114 OF WOOD IN GENERAL. 



the Dutch shipbuilding yards, whilst Beech furnishes the chief 

 fuel of the country, and is used for ships' keels, carriage-building, 

 and chair-making, and Aspen is in demand for matches and 

 paper-pulp. 



Hesse-Darmstadt, the Fir-trees from which are in special 

 demand in Holland, has no less than 595,000 acres, or nearly 

 three-quarters of its area, under forest ; whilst Baden has also 

 over a million acres, or one-third of its area, so occupied. 



Austria-Hungary. The forests of the Austrian Empire 

 occupy over 42J million acres, those of Austria being 30 per 

 cent., those of Hungary, 26-6 per cent, of the entire areas of the 

 two countries. Spruce, Silver Fir, and Larch are the prevalent 

 species, and the bulk of the timber is consumed, for building 

 purposes or fuel, at home. Hungary has also some large forests 

 of excellent Oak. Switzerland. From the 1,900,000 acres of 

 the forests of Switzerland it is estimated that over 89 million 

 cubic feet of timber are cut annually, but, in addition to con- 

 siderable clearing, the demands of a growing population for 

 building purposes, and the use of much wood as fuel, there has 

 been considerable waste, as, for instance, in cutting young trees 

 for fencing, so that the total cut has been estimated as in 

 excess of the yield, and the export has accordingly declined. 

 Spruce, Silver Fir, and Pine are the predominant species. 



Italy. Italy exports a certain amount of Oak of various 

 qualities, but of ill-ascertained origin. The best, the Tuscan, 

 Neapolitan, and Sicilian, would seem to be Quercus fidbur, Q. 

 jEsculus, and Q. pyrend'ica. Modena, Roman, and Sardinian Oak 

 and Adriatic Oak (Q. Cerris) are inferior. The country, is, how- 

 ever, deficient in timber, from the point of view both of climate 

 and of demand. While with our moist climate we can manage 

 with a far smaller proportion of forest, the countries bordering 

 on the Mediterranean all suffer from the removal of their forests. 

 Centuries ago the Karst region of Southern Austria was covered 

 with magnificent Oak forests and furnished piles and shipbuilding 

 timber to Venice in her palmy days. It was said that a squirrel 

 could travel for miles along the Istrian coast from tree to tree. 



