Early Development. 295 



forests for the two southern districts, Halland and 

 Bohus, was appointed, and, at least in this part of the 

 country, the execution of the laws was placed under 

 a special officer. 



This appointment may be considered the first germ 

 of the later forest department. 



A policy of restriction seems to have prevailed 

 during the entire 18th century, although it is ques- 

 tionable whether the restrictions were enforced since 

 there was no personnel to watch over their enforce- 

 ment, and the governors, in whose hands the juris- 

 diction lay, had other interests, more engrossing. 

 A law, enacted in 1734, restricted the peasant forest 

 owners in the sale of wood from their own properties, 

 and, in 1789, this restriction and other supervision 

 was extended to those of the nobility. 



It appears that soon after this a considerable senti- 

 mental solicitude inside and outside the Riksdag was 

 aroused regarding an apprehended deterioration of 

 climate as well as scarcity of wood as a result of 

 further forest destruction in the light of present ex- 

 perience a rather amusing anticipation. These jere- 

 miads, however, after an unsatisfactory attempt at 

 legislation in 1793, led, in 1798, to the appointment of 

 a commission which reported after 5 years of investi- 

 gation. A new set of forest regulations was enacted 

 as a result in 1805. 



In further prosecution of these attempts at regu- 

 lating forest use a commissioner, Prof. F. W. Radloff, 

 was sent to Germany, in 1809, to study methods em- 

 ployed in that country. Long before that time, 

 about 1762, some of the iron masters, owning large 



