Property Conditions. 13 



At least the right to hunt over all territory without 

 restriction was possessed by everybody, although an 

 owner might prevent undesirable hunters from enter- 

 ing his property if it was enclosed. The setting aside 

 of hunting grounds for private use came into existence 

 only in later Roman times. But woodland parks, 

 planted or otherwise, like the "paradises" of the Persian 

 kings and the nemora of the Romans and Carthaginians 

 were early a part of the private property of princes 

 and grandees from which others were excluded. 



Forests formed a barrier and defense against out- 

 siders, or a hiding place in case of need, hence we find 

 in early times frontier forests, or as the Germans 

 called them "Grenzmarken," set aside or designated 

 for such purposes and withdrawn from use, and some- 

 times additionally fortified by ditches and other 

 artificial barriers. Even before the "Grenzmarken" 

 of the Germans the forest was used by Greeks, Romans 

 and still earlier among Asiatic tribes to designate the 

 limit of peoples as well as to serve as a bulwark against 

 attacks from invaders. 



Again, the pantheistic ideas of the ancients led to 

 consecrating not only trees but groves to certain 

 gods: holy groves were frequent among the Greeks 

 and Romans, and also among other pagans; the 

 Jews, however, were enjoined to eradicate these 

 emblems of paganism in the promised land with axe 

 and fire, and they did so more or less, removal and 

 re-establishment of holy groves varying according 

 to the religious sentiment of their rulers. Altogether, 

 in Palestine the forests were left to the free and un- 

 restricted use of the Israelites. 



