554 Forestry Quarterly. 



once its chief products, but coal mining and potato culture have 

 changed all this so that structural timber and saw stuff are at 

 present the most important forest products. If Diiesberg advises 

 a return to forest pasturage I am sure his words will fall on deaf 

 ears. Modern herd management no longer needs or asks such 

 privileges — with rare exceptions. If Pfeil and the men of his 

 day turned from natural regeneration to artificial they did so in 

 response to the economic needs and demands of the times. And 

 it behooves us in our generation to make further changes in the 

 principles of forest management to meet changed conditions. If 

 our more intimate knowledge of the laws of nature and our 

 experience of sixty years shows that clear cutting and even-aged 

 stands are inherently wrong and invite disaster, or that they are 

 not the most advantageous for all times and conditions as we used 

 to think, our task is to make the change to better forms, where a 

 change is desirable; in other places to free the old forms of 

 their impediments and develop them to their best. That im- 

 provement is possible and practical has been pointed out by 

 Gayer, Ney, Borggreve and Wagner among others, and practical 

 experience has warranted their opinions. 



Thoughtlessness and mere formalities are to be opposed every- 

 where and all the time. Diiesberg's clear warning deserves at- 

 tention and will receive it. But bureau chiefs can never dis- 

 regard the fact that rules and regulations which are to be applied 

 to such a large area as the Prussian state forests cover and for a 

 long period of time must not be addressed solely to the ever 

 present zealous and capable few, but must rather be addressed to 

 the average forester who does his routine duty each day and ac- 

 complishes little more. Individual freedom to alter prescribed 

 regulations can be and is recognized. This is true throughout 

 Prussia. Call the regulations as unyielding as you will, the fact 

 remains that to each one who undertakes to develop a new and 

 improved practice is given opportunity to test his ideas. Heyer 

 and Borggreve, Homburg and Mortzfeld, Erdmann and Metzger, 

 and finally Diiesberg himself bear witness to the fact. A code of 

 general regulations must be prepared to serve the purposes of the 

 whole organization. Diiesberg recognizes this, and formulates 

 general rules for the application of his system. But his system 

 impresses one as too complex for general introduction ; too diffi- 

 cult to insure its success in the hands of the average forester. 

 The brief sketch given above is sufficient to show this. 



