OUR LOST FORESTS. 13 



crop of young seedlings sprang up almost yearly in the 

 pine forest at the head of Glen Orchy. But, instead of 

 these being protected, the inhabitants herded their cattle 

 among them, with the result that they were regularly 

 destroyed. Then the great increase of sheep through the 

 Highlands and the practice of allowing them free access 

 to the remaining natural woods still further prevented 

 Nature's remedial measures from having 'effect; and the 

 inordinate increase of rabbits during the latter part of 

 the past century made natural regeneration an absolute 

 impossibility. Natural decay unquestionably had a part 

 in this process, but only to a limited degree. When the 

 ordinary laws of Nature were thrown out of gear, and 

 her recuperative efforts rendered useless, natural decay 

 was bound to set in. 



Doubtless our abundant supply of coal for fuel, and the 

 easy importation of high -class timber, have adversely 

 affected the protection of our forests; but our national 

 lack of appreciation of forests and trees is probably due, 

 in large measure, to our insular position. The sea to a 

 very great extent shapes the thoughts, the ideas, and the 

 characters of the inhabitants of our islands. With peoples 

 brought up in Continental countries, to whom the sea is 

 a name, an unknown feature, and a place the imagination 

 looks upon with more or less dread, the forests as a 

 formative influence correspond very closely to what the 

 sea is with us. Forest life and scenery have inspired most 

 of the poetry, legend, and music of east and central 

 Europe. This is particularly the case in Germany. The 

 inhabitants of that country arc traditionally the poorest 

 sailors and the best foresters in Europe. Their Govern- 

 ments have encouraged the forest tendency. But they 

 have also, for their own ends, overcome, so to speak, the 

 national inertia in maritime matters, and have within 

 living memory built up a naval and mercantile fleet of 

 no mean dimensions. How was this accomplished ? The 



