FORESTS AND FORESTRY OF GERMANY 



597 



Group of American Forest Students and German Oberforstebs in a German 



State Forest. 



Even in Germany the forester has his troubles. There are still diffi- 

 culties to overcome, and more or less serious questions to face. I became 

 acquainted with one of the problems of the Saxon state forest. This 

 was near Schwarzenberg, practically in the manufacturing center of 

 Saxony. Here the damage done by the sulphur fumes and other poi- 

 sonous gases that came from the smokestacks of numerous factories is 

 enormous. No wonder the Oberforster was embarrassed, for the con- 

 dition of a large area of the forest under his charge was desperate. 

 Trees, dead and dying b} T the thousands. Fortunately, being of true 

 German pluck and persistency he was not discouraged. He was making 

 some well-directed experiments to determine the species least susceptible 

 to smoke and poisonous fumes. It is now well known that conifers are 

 more affected than broad-leaf species, and that the spruce is the most 

 sensitive of the conifers. This later species is being removed as fast as 

 possible and hardwood species are being substituted. Dr. Wislicenus, 

 of the Saxon forest school at Tharandt, who is a distinguished investiga- 

 tor, has devised a perforated smokestack which he believes will greatly 

 lessen the injury caused by smoke, sulphur fumes and other injurious 

 gases. 



Another difficulty of which many foresters bitterly complain is the 

 injury done to seedlings and young trees by deer, rabbits and other 

 forms of wild game. It is true that the revenue from the hunting 

 licenses offset the injury in some degree, yet the absolute loss is often 

 serious and irreparable. All known methods of efficient protection are 

 expensive. 



In some states the greatest difficulty of all lies in the exercise of 



