Destruction of Forest 67 



But perhaps the most widespread and rapid destruction 

 of forests in a country like our own has been incidental to 

 military operations. An organised force trying to crush 

 a less organised one is obliged to destroy the cover which 

 the latter would use to hide in after a temporary defeat, 

 and from which its members would emerge to harass their 

 enemies as opportunity offered. The Roman generals in 

 the first century of the Christian era were probably the 

 first great destroyers of our forests on a large scale, and 

 on the PennineSj where the records of these forests are 

 preserved in the hillside peat, there is evidence of their 

 destructive activity^ The various expeditions on which 

 the English kings of the Middle Ages embarked, when 

 they were striving with varying success to subdue the 

 wild tribesmen of Wales and Scotland, were responsible 

 for much of the forest destruction in these countries, while 

 in Ireland similar causes were constantly at work. 



Many of the existing larger areas of woodland in the 

 south of England and the Midlands are old " Royal 

 Forests " reserved during the Middle Ages for the king's 

 hunting. Though much restricted in area and diminished 

 in number some of these still exist as unenclosed forest 

 land, and a few belong to the Crown, e.g. the New Forest 

 and the Forest of Dean. The name "forest" is still applied 

 to areas at one time reserved for royal hunting, even when 

 the areas so called are largely or entirely destitute of trees, 

 e.g. Dartmoor Forest. 



The wholesale destruction of forests in countries with 

 a cool and wet climate, such as much of the 

 Fate of tue western and northern parts of the British 

 of'forest!" * ^^^®^ possesses, leads very rapidly, in situa- 

 tions where surface water can collect, to the 

 formation of bogs and of deep peat; this preserves the 

 remains of many of the destroyed trees, but effectually 



1 C. E. Moss, "Peat-Moors of the Pennines," Geographical Journal, 

 1904, p. 3 of separate issue, 



5-2 



