THE KARST: REFORESTED WITH AUSTRIAN PINE 



WHAT THE KARST PICTURES TELL 



SEVEN hundred years ago the police 

 regulations of Triest forbade, un- 

 der strict penalties, the felling or 

 trimming of trees, the setting of fires, 

 and the herding of stock in the country 

 round about. l ; ifty years ago there was 

 no forest on the land concerning which 

 these regulations had been issued; no 

 pasture; nothing to burn, even if the 

 setting of fires had been attempted. In 

 the interim the place bad In-en laid wa^te. 

 The regulations had Ix-en forgotten, su- 

 perseded, or disobeyed, and the region 

 known as the Karst, consisting of bar- 

 ren limestone without useful vegetative 

 cover of any sort, presented a land proh 



lem which staggered the economist: 

 Some 600,000 acres of profitless barren 

 were all that was left where for age 

 productive forests of conifers and hard 

 woods had once supplied ship timber 

 and other wood for the use of the Vene 

 tians. To-day, by forest planting, sup 

 plemented by protective measures \\ber 

 the ruin was less complete, about 400,00 

 acres of this waste have once more beei 

 brought into productive condition. In 

 direct benefits also have accompanied th 

 restoration of the forest. . \melioratioi 

 of the local climate has made possibl 

 the successful pursuit of agriculture 01 

 the adjacent tillable soils. 



