94 ANNUAL REPORT OF 



lesser yield. It is an iron-clad rule that on the whole the 

 cut shall not exceed the increment of the forest. 



Trees are cut as low down as possible above the sur- 

 face of the soil; the instrument used is the saw. The 

 stump and the root are dug out afterwards wherever such 

 work is remunerative, viz. , where the wood obtained can 

 be sold at a paying rate. In Saxony regular forest 

 management began with the beginning of the century in 

 a systematic way; consequently the forests now existing 

 are almost even aged and composed of trees of almost 

 even size; hence there is no objection to clearing an en- 

 tire area of given size, say of two or three acres, at once, 

 removing from it every tree standing on it. In excep- 

 tional cases, pieces of forest not entirely mature may be 

 sacrificed with a view of saving others from the dangers 

 threatening from storms and insects. 



The average age of maturity in Saxony for conifers 

 (spruce) is eighty to ninety years. However, there are 

 cases in which this rule is not adhered to, The size of 

 trees when fit for the axe depends entirely on the species, 

 on the condition of the locality, the means of transporta- 

 tion, etc. Previous to the final cutting, and beginning 

 with the twenty-fifth year of a piece of forest, and ending 

 at the sixtieth year of the forest, thinnings take place at 

 intervals of about ten years with a view to allow increased 

 light and increased space to the most promising speci- 

 mens of the growing stock. Specimens growing less 

 vigorously, dying or dead, are removed at the same time 

 wherever it pays. 



There is no difference in the rank of the forest officer 

 compared to that of any other state officers employed in 

 the technical branches of the government. The state 

 forestry service is divided into a lower and higher branch. 

 The professional training for the first one is a merely prac- 

 tical training, whilst the latter necessitates scientific prep- 

 aration of a high class. The requirements with reference 



