ANCIENT FORESTS OF EUROPE. 15 



tinental Europe, and was extensively diffused over the 

 districts now known as Germany, Poland, Hungary, &c. 

 In Caesar's time it extended from the borders of Alsatia 

 and Switzerland to Transylvania, and was computed to be 

 sixty days' journey long and nine broad. 



So late as the eleventh century, Adam of Bremen, 

 writing of Denmark, describes it as horrida sylvis. There 

 all remains of that ancient forest have disappeared. But 

 in Norway and Sweden, in Finland and Russia, we have 

 remains, or representatives, of the northern skirt of the 

 immense forest which once covered Europe. 



In Northern Russia we still have forests through which 

 the traveller, travelling fast as his tarantass and troika can 

 carry him, is days and days passing through a continuous 

 forest of trees, columnar trees, tali and straight, bearing 

 aloft an umbrageous canopy, under the shade of which is 

 induced a melanch6ly which is oppressive to the soul. 

 In Finland, with its thousand lakes, all is joy and gladness 

 as day after day the steamer wends its way, rounding 

 islands and headlands which are wooded to the water's 

 edge, and present on every change a scene of loveliness.* 

 On the Hartz mountains, again, are found upon a small 

 scale dense forests like to those of Russia, but with varia- 

 tions attributable to hills taking the place of plains, and 

 giving pleasing variety to the scene ; and in the Black 

 Forest we meet again with the counterpart to Finland, 

 with forest glades for wooded isles, and fertile fields for 

 fiord^like lakes. These are two types of forests and forest 

 lands widely dispersed over Europe, separated by wider 

 areas which, though not devoid of trees, are altogether 

 devoid of forests. And in these again the former exist- 

 ence of forests is indicated by the names of many places 

 having a reference to some adjacent wood, once growing 

 there, but now no more ; while in some cases the remains 

 of the former forest are found buried in the ground, or 



* FinlanA : Its Forests and Forest Management, pp. 9-16. 



