Portugal. 361 



situated in the literal region, the climate less excessive, 

 and the people somewhat more enterprising. Not 

 much more than one-half of the country, however, 

 is utilized; nearly 15,000 square miles being waste. 



Three sections or zones are recognized, the northern, 

 bounding on Spain which is mainly mountainous but 

 also contains extensive sand dunes, is the best wooded ; 

 the central, which is hilly and less well wooded, con- 

 tains (in Estremadura and Beira) one of the most 

 desolate regions of Europe and at the same time the 

 best managed forest; the southern, the richest in farm 

 lands, with semi-tropic climate and flora, the zone of 

 evergreen broadleaf flora. 



About 10% of the land area, or 4 million acres are 

 under forest, although 2 million more are wooded 

 with olive, fig, almond plantations, or open wood- 

 lands and brushwood. Of the actual forest area the 

 State owns only 82,000 acres, 30,000 of which re- 

 forested areas or sand dunes in process of recovery. 



The composition is nearly one-half of pine (Pinus 

 maritima and pinea), one-fifth, cork oak "with 

 pastures," a little over one-fifth, other evergreen oaks 

 "with pastures," and the balance, chestnut and 

 deciduous oaks. 



The fact of the extensive private ownership and the 

 reference to the pastures in the enumeration of forest 

 areas suffice to give an idea of the condition of most 



A pamphlet written for the International Exposition at Rio de Janeiro in 1908, 

 contains a chapter written by a forester, Borges, which gives most recent and 

 authentic information. 



Besides notes scattered through the literature, an article by L. Pardee, a 

 French botanist, in Revue des Eaux et Forets, 1911, gives an extensive description 

 of forest conditions and especially of the forest of Leira. 



