AMERICAN TREES IN GERMAN FORESTS 



925 



Diameter in inches outside bark butt 



end of log. 

 24-i-nch 20-inch 14-inch lo-inch 6-inch 



White pine per M.. $49.00 $37.00 $30.00 $21.50 $12.50 



Scotch pine " " . . 26.00 23.00 22.00 18.00 14.00 



Larch " " .. 30.50 27.00 26.00 21.50 14.00 



Spruce " " 25.00 23.00 20.00 16.00 



Fir ' ' 27.00 22.00 19.00 14.00 



An excellent stand of white pine is also found in the 

 municipal forest of Frankfort located near Isenburg. In 

 1855 white pine seedlings two years old were planted 

 with alternating rows of oak. The oak was entirely 

 suppressed by the rapid-growing white pine. The fail- 

 rows of oak were filled in with Norway spruce, but it 

 also proved a fail- 

 ure owing to the 

 strong handicap of 

 the white pine. The 

 result is a pure 

 stand of white pine 

 with rather wide 

 spacing. In 1911 

 this stand had 295 

 trees per acre av- 

 eraging 80 feet in 

 height and 12.5 

 inches in diameter. 

 The average an- 

 nual growth up to 

 1911 was 2 cords 

 per acre. 



In the munici- 

 pal forest belong- 

 ing to the city of 

 Heidelberg, white 

 pine covers an area 

 of over 140 acres, 

 aggregating about 

 150,000 specimens, 

 which vary in age 

 from two to sixty- 

 five years. Among these 140 acres are some experi- 

 mental plots. One was started in 1888 in which 2,750 

 two-year-old white pine seedlings were planted per acre 

 at an expense of $10.50. In 1908 at the age of twenty- 

 two years, they had an average height of 26.5 feet, and a 

 volume of 53 cords per acre. This shows an average an- 

 nual increment of 2.4 cords per acre. The average annual 

 increment between 1903-1908 was 3.8 cords per acre. 



The white pine can be found in pure and in mixed 

 stands in Germany. The lessons to be learned therefrom 

 should be of great value to the American forester who 

 is at present planting this species on a gigantic scale. 

 The advantages are in favor of mixed stands which show 

 clearer boles, and yield a better quality of wood. De- 

 structive organisms, of which the white pine has many, 

 are also disseminated more readily in pure stands than 

 in mixed stands. It can also be seen from the schedule 

 of prices given above that the early thinnings of white 



EUROPEAN LARCH AND WHITE PINE 



Plantation 20 years old located in the Ebersberger Park Forest, Bavaria, Germany, 

 forest contains 19,209 acres and is the largest solid forest area in Germany. 



pine have little value, at least less than any of the other 

 coniferous species, and certainly less than most hard- . 

 woods. It seems advisable to recommend the establish- 

 ment of mixed stands in which white pine should be the 

 major species destined to produce quality, while the other 

 species should be regarded as minor and temporary, and 

 destined to produce material which can be removed in 

 early thinnings and sold at a fair price, thus offsetting 

 the initial constructive expense of the plantation. 



Douglas fir was introduced into Europe in 1827. This 

 was over a hundred years later than the white pine. In 

 this relatively short period it has shown itself to be the 

 most valuable exotic species. It is daily growing in 

 favor with the German foresters. In Prussia alone over 



3 5 acres were 

 planted with it 

 prior to 1911, not 

 to mention the 

 large acreage that 

 has been planted 

 in Bavaria, Hesse, 

 and Saxony. It is 

 found in pure and 

 mixed stands. 

 Some of the plan- 

 tations show alter- 

 nating rows of it 

 and some other 

 species, such a:; 

 white pine, Nor- 

 way spruce, and 

 European larch. In 

 almost every case 

 the Douglas fir far 

 surpasses the other 

 species in height 

 growth. Data from 

 German nurseries 

 and plantations 

 show that it may 

 reach a height of 

 4 inches in one year, 8 inclies in two years, 46 feet in 

 fifteen years, 56 feet in eighteen years, and 83 feet in 

 fifty-three years. It is relatively free from enemies, but 

 the deer feeds upon it rather freely, and in some places 

 the foresters report that it suffers from snow break and 

 frost. In youth the plantations are usually surrounded 

 by a fence in order to keep out the larger destructive 

 animals. The terminal shoots of small plants are often 

 covered with tar to prevent the deer from eating or 

 injuring the terminal bud. Frost may do considerable 

 damage to seedlings and transplants but seldom damages 

 larger specimens. It recovers very readily from damage on 

 account of its numerous adventitious buds, and in this re- 

 spect surpasses most other coniferous species. Planta- 

 tions are usually established by using two to four year old 

 transplants, and spacing the plants 5X5 or 6X6 feet. 



In the municipal forest of Heidelberg is an experi- 

 mental plot of Douglas fir with the following data accord- 



This 



