76 



found in existence in I *<;,"> "ii tin- mountains west of Bruck. A large extent of 

 well sioeked forest liav l>eeii raised in this manner. 



On the mountains oF the Odenwahl, which have already been mentioned in 



uertion with fields and coppice, a system of raising high forest with the aid of 



il cmps, eallrd lloderliau, has existed from time immemorial. The results of 



thi- system may lie seen in the shape of excellently stocked forests (aggregating 



over _.' on lieet.. equals 4MIO acres) of .Scotch pine, spruce, silver fir and beech up 



t<> ]'2() vears uld, with a mean maturity increment per hectare of 6 cubic metres, 



or N.~>.7 cul>. ft. MT acre. 



GENERAL If KM AUKS ON THE SYSTEM OF HEAVY THINNINGS. 



The system of heavy thinnings in high forests, combined with the raising of 



underwood, so as to produce as it were a forest consisting of two stories, the upper 



storey of trees which, like the oak and the Scotch pine, require much light, and 



the lower of shade supporting trees, such as beech and silver fir, has, as explained, 



tirst been applied in a methodical manner and upon a large scale to the oak and 



and beech in the Spessart about forty to fifty years ago. It is not impossible 



that the natural mixed forests of Scotch pine and beech in the Steigerwald, a 



beautiful forest-clad mountain range, situated east of the Spessart, may have 



given the idea of improving the growth of Scotch pine by means of an underwood 



of beech. To pure beech forest the principle was applied about 1830 in the 



Soiling, a hilly country consisting of red sandstone, situated east of the Weser 



River. In these forests, which were burdened with heavy prescriptive rights of 



old standing, it was at that time found difficult to satisfy the requirements of 



right-holders in the matter of wood ; and with the view of meeting immediate 



needs without at the same time impairing the productiveness of the forests, a new 



system of treatment was devised by Christian von Seebach, who at that time had 



the control of those forests under the Government of the former kingdom of Han- 



over. The period of rotation was UK) to 120 years, but all compartments which 



had attained that ago had been gradually cut and renewed, and it became neces- 



sary to commence cuttings in forests 70 to SO years old, of which, fortunately, 



there was a large area. In the areas taken in hand, about three-fifths of the 



trees were cut, the ground got covered with a dense growth of self-sown seedlings, 



with a few coppice shoots, and thirty to forty years later the crowns of the trees 



left standing had again closed and had formed a complete canopy. In this 



manner a portion of the crop was cut by way of anticipation, and what remained 



had more vigorous growth through the greater space given to the trees, the 



ground remaining all clothed with what may be termed the ground floor or the 



lower story of the forest. Subsequently, as the canopy of the older trees became 



complete, the undergrowth gradually went back, and most of it died. The 



forest, after it had attained the full age prescribed by the term of rotation, was 



then cut by means of successsive fellings, and renewed by self-sown seed in the 



usual manner. 



Of late years this system of heavy thinnings has been somewhat overdone 

 in various localities, and a great deal has been written upon the subject. It 

 would lead too far on the present occasion to enter further into this matter. 



TREATMENT. 



The rotation in this forest is 120 years, divided into six periods of twenty 

 years each, but it is part of the general system of treatment followed here to 

 allow selected vigorous oak and Scotch pine trees to remain on the ground when a 



