THE PINE INVESTIGATION. 309 



by the Oberforester's first assistant, proceeded directly to the 

 forests where we arrived at 9:15 a. m., and at once commenced 

 a vigorous seach for (Jlerids. Although it rained incessantly 

 and very hard, we were so successful that by 11:40 a. m., 187 

 living examples of the Clerids had been secured, but owing to 

 the rain we were compelled to abandon the work. We then 

 returned to Hagenau, and after lunch 1 called on Ober forester 

 Strahmeyer and obtained from his son, Mr. H. Strahmeyer, 180 

 examples of the Clerids which he had collected for me during 

 my absence in the Kingdom of Saxony, and after engaging 

 him to secure as many more as possible, within the next two 

 days, I left Hagenau by rail for Aberschwiller in Loraine. 



INVESTIGATIONS IN THE VOSGES MOUNTAINS, LORAINE. 



I hoped to find abundant material in the spruce forest near 

 the source of the river Siar, in the central Vosges Mountains 

 where I had learned that much timber had been broken down by 

 heavy snows. We arrived at Aberschwiller that night, and the 

 next morning called on Oberforester Piltz who kindly accom- 

 panied us by carriage, narrow gauge railroad, and on foot, into 

 the midst of the great forest of white spruce. Here was found 

 a most remarkable and interesting feature of the forest de- 

 struction by storm and snow. 



GREAT DESTRUCTION OF TIMBER BY SNOW AND WIND. 



It appeared from information obtained from Oberforester 

 Plitz that on the 30th of March, 1892, while a thick and heavy 

 mantle of wet snow was on the foliage and branches of the 

 trees a severe wind storm corning from the east swept a path 

 through the forest from near Shermec, in Elsass over the 

 Donan mountains and across Loraine to Cornnauexan in France, 

 cutting a path from four to five miles wide, and over twelve 

 miles long, in which almost every tree was prostrated. Over a 

 greater portion of the area the tall, straight and matured spruce 

 trees had stood so thick that their prostration was made the 

 more complete by the great weight of snow. In fact, when the 

 trees commenced to fall on the border of the forest, the others 

 against which they fell were pushed down in the same manner 



