Begulation of Wood Trade. 49 



that only regulations in the gathering of it could be 

 insisted upon. 



4. Forest Policy. 



With the beginning of the 18th century besides pre- 

 scriptions against wasteful use, definite forest policies 

 had become quite general, with a view to forest preserva- 

 tion and improvement of forest conditions, and also to 

 providing wood at moderate prices. 



Even the reboisement of torrents had been recognized 

 as a proper public measure in Austria in 1788, although 

 active work in that direction was not begun until nearly 

 a century later. 



The rise of prices during the 17th and 18th centuries 

 had been very considerable, doubling, trebling and even 

 quadrupling in the first half of the 18th century. The 

 mercantUistie doctrines of the time led, therefore, to 

 attempts to keep prices low by prescribing rates for 

 wood and by restricting and regulating wood commerce. 



This was done especially by interdicting sale to out- 

 siders, forbidding export from the small territory of the 

 particular prince, or, at least, the inhabitants of the ter- 

 ritory were to have a prior right and cheaper rate. 



Owing to the small size of the very many principali- 

 ties, the free development of trade was considerably 

 hampered by these regulations. Sometimes also wood 

 imports were prohibited, for instance, when in Wiirtem- 

 berg (1740) widespread windfalls had occurred which 

 had to be worked up. 



Wood depots under government control were estab- 

 lished in large cities and the amount of wood to be used 

 per capita prescribed, as in Koenigsberg (1703). 



