147 



The third district outside of the Karst is the plain of Tarlaui, which 

 extends westward to the Italian frontier. This region, uo less than the 

 preceding, shows the effect of forest destruction. The rich soil is pecu- 

 liarly adapted to deciduous trees ; of conifers the Pinus pinea, formerly 

 common, is now found only on, the coast. Most of the land is devoted 

 to cultivation, being held by large owners. The fuel necessary for the 

 inhabitants is chiefly furnished by trimmings from vines, mulberries, 

 and roadside trees. ' Willow-culture furnishes the basis of a profitable 

 industry in basket-making. A joch of well-set willows will yield an 

 annual cutting worth from 25 to 34 florins. On the coast a large area 

 of unproductive sand-hills, subject to malaria, might be greatly im- 

 proved in its sanitary character by the growth of poplars. In this 

 vicinity a small village now represents the old Eomau stronghold of 

 Aquilegia, once called the second Eome. 



FOEEST-CULTUEE IN FEANCE. 



A recent report presented to the Central Society of Agriculture of 

 France recommended the award of a gold medal to M. Jules Mion, 

 President of the Tribunal of Commerce of Upper Marue, for the re- 

 planting of forest-trees upon his estate, Yal-Barisien. This tract, of 

 i'90 acres, is traversed by the little river Suize, with a channel about a 

 mile long from south to north. The valley is very straight, and bordered 

 in the south and west by rapid declivities which in summer were for- 

 merly parched by heat, and in winter denuded of their light top soil by 

 rains. M. Mion first cut down the poplar and willow groves, which ob- 

 structed the current and favored inundations. He diminished the flow 

 of the stream by weirs, removing the talus. Some hills previously used 

 as sheep-pasture were first planted with resinous trees, which he made 

 to grow by extra care in spite of the drought of ISiG. He afterward 

 cleared the valley of its rubbish and enlarged the river-bed, obtaining 

 from 500 to 600 cubic meters of rich earth with which to reinforce the 

 scanty soil of some portions of his farm. He continued his tree-plant- 

 ing not only upon the declivities but also the poorer portions of the 

 more level land. 



In 18G9 the total area thus replanted amounted to 133 acres, of which 

 5f acres, planted in 1845, were of large and full growth. Over 70 acres 

 planted at the same time had been several times destroyed by the illicit 

 introduction of sheep, and hence had to be replanted, llesinous trees, 

 twenty-two to twenty-six years old, presented stems 27 to 30 feet high 

 and nearlj' 3 feet thick at the base, the soil being calcareous and poor, 

 with a broken subsoil and a rapid southern declivity. The northern 

 exposures, with an argilo calcareous subsoil and a topsoil varying 

 from 3 to 12 inches, showed a more active growth. It was not rare to 

 find box-trees from 30 to GO feet high with stems between 2 and 3 feet 

 in circumference. 



The trees selected were the Finns sylrestris, the black pine of Aus- 

 tria, the Epicea, and the larch. They were first planted a little over a 

 yard apart, or at the rate of about 4,000 per acre, but were subsequently 

 thinned out to about double that distance apart. The ground was 

 trenched with the plow for the seed, which was drilled. At first, M. 

 Mion used plants three years of age, costing from C to 9 francs per thou- 

 sand, but he subsequently planted the seed. His oldest plantations now^ 

 give him enough seed to maintain or renew his plantations. The ex- 

 pense amounted to about 100 francs per acre, not including the ditch- 

 ing, which adds about 25 per cent, to the aggregate. The land before 



