1320 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



Italian Official Photograph 



A HEAVILY SHELLED PORTION OF THE AUSTRIAN TRENCHES AFTER THEIR CAPTURE 

 BY THE ITALIANS. NOTE THE "CHURNED" APPEARANCE OF THE GROUND AND EFFECT 

 ON THE TREE GROWTH OF THE VICINITY. 



the spring and fall, but particularly in the Apennine 

 Mountains of Central Italy centering about Tuscany. 

 Planting usually begins in March on the lower slopes, 

 while at the higher elevations, running up to three and 

 four thousand feet, planting is done as late as the middle 

 of April and even as late as early in May. The plan of 

 reforestation calls for improvement cuttings every ten 

 years and at maturity the whole areas are clear-cut 

 and replanted at once. 



Silver fir is usually cut when mature at ninety years of 

 age. Beech is cut at from ninety 

 to one hundred and twenty, un- 

 less desired at an earlier age for 

 charcoal purposes, and the 

 Scotch pine and spruce are cut 

 at from one hundred to one hun- 

 dred and twenty years. The of- 

 ficials have decided to plant pure 

 forests, that is, an area is planted 

 with pure fir or pure pine, as it 

 has been determined that the 

 quality is inferior when these 

 trees are grown in mixed forests 

 in that region. 



While at Boscolunga, one of 

 the most important State forests 

 along the crest of the Apennine 

 Range between Florence and 

 Bologna, there was an oppor- 

 tunity afforded to see just how 

 the Austrian prisoners worked 

 and lived and felt about their 

 life as captive prisoners in a 

 foreign land. In talking with 



them they all seemed satisfied 

 with what they were doing, all 

 certainly looked well-fed, and 

 none of them expressed a desire 

 to get back before the war was 

 over. One bright and husky 

 young Hungarian had had two 

 ringers cut off in an accident in 

 the saw mill, but in reply to a 

 question about whether or not 

 lie wished to return, he said that 

 he wanted to remain there after 

 the war and get employment in 

 the saw mill if they would take 

 him. The manager said he was 

 one of the best workers about 

 the place and he hoped that he 

 would remain after the war, as 

 he found him one of the most 

 faithful and efficient among those 

 in his employ. The men slept 

 in clean and commodious bunk- 

 houses which reminded one so 

 much of some of those attached 

 to the Ranger stations in our 

 national forests in the west. Each man had a clean, 

 separate bed and the food was the same as that given 

 to the Italian soldiers. A typical daily menu would be 

 about as follows : For breakfast, war bread and coffee 

 (practically the same as is served in all the hotels, that is, 

 without butter, sugar, marmalade or preserves, etc.). 

 For dinner at noon they received a thick vegetable soup 

 or stew, and macaroni, with bread and a little wine. For 

 supper, they received usually "Risotto" or rice, served 

 up in one of the many styles for which the Italian chefs 



AN OBSERVER'S LOOK-OUT CAMP IX THE HIGH MOUNTAINS OF THE ALPINE FRONT. PRO- 

 TECTED FROM DETECTION MY THE ENEMY BY THE SURROUNDING FORESTS. THIS WAS 

 TAKEN IN THE HIGH MOUNTAIN FRONT BETWEEN THE BKF.NTA AND PIAVE RIVER 

 VALLEYS. IN THE DISTANCE IS SHOWN ONE OF THE DEEP INTERIOR VALLEYS OF THE 

 MOUNTAIN FRONT. 



