324 Roumania. 



The law of 1891, with various subsequent additions 

 and changes, placed private forest property located 

 on exposed mountain slopes or on shifting sands, or 

 on bogsoils under government surveillance, and re- 

 lieved plantations made under direction of the govern- 

 ment of taxes for 10 years. 



Roumania* with 50,000 square miles and nearly 

 6,000,000 people, under the capable administration 

 of a Hohenzollern prince, King Charles, was in Roman 

 times as Dacia felix one of the most prosperous 

 provinces, half of it hilly and mountainous, the other 

 half in the rich alluvial valley of the Danube, now 

 largely deforested. The hill and mountain country 

 was until the end of the eighteenth century still well 

 wooded. A rapid depletion then took place by the 

 demands of the Turkish markets, until now not quite 

 17 per cent, (according to others 18 or 20 per cent.) 

 of the area is forested, and multifarious rights of user, 

 which made commons of the woods, have naturally 

 led to widespread devastation in the accessible parts. 

 In 1847, the National Assembly attempted regulation 

 of the cut and of the rights of user, but with little 

 effect. In 1894, the total area had decreased to less 

 than 5 million acres (according to others 6.7 million 

 acres), of which two-fifths is in private hands, two- 

 fifths State property and Royal forest (formerly, until 

 1863, in the hands of the monks), the small balance 

 belonging to communities and institutes, In the 

 higher mountains, fir and spruce with some pine and 

 larch form the forest; but broadleaf forest, especially 



*Die forstimrtschaftlichen Verhaltnisse Rumaniens, Von Mihail Vasilescu, 

 1891- Notice sur les/orets de Roumanie, in Statistica p&durilor Statulin. 1903. 



