920 



Canadian Forestry Journal, January, 1917 



spots bordering bodies of water, the 

 forests of Italy are in reality miserable 

 brushland. Acres of desolation— the 

 result of centuries of forest abuse — 

 abound on every hand. All Europe 

 does not contain a more deplorable 

 picture on so wholesale a scale. 



Reasons for Neglect 

 One wonders why forest destruction 

 was allowed to continue for so long a 

 time and on so gigantic and intensive 

 a scale, for it seems as if the ultimate 

 outcome of such a process must have 

 been foreseen. The writings of forest- 

 ers as far back as the middle ages bear 

 evidence that the significance of such 

 a destructive tendency was compre- 

 hended. They were, however, unable 

 to accomplish much because political 

 disturbances and inefTicent manage- 

 ment had impoverished the public 

 treasury, and the spirit of the people 

 was antagonistic to anything which 

 implied present sacrifice for future 

 gain. Furthermore, the need of 

 forest products — the real stimulant 

 of forest conservation — was never 

 keenly felt in this sunny and penin- 

 sular southland. The warm climate 

 and the absence of extensive wood- 

 using industries reduced the demand 

 for fuelwood and raw material of 

 larger size, and accessibility by sea 

 made the importation of needed wood 

 material feasible. Not much material 

 was needed; and the small amount 

 which was required could be imported 

 cheaper and easier than it could be 

 raised at home. But these are only 

 the primary causes for the present 

 poor forests. Secondary destructive 

 agencies became operative as soon as 

 the forests had been opened up and 

 partly removed, and have been con- 

 ducting a destructive campaign ever 

 since on such a wholesale and con- 

 tinuous a scale that the resultant 

 damage far surpasses that of the 

 primary causative factors. There are 

 a large number of these secondary 

 destructive agencies which in many 

 cases have impoverished the land 

 almost, if not entirely, beyond re- 

 demption. Fire, goats, erosion and 

 floods, are the principal secondary 

 malefactors, and a brief account of 

 the nature and extent of their de- 

 struction may serve as a valuable 



lesson to us in America, now in the 

 formative period of forest conser- 

 vation. 



Heavy Fire Damage 

 Wasteful lumbering was followed 

 by destructive forest fires which burned 

 over the mountain slopes repeatedly. 

 They were aided by the hot and dry 

 climate and high winds; and, as a rule, 

 unhindered by man. Various govern- 

 ing bodies passed laws pertaining to 

 the prevention and extinguishing of 

 forest fires, but were powerless to en- 

 force them. The public gave little 

 attention to them because it was 

 realized that the evil effect was de- 

 ferred rather than immediate. Upon 

 these burnt-over areas there appeared 

 a dense fire-coppice growth of brush 

 consisting of shrubs, many inferior, 

 and a few valuable trees. 



This shrubby growth afforded ex- 

 cellent pasture for goats, which the 

 inhabitants considered more indis- 

 pensable to their welfare than forests. 

 Under such conditions the goat in- 

 dustry naturally grew, but the forests 

 disappeared; and now, in view of the 

 damage already done, the goat is re- 

 garded as the most destructive enemy 

 of the forests of northern Italy and 

 other nearby mountainous countries. 

 They are present everywhere in large 

 numbers. There is no city, viHage, 

 hamlet, nor hardly a home or an acre 

 of mountain land without them. 

 According to a late census there are 

 about 2,000,000 goats in Italy; that 

 is, about one goat to every 16 inhabit- 

 ants or about one goat to every 5 acres 

 of forest land. 



As soon as the forest cover with its 

 absorbent carpet of leaf-litter is re- 

 moved or destroyed, the fertile forest 

 soil— the result of centuries of vege- 

 table accumulation and rock disinte- 

 gration — is exposed to the devastating 

 influence of rain and snow water. The 

 process of erosion soon begins on a 

 small scale and increases with each 

 successive rain or snowfall, until 

 practically all the productive soil has 

 been removed and nothing remains 

 except bare rocks, forming abrupt 

 cliffs or strewn over precipitous slopes. 

 In summer these slopes assume a 

 thirsty and parched appearance, and 

 the rivers which they feed are but 



