SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE BLACK FOREST 



By F. F. MOON, M. F., 

 New York State College of Forestry 



PRACTICALLY everyone who 

 has ever read German Fairy 

 Tales as a child must have come 

 under the spell of the Black 

 Forest. The woods were so dark, the 

 streams so limpid, and the whole at- 

 mosphere was so charged with the pos- 

 sibility of adventure that to an imagin- 

 ative child it seemed the most marvel- 

 ous place in the world an enchanted 

 realm with no particular location but 

 nevertheless very real. 



As we grew older we learned, to our 

 amazement perhaps, that there was such 

 a place as the Black Forest ; that it was 

 known in Roman History as the Silva 

 Marciana, and really deserved a large 

 part of its renown. At present it ranks 

 as the most popular summer resort in 

 the German Empire and is visited by 

 thousands of tourists each year, at- 

 tracted by the scenery and the climate. 

 To an American forester also, the 

 Black Forest has a peculiar attraction 



and charm. He, too, is attracted by the 

 aesthetic features and in addition the 

 well kept forests, so carefully managed, 

 appeal to his professional sense. 



A word or two of description of this 

 region might not be amiss. The forest 

 is practically a dissected plateau, lying 

 between the Neckar on the north, the 

 Nagold on the east, and the Rhine on 

 the west and south ; two-thirds of it 

 lies within the Grand Duchy of Baden 

 and the remainder in the Kingdom of 

 Wiirtemburg. The total area is about 

 2,100 square miles. 



The valleys are quite steep toward 

 the center of the region and while nu- 

 merous areas may be found where 

 grapes, fruit or field crops are raised, 

 the bulk of the land, especially toward 

 the south is far better suited to the pro- 

 duction of timber than to agriculture. 

 The orderly German as usual adapts 

 his crop to the soil and situation and 

 as a consequence we find fertile valleys 



SPLENDID NATURAL REGENERATION OF SPRUCE ON CITY FOREST. 



REGENERATION USED BUT LITTLE. 



Photo by F. F. M 



ARTIFICIAL 



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