CONTINENTAL NOTES— FRANCE. 59 



It is estimated that a 100,000 hectares (247,100 acres) of 

 land, either forest or agricultural, need complete reconstitution. 

 This area is found in three principal regions — the neighbourhood 

 of Verdun, Champagne (Reims to Soissons), and the Somme 

 (Arras to Peronne). 



M. Demorlaine considers that conifers should, for the most 

 part, be used for the reafforestation of the old forest areas, and 

 that conifers should specially be employed in the old agricultural 

 land as being more suitable for transitory work. No doubt the 

 ground will be most rapidly covered by conifers, but will these 

 latter sufficiently restore the fertility of the soil? If it is not 

 intended to retain such lands as forest surely some rapid-growing 

 deciduous species would be best, at least in combination with 

 conifers. 



Our author thinks that Scots pine should be used on granitic 

 or sandy soils, P. Laricio on chalk, and Weymouth or Douglas 

 on moist soils. 



M. Jolyet thinks, for his part, that, although the conifers give 

 quick returns, they should not be exaggerated, and that it will 

 be advantageous to plant an upper stage of conifers, spread 

 more or less widely, with an understage (or interstage) of 

 deciduous trees ; this, at least, in the plains. His reason is that 

 pure conifer woods suffer greatly from insects and fungi — 

 particularly when the species is out of its true habitat — and it is 

 always the less vigorous stems that suffer most. Indeed it seems 

 to me that practically the only way to counter fungi and insects 

 is to grow your woods in full vigour. Now to grow vigorously 

 trees need light — especially (among conifers) larch and most of 

 the pines. 



I may here confirm this by noting a remarkable case of 

 vigour, enabling a plantation to throw off a fungus attack, which 

 has come under my own direct observation. The plantation in 

 question is of larch in a windless hollow. It was originally very 

 crowded, having in addition to the larch stems a great many 

 naturally-sown ash, and it was found, some six or seven years 

 ago, that the Peziza was very prevalent indeed. Accordingly I 

 thinned out the plantation, and this year again I have been at 

 work there, since much snow-break has forced me to take it in 

 hand. I find that there has been vigorous growth and that the 

 Peziza, formerly so prevalent, has disappeared and has not 

 resulted in canker to any great extent. I have also met a very 



