Carpathian Spruce

[Arnold Schnitzer]

British ships used to sail to the Americas laden with manufactured goods, mostly made of metal (heavy). On their return they would fill the ship's hold with logs, which were nearly free in the forested colonies. The logs served as ballast, and were then unloaded in England to become furniture, ships, instruments, etc. Eventually they (and the colonial farmers) managed to deforest nearly the entire Eastern part of North America.