Early Restrictive Measures. 251 
dition on each side of this homestead as much as a lame 
man could go over on crutches without resting.” 
Not till 1638 do we again find an attempt at forest 
conservancy, this time in the interest of supply of char- 
coal for the iron industry, by the appointment of over- 
seers of the communal forests. 
The first general forest code, however, dates from 
1647, which among other useless prescriptions made the 
existing usage of planting two trees for every one cut 
obligatory, and this provision remained on the statutes 
until 1789. In spite of this and other restrictive laws, 
exploitation by the liege lords and the communities 
continued until in 1720 a director of forests for the two 
southern districts, Halland and Bohus, was appointed, 
and at least in this part of the country the execution 
of the laws was placed under a special officer. 
This appointment may be considered the first germ of 
the later forest department. 
A policy of restriction seems to have prevailed during 
the entire 18th century, although it is questionable 
whether the restrictions were enforced since there was no 
personnel to watch over their enforcement, and the gov- 
ernors, in whose hands the jurisdiction lay, had other 
interests, more engrossing. A law, enacted in 1734, 
restricted the peasant forest owners in the sale of wood 
from their own properties, and in 1789, this restriction 
and other supervision was extended to the nobility. 
It appears that soon after this a considerable senti- 
mental solicitude inside and outside the Riksdag was 
aroused regarding an apprehended deterioration of cli- 
mate as well as scarcity of wood as a result of further 
forest destruction, in the light of present experience 
