Woods and Forests 



33 



with forest land from end to end, and timber was the 

 natural material for building. The earliest industries 

 were the tanning of hide with the bark of trees, and the 

 smelting of iron with charcoal. As late as two centuries 

 ago the centres of iron-making were stiJl in the forest 

 of Arden in Warwickshire, and in the Weald of Kent 

 and Sussex. Although onty small portions of these 

 primeval forests remain, several of the more recently 



Epping Forest. Typical Forest Scenery 

 (Pollarded old Hornbeams in Honey Lane Vale, High Beech) 



wooded districts have many trees. A quarter of 

 the timber plantations of England are to the east 

 of Wiltshire and to the south of the Thames, mainly 

 in Hampshire, Sussex, and Kent. The densest planta- 

 tions in Scotland are found in Kincardine, Aberdeen, 

 Elgin, and Nairn, and it will thus be seen that the 

 largest woods are in the driest hill regions of the islands. 

 Such trees as the oak, beech, elm, ash, alder, and maple 

 B. A. 3 



