REPORT OF THE STATE BOTANIST I913 6j 



by fumes and gases issuing from their chimneys. The state of 

 Saxony, in order to avoid further litigation, bought the tract in 

 1900 for $125 an acre. 



All sorts of experiments have been tried here to secure a forest 

 growth which will not be killed by the fumes. The spruce is suffer- 

 ing badly all around here from the work of a weevil, so much so, 

 that in one fine pole-wood seven out of every ten trees had been 

 removed for this cause alone. Of mixed plantations of conifers and 

 hardwoods it appears that here the native birch (Betula 

 pendula) is most resistant to the fumes, that Japanese larch 

 does better than the German larch, that Scotch pine and Jack pine 

 are more resistant than white pine. 



The Antonsthal range, for nearly a quarter of a century in charge 

 of Oberforster Gleier, is reached by a short train ride from Schwar- 

 zenberg. Like most of the Saxon Erzgebirge, the slopes are steep 

 and the soil, except in the bottoms, thin and sterile. It is rare to 

 find any regeneration of spruce or fir from self-sown seeds, although 

 considerable effort has been made to bring about that result. Re- 

 planting with 3 year old spruce is the common practice. The spruce 

 are raised in shifting nurseries close to where they will be out- 

 planted. Transplanting of the spruce before outplanting is ap- 

 parently not practised. 



The forests of this region reflect the character of the recent 

 economic development of this part of Saxony. The abundant water 

 power has encouraged the development of paper pulp mills, with a 

 corresponding demand for spruce pulp wood. The result has been 

 a rapid transformation of the old stands of large sized spruce and 

 fir into spruce forests of short rotations, of 35 to 45 years. This 

 means a smaller investment and a correspondingly higher net 

 revenue. The pulp mills, of which there are several in the vicinity 

 of Antonsthal, derive their supply of pulp wood Irom the home 

 range or from Bohemia by rail. 



The Breitenbrunn range, in charge of Oberforster Thomas, ad- 

 joins the Antonsthal range and presents about the same features. 

 Spruce is the prevalent species everywhere except upon a few more 

 fertile spots where ash, maple and beech are planted. In 1908 this 

 range was visited by a particularly severe wind and snow storm 

 so that 30,000 cubic meters of timber were broken down by the 

 snow and wind. As a consequence the net revenue on this range 

 for that year was the highest in Saxony, or 5.1 per cent. 



