160 TIMBERS AND THEIR USES 



part of the year ; while, as regards the distribu- 

 tion of this rainfall, a large portion of the tree- 

 less waste lands is covered with heath and peat 

 mosses, which absorb enormous quantities of 

 water and yield it again in the form of springs 

 and streams, as well as in evaporation." 



England, from the earhest times, has possessed 

 the most valuable forests. " In addition to 

 Elm, Beech and Ash, the country was covered 

 with large tracts of Oak, which, with its suc- 

 cessive growths through long ages, furnished 

 timber of the finest quaUty for shipbuilding and 

 general construction." In the South of Scot- 

 land there were considerable forests of Oak and 

 Elm and the highlands are rich in Red Pine. 

 Ireland was famous for her Oaks which, during 

 the Plantagenet regime, were exported to Eng- 

 land for shipbuilding and church building. 



" The forest in the early feudal period was 

 regarded primarily as a preserve and shelter for 

 the king's game, and the Norman kings especially 

 were noted for the harshness and cruelty with 

 which they depopulated large tracts of country 

 to secure for themselves extensive hunting 

 grounds. The Conqueror, in forming the New 

 Forest in Hampshire, is said to have razed or 

 swept away twenty-two parish churches and 

 many villages, chapels and manors ; while 

 Domesday Book records that, in carrying out 



