Waldstreue

Description

In the course of the 15th century, a rapid drop of cereal production in montane regions led to a lack of bedding. The substitute were the swampy meadows in valleys and the strewn material of forests in the mountains, where needles and leaves were collected to obtain strewn. Especially women and children collected everything not nailed down for stables. The forest industry considered this harmful for forests and increasingly opposed the practice, but the lack of bedding material it continued until the mid-20th century. Only cheaper transports and better transportation allowed for the importation of bedding material.