6 



FOREST .RESOURCES OF THE WORLD. 



and their use. \ tegtory* clearly shows that in countries with abundant 

 natural resource's* and sparse population there is no thought of the 

 future, and all energy is directed to the exploitation and reckless use 

 of what nature has abundantly provided. The waste under such 

 conditions is naturally very great and a more economic utilization 

 does not pay. As the population increases and industry grows, the 

 demand for raw material of all kinds increases, and there is a gradual 

 awakening of public opinion to the need of a more careful husbanding 

 of natural resources. Practically all nations have traveled the same 

 road. Some reach this point sooner than others, but every one is 

 inevitably bound to face the same situation. The United States, 

 being ^ounger than European countries and endowed with abundant 

 natural resources, was naturally backward and was until lately lag- 

 ging somewhat behind. It may therefore be of advantage to this 

 country to seek lessons for its future guidance in the experience of 

 the older countries which have been benefited by proper care for 

 their forests, waters, and soils. 



IN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES. 



The forests of Europe occupy an area of 750,000,000 acres, which 

 is about 31 per cent, or not quite one-third, of the total land area of 

 Europe. The most wooded country is Finland, followed by Bosnia 

 and Herzegovina, and Sweden. The least wooded are Portugal and 

 Great Britain. 



In accordance with the proportion of forest to total land area, the 

 countries *of Europe may be arranged in the following groups: 



Finland 



Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

 Sweden. . 



Per cent. 

 54 

 50 

 49 



Luxemburg 41 



Bulgaria, Servia, and Russia (exclusive of Finland) 30-39 



Austria, German Empire, Hungary, Norway, Switzerland, and Turkey 20-29 



France, Spain, Belgium, Roumania, and Greece ' 10-19 



Netherlands and Denmark 5-9 



Great Britain and Portugal 4-5 



The proportion of forests decreases from the north and east of 

 Europe toward the south and west. Russia, Finland, Sweden, and 

 Norway together possess 583,000,000 acres of forest, or 78 per cent 

 of the total forest area of Europe. Table 1 gives the area now under 

 forest, the percentage of forest area, and the forest area per capita 

 for most of the European countries: 



TABLE 1. -Extent of forest* in European countries. 



