ARTIFICIAL FORESTS OF EUROPE 



forests differ from our second-growth 

 woods of the East; and yet, as com- 

 pared to the other three European 

 types, their principal merit, esthetic- 

 ally, is their naturalness. Though 

 very different from our virgin forests, 

 they nevertheless possess the variety, 

 cheerfulness, and interesting play of 

 light and shade that have been noted 

 in an earlier chapter. In Germany 

 they are usually somewhat precise and 

 trim in appearance ; but in France and 

 elsewhere they look a little wilder, and 

 are often enlivened with holly 'or ivy, 

 some sportive raspberry, or other gay 

 shrub or vine. In European countries 

 where forestry has become thoroughly 

 established this type of forest has grad- 

 ually disappeared, or has diminished 

 greatly in proportion, in order to make 

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