UKITISII InkKST TREES 9 



of previous geological ages we may learn from the 

 following : l 



"For the production of an equivalent in wood to the 115 million 

 tons of coal worked out of mines during 1878 in England and Wales 

 the countries richest in coal in the whole world there would be requi- 

 site an area of 359,375 square miles of pine forests ; that is to say, 

 rather more than six times their total area." 



In France and Germany the principal domestic fuel even 

 now is wood, that of the beech standing highest in repute. 

 Considering the difficulties in former times of transporting 

 timber and fuel to any great distances away from the natural 

 water channels, it can easily be understood how at a 

 comparatively early date repressive measures were neces- 

 sitated in order to restrict the clearance of woodlands, and to 

 maintain under timber a due proportion of the total area, 

 conveniently spread over the length and breadth of every 

 duchy. Thus in Germany an edict had to be issued as 

 early as 1304 forbidding fresh clearances in apart of Alsace, 

 and ordering land illegally brought under agriculture to be 

 given up again to the production of timber. By the sixteenth 

 century such edicts had become general throughout most of 

 tlie states then forming the German empire. In France, 

 too, similar edicts were issued during the sixteenth century by 

 Claries IX. and Henry IV., but the most important and 

 st known one was Colbert's Onhmnancc sur le fait des 

 ri-ts issued by Louis XIV. in 1669, upon the lines of 

 which forest administration was mainly conducted until the 

 Revolution, and whose influence is still to a certain extent 

 traceable in the code fo rest icrn\ the present clay. In i 789 the 

 is, hitherto under the protection of the state, were cut 

 do\\n in the mo-4 reckless manner, being looked upon more 

 or los as common properly, whilst private owners of wood- 



1 V. I Id fend), /)ic Forstwirtkscktfl in Sdinl>ci|;'> llandl-uch </./ 

 politiscken Ockononiu, 1882, p. 713. 



