CONTINENTAL NOTES FRANCE. 8l 



locality, and, having very little vitality, it has succumbed to the 

 Lasicampa pini and other troubles. At the same time, it has 

 regenerated itself very vigorously. At some few places they . 

 have used the Austrian pine, with very good results, but inas- 

 much as there is a prejudice against this pine, it being supposed, 

 quite wrongly as some think, to be little good and almost 

 unsaleable, its extended use has not caught on. As a small 

 plant it suffers much from the rabbit, but when it has reached 

 i^ foot high its thick lower branches save it from this pest. 

 This is explained by the fact that it has been planted as 

 much as 2 metres apart. With all the drawbacks to such wide 

 planting, there is just this to be said, that as the layer of soil 

 is so thin the roots have sought their nourishment laterally, 

 and so have given vigour to the plants. It is most interesting 

 to find, in quite a different article by M. Parde, that the- Austrian 

 pine has elsewhere again come to the rescue. M. Parde found 

 it used at a place in Austria, where every sort of difficulty had 

 to be encountered — a limestone rock with scarcely any soil, but 

 many stones, a short rainfall, but heavy snow, bad frosts, and 

 especially late ones, and finally, the '* Bora," a violent N.E. 

 wind, which dries the surface. Yet the pine was growing well, 

 and at 26 to 28 years had begun to seed well. Normally this 

 species only seeds well after 30 years, and earlier seeding is not 

 perhaps a good sign. As to the perishing Scots pines in the 

 Aube, they, too, have been indirectly valuable, for the population 

 uses them as firewood. Had this source of supply not been 

 available the peasants would have fallen back on cowdung 

 cakes, after the manner of the Indian ryot. 



M. Schlumberger enters once more on the old, old quarrel as 

 to the respective merits of the Selection Method and that known 

 as Shelterwood Compartment, or Uniform, or Successive fellings. 

 In the course of this article he declares his adherence to possi- 

 bility by area, instead of possibility by volume, in agreement 

 with so many others nowadays. It would, however, be too 

 lengthy a business to enter here on a consideration of these 

 vexed questions 



M. Huffel calls attention to an ingenious invention by 

 Friedrich, the well-known Director of the Research Station at 

 Mariabrunn, in Austria. This is called the " Grimpeur," and 

 by its means the tallest trees are safely climbed. It would be 

 useful for measuring diameters at different heights for exact 



VOL. XXI. PART I. F 



