82 ELEMENTS OF SYLVICULTUEE. 



KEGENEKATION CUTTINGS. The peculiarities of 

 either of these two trees require the primary cutting 

 to be made close. It is expedient to leave more 

 silver fir than beech in the reserve, whenever the 

 state of the crop allows of this being done ; but it 

 frequently happens, in spite of all precautions, that 

 the crop of beech seedlings already exists on the 

 ground, or is produced before that of the fir, and 

 remains living. To remedy this, it is advisable when 

 making the secondary cutting, which should always 

 be effected in more than one operation, to cut back 

 the beech plants under cover of the reserve, or again 

 to postpone the secondary cuttings until these plants 

 have ceased growing, in height and are overtaken by 

 the silver fir seedlings ; for, in opposition to what is 

 true for the beech, the silver fir under cover always 

 keeps on growing, though it may be slowly. 



IMPROVEMENT CUTTINGS. The moment having 

 arrived for making the final cutting, in case the 

 young beech plants still overtop the fir, it will 

 be necessary to set free a certain number of the 

 latter well distributed over the forest, not by cutting 

 back the beech to the ground, but by taking off the 

 upper part on a level with the lowest verticel of the 

 fir. This operation will generally suffice to keep the 

 two trees at the same height. Simultaneously, if 

 necessary, the cleaning must get rid of the maples 

 and the elder. 



Thinnings in a mixture of silver fir and beech must 

 be conducted as for pure beech. Their object will 

 be to improve the growth of the forest and to effect 

 a proper distribution of the two kinds. But it will 



