318 Major F. 13ailey's Forest Tour 



w'lrj little Algerian ponies running in light carts, and re- 

 minding us of a good class of northern Indian country- 

 breds. 



The Forest of La Sainte Baume. 



The railway from Marseilles to Aubagne passes through a 

 yery pretty bit of country. On the high ground the Aleppo 

 pine (P. halepensis) grows in fair abundance, the white 

 limestone rock appearing through its dark foliage. At the 

 foot of the hills, in the fertile valley through which the 

 line follows the stream, numerous chateaux and villas were 

 seen, some of them standing in beautifully kept grounds, 

 containing trees and shrubs of many kinds, most of 

 wliich were in spring leaf, the horse-chestnut and black- 

 thorn being in flower, whilst fresh green meadows, studded 

 with white narcissus and other flowers, flanked the rail- 

 way. On leaving Aubagne we travelled on a branch 

 line to Auriol, near which place tlie country became more 

 wild, and the number of vine terraces increased ; but it 

 was sad to note the desolation wrought in recent years 

 by the Phylloxera, the terraces, which in prosperous days 

 were built at an enormous cost, now showing only the 

 stump of a vine here and there, other crops being raised 

 upon them. It is said that it will be necessary to wait 

 three years before replanting the ground, and grafting an 

 American species of vine ; this will not involve a very 

 heavy outlay, but in the meantime the loss of the grape 

 crop is most severely felt. On arriving at Auriol we were 

 received by a forest guard, who had brought two carriages 

 to convey us to the village of St Zacharias, where we were 

 met by MM. Delaporte and Roge, the local inspector and 

 sub-inspector ; and accompanied by them we started on a 

 walk of eight miles to the Hospice of St Baume, where we 

 were to pass the night. The Provencal region, in whicii 

 we now were, diS'ers widely from that which we had left 

 at Nancy. During half the year rain very rarely falls, 

 and the country then becomes excessively hot — " as hot 

 as India," as a friend of the writer, who passes the 

 winters at Hyeres, and has been in Hindustan, once 

 €aid to him. The nature of th« forest vegetation is 

 completely changed by this distribution of the rainfall, 



