Silvicultural Practice. 237 



somewhat better regulated and modified, sometimes 

 with improvement fellings added. In some parts, 

 especially in Lorraine, for a time, artificial regenera- 

 tion and a strip system were tried, and even a group 

 selection with a regeneration period of probably 25 

 to 30 years and an exploitable age of 100 years, was 

 practised in the 18th century. 



Buffon, in 1739, proposed a treatment for the 

 pineries to secure natural regeneration by cutting 

 one-third to one-half, leaving 40 to 50 seed trees 

 per acre, while Duhamel (1780) considers selection 

 method best for larch and pine as well as fir, 

 although pine might, like oak, be readily reproduced 

 by sowing. 



While system and orderly progress of fellings 

 in selection forest had gradually been estab- 

 lished, during the revolution this was largely 

 disregarded and unconservative fellings became the 

 order. 



Guiot's Manuel forestier, published in 1770, gives 

 a good idea of the status of forestry at that time. It 

 appears that for timber forest, mostly royal woods, 

 rotations varying from 60 to 200 years, for coppice 

 from 10 to 20 years, were in use on the royal domain; 

 that fellings were regulated according to species, soil 

 quality and the most advantageous yield. To facili- 

 tate regeneration, a superficial culture of the soil is 

 also advocated. 



The prescription of Colbert's ordinance to leave a 

 certain number of seed trees, no matter for what 

 species or conditions of soil or climate had as early as 

 1520 been pointed out as faulty by one of the grand 



