BRITISH FOREST TREES 107 



durtion should not be more than 100-120 yards broad, and 

 must of course be so located that the adjoining mature 

 woods lie to the windward, in order that seed may be evenly 

 shed over the area when the cones open with dry warm winds 

 in late spring and early summer. Some measure of soil 

 preparation for the reception of the seed is absolutely 

 requisite, and when seed-years turn out disappointing, arti- 

 ficial reproduction or assistance becomes a necessity to a 

 greater or less extent, as otherwise a rank growth of grasses 

 and other weeds covers the soil and shuts out the hope of 

 seedlings being subsequently able to force their way through 

 these successfully. 



The total clearance of the annual fall of the mature crop 

 with artificial reproduction by planting, is now the usual 

 method of treatment of spruce forests in Germany. Inde- 

 pendent of seed-years, untrammelled by considerations 

 regarding the protection of standard parent trees against 

 the violence of storms, and far less threatened with danger 

 from growth of weeds, reproduction can thus be carried out 

 quickly and satisfactorily at a moderate cost, whilst the 

 extraction of the mature timber is easier, and the grubbing- 

 up of the roots less difficult in localities where there is any 

 good market for fuel. This method has many advantages 

 to recommend its adoption, it is an easy system, involving 

 the minimum outlay for supervision, tending, and ultimate 

 harvesting of the crop, the annual fall of timber is regular, 

 and varies little in quality or cubic contents, and the work- 

 ing plan is based on the simplest and safest of all foundations, 

 i'h. equality of the areas (modified according to their relative 

 productive capacity) from which the mature crop is annually 

 cleared ; it has, however, drawbacks and disadvantages 

 which have previously been referred to. 



In whatever manner spruce forests are reproduced, a 

 general principle should be followed of not making the 



