No. 1, August, 1920] FORESTRY 21 



and systematic plan of forest management was put into effect. This plan was followed until 

 after the Franco-Prussian war, when, in 1874, it was revised by the German foresters. The 

 latter completely reorganized the division of the forest into blocks, compartments, and sub- 

 compartments; determined on the management of the entire area as high forest (nearly 7 

 per cent had been handled by the French as coppice under standards); fixed the rotation for 

 Scotch pine at 70 to 120 years, and for oak at 1G0 years; and arranged the cutting series so 

 as to progress against the direction of the prevailing winds. Natural reproduction by the 

 shelterwood system, which was almost uniformly used by the French, was at first employed 

 by the Germans as well, but was gradually abandoned in favor of artificial reproduction. Dur- 

 ing the last years of German management Scotch pine was reproduced almost entirely by di- 

 rect seeding in strips, supplemented when necessary by planting; while oak was reproduced 

 chiefly by the planting of 3-year-old transplants, and occasionally by direct seeding in strips. 

 Thinnings were practised every 7 to 10 years, frequent and moderate thinnings being preferred 

 to less frequent and heavier ones. In the judgment of the French foresters the Germans 

 tended to favor too dense a stocking, both at the establishment of the stands and later. 

 Underplanting of beech, chiefly to improve soil conditions, was common, wild seedlings gen- 

 erally being used for the purpose. A few of the best trees (from 15 to 25 per hectare) were 

 nearly always reserved at the final cutting for the production of large-sized material. The 

 practice of selling stumpage, which had been followed by the French, was superseded under 

 German management by logging by the forest administration. The net revenue from the 

 forest increased from 44 francs per hectare in the period from 1889 to 1900 to 57 francs in 

 1912-1914 and to 120 francs in 1915-1918. The recent war led to the turpentining by the Ger- 

 mans of the Scotch pine. The total cut remained about the same but the proportion of pine 

 increased while that of oak decreased. Thinnings were neglected, stock accumulated in the 

 nurseries, and the regeneration of cut-over areas did not keep pace with the cuttings. Od 

 the whole, however, the war did not seriously interfere with the management of the fores* 

 which is still in good condition. — S. T. Dana. 



149. Anonymous. Historique d'une coupe. [History of a cutting area.] Bull. Trimest. 

 Soc. Forest. Franche-Comte et Belfort 13: 51-53. 1919. — In 1844 steps were taken to convert a 

 cutting area of 7.23 hectares, chiefly oak with a little beech, in the communal forest of Corra- 

 villers on the borders of the Vosges, into coppice under standards. Since 1S44 there have 

 been three cuttings of standards at regular intervals of 25 years. The records show that the 

 yields in fuel and bark secured from these successive cuttings have remained approximately 

 constant. The transformation of the stand from pure coppice into coppice under standards 

 has therefore been accomplished without loss in current yield, and the timber contained in 

 the boles of the standards represents clear gain. As a result of the transformation the money 

 value of the yield has increased from 460 to 680 francs per hectare. Still better results would 

 have been obtained in a more moderate climate and a more fertile soil than that of the Vosges. 

 — S. T. Dana. 



150. Anonymous. Notre domaine forestier et la guerre. (Extrait du Bulletin d'infor- 

 mations du G. Q. G.) [Our forest domain and the war.] Bull. Trimest. Soc. Forest. Franche- 

 Comte" et Belfort 13: 43-46. 1919.— The forest area of 600,000 hectares included in that part 

 of France lying in the war zone suffered severely both as a result of battle and of its extensive 

 exploitation by the French themselves and more particuarly by the Germans. The latter 

 not only used wood lavishly in the zone of operations but shipped considerable quantities 

 back to Germany in order to save their own resources and to cripple France, which in 1913 

 imported 177,000,000 francs' worth of wood, for the post-war competition. Direct damages 

 to the forests in the war zone are estimated roughly to amount to 1,400,000,000 francs, and 

 indirect damages to 260,000,000 francs; while the forests in other parts of France also suffered 

 serious damage because of the tremendous consumption necessitated by the war and by lack of 

 tonnage. While the forests are recovering, France should meet its needs for wood, which 

 are still great, by utilizing part of the enormous reserves offered by its colonies. The 

 German possessions in the Kamerun, one of the most richly forested countries in Africa, will 

 offer partial compensation for the devastation of the French forests caused by the war. — 

 S. T. Dana. 



