136 FORESTRY IN GERMANY. 



of the soil and to destroy the insects. This method is looked upon favorably, 

 by many of the foresters, having, in most cases, proved a success (in that 

 direction). 



All forests that are cleared off must be replanted. Entire or partial de- 

 forestation for the purpose of devoting the ground to any other purposes than 

 those of wood-growing is prohibited. Exceptions in this regard may only 

 take place under the sanction of the ducal minister of the interior. 



Clearing and replanting after eighty to one hundred and twenty years' 

 growth is called " high clearing system " {hochwaldbetrieU) , this method of 

 clearing having for its object to secure the most perfect and valuable crop of 

 wood upon a given piece of ground, and to bring the money proceeds there- 

 from as high as possible. 



The niederwaldbetrieb, o\ " low clearing system," is that in which the 

 felling of the trees takes place after a growth of from but 15 to 30 years. 



Oaks, especially when the tender bark is desired for tanning purposes, 

 are sometimes cut at the age of from 12 to 15 years. The niederwald pro- 

 duces itself from the natural growth of shoots springing up from the remain- 

 ing stumps and the roots of trees, while the mittelwaldbetrieb, or "medium 

 clearing system," differs from the former, inasmuch as this course of clearing 

 is only adopted to get rid of the deciduous trees and to thin out thickly- 

 wooded tracts to further the general growth of the trees. 



With reference to the planting of young trees Overforester Miller says 

 that he had charge of a tract of woodland, embracing about 6,600 acres, 

 where he set' out many thousands of young trees each year. After these trees 

 are planted there is almost nothing more to be done. The trees were all 

 raised in the nurseries from seeds, having been transplanted there when two 

 years old, and were planted in the forest after a five years' growth in the 

 nursery. 



These nurseries are usually located on forest ground ; are maintained by 

 the state, and receive the most careful attention. The surplus production of 

 young plants the forester endeavors to dispose of at merely nominal prices 

 to cover the expense of raising. 



The demand for them is only limited, as corporations and private owners 

 of woodlands usually raise their own crops. The possessors of private forests 

 are given the young trees free if they agree to plant lands hitherto under 

 cultivation with wood. 



This, to my knowledge, is the only encouragement offered in relation to 

 forest planting in Thuringia, and it might perhaps be termed a "bounty." 



FOREST SCHOOLS THEIR ORGANIZATION AND COURSES OF STUDY. 



The schools in which the young forester— after he has acquired the neces- 

 sary preliminary knowledge in a high school, polytechnic institution, gym- 

 nasilim, &c. — receives his academical training are in Germany partly inde- 

 pendent institutions ; as for instance, the forest academies in Neustadt, Ebere- 

 walde, Muenden, Tharandt, Aschaffenburg and Eisenach, partly united with 

 universities, as in Muenchen, Giessen and Tuebingen. 



