On Sat, 10 May 2008 11:40:29 -0700, Billy
wrote:

In article ,
Hal Ó Mearadhaigh. wrote:

Hal Ó Mearadhaigh. wrote:
Someone else wrote:
On Fri, 09 May 2008 22:35:45 +0000 (GMT), jl
wrote:
In article ,
Hal Ó Mearadhaigh. wrote:
Someone else wrote:
On Thu, 8 May 2008 16:57:04 +1000, "FarmI" ask@itshall be given
wrote:

For those who think that Ireland never had significant forest cover
please see:

www.lhi.org.uk/docs/History_Project_1.pdf

"The first wave of colonisation was by birch, aspen and sallow. About
8 500 BC. pine and hazel spread northwards, replacing the birch,
which became uncommon. The pine colonisation was followed by a wave
of oak and alder. Lime and elm followed this, then holly, ash, beech,
hornbeam and maple."

Ireland's population grew to around 8 million. But that had little
to do with the state of the forests. Disease and over harvesting of
trees were the main causes of the deforestation.

Who was it that was responsible for that overharvesting?

NOT the British, who always had plenty of forests of their own, but
also imported any woods for ship building mostly from Scandinavia.


As Ireland had no coal, the needs of 8 million people for charcoal
and cooking woulkd certainly damage the forests. Peat was available
of course - but only after the forests had made room for it.

No, it was always available...

Peat bogs? of course. But they were also forested.


If local attitudes to trees were the same then as now, it is
surprising that any trees survived at all.

"That tree will knock that wall down - cut it down".

I've heard that sentence so often, it makes me sick.


Manufacturing, farming, and the
monies being made out of harvesting the peat bogs were main causes.
(Alas Bord Na Mona, so much for greed). Blaming the British,
(English) is merely being paranoid and specious.

Not if it actually was the British that cut down the Irish forests to
build the fleet that fought the Spanish Armada.

Nonsense! : See
http://fubini.swarthmore.edu/~ENVS2/...restation.html

At that reference it says:

"Those who traveled across Ireland at this time reported that one
could ride all day and not see a single tree, an image that contrasts
sharply with the carpet of trees that covered the area only centuries
before (Brown, Terry)."

Brown, Terry. "Wood in Development of Civilization."
[http://www.cof.orst.edu/cof/teach/fo...velopment.pdf]

Which supports my allegation that Ireland was rapidly deforested
during the time that Britain invaded and occupied.

Game, set and match Mr Merrick.

Nik

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