238 THE ALPINE THICKETS AND FORESTS 



The great enemy of the forest has been man. 

 Before the introduction of State legislation, and the 

 institution of forestry police in 1876, the Switzer had 

 for centuries cut down the trees ruthlessly, sometimes 

 even wholesale, without any thought for the morrow. 

 The wood was chiefly required for fuel, though it was 

 also much made use of in building. Sometimes a 

 commune sold a whole forest for a tithe of its value 

 to speculators, who promptly cleared the ground. 

 In other cases, wholesale destruction was undertaken 

 in order to increase the acreage of the pastures or 

 meadows. 



Nowadays, happily, a better condition of affairs 

 prevails. The forests are protected by stringent laws 

 and regulations with regard to cutting, thinning, and 

 replanting. In many situations, exposed to avalanches 

 in winter, all interference with the forests is forbidden. 

 But the damage has been done. 



Great as has been the destruction wrought by man, 

 he is not responsible for the whole. Every year, 

 especially in winter-time, hundreds, perhaps thousands, 

 of noble trees perish beneath avalanches, Alpine 

 storms, or lightning. In addition, the goats and 

 cattle are a constant menace to the seedling plants, 

 the former being particularly partial to their young 

 shoots. Again, these trees have other enemies. They 

 are liable to be attacked by certain specific diseases, 

 either of insect origin, or caused by parasitic fungi, 

 such as the Larch disease, which in recent years has 

 destroyed many a fine giant in Switzerland, 



