122 THE ARIDITY OF SPAIN. [Dec. 



specify France and some of our Colonies, — the Government has acted 

 as many impecunious landholders in our own country ai"e said to have 

 done, in the treatment of forests under their charge : they have cut 

 them down, or sold them to those whom they knew would do so. 

 This has also been done in Spain. With an appearance, which was 

 perhaps correspondent to fact, of wishing to sanction the destruction 

 of no forests, the destruction of which would prove injurious to 

 the country, the Government got prepared catalogues of the State 

 forests in which were specified which, according to the judgment of 

 the comjjilers, might be cleared away, and which should in view of 

 the requirements of the land be reserved from sale. The forest 

 officials engaged in tlie study of the questions raised now, and under our 

 consideration, discovered that, in some way or another, a great many 

 forests, the conservation of which was necessary to the wellbeing 

 of the country, had been included amongst those which might 

 safely be destroyed, and had been sold by the Government. 

 There followed a violent contention for a revisal of the catalogue. 

 All the leading newspapers of the country, and many others, took 

 up the matter. It was a controversy as violent as that raging here 

 at present in regard to whether the extension of the Franchise 

 should, or should not, precede a redistribution of the electoral 

 districts. One ministry had to succumb, and only lately has the 

 question been finally settled, if indeed settled permanently it be. 

 And thus have many forests, which otherwise might have been 

 sold and destroyed, been preserved from destruction. 



With the conservation of State forests thus secured, measures 

 were next directed towards the replenishing of forests which had been 

 devastated. Boturiers, settlers, squatters, or colonists had been 

 encouraged to settle on waste lands ; and one inducement to do so 

 granted to them, was the privilege of cutting timber in the forests. 

 The consequences were such as might have been anticipated, but 

 the serious character of which had not been realized. Measures 

 were directed toward effecting the resumption of this privilege, with 

 due compensation to the settlers ; and the speedy replenishing of the 

 forests by planting and sowing. This is being done, and in connection 

 with it the replenishing of devastated forests. Arrangements were also 

 made for the planting of waste lands with trees ; encouragements in 

 different forms were offered to landholders to plant woods ; and 

 pretty extensive plantations of the Eucalyptus globulus were 

 created. 



Such were the arrangements made for arresting the loss of water 

 by evaporation. I am aware that questions may be raised relative to 

 the effect which these plantations of eucalypts may produce. I am 

 prepared to discuss these questions in befitting time and place. 



