Forest Conditions. 97 



become brisk, and the financial depression, a result 

 of the French wars, led to increased exploitations, 

 which, with the improvement in means of transporta- 

 tion, progressed to the more distant forest areas, and 

 enlarged the waste area. Especially in the more 

 densely populated parts of the country, the deforested 

 area widened, and large wastes with poor young 

 growth increased in all directions, in the same manner 

 as now in the United States. The alarmists had good 

 cause for renewing their cries, and, around the year 

 1800, a considerable literature sprung up on the sub- 

 ject of the threatened timber famine. 



It is interesting to note that at that time the Catalpa 

 played a role, at least on paper, as it does in our own 

 day, being recommended as the only means of staving 

 off the timber famine. A renewed betulomania spread 

 widely over the country. In North Germany especi- 

 ally, great efforts were made to replant the denuded 

 areas and to change the coppice areas, fit only for 

 firewood, to coniferous species, pine, etc., by which 

 eventually a great change in the forest type from the 

 original mixed forest to the pure forest was effected. 



3. Personnel. 



The great change which led to improved conditions, 

 during the first half of the century, was pre-eminently 

 due to the knowledge and intelligence of a group of 

 men, six in number, competent foresters, who com- 

 bined the high grade education of the Cameralists 

 with the practitioners' knowledge: Hartig, Cotta, 

 Hundeshagen, Koenig, Pfeil and Heyer. These men 

 built, to be sure, on the shoulders of their precursors 



