VISIT TO GERMAN FORESTS. I05 



begun. If these groups of advance growth occur in suitable 

 places and give promise of good growth in the future, they are 

 left to shelter the subsequent regeneration from wind, because 

 it is asserted that a young crop of uneven age is more storm 

 proof than one of even age. 



The correct method of natural regeneration in strips is 

 carried out in something like the following way : — =The strips 

 as far as possible should run from north-east to south-west. 

 A commencement is made at the outer north-east edge, where 

 a strip 50 yards in breadth is heavily thinned, by the 

 removal of about one-third of the trees upon it. Within 3 to 5 

 years another third of the crop is removed, and simultaneously 

 a second strip of 50 yards breadth is thinned to the extent of 

 one-third of its whole stand. After a further period of 3 to 5 

 years, the whole of the remaining trees of the first attacked 

 strip are removed, and another third of the second strip is 

 taken out, while a third strip is attacked and one-third of its 

 crop removed. Within the forest there are a certain number of 

 similarly managed compartments, so that every year's total 

 cutting produces approximately the same number of cubic feet. 



On 1 6th September the party left Schonmiinzach and 

 proceeded in motors to Freudenstadt, a little town overlooking 

 a lovely valley lying between two mountain ranges which are 

 covered with trees. Next forenoon the party drove to the 

 Freudenstadt Forest, and in the afternoon the Steinwald State 

 Forest was visited. Both of these forests were of a similar 

 composition to those already visited, namely spruce and 

 silver fir, but there was considerable variation in the manage- 

 ment as regards cutting and natural regeneration. Again we 

 saw large crops of timber ; in fact, we were now impressed 

 with the immensity and density of the timber stands, and the 

 large volume of felled material lying ready for removal. 



On the 1 8th we visited the Pfalzgrafenweiler State Forest. 

 Hitherto we had seen wonderful crops of timber, but this day, 

 which was the last, presented the finest crops we had seen. The 

 very last wood we visited was said to be one of the finest crops 

 of silver fir in Germany. It was 175 years of age and had a 

 volume of about 8000 cubic feet per acre. Some of the trees 

 which had been felled measured 132 feet in length and 12 inches 

 quarter-girth at the smaller end. The total length of the trees 

 was about 160 feet. The outstanding features of interest seen 



