Current Literature 229 



Les Torrents de la Savoie. By P. Mougin. Societe d'Histoire 

 Naturelle de Savoie. L'Imprimerie Generale. Grenoble. 1914. 

 Pp. 1,251. Price, 20 francs. 



On account of the deforestation in Savoie under the govern- 

 ment of Italy it is particularly instructive to see v^^hat France has 

 accomplished in reforestation and conservative forest manage- 

 ment since this province was first annexed in 1790. Savoie was 

 in 1860 formed of Haute Savoie, Savoie, Tarentaise and Mauri- 

 enne, the southern portion of the duchy of Savoy. It is divided 

 into 4 arrondissements, Chambery, Albertville, Moutiers-Taren- 

 taise and St. Jean de Maurienne, comprising 29 cantons and 329 

 communes. The Isere is the most important drainage basin, and 

 the difference in altitudes (Mont Blanc 4,810 meters, Rhone 212 

 meters) as well as the large number of summits, signifies a 

 country of steep slopes, so that when Mougin, in his dedication 

 to the Secretary of Agriculture, says: "Among all the problems 

 which have had your keen attention, there is nothing more 

 serious (or) that is more potent for the future and security of the 

 mountain regions than the wiping out of 'torrents,' " he is well 

 within the truth. No forester who has seen fields, roads, bridges, 

 railroads or villages ruined by a torrential storm can say 

 otherwise. 



Mougin has had access to all original archives (Waters and 

 Forest Service, Public Works, P. L. M. R. R., town and county, 

 etc.) and has written an absolutely authoritative work that will 

 be of lasting historical and professional value. 



It is divided into two parts : I. Causes. II. Results, as shown 

 by an accurate history of all "torrents" in Savoie, arranged by 

 streams. In the appendix there is a chronological list of floods 

 and erosin storms in Savoie, beginning with 43 B. C. and ending 

 in 1910. 



According to Mougin, a "torrent" is usually composed of three 

 distinct parts : 1. Collection basin ; 2. Flowway ; 3. Cone. After 

 almost a century of systematic study the causes which underlie 

 the formation of "torrents" have been classified as follows: I. 

 "Geological character of the soil." For example, crystalline or 

 sedimentary, rocks, being compact and hard, resist erosion, while 

 gypsums or schists, being soft, are easily eroded. II. "Climate." 



