No. 1, February, 1921] FORESTKY 19 



I 



Such plants may be guide-plants, practically always found on a particular kind of soil; acces- 

 sory indicators, frequently present but often missing; and regional indicators, found only in 

 certain regions. Plants indicative of mild soils are Oxalis acetosella, Asperula odorata, Im- 

 paliens noli-me-tangere, Galium rolundifolium, Elymus europaeus, Milium effusum, Brachtj- 

 podium silvaticum, Carex silvatica, Catharinea undulata, Mnium undulatum, Hypnum spp. 

 Indicators of beginning or continuing raw humus formation are: Vaccinium myrtillus, Fes- 

 tuca silvatica, Lycopodium annotinum, Polytrichum formosum, Dicranum scoparium. This 

 matter deserves much more attention from forest investigators, since it has a very direct 

 bearing upon silvicultural practice, especially in connection with natural reproduction and 

 with methods of thinning.— W. N. Sparhawk. . 



145. RuBNER, K. Holzpreise in Suddeutschland in fruherer Zeit. [Wood prices in 

 South Germany in former times.] Forstwiss. Centralbl. 42:226-233. 1920.— The author 

 discusses prices of wood (chiefly firewood) in various localities, going as far back as 1630 in 

 some instances. Especially noteworthy is a rapid increase in prices about the middle of the 

 nineteenth century, which was attributed by some to increased population, rise of wood- 

 using industries, and decreased wood production, and by others to an era of speculation. 

 Just as relief came then through the development of railroads and the rise of a world trade in 

 wood, so can relief from present abnormal wood prices, which are also due to a considerable 

 degree to speculation coupled with inadequate supplies, come only with the resumption of 

 imports from Russia or other exporting countries.— PF. N. Sparhawk. 



146. ScHEiDTER, Franz. Schlagruhe und Russelkafer. [Suspension of cuttings and 

 weevil damage.] Forstwiss. Centralbl. 42:144-150. 1920.— The author discusses the life 

 history of the weevil, and shows that it can not be eliminated from a forest by temporarily 

 suspending cuttings, as has been proposed. Contrary to general belief, the beetle flies for 

 long distances during the mating period, and may attack newly planted trees far away from 

 any cutting area. Suggested control measures include cleaning up cuttings, with grubbing 

 out of stumps as soon as possible after logging; smearing of individual trees, where practic- 

 able, with bands of glue or tar; and the construction of traps by blazing fresh stumps just 

 above the ground and covering the blazes with loose bark, from beneath which the beetles 

 can be scooped up daily or more often. — W. N. Sparhawk. 



147. ScHMAUss, A. Uber Sturmgefahrdungen. [Concerning storm damage.] Forstwiss. 

 Centralbl. 42: 189-194. 1920.— Prevailing winds in central Europe being from the southwest 

 or west, trees are ordinarily adapted to resists winds from those directions, and are likely 

 to be wind-thrown only by winds from other quarters. Storms from the east or northeast 

 would be most destructive, but they are exceedingly rare. Those from the southwest— of 

 which the fohn winds are most common— are seldom strong enough to do great damage, so 

 that only the fairly strong winds— 20 meters per second and over— from the northwest need 

 be considered in forest management. The origin and behavior of these winds is discussed in 

 some detail. It is concluded that the best direction for succession of cuttings is from north- 

 east to southwest, since this will favor reproduction and at the same time will allow a mini- 

 mum of damage from northwest winds. — W. N. Sparhawk. 



148. ScHREiNER. Blitzschaden an einer liegenden Eiche. [The work of lightning on a 

 fallen oak.] Naturwiss. Zeitschr. Forst-u. Landw. 18: 42-43. 1920.— The author records a 

 phenomenon which he has not encountered in any of his previous practice. The oak stem in 

 question was 7.4 meters long and 0.46 m. in diameter, DIB. The tree had died and fallen 

 and the rotten butt had been removed, while the remaining section on the ground was sound. 

 One-half of the stem was free of limbs. The woody fibers were straight; no twisted grain 

 was in evidence. The stem lay in the midst of a thin stand of beech about 30 meters high. 

 Lightning struck directly on the fallen stem, and ran the full length of it, making a three 

 quarters revolution. Since it could not have followed the grain, it is thought the curvature 

 of the stroke was due to the attraction from the damp portion of the stem lying against the 

 soil. The soil is derived from sandstone. — J. Roeser. 



