THE ZURICH WOODS. 37 



three appear only in young regeneration areas, being removed 

 at an early age. The quantity of beech roughly amounts to 

 75 per cent, of the broad-leaved species, sycamore and ash 

 each about lo per cent. 



The fine quality of the beech may be judged from the form- 

 factor, which for ninety-year-old trees is 0*55 to 0-63, while 

 the total height is from 90 to 115 feet. The sycamore is found 

 to be less exacting than the Norway maple, and both resist 

 frost so much better than beech and ash, that in the lower 

 situations they take the lead over the beech. Wych elm 

 is able to hold its own with the other species only where the 

 soil and situation are distinctly good; in particular, it must have 

 plenty of moisture in both the soil and air. Ash seedlings spring 

 up everywhere at Sihlwald, even in the coniferous portions. 

 Where there is sufficient moisture the tree grows freely, keeping 

 pace with the beech until after middle age. It is then apt to 

 suffer in the struggle for light, and ought to be removed, together 

 with the maples and elm, in the advance cuttings which 

 precede natural regeneration. 



A point about the Sihlwald which would strike many British 

 foresters as most peculiar is that in the hardwood forest there is 

 hardly any oak, and in the coniferous forest practically no larch. 

 Occasional examples of oak are found, as, for example, upon 

 the lower ground, where it does not suffer so much as the beech 

 from late frosts, but the species is of little account in Sihlwald. 

 The vigour of growth of the beech is such that oak, in even- 

 aged mixture with it, is early suppressed through want of light. 

 Long continued careful elimination of unsuitable species has 

 reduced the number of birch, aspen, and the like to a minimum, 

 but the cherry {Frunus avium) is to some extent encouraged on 

 account of the value of its timber, which sells well for furniture- 

 making. 



The principal conifer of the Sihlwald is the spruce. On the 

 right bank of the river it grows magnificently, with long, clean, 

 cylindrical boles of the finest quality. This seems to be largely 

 due to the fact that the woods are purely coniferous, because 

 just on the other side of the stream, where the spruce occurs 

 scattered among broad-leaved trees, the quality is much inferior. 

 In the latter situation the tree grows rapidly, but coarsely and 

 unprofitably. 



The larch was first planted in the Zurich woods in the middle 



