8 THE DEVELOPMENT OF BRITISH FORESTRY 



Bremen, 02 per cent., all lying in the North German plain, 

 and bordering on the North Sea. In Belgium, the provinces 

 of Luxembourg and Namur, containing much mountain 

 land in the Ardennes, possess one-half of the entire 

 forest area of the country, while Flanders is practically 

 treeless. In Holland, the provinces bordering the North 

 Sea possess less than 3 per cent, of forest ; Limburg, on the 

 Belgian frontier, 17 per cent. These marked differences in 

 the wooded condition of the maritime parts of Europe to- 

 day can scarcely be a coincidence, but must bear some rela- 

 tion to the physical and climatic conditions prevailing in 

 each, and the manner in which the surface has been utilised 

 during many generations. Exceptions there may be in 

 many districts, but it will usually be found that they are 

 due to special conditions which have retarded the grazier 

 or the agriculturist, apart from those due directly to great 

 increases in population on limited areas. 



As distinct from what may be termed the natural cause 

 of forest destruction, may be mentioned the more rapid 

 process brought about by the utilisation of the timber at a 

 faster rate than it can be renewed by annual increment 

 and regeneration. The causes already described lead in 

 time to the disappearance of the forests, and their conver- 

 sion into arable and pasture. The utilisation or destruc- 

 tion of the timber, on the other hand, does not necessarily 

 imply that the woodland is permanently destroyed, pro- 

 vided sufficient seed trees are left for its natural regenera- 

 tion. As a matter of fact, the two processes often go on 

 simultaneously, and while grazing is preventing the natural 

 regeneration of the forest, the stock of standing timber 

 is being reduced by man for firewood, building, and other 

 purposes. In early periods, forest utilisation was doubtless 

 conducted on a small scale, and had much less effect upon 

 the process of denudation than grazing. As settlements 

 increased in number and size, the more extensive became 



