NOTES ON THE FORESTS OF AUVERGNE. 29 



have the additional advantage of being shade-bearers and soil 

 improvers. The pure stands of Scots pine also suffer from 

 snovvbreak and windbreak, for on the open heath-land at this 

 altitude the snowfall is very heavy and the gales are violent, 

 while the shallow sandy soil derived from the decomposition 

 of the underlying gneiss and schists does not lend itself to 

 storm-firm conditions in the Scots pine. 



B. — Silver Fir under Scots Pine. 



The conservative tendency of both the agricultural population 

 and the forest staff has led in this district to what might almost 

 be called a " fetish " for silver fir, because it commands a higher 

 price than any other timber (including oak and ash), and is used 

 for many purposes which in other districts would be supplied from 

 other species. It is, however, excellently suited to the area from 

 the point of view of regeneration, and if it can be introduced 

 under a sufficiently heavy cover to prevent frost-check in its 

 early stages, it forms a thoroughly good crop on most of the 

 varieties of volcanic soil which are found throughout this area. 

 Where a Scots pine crop is to be replaced by silver fir, the 

 introduction of silver should be started at a comparatively early 

 age, say 35 years, and at each decennial thinning more silver 

 seedling plants should be set out. This is with the object of 

 producing an irregular forest eventually, for it is from a Selection 

 system crop that local and communal requirements for fuel and 

 money can best be supplied from the small forest areas. 



The method of cutting the present mature Scots pine crop 

 in such forests as d'Herment and Lastic is one which might 

 usefully be copied in other forms of conversion. The area to 

 be worked is divided into ten coupes of equal area, and within 

 the thirty or forty years laid down for the conversion each 

 coupe is worked over three or four times as follows : — 



During each of these operations the felling work is confined 

 to removing the Scots pine from above established groups of 



