528 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



work of starting the spruce, is cut down. 

 The material obtained by cutting down 

 the young fir is used as fence sticks, or 

 it is utilized for burning charcoal and 

 for making tar. 



The spruces mostly used are white 

 spruce {Picea alba) and red spruce 

 (Picea cxcdsa). The former, which 

 comes from North America, is particu- 

 larly well suited for use in those parts 

 of the plantations most exposed to the 

 wind; in fact, it seems to stand the 

 wind better than any other tree. White 

 spruce is therefore used in conjunction 

 with mountain fir to form the first shel- 

 tering windbrake, and behind such belts 

 the red spruce is planted together with 

 the mountain fir. The mountain fir 

 mostly used is Pimis niontana uncinata. 



In the shelter of and surrounded by 

 the forests, deciduous trees are planted 

 and potatoes and other crops are raised. 

 Live fences of fir and spruce are planted 

 about 120 yards apart, running north 

 and south, so as to provide shelter 

 against the prevailing westerly winds. 

 The soil is ploughed and treated with 

 the proper fertilizers. In this way ex- 

 cellent and profitable results have been 

 attained even in the poorest soil. Not 

 only has the presence of the forests 

 made the climatic conditions more fa- 

 vorable for agriculture, but the entire 

 character of the country has changed. 

 In the large forests deer are found in 

 abundance, and wood pigeons, ducks, 

 and many other wild birds have set- 

 tled in them. 



The activity of the Heath Society is 

 also directed toward the planting of 

 the sand dunes which cover large areas 

 along the coasts of Jutland ; great works 

 of irrigation and drainage are under- 

 taken and the numerous and extensive 

 bogs have been brought under cultiva- 

 tion. A chalky clay called '"mergel," 

 which is found in spots all over the 

 peninsula, is spread over the bog, the 

 water is drained off, and the soil so 

 prepared, with but little additional 

 treatment, is well suited for pastures. 

 In this way useless bogs have in a few 

 years been transformed into the richest 

 pastures. 



Already more than lOO Danish square 

 miles (2,500 English square miles), or 

 about one-seventh of the entire area of 

 the kingdom, has one way or the other 

 been reclaimed since the Heath Society 

 commenced its work, and in one more 

 generation the heath will probably have 

 entirely disappeared. A movement is in 

 fact already on foot to preserve a cer- 

 tain part of the heath as a sample of 

 what has been for centuries a charac- 

 teristic feature of the country. 



The growing interest for this cause 

 is evidenced by the increasing means 

 placed at the disposal of the society. 

 The subvention of the government has 

 now reached an amount of $130,000 a 

 year, and about an equal amount is de- 

 rived from private donations. The 

 peasants and farmers are intensely in- 

 terested in this cause, and most farms, 

 even in the poorest part of the country, 

 are now surrounded by trees. Often 

 larger groups of trees or small woods 

 have been planted by the peasants or 

 farmers and are regarded by them as 

 their dearest treasure. 



At a very moderate expense, land can 

 be bought on the heath through the 

 Heath Society, which at a very cheap 

 rate undertakes planting the trees and 

 their care, including the cutting down 

 in due time of the mountain fir. 



Large purchases of land have been 

 made by private people in this way, 

 chiefly on patriotic grounds, but in 

 course of time this land and the forests 

 which are planted on it are likely to 

 acquire considerable value, for with the 

 growth of the forests and the increased 

 cultivation of the soil, the density of 

 the population increases rapidly, and the 

 means of transportation are steadily im- 

 proved. A town like Herning, which 

 lies in the middle of the heath district, 

 and which in 1866 had but forty inhab- 

 itants, now has 5,000 inhabitants. 



Some years ago a caterpillar {Lo- 

 phynis piiii) appeared, and made great 

 devastations in the plantations. Many 

 people predicted the entire destruction 

 of all the fir and spruce plantations; 

 but the Heath Society did not lose cour- 

 age, and proceeded to fight the pest. 

 Soon a parasite was found, a wasp 



