4g6 Forestry Quarterly. 



decay, either carrying the rot into the very stem of the tree which 

 thereby becomes worthless long before reaching maturity or, at 

 best, causing a partial cessation of growth until new roots de- 

 velop closer to the surface. While especially true of spruce, 

 this also applies to fir, larch, pine and the hardwoods, though in 

 a lessened degree. 



Oberforstrat Reuss sums this up as follows: "It is not right 

 to judge the success of plantations by the immediate showing but 

 only by an assured future ; stinginess is out of place ; for a high 

 initial cost of planting does not affect the income nearly so 

 much as does an unthrifty, unmerchantable stand created at half 

 the cost. » 



"Where deep planting is combined with violent abuse, me- 

 chanical injuries, etc. — as in the case of the 'instrument meth- 

 ods' — there the evil results are most noticeable. Of course even 

 without mechanical injuries, deep planting is pernicious, for 

 though the incipient rot of the lower roots may have quickly 

 healed over it means a temporar}^ cessation of growth at the very 

 time when the struggle for existence is keenest, also it is often at- 

 tended by serious deterioration of the soil. In the case of the in- 

 strument methods' there is the additional danger of fungi and 

 insects attacking the abrased parts. Only the most favorable 

 conditions of soil site and plant material can overcome these 

 drawbacks." 



A final word as to the Austrian methods of caring for estab- 

 lished plantations may not be amiss. As a protection against 

 frost and drought, pieces of sod or flat stones are laid over the 

 planting hole. This is especially efficacious against frost; in 

 periods of persistent drought it is considered questionable since 

 this covering prevents the access of any precipitation, slight 

 though it be, (dews, fogs, etc.) which may occur. 



As a guard against cattle and game stout pegs or branches of 

 brush are driven in on three sides of the planting hole and in- 

 clined so as to meet over the plant itself. 



Fail places are seldom ascertainable with certainty, before the 

 second or third year; the practice is, therefore, not to fill these 

 up before that time. These fail places offer a welcome op- 

 portunity for the introduction of other species into the mixture; 



