THE CULTIVATED FORESTS OF EUROPE. 183 



is fresh and the weeds few. European foresters place little dependence upon the 

 reproduction of pine and spruce from self-sown seed, though one occasionally 

 sees a forest fairly well stocked in this way, more frequently with pine than with 

 spruce. Results with spruce may be observed at Baden-Baden in the Black 

 Forest and at Winterthur in Switzerland. 



Where the hills are steep and great danger of erosion exists a selective system 

 of cutting is followed. The method is practiced in Germany, but is more common 

 in the French Vosges and in Switzerland, in some places denudation being even 

 forbidden by law. In a forest managed in this way there is a mixture of all age 

 classes, the mature trees being removed and thinnings being made as the foresters 

 deem advisable. In this case the young growth comes usually from self-sown 

 seed. 



A fir or beech forest is generally reproduced from seed that falls from mother 

 trees left standing over the area to be restocked. These are left properly 

 distributed and in sufficient number, not only for the dispersion of seed, but also 

 to furnish the right degree of shade for the young crop to get started. Some- 

 times, when a full mast occurs on the beech trees, the ground beneath is hacked 

 up for the reception of the seed, as it germinates more readily in the mineral soil. 

 The distribution of the beechnuts is also aided by hand, and fail places are 

 planted with trees from the nursery. After the growth is well started the mother 

 trees are removed in the winter. 



Fir and beech are very much alike in their growth requirements. Both species 

 endure much shade; both are much injured by late frosts, and are sensitive to 

 intense heat; hence, both need protection from mother trees. On account of this 

 similarity of behavior the two species have in recent years been much cultivated 

 in mixture. 



Oak and beech are also grown together. Oak cannot endure much shade ; the 

 crowns of the trees must be kept constantly free from one another by thinning. 

 Hence, beech, a good shade-enduring tree, is used as an undergrowth to shade the 

 soil which otherwise would be much exposed to the drying influences of the sun. 



"When an oak forest is to be restocked, mother trees of oak and beech are 

 left distributed over the ground. The soil is prepared by rooting up any little 

 beech trees that may have started, as their shade would hinder the growth of 

 the j'oung oaks. This also brings some mineral soil to the surface. The ground 

 is then left until seed falls, sometimes four or five years, unless the work is done 

 during a seed year. If the beech seed falls before the oak, the growth from it 

 is destroyed by raking the ground in the following spring after the beech seed 

 has germinated, the object being to hold the ground ready for the oak. When 



