282 FORESTRY IN FRANCE. 
at any rate, of the evils that have overtaken the forests in other 
localities. Some of the principal causes, that have brought about 
the disappearance of a large portion of the Algerian forests, are 
the following, viz., repeated fires, the ground being deprived of its 
natural covering of vegetable mould, and the ashes resulting from 
the burning being washed off the soil by the rain; the grazing of 
goats, sheep, and camels; the native practice of felling young 
poles, instead of using the saw to cut up the larger trees, the wood 
being not only used to supply local requirements, but being con- 
verted into charcoal, which, together with the bark, is exported 
in very large quantities; the light cover of the Aleppo pine, 
which occupies a great portion of the ground, and does not do 
much towards the improvement of the soil ; the digging-up of the 
roots of shrubs to obtain bark and firewood; and finally the 
clearing of the trees from land which is totally unsuited to culti- 
vation. This last-named cause of the disappearance of the forests 
has led also to the result that in many places the grass has 
followed the trees, and the loss of pasture land has in consequence 
been most serious. It is said that since the year 1870 the depart- 
ment of Oran has suffered a loss of one-half of its pastoral 
resources, While the want of a sufficient supply of wood is also 
much felt. Forest fires work terrible destruction in this hot and 
dry climate, burning up the vegetable débris, which would other- 
wise protect the ground, injuring the larger trees, and destroying 
the young growth; but, lately, measures have been undertaken 
to lessen this evil. It is said that during the twelve years 
from 1861 to 1873, nearly 1000 square miles of forest in the Tell 
were burnt, the damage done having been enormous. Fires are 
not of such frequent occurrence in the forests overlooking the 
plateau, where the chief causes of injury consist in overcutting 
the young trees, and in overgrazing, both of which practices date 
from time immemorial. 
Generally speaking, it may be said that the existing forests 
clothe the higher portions of the two chains of hills, the ground 
below and between them being occupied by cultivation in the Tell, 
by pastures on the plateau, and by sand towards the desert. On 
the high portion of the Tell, the forests contain most of the trees 
which are indigenous in Provence, including the cork oak, which 
is the principal tree over a very large area, chiefly in Constantine, 
and is of great value ; and the evergreen oak (Quercus Jlex), which 
yields excellent tanning bark, and is very common at altitudes 
