PLANTING DISTANCES. 27 



silver fir and spruce, and it is to be noted that both of these 

 species are shade-bearers. 



In a recently issued book entitled Studies in French Forestry, 

 by Theodore S. Woolsey, which is a most interesting and 

 authoritative work, the author says on p. 125, under the heading 

 of Planting — "As a rule the French favour much wider spacing 

 than do the Germans. Bartet even suggests spacing spruce 

 6^ feet apart owing to its superficial root-system and in order to 

 give the crown a chance for development. In Germany the 

 average distance for spacing spruce is usually 4 feet and 

 sometimes closer. The French rule is never less than 3-3 feet 

 and never more than 10 feet. Intolerant species like maritime 

 pine can be spaced wider apart than a tolerant species such as 

 fir; and as a general rule, rapidly-growing species can be 

 spaced wider than species that are slow growing during the 

 seedling and sapling stages. Ordinarily the spacing is 5 to 

 6i feet. It is certainly apparent, without going into further 

 detail, that the French system is more in accordance with 

 American practice, namely, wide spacing and comparatively few 

 trees per acre, as contrasted with the close spacing in Germany." 



The following quotation is from Nisbet's Forester, vol. i., 

 p. 409 :— 



" Lorey rQxm.xks {IValdhau i/i Handhuch, etc., p. 491): 'In 

 general one has more and more given up very close planting, 

 because apart from heavy costs, it too soon leads to unsatisfactory 

 development of the individual plant, while a good medium 

 distance brings early enough canopy and ensures conservation 

 of soil productivity. But the number of plants per acre must 

 not be reduced too far, and in most cases it should not be below 

 1600 to 2000 per acre,' i.e. about \\ to 5 feet apart at most, 

 and he adds — 'On the average 3I by i\ feet is somewhat 

 close, and 4 by 4 can be called the mean average.'" 



In France planting is on the whole wider than in Germany. 

 Thus Boppe et Jolyet {Lcs Forets, p. 395) remark that — "To 

 quote specific figures we recommend for all kinds of trees a 

 distance of 5 feet between plants, in lines 6^ feet apart, or at 

 least 5 feet in squares." 



F. F. Moon and N. C. Brown in their Elements of Forestry, 

 1914, state, p. 117 — "The ordinary planting space is 6 feet 

 each way for economic planting, which requires 12 10 trees to 

 the acre." 



