302 A FOREST TOUR AMONG THE DUNES OF GASCONY. 
may be, the introduction of the oak beneath the pine could not 
fail to be invaluable as a protection to the soil, 
The enemies of the forests are our old acqaintances the graziers 
and the fires; the former, mounted on their tall stilts, driving 
their flocks wherever grass is to be found,—that is to say, where 
the young seedlings are growing. It is said that article 67 of the 
Forest Code (which provides that grazing rights can only be 
exercised in those blocks which are declared out of danger by the 
Forest Department) cannot be brought into force here, which 
seems a great pity. Fires cause very great damage; for, not 
only is the undergrowth of shrubs, and the mass of dead leaves 
and needles on the ground, extremely inflammable, but the 
pine trees themselves are so also. Conflagrations are sometimes 
caused intentionally by the shepherds, who desire to extend the 
area of their grazing grounds ; but they are also frequently due to 
accidents, and it is said that they are sometimes caused by sparks 
from the railway engines, When they occur, they are most destruc- 
tive in their effects. In passing along the railway, at a distance of 
a few miles from Arcachon, we saw a large tract which was com- 
pletely bare, the entire forest having been burnt off it. Unfortu- 
nately there is no special legislation here, such as exists in the 
Maures and Esterel ; and nothing can be done but to cut fire-lines 
from 30 to 70 ft. wide, round, and at regular intervals through, 
the forests, so as to divide it into blocks of 250 acres each. These 
lines serve as roads, and as starting points for the counter-fires, 
which are lighted when occasion requires it, in order to pre- 
vent the spreading of the flames. On each side of the fire-lines, 
as well as along the main roads and railways, the undergrowth is 
carefully burnt off, so as to diminish the chance of accidents ; and 
every third year the lines themselves are dug up and all roots are 
extracted. This work, which is usually performed by women, 
whom we saw using a tool something like a large Indian hoe, 
costs about 5s. per acre of fire-line. The trees are sometimes 
attacked by a species of fungus; and it is customary to dig 
trenches round those which show signs of this malady, in order to 
prevent its spreading further. | 
While we were inspecting the old portion of the forest of La 
Teste, near Arcachon, to which allusion has previously been made, 
the professor explained to us that the resin is extracted from the 
trees, either in large quantities, so as to kill them in four or five 
years (Gemmage a mort = Tapping to death), or in comparatively 
