Example of a German Working Plan. 393 



over with temporary reserve of the usually worthless inferior 

 material as a protection. Each year's cutting usually joined on to 

 the previous year's. The cut-over areas were usually sown 

 broadcast with spruce and in part with larch seed without scatter- 

 ing of the brush — in part right after the logging was completed, 

 in part several years later. 



Plantations were rare, often only with natural (wild) stock. 



As a result of cuttings in stands already too light, these stands 

 were thinned out still further and the area because of insufficient 

 seeding, given over to grass and weeds. 



Thinnings were generally confined to the down timber — 

 especially girdling of the trees reserved for protection, often with- 

 out reference to the need of further protection on the part of the 

 young growth. This neglect will mean careful planning on large 

 areas now without adequate young growth. 



Improvement cutting should be confined to the less steep slopes, 

 where the getting out of the timber will not destroy the natural 

 or artificial reseeding, or to the steeper mountains where the cut- 

 ting and logging can be done on snow in winter, provided 

 adequate precautions be taken to prevent windfall. 



6. Future Management. 



The object of management is the growing of spruce stands 

 with greatest possible admixture of beech, fir, maple, and larch. 



Ideally the spruce should occupy 70%, the other species 30% 

 of the total area and volume. 



Fir, beech, and maple would easily reproduce naturally if 

 various conditions did not prevent. Even the artificial regener- 

 ation of these species is very difficult and should not be attempted 

 but every effort made to secure its natural spread up to the al- 

 lotted 30% of the area. 



Spruce and larch could usually be reproduced naturally were 

 it not for the great age of the stands, and other conditions, which 

 make it seem undesirable to await natural re-seeding and indicate 

 that spruce and larch must usually be reproduced artificially. 



Larch should only be planted in suitable sites — i. e., on fresh, 

 deep soils, on open areas and not under cover or in damp, foggy, 

 ravines, or canyons, nor on north, northeast and northwest slopes. 

 Furthermore it should be mixed with other species so that in case 

 the larch fails no gaps will occur in the stand. 



