Table 4 Pressures related to forests, pastures, hay meadows and arable fields in Székely village laws
Regulated pressure | Total | Prohibition | Regulation | Fine | Other penalty | Quotations from Székely village laws |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Forests | ||||||
1. felling of trees (without mention of species) | 166 | 121 | 45 | 88 | 89 | “When one fells living or dead trees in prohibited forests, he shall be fined 3 Florins.” [5: 341] |
2. felling of oak tree without permission | 23 | 16 | 7 | 12 | 12 | “Felling of oak trees is most harmful and dangerous, thus forestguards must also take care of them in the village.” [5: 454] |
3. felling of beech tree without permission | 10 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 5 | “When one strips or fells a fruiting beech or oak tree, he shall be fined 3 Hungarian Forints.” [5: 306] |
4. bark stripping | 7 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | “It is forbidden to strip oak trees in prohibited forests and likewise in open-to-use common forests.” [14: 113] |
5. collecting of dead wood | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | “It is permitted to collect lying dead trees and branches of dead trees, but it is obligatory to report this intent to the owner of the forest.” [5: 346] |
6. ring-barking of trees | 15 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 10 | “It is forbidden to ring-bark trees in the escarpment forests.” [5: 497] |
7. masting foreign or too many pigs | 11 | 11 | 0 | 8 | 5 | “When God gives acorn/mast, it is obligatory for the community to set up a guard. It is forbidden to mast foreign pigs without permission, otherwise flor 3.” [5: 372] |
8. forest burning | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | “It is forbidden to burn the common forests. If somebody resists, they will be fined 6 Hungarian forints.” [5: 300] |
9. burning of forest litter | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | “When one burns forest litter, he shall be fined according to the law, for 1 Forint in unbound forest.” [5: 437] |
10. leaf-fodder cutting | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | “Herdsmen with sheep and goats grazing in the forest during winter are forbidden to carry an axe or to cut branches. If a herdsman resists, he shall be fined 3 Forints.” [5: 497] |
Total | 249 | 187 | 61 | 133 | 131 | |
Pastures, hay meadows and arable fields | ||||||
11. driving livestock into green crops or standing hay | 200 | 153 | 47 | 148 | 85 | “It is forbidden to drive cattle to fields, hay meadows belonging to other people until the liberation of the fields.” [5: 462] |
12. leaving gate open/damaging gate | 112 | 50 | 62 | 95 | 31 | “When one leaves a gap in his backyard fence or damages the fence, he shall be punished.” [5: 354] |
13. fastening horse/cattle to pickets | 7 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 5 | “When one works in the fields, he must fasten his cattle to pickets. If damages were caused by them, he must be fined 25 Denars and furthermore, pay the damage.” [5: 376] |
14. herder or community member housing foreign cattle/sheep | 24 | 22 | 2 | 15 | 9 | “It is strictly forbidden for anybody of any kind of rank to receive foreign cattle and graze them around the village.” [5: 382] |
15. grazing hay meadows after Saint George’s Day | 8 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 3 | “It is forbidden to keep cattle in the hay meadows after Saint George’s Day.” [5: 279] |
16. grazing during night | 6 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | “It is forbidden to keep cattle in the fields after sunset. When one resists, he shall be punished.” [5: 298] |
17. grazing sheep/goat/goose in pastures for beasts of burden | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | “It is forbidden to make a sheepfold in a cattle pasture. When one resists, he shall be fined 1 Forint.” [5: 361] |
18. grazing livestock (other than ox and horse) inside the village fence | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | “From Saint George’s Day until Michaelmas, it is forbidden to graze any animal other than beasts of burden and milking cows returning home within the village fence. The fine is 40 Denars.” [5: 363] |
19. conversion of pastures into hay meadows | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | “It is forbidden to transform common pastures into hay meadows.” [14: 175] |
Total | 472 | 348 | 124 | 323 | 210 | |
Other land-use types | ||||||
20. washing dirt into water | 11 | 11 | 0 | 8 | 3 | “When one washes manure or other dirt into the stream, he shall be fined 1 Forint.” [5: 367] |
21. catching crayfish/fishing in prohibited streams | 7 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 3 | “When one fishes in the communal stream, in Babora stream, Lebed stream or Köd stream, if caught, he will be fined by the community 3 flor.” [5: 327] |
22. draining water of hemp lakes into the stream | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | “It is obligatory to take care of hemp lakes. If the water of a hemp lake drains into the stream, the fine is 100 Denars.” [5: 408] |
23. diverting stream into gardens | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | “In order to keep the stream clean, it is forbidden to divert it into the gardens.” [Imr5: 361] |
24. digging the bed of river/stream | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | “It is obligatory to clean the stream bed every year, thus every village member has to take part in the digging, otherwise 100 Denars.” [5: 408] |
25. felling of wild fruit trees (even if it is as thin as a stick) | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | “If someone fells fruit trees, whether pear or apple trees, even in their own forest, even if the tree is as thin as a stick, he shall be fined 50 Denars per tree.” [5: 325] |
26. collecting fruit | 6 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3 | “Trees and fruits yielded in the forest or meadow are under strict prohibition. Thus, it is forbidden to sell or even donate them to outsiders, otherwise 1 Hungarian Forint.” [5: 412] |
27. collecting unripe fruit/crop | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | “Some people collect unripe wild apples and often damage the branches. It is forbidden to collect wild apples before Michaelmas, otherwise the fine is 1 Forint and the cart and cattle of the delinquent must be confiscated.” [5: 329] |
Total | 39 | 28 | 3 | 27 | 16 | |