452 Forestry Quarterly. 



as much workwood as Spruce, but when regarded from a silvi- 

 cultural standpoint is in every way superior to that species 

 although it is unable to withstand quite such low temperatures as 

 the latter. It is able to withstand a considerable amount of mal- 

 treatment when young, and will recover after being suppressed for 

 many years. 



Now, in mountainous districts it is always necessary to have a 

 somewhat long regeneration period, since it is difficult otherwise 

 to extract the timber quickly enough on account of the lack of 

 roads. Fortunately, Silver Fir is able to stand a very long re- 

 generation period on account of the two qualities mentioned above 

 and also owing to its extremely slow growth in youth. Too much 

 advantage has, however, been taken of these qualities and the 

 stands have suffered in consequence. 



The official rotation adopted for these forests is 120 years with 

 a regeneration period of 40 years so that when regeneration fell- 

 ings are commenced we should find all age classes from 80-120 

 years and after complete regeneration all age classes from 1-40 

 years old on the same area. 



This period is in any case too long as too much damage is done 

 to the young growth when the fellings are spread over so long a 

 period, but in nearly all the stands there is at present a surplus of 

 growing stock and owing to the low fixation of the cut and the lack 

 of proper roads in some of the higher altitudes both the rotation 

 and the regeneration period are often much longer. 



Though we find in many parts of the Black Forest some of the 

 best forest roads in existence, the lack of sufficient roads is still 

 the chief obstacle which the foresters have to contend with when 

 endeavoring to treat these forests under a good silvicultural 

 system. 



The bad effects of an overlong rotation and regeneration period 

 may be seen in those places where the roads are still bad or in- 

 sufficient. Here we find a very large percentage of cancerous and 

 half-rotten trees, and very often under these a young stand of 

 Silver Firs several meters high. Silver Fir is unable to stand a 

 long rotation, for after 100 years the per cent, of rotten timber 

 increases greatly. At that age under modern treatment it can 

 attain the dimensions of a first-class coniferous tree (i. e. in Baden 

 a diameter of 30 centimeters at a length of 18 meters — 12 inch at 



