Wild trees denote the thought of wild places.
When one thinks of wild places, it is usually of the dense dark, dripping forests of the northwest of the densely wooded hills of the southern Appalachians, where there are still stands of virgin forest in locations so rugged that logging is nearly impossible. The wild trees are the wilderness embodied.
Though tree farming and reforestation programs are in full swing in some locations, wild trees are still being harvested in some areas of the world at an alarming rate. The demand for living space, building materials, and cleared land for farming has led to the destruction of untold numbers of wild trees.
Anyone who has seen pictures of Western Europe is often struck by the natural grace and beauty of the gently rolling green hills dotted by villages and farms. But few people consider that most of Europe was covered with enormous expanses of wild trees up until very recent times. Though the land is still quite beautiful, it seems a shame that the mighty forests of yesteryear have, for the most part, fallen under the woodcutter's ax and the farmer's plow.
