NOTES AND QUERIES. 247 
RESISTANCE OF YOUNG TREES TO DRouGur.! 
At the last meeting of the German Forestry Association 
(September 1905), Oberforstrat Thaler and Forstrat von Peckle- 
sheim gave an account of observations on the effects of the 
great drought of 1904 on trees planted in the previous season. 
In the districts under observation (Saxony and Hesse), scarcely 
any rain fell from the middle of April till the end of August. 
Conifers, except the Scots pine, were found to suffer more than 
hardwoods; the Weymouth pine, larch, and Norway spruce 
were most affected, while Ad/anthus glandulosa and Scots pine 
suffered least. 
It was only below an altitude of some 1300 feet that damage 
was done; at high elevations good growth was recorded. Some 
interesting facts are available as to the influence of the season 
of planting. Conifers planted late in autumn suffered more than 
those got in early, while scarcely a tree survived that was put 
in late in spring. The conifers which suffered least were those 
planted early in the spring season, that is, about February. 
Sowing was even less successful than planting. Keeping the 
surface of the ground open and clear of weeds by the use of 
the hoe was found to give good results. Side shelter from an 
adjoining wood was always beneficial, and the same was true 
with regard to considerable overhead canopy. Curiously 
enough, the effect of standards scattered thinly over the ground 
was distinctly bad. 
- Drought and heat are, of course, most injurious on south 
slopes, and to guard against their prejudicial effects the follow- 
ing points should be observed :—(1) regenerate under consider- 
able overhead canopy; (2) where clear-felling is practised, take 
down the wood in narrow bands running from north-east to 
south-west ; (3) preserve bushes naturally present: these will 
shade the young plants to some extent; (4) avoid opening up 
the wood by too early thinning; (5) in thinning, retain all 
underwood capable of growth.—Zeit. fiir Forst- und Jagdwesen, 
March 1906. 
1 Reproduced from the Journal of the Board of Agriculture for May 1906, 
by permission of the Controller of His Majesty’s Stationery Office. 
