THE THIRTY-SECOND ANNUAL EXCURSION, AUGUST 1909. 95 



Sometimes also 3- to 5-year-old innes were transplanted with 

 the ball from neighbouring broadcast or strip sowings. 



In order to estabhsh the spruce in suitable places 3- to 4-year- 

 old transplants were used, and occasionally 2- to 3-year-old 

 seed-bed (untransplanted) plants were substituted. This method 

 was adopted where it was desired to mix the spruce in single stem 

 mixture with the pine either as an undergrowth or soil-protector. 



Planting the spruce was necessary since the experiment of 

 sowing the spruce seed among the i -year-old pine seedlings 

 proved a failure, as the young spruce seedlings in the loose- 

 worked soil of the strips were very liable to be thrown out by 

 frost; nevertheless, in some cases, it was possible to obtain the 

 desired mixture by this method. 



In very wet soil or in soil with a deep layer of moss the 

 planting was done in upturned sods. A hole was made with 

 the planting-iron in the sod, which was placed face downwards. 

 This hole was filled up with mineral soil, in which the i-year 

 pine seedlings or the 2-year i-year pine plants were placed. This 

 method of planting gave very satisfactory results, but was found 

 to be expensive. Exotics were used only to a very small extent 

 on the re-afforestation area. Here and there small experimental 

 plantings were made with Pinus Banksiafia and Pinus Murrayana 

 (which proved not to be frost-hardy); Pinus strobus and Pseudotsuga 

 Douglasi were also planted. 



Tuesday, loth August 1909. 



SPESSART. 



Royal Forest of Rothenbuch. 



The forest of Rothenbuch lies in the interior of the southern 

 part of the forest region of the Spessart (in the High Spessart). 

 It covers an area of 8634 acres; of this 118 acres are not used 

 for timber production. The highest point of the forest is 1 700 

 feet (Compartment Hengst Kopf), the lowest 823 feet (at 

 Lichtenan and at the north limit of the Compartment Rauhoh) 

 above the level of the North Sea. The soil is sandy with more 

 or less loam. It is poor in mineral-constituents, and is rendered 

 fertile only on account of its humus content. The climate is 

 fairly severe, with late and early frosts. Full mast years for beech 

 and oak are expected every ten to twelve years. The stand of 

 timber is formed principally of broad-leaved trees, such as beech. 



