i9io.] Forestry Congress at Brussels. 



637 



lish Arboricultural Society; and Mr. R. L. Robinson of the 

 Board of Agriculture. The Belgian Government voted a 

 sum of ^360 towards the entertainment of the guests, and 

 the Forest Service went to an immense amount of trouble in 

 making arrangements for the various excursions and in pro- 

 viding for the comfort of the visitors. 



The Association aims at the development of forestry research, 

 the exchange of views between the research stations in various 

 parts of the world, the standardisation of methods of research 

 so as to render possible a comparison of results and the pro- 

 motion of the study of questions of general interest. The 

 matter of a forestry bibliography is also under consideration. 



In addition to a series of meetings, visits were paid to some 

 of the chief types of forests in Belgium. The first day's 

 excursion included a visit to the Hertogenwald, a State forest 

 of some 16,000 acres lying at an elevation of 700 ft. to 

 2,150 ft. in the extreme east of Belgium. The conditions 

 resemble those in the more mountainous districts of Britain, 

 and for that reason the work being carried on there is of 

 considerable interest to British foresters. 



Here (Hautes Fagnes), at an altitude of 2,000 feet, the 

 Belgian Government are attempting to afforest a moor. The 

 underlying rocks are Cambrian phyllites and quartzites, and 

 the soil for the most part is an impermeable clay covered with 

 peat to a depth of from 1-3 ft. The experience of the Belgian 

 foresters is that the spruce alone is of any use for such situa- 

 tions, and the use of all other species has been abandoned. 

 The method of planting is that known in this country as the 

 Belgian system. The soil is first drained by ditches 

 approximately 13 feet apart, 2 feet wide by 10 inches deep. 

 The material from the drains is taken out in blocks, which 

 are all placed face downwards alternately to the right and 

 left of the drain. In each of these blocks a hole is cut with 

 a conical planting spade, a little earth containing some fer- 

 tiliser inserted in the hole, a young spruce plant (2 year 2 year) 

 placed in position, and the conical piece of turf previously 

 removed broken up and pressed round the roots. The cost 

 of planting 1,340 plants per acre, draining, etc., is given as 

 £3 14s. per acre. The actual planting is done by women. 

 Experiments have been carried out to determine the best 



