FOREST MANAGEMENT. 3 1 1 



weeding, etc. In such cases a forest working plan resolves itself, essentially, 

 into a plan covering various sylvicultural operations (constructive forestry). 



In Germany and France, at the time being, conservative forestry 

 produces invariably financial results superior to those of de-forestation and 

 of abandonment of cut over woodland. In these countries cut over wood- 

 land unfit for the plow (known as absolute forest land), has a value usually 

 exceeding Sio per acre. 



Modern European foresters are in the habit of identifying the term 

 "management" with the term "conservative management" of forests; 

 and all European forest working plans provide for conservative working of 

 the forest. 



Ti)e Ideal Forest 



In an ideal forest continuously supplying certain mills or certain 

 markets with an equal annual amount of timber or wood there should be at 

 hand: 



A normal gradation of the age classes; 

 A normal growing stock; 

 A normal increment. 

 No forest ever has been, is, or ever will be " ideal." The ideal forest 

 deserves attention only in theory. Its theory deals with volumes instead 

 of dealing with values. 



Normal Gradation of Age Classes 



A normal gradation of age classes is literally at hand in the forest where 

 there are found as many age classes as the rotation comprises years. Each 

 class has an age differing from that of any other class. The youngest class 

 is one year old ; the next class is two years old ; the third class is three years 

 old, and so on to the oldest class the age of which equals the rotation. 



In the case of natural seed regeneration, the normal number of age 

 classes at hand is expressed by the fraction 



r 



s 

 wherein r stands for rotation, and wherein 5 stands for the number of years 



