Forest Conditions. 9 



as population remains scanty, a wasteful use of its 

 stores forms the rule, until necessity arises for greater 

 care in the exploitation, for more rational distribu- 

 tion of farm and forest area, and finally for inten- 

 tional reproduction of wood as a useful crop. 



Correspondingly forest conditions change from the 

 densely forested hills and mountain slopes during the 

 age of the nomad and hunter to the "enclaves" or 

 patches of field and pasture enclosed by the forest 

 of the first farmers, then follows the opening up of 

 the valleys and lowlands, while the hill and mountain 

 farms may return to forest, and finally, with the in- 

 crease of population and civilization in valleys and 

 plains, a reduction of the forest area and a decrease 

 of forest wealth results. 



1. Forest Conditions. 



While we have many isolated references to forest 

 conditions and progress of forest exploitation among 

 the ancients in the writings of poets and historians, 

 these are generally too brief to permit us to gain a 

 very clear picture of the progress of forest history; 

 except in isolated cases, they furnish only glimpses, 

 allowing us to fill in the rest to some xtent by guess. 



That the countries occupied and known to the an- 

 cients, even Spain and Palestine, were originally 

 well-wooded there seems little doubt, although in 

 the drier regions and on the drier limestone soils, the 

 forest was perhaps open, as is usual under such con- 

 ditions, and truly arid, forestless regions were also 

 found where they exist now. Although it has been 



