The Natural Regeneration of Forests. 25 



and crop conditions, one of the following three methods of 

 regeneration may be selected: — (1) The crop may be clear cut 

 and the ground planted up ; (2) it may be felled and the area 

 sown artificially ; (3) the mature trees may be gradually cut away, 

 and the area simultaneously seeded from these trees. The last- 

 named method, commonly called natural regeneration, has been 

 chosen as the subject of this paper, not because it is one which 

 could readily be adopted in this locality, but because I had the 

 privilege of seeing some very successful regeneration of this kind 

 on the Continent during the past summer, and thought a few 

 remarks thereon might prove of interest to this Society. In 

 primeval forests, as individual stems die, fall down and rot, young 

 plants spring up from seed shed by surrounding trees, to take the 

 place of their predecessors. In this way a forest may naturally 

 reproduce itself for ages. In sylviculture the methods of repro- 

 ducing forest crops by natural sowing are all, more or less, modi- 

 fications of this natural process. 



Let us first consider what conditions of growing crop, 

 soil, and climate are necessary for natural regeneration : — 

 (1) The standing crop must be one of an age and species 

 which will produce a sufficient quantity of good fertile seed, and 

 it must be one which is standing thick enough upon the 

 ground to suppress weeds of all kinds. (2) The soil must be in 

 a suitable state for the germination of seeds and the growth of 

 seedlings. If there is a covering of moss, grass, heather, or 

 brackens under the trees, natural seeding need never be 

 attempted. Again, it sometimes happens, especially in the case 

 of a shade-bearing species, that through a heavy leaf-fall under 

 close canopy a thick layer of raw humus has accumulated. If 

 the seed does germinate on the surface of this, it will have great 

 difficulty in reaching the mineral soil, and its development will 

 thus be hindered. As a rule, however, this humus quickly 

 becomes less, with the admission, by thinning, of light and air. 

 (3) The climate must- ba such that crops of seed are produced 

 frequently enough to enable the ground to be thoroughly stocked 

 with seedlings. The weather conditions, too, must be such as to 

 open the cones or fruits before the summer sets in. (4) The 

 presence of animal pests also, in some localities, seriously affects 

 the percentage of seed shed, which really germinates. This is 

 especially the case in vears when the crop of seed is not a full 



