88 ELEMENTS OF SYLVICULTUEE. 



Vigorous trees are recognized by a thin, bright 

 russet-coloured bark which easily exfoliates and 

 begins rather low down upon the stem. 



EEMABKS. During the last forty years many 

 forest officers have abandoned natural regeneration 

 of 'the Scotch pine, substituting in its place artificial 

 reproduction. They maintain that self-sown crops 

 are not readily obtained, and are a very long time in 

 becoming complete. This idea is the result of in- 

 sufficient observation, for the truth is this : the old 

 method of cutting down high forest consecutively 

 belt by belt, and leaving no reserves, has neverthe- 

 less produced most complete crops ; but care was 

 taken to loosen the soil ; in Alsace, at any rate, this 

 was so. Since the method of thinnings has been 

 applied this preparation of the ground was discon- 

 tinued, and unsatisfactory seed crops were the result. 

 Good seed crops are only found in those parts where, 

 for the last few years, cultivation of the soil has 

 begun again. Moreover, exaggerating the method, 

 they endeavoured to obtain dense crops of seed- 

 lings, a circumstance which is not only rarely 

 produced, but is undesirable, as we shall presently 

 see. 



Without in the least denying the facility with 

 which artificial crops of Scotch pine may be raised, 

 it is easy to show the superiority of natural seedlings. 

 From the economical point of view, there can be no 

 two opinions on the subject ; from the cultural point 

 of view, it is no less true. Owing to ignorance of the 

 quality of the seed, and uncertainty as to the number 

 of plants that will succeed, sowing is always done 



