12 OUR LOST FORESTS. 



of the longer inlets. Along that broken coast the natural 

 tree-growth would be chiefly birch, alder, and hazel, with 

 patches of oak, ash, and rowan in situations suitable for 

 their growth, and the farther west they reached the more 

 would both the height of the trees and the altitude at which 

 they would grow decrease, until on the exposed coasts and 

 promontories they would be dwarfed to mere bushes, not 

 extending beyond an altitude of one hundred feet, or be 

 unable to flourish at all. 



The clearances of these natural forests were no doubt 

 begun in prehistoric times, but probably the first great 

 clearances were made by the Romans in their attempt to 

 conquer the country. In 207 A.D. the Emperor Severus 

 employed legions of auxiliary troops in clearing the im- 

 penetrable forests which harboured the natives, and in 

 the process is stated to have lost fifty thousand men. At 

 a later period the Danes cut and burned large tracts. 

 John, Duke of Lancaster, is said to have had twenty-four 

 thousand axemen employed at clearances. King Robert 

 the Bruce is credited with having destroyed certain forests 

 in the neighbourhood of Inveraray. General Monk ordered 

 clearances to be made ' that so they (the forests) may not 

 be longer a harbour or shelter for loose, idle, and desperate 

 fellows.' In the early days of the industrial era, before 

 it was known that iron could be smelted wnth coal, 

 much needless destruction was wrought by the custom of 

 bringing the ore to forest regions for smelting, destroying 

 the wood for miles around, and then moving on to another 

 district where wood was to be obtained. Traces of this 

 devastation may be seen at many places in the Highlands 

 of Scotland and in the La.ke District of England. The 

 wind also would undoubtedly aid in the general destruction. 

 The final result is to be seen in the present treeless wastes 

 that meet the eye everywhere we turn. 



The late Dr Smith, of Inveraray, has left it on record 

 that, in the beginning of the nineteenth century, a splendid 



