io6 



Canadian Forestry Journal. 



even the branches are removed and 

 made use of, and no waste wood is 

 seen anywhere . 



The woods were mostly spruce 

 and Scotch pine, with a fair propor- 

 tion of Weymouth pine and some 

 Douglas fir. 



The administrative statf at Isen 

 consisted of a forest-master, two 

 assessors and seven foresters, all 

 highly specialized in their resuectiv^e 

 duties ; and. I understand, all have 

 to pass through one of the schools 

 of forestry. 



Forest Nurseries. 



AVe visited two nurseries situated 

 in the forest itself. A brief account 

 of the methods employed for raising 

 seedlings may be of interest. 



The seed is sown in rows a metre 

 long; between the rows laths about 

 two inches wide are laid on the 

 ground, to kec the weeds down and 

 to keep the soil damp. 



The number of seedlings raised by 

 this method, in a small space, is pro- 

 digious. The nurseries are, conse- 

 quently, small in area : the beds are 

 carefully prepared beforehand, and 

 lupins or some other soil-improving 

 crop is first grown to enrich the 

 ground. 



The seedlings are generally le^t in 

 the seed beds for two years, and are 

 then planted out in the nursery three 

 inches ai")art, where they are left for 

 another two years, after whicli they 

 are ready for transplanting into the 

 forest. Although these details may 

 appear trivial, they are exceedingly 

 important as, unless the young plants 

 are given just the right space for 

 forming both roots and heads, they 

 will not be in the best condition for 

 moving. We saw^ young trees whicli 

 had been badly started in the nur- 

 sery and were, consequently, useless 

 for moving out. 



Each variety of forest tree has 

 l)een studied and has been found to 

 renuire different treatment in the 

 nursery. Thus, the oak and ash seed- 

 lings are planted out in the nursery 

 twelve inches apart and the Wey- 



mouth pine six inches apart ; the 

 young spruce, as stated above, are 

 planted three inches apart. 



The transplanting is done both in 

 the autumn and in the spring. 



The Germans have, with the great- 

 est care, designed tools for their for- 

 estry work. I saw a most useful 

 auger for taking up the two to four 

 year seedlings, with a ball of earth. 

 They have al^o a very ingenious ar- 

 rangement for making the holes for 

 the two-year-old seedlings, when 

 first moved. 



These devices economize la])our 

 and secure uniformity. 



The cost of planting an acre of 

 forest, under normal conditions, is 

 onlv about ten dollars. Unfortun- 

 ately we were not in Bavaria at the 

 right season for seeing the planting 

 operations. 



I understand that, for a forest of 

 the size of Isen, (15,000 acres) about 

 200 acres are replanted every year, 

 the trees being planted in rows at 

 intervals of four feet each way. 



In Germany, where forestry has 

 been developed to a great pitch of 

 perfection, all possil)le care is taken 

 to secure the best seed obtainable. 



Forest trees produce full crops of 

 seed at comparatively long intervals, 

 from ten to twelve years ; and some 

 years are much better seed years 

 than others. Seed is collected from 

 carefully selected trees; but, on this 

 question. I was unable to collect 

 much information. I believe the seed 

 is often sent from one nart of the 

 country to another. I was informed 

 at Isen, however, that in future they 

 would collect their own seed. 



Natural Keproduction. 



The third and last forest that we 

 visited was at Kelheim, about six 

 hours' .iourne"^^ by train, from Mu- 

 nich. Kelheim is a very important 

 forestry centre, and would be well 

 Avorth an extended visit ; it is par- 

 ticularly interesting because natural 

 regeneration is practiced here on a 

 laro-e scale. We were unable to do 

 more tlian drive along some of the 



