REPORT ON THE EXCURSION TO FRANCE. I 23 



seeds, '•which are carried by wind to a much greater distance 

 from the parent tree. Again, for the reception of the seed, the 

 surface must be comparatively clean, free from weeds and other 

 soil-covering, and in a loose, friable condition. Unlike the open 

 woods in our own country, where all kinds of weeds get possession 

 of the soil, the woods in France are managed by maintaining a 

 thick crop of trees throughout the entire rotation, so that the 

 shade and leaf-fall combined kill off the surface-growth. This 

 is, in fact, the only natural way by which the surface-soil of 

 woodlands can be kept in proper condition. The covering of 

 the seed by soil has also to be carefully considered. In France, 

 the foresters rely on large quantities of the seed getting into the 

 soil by felling a certain proportion of the crop in the autumn of a 

 seed-year. The dragging and carting of the timber, as well as the 

 treading of men, horses, and oxen, greatly facilitate this process; 

 and, as already indicated, the condition of the surface is generally 

 so loose and friable that even heavy rain helps to bury the seeds. 



In Champenoux, the hornbeam reproduces itself more abund- 

 antly than either oak or beech. As oak is the tree that is most 

 favoured in this forest, care is taken that the young seedlings are 

 not suppressed or damaged by other kinds. With this end in 

 view, the forest guards go over the crop and make cleanings as 

 often as the oak saplings require to be set free from invasive 

 hornbeam, beech, or sallow. 



Thinnings of oak, beech, and hornbeam here become re- 

 munerative when the crop is from 25 to 30 years old, and yield, 

 sold standing, about 12s. per imperial acre. Before thinnings 

 become marketable, the poorer peasants are allowed to cut out 

 the small suppressed stems that have been previously marked 

 by the forest guards, and to remove and appropriate them to 

 their own use, in lieu of payment for the work done. When 

 thinnings become marketable, they are sold by auction, and are 

 cut by the purchasers, under the control of the brigadier or 

 head forest guard. After that, the thinnings are generally 

 repeated at intervals of about 10 years, until the time comes 

 when preparatory fellings have to be made, with the view of 

 stimulating seed-production and of preparing the soil for the 

 reception of the seed. 



An experimental station for testing the value of exotic trees 

 has also been formed in connection with this forest. It is 15 

 acres in extent, and lies along the margin of the lake of Brin. 



