232 



FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



The State forests of 480,000 acres occupy parts of all four provinces of the country. About 

 92 per ceut lie between 000 and 2,400 feet altitude; 42 per cent are stocked on level ground, 29 per 

 cent on gentle slopes, and about the same amount on steep declines. Over 40 per cent of these 

 forests are situated on sandy soils, and the rest are largely on the poor limestone soils of the Jura, 

 and only a small part on the drift formation skirting the north side of the Alps. 



Of the State forest area there is covered by a pine growth of spruce, 28 per cent; beech, 20 

 percent; fir, 9 per cent; pine, 1 per cent; mixed growth of conifers, 14 per cent; conifers and 

 hardwoods, 9 per cent; mixed hardwoods with oak, 7 per cent; mixed hardwoods without oak, 2 

 per cent. Thus about 60 per cent is coniferous growth and only 30 per cent hardwoods, with about 

 9 per cent mixed timber. 



Fully 97 per cent of the State forests are managed by the timber forest system. The rotation is 

 for timber forest, 100 years for 74 per cent of the area ; 80 years for 24 per cent of the area, and 

 120 years for 2 per cent of the area. 



At the present (1894) the areas containiug timber over 100 years old cover 11 per cent of the 

 area: 81 to 100 years old cover 15 per cent of the area; 61 to 80 years old, 15 per cent; 41 to 60 

 years old, 17 per cent; 21 to 40 years old, 19 per cent; 1 to 20 years old, 23 per cent; so that a 

 fairly regular distribution for a 100-year rotation exists. 



These timber forests yield about 56' cubic feet per acre of timber from the main cut or harvest 

 and 1L cubic feet per acre from thinnings, making in all 67 cubic feet per acre and year for the entire 

 area. The 3 per cent managed in coppice and standard coppice cut only about 14 cubic' feet per 

 acre and year. 



The total cut for 1894 was, for wood over 3 inches thick: Oak, 1,200,000 cubic feet, or 3.9 per 

 cent; beech and some other hard woods, 7,900,000 cubic feet, or 26 per cent; conifers, 21,500,000 

 cubic feet, or 70 per cent. 



This cut was composed of 



A. Timber generally orer incites at the top end. 



B. Poles 2-6 inches, S feet from oult end. 



C. Cordwood. 



The above figures, especially those for the yield in saw and other timber, clearly point out the 

 great advantage of the conifers over the hard woods. The same is also clearly illustrated by 

 the fact that the material sold as firewood forms only 40 per cent in conifers, but 94 per ceut in 



1 This means that if the timber is 100 years old, as most of it is,.each acre of forest cuts 5,600 cubic feet of wood 

 at time of harvest. 



