FRENCH FORESTS IN THE WAR ZONE 783 



piles of slag and ])it nibbish which arc In addition to its numerous forests of 



so abundant in similar mining districts oak and beech, the region is excellently 



in England are, however, apparently suited to form a natural barrier to any 



scarce. This is due to the fact that hostile invasion because of the fact that 



these heaps arc frequently planted with the Aire and other ri\'ers traverse it 



larch, birch, and other trees, which lengthwise parallel to the French border, 



grow surprisingly well on such sterile The heavy forest cover, the roughness 



soil. In spite of the fact that it is of the country, and the necessity of 



usually necessary to bring in small crossing instead of following up the 



quantities of earth in which to plant streams, all conspire to render difficult 



each tree, the result is said to be fairly the advance of an army. It was here 



profitable to the mine owners and is that Dumouriez in 1792 held the Duke 



certainly a great benefit to the pubhc of Brunswick in check and, by giving 



from an artistic and health point of view, the French forces time to rally, made 



A part of the Belgian Ardennes of possible the subsequent defeat of the 

 special interest to foresters is the latter at Valmy. In the present war 

 private forest of Minvart, which from history seems to be repeating itself, and 

 1891 to 1903 was the property of Dr. the forest of Argonne has evidently 

 Schlich. When he acquired possession been largely instnmiental in helping 

 of the area it consisted of some 100 to prevent the advance of the Germans 

 acres of Scotch pine and 2,700 acres of in that region, when in the more open, 

 mixed broadleaf trees in a most irregular level country to the north the move- 

 state. Having observed that Norway ments of both armies covered much 

 spruce had grown remarkably well in wider areas. 



the few experimental areas and that Southeast of the forest of Argonne on 



the wood was in much demand in the the Moselle River, only about 10 miles 



neighborhood for pit props, he deter- from the border of Lorraine, is the 



mined to convert the greater part of the town of Nancy, one of the principal 



forest to spruce as rapidly as possible, military posts in France and one of the 



This work, which has been carried out chief objectives of the attack by the 



at a cost of about $20 per acre, has ap- German left wing. It is the seat of the 



parently been very successful. One of only French forest school for the train- 



the principal difficulties encoimtered ing of technical foresters, although there 



was the fondness of the red deer for is another school for the education of 



young spruce shoots. It was found subordinate forest officers at Barres. 



that this damage could be prevented. The school at Nancy was established in 



to a considerable extent at least, by 1825, up to which time the Government 



sprinkling the trees liberally with white- forest service had been made up chiefly 



wash, particularly in the spring. of retired army officers who were not 



South of the Ardennes is the forest specially trained for the work. One of 



of Argonne, concerning which so much the interesting points connected with 



has been heard in the present war as the early history of the school is that its 



the scene of many vigorous encounters, first directors were severely criticized 



The region to which the name is com- for their "unpatriotic" tendency to 



monly applied comprises a rocky, for- advocate methods of forest manage- 



est-clad plateau some 63 miles long by ment in vogue in Germany, where they 



19 miles wide extending from the themselves had received their education, 



plateau of the Ardennes on the north So deep-seated was this feeling that the 



to the plateau of Haute Mame on the very existence of the school was several 



south. On the east it is bounded by the times threatened and the first director. 



River Meuse and on the west by the Bernard Lorentz, is said to have been 



Aisne and the Ante. In this district dismissed for this reason. The school is 



have been some of the most sanguinary organized along military lines and offers 



engagements of the war. The plateau a three year course including both 



has an average elevation of about 1,150 theoretical and practical instruction, 



feet, and, like the Ardennes, is much with considerable field work in the 



dissected by many precipitous gorges, neighboring forests. Only a limited 



