County, Town, and Village Forests 



1743 



is located in the northern foothills of the Alps and stretches along the 

 Sihl River for a distance of nearly five miles. It may be reached from 

 Zurich in about half an hour by rail or in two and one half hours by wagon. 



The Sihl valley has an approximate elevation of 1,600 feet above sea 

 level. From the valley floor the wooded slopes rise rather steeply to the 

 ridge-top elevation of nearly 3,000 feet. This is nonagricultural land, 

 which would be comparatively unproductive were it not devoted to the 

 growing of trees. 



In the Zurich city forest eighty-six percent of the trees are hardwoods — 



Fig. 85. — The Zurich city forest 



beech, ash, maple, and elm. The remaining fourteen percent are conifers — 

 pine, spruce, fir, and larch. The beech is the chief species. 



By the gradual removal of mature trees, the seedlings are given 

 light and room in which to grow and to replace the old stand. The average 

 tree of this forest is considered to be mature at ninety years of age; that 

 is, it has reached its prime. The choicest trees are consequently allowed 

 to attain this age; defective and inferior trees are removed earlier by means 

 of thinnings. Formerly, the chief aim of this forest was to produce fuel — 

 this was before the advent of the railroads — and to this day 64 per cent 

 of the income is from fuel wood; the lumber produced brings only 9.4 



