146 Austria-Hungary. 
is similar to that of southern Germany; in the southern 
portions to that of Italy, while Hungary partakes of the 
characteristics of a continental plains climate with low 
rainfall and extreme temperature ranges. 
In addition to the tree species found in Germany there 
are of economic value four species of pine (Pinus 
Austriaca, Cembra, Pinea, halepensis), two oaks 
(Quercus ilex and suber), and the chestnut (Castanea 
vesca). Conifer forest is prevailing in Austria (with 
82%), deciduous forest in Hungary, mostly beech and 
oak (with 75%). 
1. Property Conditions. 
On the whole, property conditions developed not un- 
similarly to those of Germany. There were freemen 
and serfs to start with, developing into barons, peasants, 
burghers; there were ban forests, royal domain, forests 
of the mark and private properties, rights of user or 
servitudes and all the methods and conditions that were 
developed in other parts of Europe, only perhaps differ- 
ing in time and rate of progress of their development. 
As a result of gradual changes in ownership condi- 
tions the present distribution of property resulted, in 
which the State ownership is comparatively small, 
namely, in Austria proper not more than 7% (with 
1,565,000 acres) of the 24,000,000 acres of total 
forest (32.2% of the land surface), while private owner- 
ship represents over 58%. Of this 34% is in large 
landed estates, among which those of the princes of 
Liechtenstein and of Schwarzenberg with round 350,000 
acres and 290,000 acres are the largest, and 25 others 
with from 50,000 to 230,000 acres may be named. The 
