BELGIAN FORESTRY IN SOME OF ITS ASPECTS. 145 
“Dr Schlich has managed the woods of the Mirwart estate 
from 1891 until now. He found by far the greater part of the 
area stocked with an irregular crop, consisting of oak and beech, 
with a moderate amount of hornbeam, sycamore, birch, aspen, 
and ash. Originally the method of treatment had been coppice- 
with-standards, but owing to haphazard management, continued 
during a long period of time, some parts had grown up into high- 
forest, others were still coppice-with-standards, and others again 
coppice only. 
“The latter consisted of very old stools, producing only feeble 
shoots. Throughout, the woods were incompletely stocked, and 
contained a large proportion of inferior trees, which should have 
been cut out before, instead of the better class of trees. 
“The annual increment was very small, and the value of the 
underwood almost nil. Under these circumstances, Dr Schlich 
decided on the following system of management :— 
“‘(r) Reservation of all fairly good stems, unless absolutely 
mature. 
(2) Removal of all inferior trees. 
(3) Filling up the woods with a species which would yield 
a quick return. As to the latter, the choice lay between Scots 
pine and spruce, since experience has shown that larch always 
became quickly diseased to such an extent that it was practically 
valueless.” 
The chief interest of Dr Schlich’s management lies in the fact 
that it showed what can be done in improving existing woods by 
taking things as they are, and making the most of them. The 
woods are divided into compartments, and each compartment is 
treated on its own merits. In some places the crops have been 
underplanted with spruce. 
In these woods the intention is to have ultimately the follow- 
ing stocking :— 
(a) Groups of oak on good soil. 
(2) Groups of spruce on inferior soil. 
(c) Beech on the rest of the area. 
On Thursday, 17th August, the party visited an estate which 
formerly belonged to the Abbey of Villers la Ville, but is now 
the property of Monsieur Boél, senateur. The first object-lesson 
we saw here was some planting which had been done on heath 
VOL. XIX. PART I. K 
