Development of Forest Mensuration. 137 



structed the first growth curves by plotting the cubic 

 contents of trees of different ages, and through Seutter 

 (1799) by introducing stem analysis, on which he 

 based his yield tables. 



On the shoulders of these, Hossfeld (1823) built, 

 when he conceived the idea of using sample plots for 

 continued observation of the progress of increment, 

 and he also taught the method of interpolation with 

 limited measurements, laying the basis for quite 

 elaborate formulae. But the first normal yield tables, 

 based on the average trees of an index stand, were 

 published by Huber (1824) and, in the same year, by 

 Hundeshagen. From that time on, yield tables were 

 constructed by many others, but only since the Ex- 

 periment stations undertook to direct their con- 

 struction is the hope justified of securing this most 

 invaluable tool of forest management in reliable and 

 sufficiently detailed form. Even the newest tables 

 are, however, still deficient, especially in the direction 

 of detailed information regarding the division into 

 assortments. The yield tables of Baur, Kuntze, 

 Weise, Lorey, and others are now superseded by those 

 of Schwappach for pine and spruce, and of Schuberg 

 for fir. 



As a result of the many yield tables which gradu- 

 ally accumulated, the laws of growth in general be- 

 came more and more cleared up and finally permitted 

 their formulation as undertaken by R. Weber (Forst- 

 einrichtung, 1891). 



The idea of using the percentic relations for stating 

 the increment, and of estimating the future growth 

 upon the basis of past performance for single trees was 



