Royal Institute computed the average 

 annual consumption of timber for military purposes for the period of 

 the war at from one and one-half to two million cu. m. (in the log) 

 (375 to 500 million board feet). Assuming that the normal annual 

 consumption prior to the war, excluding military needs, was reduced 

 to one-fourth, or to about 1,500,000 cu. m. (375,000,000 board feet), 

 and adding to this the military requirements, the annual consumption 

 during the war amounted to about 3,000,000 cu. m. (750,000,000 board 

 feet). Of this only a comparatively small part was imported from 

 abroad. The drain therefore fell upon the domestic timber supplies. 

 How small were the imports of timber during the war is shown by 

 the fact that on an average for the three years of war, 1915-1917, 

 there were imported only 670,000 cu. m. of logs (167,500,000 board 

 feet), and about 230,000 cu. m. of wood pulp (also in the log), or in 

 all 900,000 cu. m. (225,000,000 board feet), as against 3,800,000 cu. m. 

 (950,000,000 board feet) in the years just preceding the war. During 

 the period of war, therefore, Italy was compelled to cut, instead of 

 1,400,000 cu. m.. 2,100,000 cu. m. (525,000,000 board feet), or in other 

 words, during the war the forests were cut one and one-half times 

 more than during the years immediately preceding the war. The 

 drain upon some of the forests was even greater than these figures 

 would indicate. Not all forests were subjected to the same heavy 

 drain. Thus the hardwood forests, of which Italy has a compara- 

 tively large area, were afifected very little by the needs of the war, 

 and in certain regions did not feel the effect at all. The greatest pres- 

 sure was centered on the coniferous forests especially within the war 

 zone. The cutting in those forests during the war doubled and even 

 trebled. In addition to the direct damages of the war, there was great 

 waste due to hasty and improper utilization made under pressure of 

 immediate need. The Italian foresters feel, therefore, that if the de- 

 mands of the next years for timber are to be met by the cutting of 



