280 
tion. ‘'An Exam-pie of Sylviculture” it is headed, and its 
character is revealed in these introductory sentences: “We 
hear and see a great deal about the sylvicultural systems in 
use in Germany, but they seem so far removed from our con- 
ditions, so far in advance of our development, that they seem 
unreal to us. They are regarded more in this country as ab- 
stract theories rather than something to be put into actual 
practice. Once in a while, however, the proper conditions 
are accidentally brought about and the forester wandering 
through the forest comes suddenly upon a faithful example of 
one of the German systems. In just this way the shelter- 
wood system of reproducing a crop has accidentally been 
worked out in almost all its details on a half section of Itasca 
Park. The result is nearly perfect reproduction over a con- 
siderable portion of the tract.” It is mentioned in the article 
that the process was accidentally approximated in the logging 
of a section of the park mentioned, and the following is stated 
as the process when carried out on a definite plan based on 
principles derived from the study of forest growth : 
“The shelterwood system-, briefly described, is this : The 
stand of mature timber being too dense to allow the leaf litter 
to rot properly in its shade, a light thinning is made — that is, 
a few of the trees are taken out to let in the sunlight and allow 
better air circulation. These new conditions soon bring about 
the rapid rotting of the vegetable covering on the ground. 
As soon as the leaves and other litter are sufficiently rotted 
the mineral soil is laid bare as a seed bed for the mature seed. 
In such a bed the seed germinates readily and can easily 
force its roots into the soil, whereas the seeds falling on 
dead, undecayed leaves, though they may germinate well 
enough if the leaves be damp, exhaust all their vitality before 
they are able to force their roots through to the nourishing 
mineral soil. 
“That is the first step, a thinning for the preparation of the 
seed bed. When the seedlings have come up, more light is 
needed for their growth, and another thinning must be made. 
It is still necessary to keep enough old trees to shade the 
seedlings somewhat and seed up any openings that may re- 
m-ain. As soon as this seeding is complete and the seedlings 
are old enough to stand the sunlight the remaining mature 
timber is cut, either all at once or in two separate cuttings. 
The ground is then fully stocked with young seedlings, which, 
with proper care, grow up to form the forest of the next 
generation.” 
“Road Building” is the title of the final article in our ]\Iin- 
nesota contemporary. It is short, and as it gives a descrip- 
tion of cheap road-making, such as might profitably be 
adopted in this Territory for new roads, whether built by the 
counties as parts of their highway systems or by the Terri- 
