TO PROTECT THE BEAUTY OF THE WOODS. 439 



TO PROTECT THE BEAUTY OF THE WOODS. 



G. F. SCHWARTZ, NUENDEN, GERMANY. 



It nia3' not be <;^enerally realized that scientific forestry, thoujijh 

 of inestimable value to a ^rowinpf country, may in time despoil 

 the woodland acenerj- of much of its highest charm. If this is ao, 

 what is the remetly? It seems to me that it might be desira- 

 ble to include in the prospective managing boards of our forest 

 interests, whether state or national, t^ome person or persons whose 

 influence should count for the aesthetic value of our forests. In 

 such a staff of directors, for instance, as were proposed by Mr. Jud- 

 8on N. Cross, of Minneapolis, in his scheme for restoring and pre- 

 serving the Minnesota woods, might it not be proper under these 

 conditions to include some authority on art, somebody with a 

 recognized understanding and appreciation of the beautiful in 

 uaturer 



When I sa}' that scientific forestry tends to mar the beauty of 

 woodland scenery, I refer to the changes in outward appearances 

 that natural forests undergo as a result of some of the methods pre- 

 scribed by scientific forestrj-. On the whole, such forests, in time, 

 assume a strikingly artificial look: they show the evidence of 

 man's handling's and interference for some purpose. The trees, 

 where planted or S3'stematically sown, stand in monotonous rows or 

 squares. The transition from undergrowth to standing forest is 

 often abrupt and unpleasant. Again, there is not infrequently a 

 systematic loppingof the lower branches, through which the crowns 

 of the trees are raised to an awkward and unnatural height. At a 

 distance the artiticiality of such woods is still more obtrusive. They 

 are apt to look patched and pieced together, incongruous in outline 

 and form of surface and discordant in combination of color. An 

 irregular strip of young beeches, for instance, may be followed by 

 a patch of full grown pines, and this in turn by a bare spot ready 

 for an aftergrowth. As a rule, there is wanting that graceful out- 

 line, soft blending of shades and fitness in detail that nature, left 

 to herself, so well knows how to produce. 



In detailing these effects of scientific forestrj', I have only tried to 

 show that scientfic forestry methods do, in fact, influence undesira- 

 bly the outward appearance of forests. The effects I have spoken of 

 are mostly the results of important principles of forestry and can- 

 not be sweepingly removed. And yet, something may, perhaps, be 

 done to mitigate their effect. It is plain, of course, that, on the 

 whole, forestry must be allowed free scope. It should be remem- 

 bered that forestry is an art as well as a science, and that, according 

 to the conditions of soil, climate and so forth, cases may arise where 

 one method would serve nearly as well as another. If in some way 

 the primeval aspect of a characteristic bit of scenery might be pre- 

 served without seriously departing from the main principles of the 

 best forestry practice, might not such a departure be justified? I 

 have in mind a part of the woods belonging to the city of Stuttgart, 

 Wurtemberg, which lies several miles from the city on a hill. In 

 this case, an order was given several years ago that these woods 

 should at no time be cleared, like the surrounding forest, but that 



