l6o TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Standards are still to be met with in small quantity, but these 

 are being as rapidly as possible re-converted into high-forest. 

 Under all the systems practised in the high-forest of Baden, 

 Nature does the planting or regenerating, except where large 

 areas have been damaged by windfall, where thinnings have 

 been neglected or mismanaged in such a way as to introduce 

 bad soil conditions, or where the parent stems are too old to 

 produce sufficient seed-crops to restock the ground. 



In districts with very steep mountain land, one finds in the 

 Black Forest irregular-aged crops (" femel wald "), which are 

 managed under what is described in the English forestry text- 

 books as the " selection " system. Of all systems this is the 

 nearest approach to natural virgin forest. All age-classes are 

 mixed together either as individual stems, or better, in very 

 small groups. By this system the ground is always covered 

 with tree-growth, and soil denudation, even in the steepest 

 land, is entirely prevented. 



The " selection " forests are usually found at altitudes of from 

 looo to 3000 feet. The yield of good timber is much higher 

 than one would at first anticipate. Measurements of numerous 

 sample-plots have proved the current annual increment to be 

 as high, very often, as 8 cubic metres per hectare, or about 

 112 cubic feet per acre. 



According to Herr Philipp,i the growing stock in most of these 

 irregular woods is made up of the following species, and, in e.g., 

 the valley of the Kinzig, in the following proportions : — 



Silver fir, . . . . .60 per cent. 



Spruce, ..... 30 per cent. 



Beech, ..... 8 per cent. 



Pine, ..... 2 per cent, 



with sometimes a little oak in the lower ground. The propor- 

 tions of the different species vary, however, in different localities. 

 The silver fir is by far the best coniferous tree for selection 

 crops. It endures a great amount of shade and has great 

 recuperative power when set free after having been overshadowed 

 and suppressed for a long period. Its wounds heal rapidly, and 

 the damaged part does not decay as in the case of spruce. 



Amongst other advantages, the silver fir has good seed-years 

 at short intervals. It is very wind-firm, and, as regards density 



' Irregular I'Voods in the Black Forest, by Karl Philipp — reprint from 

 American Forester. . 



