FOREST TYPES OF BADEN. 



By E. C. V. GiLMAN, Assistant Conversator of Forests, South 



Nigeria. 



Baden possesses a great variety of forest types. Almost every 

 type to be found in Germany is represented here. Now, it is often 

 the custom of students of European forestry to travel over the 

 whole of Germany and a large part of Europe in order to study 

 these types. In the present article the writer has endeavored to 

 show that it is not necessary to make extensive tours throughout 

 Europe, as they can all be seen within quite a small range. 



It will not be possible within the limits of this article to give a 

 detailed description of every type, but the principal ones will be 

 dealt with in turn and a few silvicultural remarks will be added 

 as to their treatment, past, present and future. 



The forests in Baden may be divided into the following lo 

 different types: i. Fascine Forests (Coppice) ; 2. Middle Forests 

 (Coppice with standards) ; 3. Pine Forests; 4. Bauland Forests; 

 5. Oak Forests; 6, Foothills of Black Forest; 7. Silver Fir of 

 Black Forest; 8. Spruce of Black Forest; 9. Selection Forests; 10. 

 Grinden Forests. 



I. Fascine Forests (Coppice). These forests are situated on 

 alluvial deposits in the valley of the Rhine, and the soil in most 

 places consists of little more than gravel. In former times, before 

 the channel of the Rhine was controlled, the water level was much 

 higher and every year inundations took place, and the river used 

 to cut out new channels for itself year after year. In order to 

 avoid this the banks were built up and protected by fascines of 

 Willows and Poplars which were cut from the coppice growth 

 found in the neighborhoood, and hence the name Fascine Forests 

 was adopted for this growth. 



Nowadays, these forests are no longer used for this purpose 

 as the engineers have constructed stone embankments, and the 

 river which once took long winding curves and flowed slowly and 

 gradually out towards the sea is now forced to take a straighter 

 course. The effect of this was to turn the river into a raging 



