42 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



and in part temporary, the latter portion being easily transport- 

 able in sections to the immediate neighbourhood of felling areas. 

 The system has many advantages over ordinary haulage 

 methods, particularly at Sihlwald, where the ground is so hilly 

 and the slope so much eroded by numerous rivulets. The only 

 thing which struck me as being scarcely up-to-date was the 

 use of oxen for the conveyance of the empty waggons on the 

 return journey uphill. I have not the least doubt, however, 

 that the selection of these animals has been made after due 

 consideration. 



Zurich Forest School. 



Before leaving Ziirich I visited, under the guidance of Mr 

 Rordorf-Mahler, the State Forest Academy, the experimental 

 station connected with it, and also that portion of the town 

 woods on the Ziirichberg so largely made use of by the citizens 

 for recreation. The Forest School I found well furnished with 

 large collections of plants, cones, insects, implements, timber 

 sections, models, and so forth, and suitably supplied with 

 lecture rooms and laboratories, though perhaps in these respects 

 the institution does not reach the standard attained in Germany 

 or France. The School was opened in 1855. Instruction is 

 provided by a staff of sixteen professors, and the course extends 

 over three years, with one additional year's practical work. 

 At the time of my visit some thirty students were attending 

 the classes. 



The investigation-plots at Forsthaus Adlisberg proved highly 

 interesting, as experiments connected with heredity had just 

 reached an instructive stage. From what I then saw, it seemed 

 quite clear that plants raised from seed collected at a low 

 elevation maintained growth for a longer period in the year 

 than those from very high elevations. In the case of spruce 

 the difference was very marked. Seedlings from seed collected 

 from trees grown on ground with a northern aspect also had 

 a longer growing season than those from that with a southern 

 aspect, while in many cases malformation seemed to be heredi- 

 tary, young plants showing the same deformities as their 

 parents. This matter has been recently dealt with by Professor 

 Somerville, who mentions the Zurich experiments in his article 

 ( Transactions^ Vol. XXL). Professor Engler, who directs the 

 investigation, has been kind enough to send me seeds. These 



