THE STATE FORESTS OF SAXONY. I 85 



right down the stem, and thus forming more or less wind-fast 

 trees. The chief storm-winds undoubtedly come most frequently 

 from the west and south-west, and therefore much should be 

 sacrificed in order to safeguard the woods from their effects, 

 especially when it is considered that spruce often forms almost 

 the entire crop. The obvious disadvantage, however, of plan- 

 ning woods to meet the chief storms only is that the gales 

 from other directions are not provided against, and may often 

 cause very serious damage. Thus in Saxony the most dreaded 

 storm is not now from the south or south-west, but from the 

 north and north-west, especially if it occurs when the tree- 

 crowns are heavily laden with snow or ice. But as it is 

 impossible to shelter compartments from both north and west 

 winds the predominating storm-wind must be provided against, 

 and this we find very efficiently carried out in the State forests 

 of Saxony. 



The direction of cutting is, of course, against the storm-wind, 

 and is thus from east or north-east to south or south-west, 

 according as the wood has been laid out, the face of the cuttings 

 being always parallel or nearly so with the cross rides. 



The large number of small " Cutting Series " i^Hiebzuge) found 

 in the State forests forms one of the most important and 

 characteristic features of the woods in Saxony. The direct 

 result of small " Cutting Series " is that the annual felling takes 

 place over numerous small areas scattered through the wood, 

 instead of in one or two large blocks. This is advantageous 

 from many points of view, especially for conifers ; and for a tree, 

 such as spruce, which is liable to suffer from both frost and 

 drought, it is particularly beneficial. The cuttings are also made 

 very narrow, not normally exceeding 60 to 70 yards in width, and 

 one seldom finds a cleared area greater than 4 acres (see Fig. 2). 

 The method of slicing narrow strips off the face of a number 

 of different "stands" {Bestciitde) is the direct opposite of the 

 French method of arranging cuttings, in which the tendency 

 is to have, as it were, but one "Cutting Series" for the whole 

 " Working Section " {Befn'ebsk/asse) and concentrating the whole 

 of the annual fellings in one place. The advantages, both silvi- 

 cultural and aesthetic, of the Saxon method of numerous cuttings 

 are so well known that it is hardly necessary to reiterate them all 

 here. In a summer such as that of 191 1, when a large number 

 of young trees died of drought, the great superiority of narrow 



VOL. XXVII. PART II. N 



