48 Germany. 



transportation, the available supplies were ruthlessly 

 exploited. More serious enemies than the exploita- 

 tion of the timber proved the pasturing of cattle, the 

 removal of the litter, and above all,, the fires. 



Towards the end of the 16th century, ordinances 

 against forest fires began to be enacted; yet, as late 

 as 1778, the necessity of keeping the rides or fire lanes 

 open in the forests of Eastern Prussia is justified by 

 the statement that "otherwise the still constantly 

 recurring fires could not be checked." At another 

 place it is stated that "not a single acre of forest 

 could be found in the province that had not been 

 burnt in former or later times," and that "the people 

 are still too much accustomed to the ruthless use of 

 fires, so that no punishment can stop them." 



Other causes of devastation were the Thirty Years' 

 War, the wars of the 18th century, and the loss of 

 interest in the forest by the peasants after the collapse 

 of the Mark. These had often to steal what they 

 needed, and their depredations were increased by 

 the desire to revenge themselves on the landed pro- 

 prietors for the oppressions to which they were sub- 

 jected. The increase in game, which was fostered 

 by the landed gentry, did much damage to the young 

 growths, and the increase in the living expenses of 

 the nobility who mostly abandoned country for town 

 had to be met by increased exploitation. 



By the end of the middle ages the reduction of 

 forest area had proceeded so far that it was generally 

 believed desirable to restrict the making of clearings 

 to exceptional necessities, except in the northeastern 

 parts and in the distant mountain districts. 



