PROPORTION^ OF WOOD-LANDS. 21 



there to Italy. But the devastation of the forests dur- 

 ing the period of the "migration of the nations" caused 

 such droughts tliat the culture of clover had to be given 

 up in Italy,and it found a new start in southern Germany. 

 Here clover has been cultivated for centuries with the 

 most pronounced success. But during the last century 

 the wooded area has been much encroached upon, and 

 since that time clover culture began to decrease there, 

 and to move into the moister climate of north Germany. 

 The consideration of the importance of the woods for 

 a country has led to the question as to the proportion 

 the wooded area of a country should bear to the 

 whole territory, in order to secure the full benefit of 

 the forests for the state. The economists generally 

 contend that for this purpose twenty to twenty -five 

 per cent of the total territory should be kept in wood. 

 If this be true, our Empire State would come up fully to 

 this standard, as she comprises 6,257,084 acres of wood- 

 lands among her total of 25,059,266 acres. But it is a 

 sheer imjiossibility to determine once for all upon such a 

 general rule. The proper answer depends upon the pur- 

 pose for which the question is raised. If it be intended 

 to establish a normal proportion between the wooded and 

 the not wooded area of a country in regard to its general 

 culture, and especially to its climatic and agricultural 

 conditions, much will depend upon the geological 

 formation and situation of the territory. The fertile 

 sites along the shores of the oceans need no woods, 

 as the air currents laden with moisture from the 

 sea regulate, in the most beneficial way, the climate of 

 such country, and the easy access of vessels from all 

 lands secure the importation of whatever wood is wanted. 

 Just the reverse is it with mountainous regions. There 

 nature itself has necessitated a much larger percentage 

 of wood-lands than the above named, while in the broad 

 plains of the interior of a large country that percentage 



