No. 2, March, 1921] FOREST BOTANY AND FORESTRY 111 



754. AxjBERT, C.-G. La conversion des taillis en futaie dans I'ouest de la France. [Con- 

 version of coppice into high forest in western France.] Rev. Eaux et Forets 58: 124-132, 153- 

 160, 189-194, 227-234. 1920.— The value of the high forest, long advocated by the leading 

 French foresters as the forest par excellence, was conclusively demonstrated by the recent 

 war, during which it was primarily the high forests under state ownership that supplied the 

 enormous quantity and wide variety of forest products required by France and its allies. 

 For both public and private owners the high forest is superior to coppice in the quantity, 

 quality, and variety of its products, in its proportionately smaller cost of protection and 

 greater production, and in its fiexibility of management, which is particularly valuable in 

 times of economic stress. The objection that it yields too low a rate of interest has lost 

 much of its force in these days when timber prices are so high and most other investments so 

 insecure. Some sacrifice of annual revenue is involved during the period of conversion, but 

 this is purely temporarj', can be minimized by proper handling, and really consists of an 

 addition to the forest capital comparable to a savings bank investment. Cultural diffi- 

 culties are more serious, but are due largely to the attempt to bring about the conversion 

 through the establishment by natural reproduction of seedling stands with a regular distri- 

 bution of age classes. — The state forests of Bourse and of Ecouves prove that, at least in the 

 oak and beech stands of western France, the establishment of satisfactory high forests from 

 thrifty trees of sprout origin is not only comparatively easy from a cultural point of view, 

 but can be effected at a considerable saving of time and money. The conversion can be 

 brought about either by allowing the stand of coppice to keep right on growing, with occa- 

 sional thinnings to prevent its becoming too dense; or by making a "conversion cutting" 

 which would remove the bulk of the trees, leaving several hundred carefully selected reserves 

 to the hectare, most of which would be of the same age as the main stand. The latter method 

 has the advantage of yielding an immediate revenue and of affording the best possible grow- 

 ing conditions for the trees left. One area treated in this way which had to be prematurely 

 clear cut 38 years later during the war yielded 4000 francs per hectare, exclusive of pre- 

 vious thinnings, as against an estimated yield of 1200 francs per hectare had the conversion 

 not been undertaken. With suitable species, vigorous trees, and good soil, the method is 

 applicable to private as well as to public forests. When conditions are unfavorable in these 

 respects clear cutting and planting or underplanting with silver fir is usually necessary.— 

 Private owners, who will ordinarily make the "conversion cuttings" from five to ten years 

 earlier than the State, will find it advantageous to leave a larger number of reserves, say 

 1000 per hectare in a 23-year-old stand. It is usually advisable to remove old reserves 

 already on the ground, not only because of the revenue to be derived from them but because 

 their subsequent growth is likely to be unsatisfactory and to interfere with the best develop- 

 ment of the rest of the stand. In selecting reserves to be retained, the species and general 

 vigor of the trees are more important than their origin. The object of the method is not to 

 obtain a stand of natural seedlings in some far off future, but to effect the immediate con- 

 version of a coppice stand into high forest with a view to securing the maximum yield of 

 timber. — S. T. Dana. 



755. Baker, E. Methods of fire protection, with special reference to fires caused by 

 sparks from railway engines. Jour. Dept. Agric. Union of South Africa 1:414-421. 5 fig. 

 1920. 



756. Baleriola, Caspar. La poda de las morreras. [Mulberry pruning.] Informa- 

 cien Agric. [Madrid] 10:218-220. 4 fig. 1920.— The method of pruning mulberry trees to 

 secure the maximum yield of leaves for silk-worm culture is described. — John A. Stevenson. 



757. Barbet, a. Chronique Suisse. [Swiss notes.] Rev. Eaux et Forets 58: 136-138. 

 1920. — The economic crisis in Switzerland caused by the war still continues, with high prices 

 for both timber and firewood and comparatively little building activity. While forest 

 devastation has not been general, it is necessary to use every means to make the forests more 

 productive. By more intensive management, made possible largely by decreasing the area 

 under the supervision of each forest officer, it should be feasible to increase the annual 



