THE SAWMILL OF CENTRAL EUROPE 

 Bv J. B. Berry* 



In a comparison of American and European methods of manu- 

 facture one must consider the economic development of the coun- 

 tries studied ; one individuahstic, the other communistic ; one 

 extensive, the other intensive. European development has been 

 along communistic lines ; not as a whole, but as isolated communi- 

 ties, each with its dialect, its distinctive costume, and its own 

 peculiar methods of manufacture. American development, on 

 the other hand, has been along broad, general lines ; decidedly 

 individualistic, yet with a certain unity of purpose, based on a 

 deeply grounded sympathy between the various communities, 

 which is almost communistic in nature. This unity of purpose, 

 first liberty, later progress, together with wonderfully improved 

 transportation facilities, has given to each community the expe- 

 riences of the others, binding them into a homogeneous whole. 

 Transportation may be said to be the great agent of civilization ; 

 where the means of transport are many and the cost low, progress 

 is rapid ; where the cost is high, progress is slow and the com- 

 munity backward. It is also true that when a community has 

 been backward over a long period of years, progress is slow 

 even in the face of greatly improved transportation facilities. 

 This is true, in general, of Europe. Up to within comparatively 

 recent times the means of transport have been very poor, result- 

 ing in many small, isolated communities, each with its peculiar 

 customs, for, under existing circumstances, each had no means 

 of profiting by the experiences of the others. In each of these 

 isolated communities there existed certain demands for the prod- 

 ucts of the forest and these were supplied from the "common" 

 property, in which each resident of the community had a share. 

 In this communal forest the cattle and sheep of the community 

 were grazed, the trees were manufactured into construction 

 material and firewood, and the cleared areas as far as not refor- 

 ested furnished additional area for the practice of agriculture. 

 In this way common methods of operation became fixed, each 

 community varying somewhat from every other community. 



* Professor of Forestry, Georgia State Forest School, Athens, Ga. 

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