RESEARCH 
IN FORESTRY 
Experiment station work in forestry began, 
as has been said, in 1882, but the organization 
was much expanded between the years 1902 
and 1915. In 1917 an office and laboratory build- 
ing, with an adjoining dwelling, was provided 
for the director, Professor Adolph Oppermann, 
in one of the outer suburbs of Copenhagen, 
Springforbi, where there is also an experiment- 
al garden and an interesting beech woods. At 
Egelund, near Hillerod, 34 kilometers from Co- 
penhagen, is a large experimental garden and 
nursery where many “races” of, timber tree 
species are being tried out, to determine which 
ones are best adapted’to given-sites and soils. 
Seed is collected in kifown localities and the 
resulting plants are set out in carefully marked 
Plots. Beech, oak and the several conifers— 
pine, spruce, fir and larch, with some exotics, 
among them Douglas fir and Sitka spruce—are 
thus being tested. Near by this garden is the 
Frederiksborg Slot, formerly a royal castle, 
but now kept as a museum. This is one of the 
show places of Denmark and a Mecca for tour- 
ists. A visit to the castle can well be combined 
‘with an inspection of the Egelund Experimen- 
tal Nursery. A few miles away, by rail, is El- 
sinore, where on the ramparts of Kronberg 
Castle is pointed out the spot where Hamlet is 
supposed to have met his father’s ghost. It 
was the good fortune of the writer to see in 
Copenhagen a production of Hamlet by a Noy- 
wegian actor, Ingolf Schanche, who gave an 
interesting interpretation of the part. The 
actors of course spoke Danish, but to one fa- 
miliar with the play there was no difficulty in 
following the action. 
The director of the Danish Experimental 
Forestry Service (Fors6gsvaesenets) is Pro- 
fessor Doctor Adolph Oppermann, a man well 
known from his writings on forestry subjects, 
as well as on account of the valuable contribu- 
tions that are contained in the reports of the 
station. Beside the tests on races of forest tree 
species, the Forest Experiment Station main- 
tains permanent sample plots in the state for- 
ests all over Denmark for the study of growth 
and yield; conducts research in problems deal- 
ing with forest soils; and investigates ways of 
combatting insects and disease in the forest. 
The writer of this letter is indebted to Profes- 
sor Oppermann for a most courteous reception 
at the experiment station at Springforbi and 
for a very interesting day in the nursery and 
plantations at Egelund. There is a sort of free- 
masonry about forestry that seems to insure 
to any properly introduced forester a warm wel- 
come from his colleagues in the profession in 
any country. This is certainly true in Scandi- 
navia, and the writer of this letter is most hap- 
py here to record his very sincere appreciation 
of the many favors he received at the hands of 
the Danish foresters. 
The technical education of foresters is one 
Jof the functions of the Danish College of Vet- 
erinary Medicine and Agriculture, Forestry be- 
ing a department of the LandbohGéjskole. The 
head of the staff is Professor J. Helms, with 
whom is associated Professor C. V. Prytz and 
Professor Oppermann, director of the experi- 
ment station. There are also schools for 
forest rangers. 
A popular Forestry Association (Dansk 
Skovforening) established in 1888, issues a 
quarterly magazine, “Tidsskrift,’’ which also 
serves as the organ of the association of the 
technically trained foresters (Danske Forst- 
kandidaters Forening). C. M. Moller acts as 
secretary for both associations and editor of the 
“Tidsskrift.”. To him also the writer is in- 
debted for numerous favors. 
THE DANISH 
HEATH SOCIETY 
The unique feature about Danish forestry is, 
however, the work of the Heath Society (Det 
Danske Hedeselskab). This is a private asso- 
ciation formed in 1866 on the initiative of Cap- 
tain Enrico Mylius Daligas with the aim of re- 
claiming and making productive the extensive 
areas in Jutland that are covered with heather. 
This plant, so dear to the hearts of all Scottish 
folk, presents a most attractive sight when in 
bjoom, but it is not an economic proposition, as 
are the pines and especially the spruce that 
in Denmark can be made to grow in its stead. 
Consequently the work of the Heath Society is 
of great local significance and has resulted in 
the development of Jutland in a rather remark- 
able way. 
The Heath Society is managed by a board of 
35 directors who elect an executive committee 
of three, with a technical deputy. This last po- 
sition is now filled by Skovrider Christian Dal- 
gas, a son of Captain Dalgas. It is interesting 
to note that his son, in turn, is also a member 
of the Danish Forest Service, being the com- 
piler of a book of yield tables of beech, oak, 
pine and spruce. The work of the Heath So- 
ciety falls into several divisions: The estab- 
lishment of forest plantations on the heath; 
the construction of both drainage and irrigation 
chnals for the improvement of meadow land; 
the making of marl railways—transportable 
tracks, whereby lime can be carried out easily 
to the fields; and, through the regulation of 
water courses and the making of dikes, the 
development of marsh land areas. The head- 
quarters of the society are at Viborg, in cen- 
tral Jutland, where from a handsome and com- 
modious building the work of the several 
branches is directed. In 1866 the area of un- 
productive land in Denmark amounted to 11,464 
square kilometers (3,425 square miles). In 
1920, the figure was only 3,824.5 (1,476 square 
miles). To the Heath Society is due most of 
the credit for bringing into economic use the 
other 7,640.5 square kilometers (1,949 square 
miles), a reduction of the waste area of 1866 
by considerably over one-half. 
In all the activities of the Heath Society the 
actual work has been done by the people liv- 
ing on the heath, with the consequence that 
prosperity has come to this section, both to in- 
dividuals and to communities. Thriving towns 
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