NATURE NOTES. 
1 66 
daughter were with him, shot a young stag with horns just 
beginning to sprout, a pretty fellow, with such graceful limbs 
that one almost felt sorry he had been killed ; however, of 
course, these animals must be kept down to a certain number, 
and their flesh is good wholesome food. The dead deer was left 
in the forest all night, a white pocket-handkerchief having been 
spread out over him to scare away the wild pigs, who otherwise 
would have eaten him, we were told, and brought home next 
morning. 
I took a walk across the same forest in November, at which 
time the deer are about all day, and saw several within easy 
range, but not having a rifle I could only say with Jacques. 
“ Sweep on, you fat and greasy citizens,” and continue my jour- 
ney. On arrival at the Forsthaus late in the evening a hearty 
welcome greeted me, the barking of the dogs soon turned to 
joyful play, and presently we were discussing the familiar 
venison at supper. 
In these days, when a certain class of politicians agitate for 
the entire abolition of game laws, it is interesting to note that in 
Prussia the following game have their close season : elk (of 
these only a few remain in Eastern Prussia), red- and fallow- 
deer, roe-buck, pig, badger, cock of the wood, moor-hen, 
pheasant, duck, bustard, snipe, wild swan, heron, partridge, 
black game, quail, hare. In the other States of Germany much 
the same list exists, but the close times vary somewhat for the 
different species. Without restrictive laws the forests of 
Switzerland, be it noted also, contain nowadays almost no 
animals. 
The science of forestry is one of comparatively modern 
growth. In the olden days, when there was plenty of wood for 
fuel, building and other uses, and sufficient pasture for all, it was 
unknown ; but as time went on, in about the fifteenth or sixteenth 
century, with the increase of population, demands for land and 
claims on the forest, a fear of wood famine began to be felt in 
Europe. In the year 1700 this fear became universal through- 
out middle, west and south Germany, and it is recorded that 
large tracts of forest were, through imprudent cutting, depas- 
turing and other means, rendered desolate and unfruitful. Man 
then began to see that for the trees of the forest, as with 
the crops of the field, there must be a seed-time, a planting 
time, a time for thinning out, and a harvest season, or all must 
eventually disappear. 
Passing on to the present day, we find that more than a 
quarter, some 27 or 28 per cent, of all Europe, is covered with 
trees; in Germany the percentage is over 25I, and in Prussia 
nearly 23J per cent, of the land is forest. The control and 
management of such an extent of wooded land in a well-ordered 
State, such as Prussia essentially is, constitutes an important 
part of the national economy, and here we find there are four 
classes of forest, of which the royal forests occupy about 30 
