AMER1CAXS IX THE FORESTS OF GERMANY 



333 



cent of the forests, beech 

 forty-six per cent, and oak 

 thirty per cent, the soil be- 

 ing mainly sand over lime- 

 stone. As early as 1430, 

 oak acorns and pine cones 

 (not Pi nits strobus, for Co- 

 lumbus sailed sixty -two 

 years later) were intro- 

 duced from Nuremburg, 

 and working plans were 

 formed for the production 

 of timber for boats and 

 houses. In 1857, American 

 white pine seedlings two 

 years old were outplanted, 

 with alternating rows of 

 oak, the soil having been 

 occupied by beech. 



To-day, a dense forest of 

 white pine, 285 trees per 

 acre, averaging- seventy- 

 five feet in height and thir- 

 teen inches in diameter, 

 breast high, is the reward 

 for the careful work of the 

 German foresters (see il- 

 lustration No. 6). The av- 

 erage annual increment has 

 been as follows : 



Up to 1880. 1.6 cords per acre 

 Up to 1902. 2 cords per acre 

 Up to 1907. 2.1 cords per acre 



The present stand, timber 

 only, is 101 cords per acre. 

 The investment will prove 

 remunerative, as the in- 

 ferior Scotch pine brings 

 $15 to $40 per i ,000 board-feet. The 

 forests of this district cover 4,500 acres, 

 yielding a net yearly revenue of $5.50 

 per acre. The yearly planting expense 

 is $2,400, or 53 cents per acre on the 

 entire area. The yearly road expense is 

 $i per acre. Heavy investments of this 

 character are possible only under fa- 

 vorable economic conditions, such as 

 high prices for forest products, safety 



AMERICAN WHITE PINE 

 One hundred and twenty years old, Konig, Germany 



from fires, small forest area per capita 

 of population, complete system of 

 transportation without and within the 

 forest, taxation based on soil produc- 

 tivity, agreement among owners to cut 

 only enough to supply the demands of 

 the consumer, ownership of state or 

 community or corporation able to with- 

 stand long-time investments. 



