10 CIKCULAR 4 71, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



Erosion and avalanche control, by terracing, barriers, check-dams, stabilizing 



stream beds and banks, revegetation, etc. 

 Fixation of dunes. 



Land reclamation and clearing for agricultural use. 5 

 Pasture improvement — removal of stumps and rocks, revegetation, drainage, 



or irrigation. 

 Miscellaneous: 



Extraction of resin from spruce and pine. 



Gathering of tanbark. 



Gathering of berries, nuts, and mushrooms (ordinarily by the users, not by 



hired employees of the forest owner) . 



LABOR IN FOREST PLANTING 



During the 6 years 1928 to 1933 there was sown and planted in the 

 Bavarian State forests 135,000 acres, at a total cost of more than 

 $5,700,000 or approximately $42 an acre. This seems high compared 

 with American standards, but it includes not merely the cost of seed 

 and plants and of the actual field planting or sowing, but also the 

 cost of preparing and draining the planting sites (roughly $6 an acre), 

 the cost of protecting the plantations (chiefly fencing against game, 

 about $4.80 an acre), and cultural measures subsequent to planting 

 (weeding, release cutting, etc., about $3 an acre). Instead of the 900 

 to 1,200 trees per acre that are usually planted in the United States, 

 it is customary to plant 2,500 to 4,000 or more. Even allowing for 

 all of these differences, the planting costs are higher than ours, when 

 the lower wage rates of German workers are considered. (The average 

 wage was about $0.85 a day for planting work during the period; it 

 was mostly done by women and children.) Probably the average 

 German worker plants fewer trees in a day than the average American. 

 Setting of 20 to 30 trees an hour in prepared spots or furrows is con- 

 sidered a fair average for women workers. This does not include 

 preparation of the spots or furrows. 



During the same 6 years slightly more than 380,000 acres was 

 stocked artificially in the Prussian State forests (24), at a total cost 

 of more than $17,000,000 and an average of approximately $45 an 

 acre. Of this, the cost of seed and plants and the cost of planting 

 and sowing, including replacements, amounted to $26. 



LABOR IN LOGGING 



The quantity of work required for logging varies widely, of course, 

 depending on the character of the timber and the topography. The 

 output per man-day in Austria and Germany ranges mostly between 

 V/<i and 3 cubic meters, or about 50 to 100 cubic feet of round timber. 

 This includes skidding to the roadside, but not hauling to the mill or 

 shipping point. 



Logging is a seasonal occupation in most districts. In the low 

 country it is commonly carried on in the late fall and winter, but in 

 the high mountain districts of Bavaria and Austria felling is usually 

 done in the summer and fall, so that the logs can be got out before 

 the snow becomes too deep. In some places operations are yearlong. 

 This has been the case in East Prussia where extensive insect defolia- 

 tions have necessitated heavy emergency cutting. It is worth noting 

 that practically all trees killed by fire, disease, or insects, thrown by 

 the wind, or broken by ice storms are promptly logged instead of 



5 Practically all of the State and large private forests include some agricultural land, which is leased to 

 forest officers and workers, or even to outsiders. In some instances, the need for more cropland is leading 

 to the clearing of small areas of forest on good soils. 



