Early History. 147 
communal forest comprises 13%, entailed forest 8%, 
and the rest belongs to church and other institutions. 
By the middle of the 19th century at least 75% of 
the forest area was in large compact properties, a 
‘guarantee for the possibility of forest management; the 
industrial development of the last decade has, however, 
led to considerable exploitation. 
2. First Attempts at Forest Control. 
The oldest record of attempts at an orderly manage- 
ment in any part of the empire seems to date back to 
the 12th century when the city forest of Vienna had 
been placed under management, and during the 16th and 
17th century this property appears to have been man- 
aged upon the basis of careful surveys and estimates. 
We also find a definite forest organization in the forests 
attached to the ducal salt mines in Styria by 1524, and 
the dams, canals and water works for floating timber 
developed by 1592 through Thomas Seeauer were the 
wonder of the times. 
In 1524 also Archbishop Matheus Lang of Wellenburg 
issued a forest ordinance which was full of wise pre- 
scriptions, probably little heeded. 
In the Alp territory, especially in Styria, the regal 
right to the mines combined with the “Forsthoheit” led 
early to the reservation by the dukes of whatever forest 
was not fenced or owned by special grant, In addition 
a superior right was asserted by them in some of the 
private forests to all the forest produce beyond the per- 
sonal requirements of the owners ; and what other private 
property existed was burdened by innumerable rights of 
user. The exercise of these rights, and the warfare 
