VALLOMBROSA FOREST IN ITALY 



651 



timber of all kinds for the great army of 5,000,000 men at 

 the front, nearly all of the available and mature timber 

 was taken. The famous Forest of Vallombrosa was not 

 spared in this respect. Instead of a normal annual cut of 

 6000 cubic meters before the war, during the year io^and 

 before the end of the year 1918, 30,000 cubic meters of 

 silver fir were cut, 18,000 of beech, 6,000 chest- 

 nut and 1,000 pine, making a total of 55,000 cubic 

 meters, which is equivalent to over nine years' 

 normal production in this forest. That is, the 

 future yield for approximately nine years was 

 discounted for the present war emergency, and 

 aside from this the growth to be expected during 

 that time was cut off, so it is estimated by the 

 Italian officials that for probably fifteen years at 

 least no cutting can be made in the Vallombrosa 

 forest. 



All of the best silver fir forests, that is, not 

 only those which were actually mature, but those 

 which were approaching maturity were cut off 

 and the material rushed to the front, the silver 

 fir lumber being in especial demand for troop 

 barracks, trench timber and boxes and crating 

 stock for munitions and food supplies. The 

 immature pine as mentioned above was also sacri- 

 ficed as well as a good share of the better beech, 

 only a small portion of which has reached 

 maturity. 



Lumbering in a primitive way had been prac- 

 ticed on the Vallombrosa forests by the monks during 

 the past several centuries. A sawmill had been erected 

 by them, but on account of the distance from the rail- 



way, this forest had not supplied an important quantity 

 of lumber, the principal products having been charcoal, 

 vineyard stakes, fuel wood and lumber used locally. 

 During the war, however, in order to log the trees in 

 a most economical manner, log chutes were erected, and 

 in the steep gulches an overhead cable system similar to 



FORESTERS IN ITALY 



A group in the summer garden at Vallombrosa. In the foreground is 

 the Signor Bonomini, manager for the lumber company cutting Vallom- 

 brosa forests, on the extreme left Professor Di Telia; standing above 

 on left, the director of the ranger school, standing in the center, state 

 inspector, and on the right Signor Camillo Parisini, general manager of 

 the Fratelli Feltrenelli Company of Milan T n the right foreground is 

 Signor Martinetti of Florence, 



IN THE HEART OF A FOREST 



A colony of children being entertained at a little woodland home in the heart of 

 the forest of Vallombrosa. These children were from Florence and Pontassieve and 

 remained for several weeks during the summer of 1918 The fathers of most of 

 them were soldiers in the Italian army. 



those used on the high mountain front by the troops 

 was installed for the larger logs in two of the principal 

 valleys. 



Aside from these means, oxen were used to bring the 

 logs into the sawmill which was centrally located for the 

 woods operations, just below the old monastery. The 

 average length of haul for these logs was one mile. The 

 logs were usually cut in lengths of four meters or about 

 13. i feet. The fir was also cut in lengths of five and 

 six meters whereas the beech was usually cut in two 

 and three meter lengths as well as four meters. When 

 the silver fir and pine logs were to be used for beams and 

 general construction work they were cut in 7, 8 and 10 

 meter lengths. In all cases, 10 centimeters was allowed 

 for trim in addition to the above lengths, and all logs 

 were usually "nosed" to facilitate logging on the steep 

 hillsides. In all of the woods operations, a policy of 

 clean cutting everything was adopted. After the large 

 logs were taken out, the tops, limbwood, and even the 

 stumps were cut and stacked and. used later for fuel 

 wood or charcoal purposes. During the following spring, 

 the area was immediately replanted. 



The following costs may be of interest on these opera- 

 tions. It is estimated that it costs from 60 cents to 80 

 cents per cubic meter for felling and cutting the trees 

 into log lengths. In the case of the beech, the cost 

 usually runs from 80 cents to $1.00. For transportation 

 one mile to the mill, it cost 80 cents per cubic meter 

 before the war, whereas during 1918, the cost was from 

 $1.60 to $2.00 per cubic meter. Each wagon load of 



