J IRITIS 1 1 FOREST TREES 3 



At the earliest periods the woodlands yielded not only 

 food supplies and other necessaries of life in the shape of 

 game, fish, fruits, honey, &c. for men, grazing for cattle, and 

 pannage for swine, but were the only source from which 

 could be drawn materials for providing light and warmth, for 

 the erection of huts and sheds, construction of canoes, and 

 of the various tools and implements in daily use. As time 

 rolled on population gradually increased, and simultaneously 

 therewith the demands for woodland produce rose. No- 

 madic tribes, living principally from their herds and by 

 the chase, first took to shifting cultivation of cereal crops, 

 and then gradually settled down to permanent tillage, but 

 in either case the woods had to be cleared of timber before 

 the soil could be rendered cultivable. At the same time a 

 gradual advance was being made towards a higher state of 

 civilization ; canoes gave place to boats, and boats to ships 

 capable of performing voyages on the sea ; huts were im- 

 proved into houses, and furniture became at first a luxury 

 and then a necessity ; the desire for improved communica- 

 tions led to the construction of bridges, &c. In every case 

 the upward civilizing tendency increased the demands on the 

 timber stores provided by nature. These same processes 

 can be seen at the present day in many parts of India, in the 

 backwoods of Canada and the United States, in Australia, 

 and in fact wherever influx or increase of population takes 

 place in hitherto uncultivated territory. At first, what 

 seemed the more favourable localities were cleared and 

 brought under cultivation, generally those with good soil 

 near river banks, where communication was easy. Slowly 

 but surely what was considered the best ground for agricul- 

 ture was denuded of its woodland covering, and brought 

 under permanent cultivation. 



In their undisturbed condition the reproductive power ot 

 the woodlands was perfect, but after human interference with 



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