DETAILED DESCEEPTIOIT OT COMPAETMENTS . 7"! 



(i) Gentle slopes, those whose gradients are compiised between 

 % and 1/6, say between and 16 in 100, 



(ii) Rather steep ...1/6 ... 1/3 16 ... 33 



(iii) Steep 1/3 ... 2/3 33 ... 66 



(iv) Very steep 2/3 ... 1/1 66 ...100 



(v) Scarps, whose gradients exceed 100 in 100 or 45,° and 



which men cannot climb except on all fours. 



The dendrometer, which every Forest Officer in France carries 

 in his sac, is a very convenient instrument for observing the gradi- 

 ents of slopes in hilly country. 



Sheltering rising ground in the vicinity is always desirable and 

 is frequently of very great importance. If in describing the situa- 

 tion of a compartment, the existence of such rising ground cannot 

 be expressed or implied, then it ought to be specially mentioned. 

 The height of the rising ground should be stated, as well as the 

 point of the compass towards which it lies and the effects of its 

 influence on the compartment in question. No hard and fast rule 

 can be laid down as to the method of noting the existence of such 

 sheltering ground and of describing it. Ability to recognise it 

 when it exists, and to appreciate its influence, requires no small 

 amount of general, as well as local, experience. There are occa- 

 sions when it is necessary to note the absence itself of such shelter 

 and the effects of this absence. The presence of streams and tanks 

 and large sheets of water may also affect the climate of a compart- 

 ment either favorably by rendering it moist, or unfavorably by 

 aggravating the effects of frost. 



In order to gain a knowledge of the soil, we must examine 

 the state of its surface, its composition and its principal physical 

 properties. With regard to its surface, the soil may be quite bare 

 or covered with a layer of leaves, carpeted over with moss or grass, 

 or overgrown with bushes ; it may be loose or caked, rocky or con- 

 sisting of earthy particles, &c. By the term composition of the 

 soil we refer to the proportion of the principal elements which form 

 it. It is expedient to determine it absolutely, at least in a few 

 compartments taken as types, by means of acids and the methods 

 nf levigation and quantitave analysis. The presence in large quan- 

 tities of humus and vegetable mould affects very considerably the na- 



