258 Dependence of the Geographical Relations of Countries 



themselves as a fertile moorland, intersected by many swamps; 

 that the deserts extending on the south side of Mount 

 Atlas, and which were never covered by forests, resemble 

 large tracts of country inundated by the sea, and destined, no 

 doubt, to remain for ever in a state of barrenness ; that the 

 isles of the Pacific, reared by volcanic action and but for a 

 short period covered with lava, and not yet old enough for 

 the growth of forests, or, therefore, for the formation of a 

 fertile soil, — if we take all this in consideration, we must feel 

 convinced, that all those countries which, since the last revo- 

 lution on our planet, have either kept clear of forests, or have 

 lost them long ago, or have acquired a new surface, cannot 

 boast of that stratum of rich humus to which forests give rise, 

 and which constitutes the chief cause of that remarkable pro- 

 ductiveness which distinguishes the United States of North 

 America ; where, thanks to the forests, it unfolds to the 

 spectator the matchless brilliancy and imposing grandeur of 

 an ever green and ever flourishing vegetation. 



Countries which, in the course of a long civilization, have 

 lost their forests, have for more than 3000 years been subject 

 to the fatal interference of man, and have laboured under 

 the extremes of an unsettled climate, are now in a similar 

 predicament, there being no prospect for the development of 

 their geographical relations. They are lying in a state of 

 aridity and barrenness, which can only be accounted for by 

 the total absence of forests and of vegetable humus. The 

 Abruzzi, Calabria, Attica, and the Morea, bear melancholy 

 evidence, that not only the soil, but also the inhabitants, of 

 these woodless countries are marked with the signs of old age. 



The powerful influence which a productive soil, engendered 

 by the intervention of forests, exerts on the condition of 

 countries and nations, is proved by the historical fact, that 

 the first communities were formed under the shelter of woods, 

 and that agricultural pursuits attached the nomadic tribes to 

 the banks of rivers and to the valleys, where decayed leaves 

 and vegetables, transformed into manure, had contributed to 

 the creation of a fertile soil, and, in consequence, laid the 

 foundation for villages, cities, and empires; whilst, on the 

 other hand, the inhabitants of deserts and pampas are still. 



