596 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



remarkable figures of productiveness will be maintained we can not 

 say. We can say, however, that the German foresters are watching this 

 experiment with lively interest. 



No report of German forestry and forests, however brief, could omit 

 to make some mention of the Schwarzwald; one of the most famous 

 forests of southern Germany, commonly known as the " Black Forest." 

 This is a region of enchantment, the recreation ground of Europe, and 

 the delight of all visitors. Here one comes in contact with new eco- 

 nomic conditions, new silvicultural types and new ideas in the utiliza- 

 tion of forests. While esthetics and sentiment are coming to play an 

 important role, the purely commercial aspect of the production of 

 timber is not overlooked. Not many years ago this was the wilderness 

 of Germany. Destructive forestry, not unlike the past, and for the 

 most part even present, American methods of lumbering, was practised 

 in the Black Forest. I visited the holdings of a forest stock company 

 with an historical record covering more than 300 years. In the early 

 days splash dams were made in the rocky, turbulent streams, and the 

 accessible timber was removed and splashed down to the mills located 

 on the river Ehine. The waste was enormous. Since the advent of the 

 railways conditions have changed. The whole forest is a network of ex- 

 cellent macadam and skidding roads. Destructive forestry has given 

 place first to conservative, and then to constructive forestry. The ad- 

 vance of stumpage prices and the introduction of better forestry meth- 

 ods are rewarded by increased revenue. The net income from some of 

 the holdings of this great forest area is better than that of any other 

 forest that I have had the pleasure of visiting. The regeneration is all 

 by natural seeding, and planting is only practised in case of severe wind- 

 falls or necessary clear cutting. The two prevalent types of natural re- 

 seeding are what are technically called " shelterwood compartment 

 type" and "selection cutting." 



In the first type, the regeneration is carried on over large areas, and 

 the standing seeding and shelter trees are removed gradually during a 

 period of from 40 to 50 years. In the " selection cutting type " the re- 

 generation is in patches and the process of seeding is continuous. That 

 type is selected that is best adapted to the prevailing local conditions. 

 The logging operations in some parts of the Black Forest are unique. 

 On the steep slopes the large logs, scaling from 600 to 1,000 board feet, 

 are let down to the roads by means of a long rope one end of which 

 is wound a few times around a near-by standing tree and then fastened 

 to the large end of the log, by a strong ringed spike. The log is started 

 and the rope is drawn around the tree. The man or men who play out 

 the rope hold it loosely or tightly, according to the weight of the log and 

 the steepness of the descent, and the velocity of the log is under perfect 

 control. The logs are guided past the trees and rocks that may be in 

 their way by woodsmen who are both active and expert in this work. 



