640 



Forestry Congress at Brussels. [nov., 



Along the fire-guards, and in the lower damp parts where 

 conifers do poorly, broad-leaf trees such as Quercus robur r 

 Q. rubra, Alnus incana and A. verrucosa, Betula alba and 

 B. papyrifera, Robinia pseudacacia, Prunus serotina, &c. r 

 have been planted. 



Experiments are being carried on to determine the best 

 mixtures of Pinus sylvestris, laricio, pinaster, and rigida* 

 The question of the exact effect of the action of fertilisers in 

 the dunes is also receiving attention. 



The third excursion lay in the forest of St. Michel and the 

 Fays de Lucy. Starting from St. Hubert, in the Ardennes, 

 at an altitude of about 1,450 feet, the road ascended gradually 

 to about 1,800 feet. The woods of the district are composed 

 for the" most part of beech with some oak and sycamore. 

 The soil is the decomposition product of Devonian shales. 

 Between the stretches of broad-leaf woods lie considerable 

 areas of bog. A start has been made to drain these and to 

 plant them up with spruce. Beech shows good growth even 

 in the most exposed places, so long as the soil is free from 

 much peat, but at the same time nothing like the volume 

 can be obtained from this species as from spruce. This is 

 brought out from the following official measurement of 

 experimental plots : — • 



Elevation. 



Species. 



Age. 



Volume quarter 

 girth. 



Soil. 



Feet. 







Cu. ft. 





1,770 



Beech 



160 



2,500 



Loam, poor. 



j 5 



> ? 



140 



2,840 



j» j > 



>> 



? ? 



87 



4, 260 



Deep loam. 



1,720 



Spruce 



56 



6,670 



Peat formerly 2 feet deep. 



• y j 





43 



4,330 



55 5 5 55 55 



5 > 





43 



4,500 



55 5 5 5 5 5 5 





i> 



43 



3,80O 





1,700 



55 



37 



3,600 



Peaty loam. 





5 J 



37 



3,160 



5 5 5 , 



On the other hand, Scotch pine woods growing at con 

 siderably lower altitudes were very poor, and showed no 

 promise whatever of developing into a crop of any value. 



A number of experiments is being undertaken in these 

 forests to determine the best methods of thinning spruce 

 crops, and to determine the rate of growth of spruce timber. 



Perhaps the most interesting expedition was that through 



