FORESTRY COMMISSIONER. 97 



Regeneration from self-sown seed is only used in the 

 case of the beech (Fagus silvatica) and of the silver fir 

 (abies pectinata). In all other cases forests are regener- 

 ated by means of planting plants or sowing seeds. 



There is no law or rule in Saxony for compulsory re- 

 forestation after clearings. 



There is not much damage done by forest fires. It 

 averages $300 per year. Forest fires of a larger extent 

 have happened very rarely. As a rule, forest fires are 

 caused by the careless use of matches by tobacco and 

 some cigar smokers. Fires are caused by sparks from 

 locomotives; on the average perhaps ten per year. 



The yield or annual cut is fixed by working plans pre- 

 pared for periods of ten years and renewed after the lapse 

 of such periods. Within these periods the annual yield 

 is almost constant. At the end of a period, however, a 

 new working plan might provide for either a higher or 

 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 surface 

 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 manage- 

 ment began with the beginning of the nineteenth century 

 in a systematic way; hence there is no objection to clear- 

 ing an entire area of given size, say of two or three acres, 

 at once, removing from it every tree standing on it. In 

 exceptional cases, pieces of forest not entirely mature may 

 be sacrificed with a view of saving others from the dan- 

 gers threatening from storms. 



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, 



