HISTORIC SKETCH 3 



the use the peasants made of them. In order to get the 

 value out of their extensive possessions, the owners of the 

 land carried on schemes of settlement in which each com- 

 munity was, as a rule, assigned a part of the forest for 

 common use. 



About the year 1000 A.D. we find the forest divided as 

 follows : 



(a) The private property of the sovereign, or of eccle- 

 siastical and civil authorities. 



(<) Communal woods belonging to the original free 

 settlers or to communities subordinate to the lord 

 of the manor. 



Smaller woods, privately owned, were at that time quite 

 the exception. 



In the political economy of early times, and even in the 

 Middle Ages, the forest played a part of great importance. 

 Wood was almost the only material used for heating, lighting, 

 and building ; from wood also domestic utensils and agri- 

 cultural implements were principally made. No less important 

 were the other uses of the forests of those days. They 

 provided the animals of the chase, pasturage for cattle and 

 sheep, and pannage for swine. 



In course of time the system of coteries or tribes gave 

 way somewhat. At first the social binding was necessary, 

 for in that capacity alone were the people able to resist their 

 enemies. Land possession had been practically non-existent, 

 for these wandering peoples had to be ready at a sign to 

 change their homes. But now the ownership of land be- 

 came more fixed, the population rapidly increased, and a 

 larger supply of food was demanded. This brought agri- 

 culture into greater prominence. The forests had become a 

 hindrance to agricultural development, and their clearance 

 was the necessary preliminary to the founding of farm holdings. 



