PERIODICAL LITERATURE 669 



FOREST DESCRIPTION 



From the canton of V^alais, located in south- 



Backwoods of eastern Switzerland, an anonymous writer de- 

 Szi'itserland scribes conditions which remind one of condi- 



tions as they exist, or did exist, "behind the 

 blue ridge." Under the title "Valeurs Inemployees" (unused values) the 

 author describes the backwoods in the higher altitudes, which have 

 remained unexploited, or hardly exploited, to the present time, more 

 or less in virgin condition. The stands mainly of larch and spruce, 

 pure or mixed, offer the various aspects which a virgin forest would 

 oft'er. Here one meets dense and relatively uniform, even-aged stands, 

 the result of seeding after a fire, a windfall, an avalanche ; there a 

 selection forest type is encountered, the result of irregular cuttings, 

 or of natural causes, rot, windfall, variation of soil and topography; 

 stands of the very best quantitative and qualitative production in per- 

 fect conservation ; trees 4 to 6 feet in diameter, of extraordinary height 

 and of a remarkable form factor. 



The reason for the persistence of these valuable woods is in part 

 due to physical causes, namely inaccessibility due to topography, hence 

 difficulty of transportation, but mainly to economic causes, more or less 

 bound up with the character and condition of the population. First 

 of all, there is a lack of population (only 64 to the square mile) and 

 of labor, and a jealousy between neighboring communities which ex- 

 cludes mutual help. Moreover, there is ignorance of anything like 

 lumbering or lumber trade beyond supplying private needs, and preju- 

 dice against the only way in which exploitation would be practicable, 

 namely, logging on a scale which would enable the construction of 

 means of transportation. The population is rural, engaged in various 

 farm work, and with the scarcity of labor and short growing season 

 the farm work can hardly be got through in time before the winter ar- 

 rives, leaving no time for other work, while the tending of the stock 

 and production of manure, and the cutting of fuelwood consume the 

 Vi^inter time of short days and heavy snowfalls. 



How is the situation to be remedied, and how can these valuable 

 forests be utilized now when, due to the war, every resource needs to 

 be drawn upon, when more than ten million dollars worth of impor- 

 tation must be replaced by home production? 



The author proposes that the forest administration take a hand 

 in it, by providing means of transportation, organizing the wood sales 



