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CHAPTER II. 



FOREST EXPLOITATION. 



IN 1881 there was published in Warsaw, in the Russian 

 language, a volume entitled A Critical Examination of the 

 Forest System in the Kingdom of Poland, by A. Krause, 

 teacher in the College of Agriculture and Forestry in Neu- 

 Alexandria. In this he gives the history of forests and wood- 

 craft in Poland from the earliest times to the present day, 

 with many curious extracts from original documents and 

 authorities. The first period comprises heathen times, 

 when forests were surrounded by mystery and superstitious 

 observances. 



The second period extends from the introduction of 

 Christianity in A.D. 860, to the extinction of Polish inde- 

 pendence in 1796. In the earlier centuries Poland seems to 

 have been almost covered with immense masses of pine, oak, 

 beech, spruce, lime, larch, and yew. These forests swarmed 

 with wild bison, beavers, wild horses, wild boar, red deer, 

 elk and roe deer, bears, wolves, and lynxes. In the four- 

 teenth century, however, man seems to have reclaimed 

 much of the wilderness. Forest statutes were published 

 by Casimir the Great in 1347. A few titles from this 

 ordinance are : 



(1.) De his qui in silvis alienis damna faciunt, concern- 

 ing persons doing damage in the woods of others. 



(2.) De incendentibus silvas vel gams alienas, concerning 

 persons cutting down the woods or field trees of others. 



(3.) Si alienos porcos in tua silva reperias, if thou 

 findest another man's swine in thy wood. 



(4.) De silvis glandariis et faguriis, concerning woods 

 for the production of oak-mast and beech-mast. 



(5.) De incendiirus, concerning fire raising. 



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