CONTINENTAL NOTES — FRANCE. 6 1 



years (in 1891) the wood had to be replaced because of dry 

 rot. River sand was then spread and the wood coated with 

 some form of Carbolineum, the walls also being treated. By 

 1895, the wood had again rotted. M. Mena was then asked 

 to prescribe. The wood was removed ; the soil which had 

 previously supported the cinders was dug out, and replaced by 

 river sand ; over this a concrete containing an acid solution of 

 sulphate of copper was spread ; and the new wood was painted 

 with a strong solution of the same kind with some sulphuric 

 acid added. For fourteen years no Merulius has appeared. It 

 was in the cinders that the alkali was present. The second 

 example, with which M. M^na was also directly concerned, 

 was similar. 



4. The afforestation of high exposed land, and of peat bogs, 

 are difficult matters, but both appear to have been successfully 

 accomplished in Belgium. The " Fagnes," in the S.E of the 

 country, are very high plateaux (up to 2200 feet above sea- 

 level), completely bare and exposed to furious winds, chiefly 

 from the S.W. The cold is long and intense, the snowfall heavy. 

 The Scots pine will not grow properly on these heights, and the 

 Belgian foresters have made a rule not to plant it above 1640 

 feet (500 metres). The subsoil is a white clay, perfectly 

 impermeable to water or air. On the clay lies usually a layer 

 of peat from 8 inches to 6| feet deep. In the best spots is 

 vegetable soil of variable quality in place of the peat. The 

 water does not flow off regularly from the unplanted Fagnes, 

 but when the peat is saturated it runs down off' the impermeable 

 subsoil rapidly. In winter it oftens happens that the surface, 

 gorged with water, becomes a sheet of ice. Then comes snow 

 followed by a thaw, which results in a violent rush of water off' 

 the icy surface. In summer the evaporation is intense, every- 

 thing dries up, and there is no water in the streams. When 

 taking the problem in hand the foresters first make firelines 

 and roads ; then they drain, but in a cautious manner, according 

 to certain rules. They do not drain the lakes and ponds, 

 which form reservoirs. The depth of the drains depends on the 

 slopes and the depth of the peat. The turf and earth taken 

 from the drains are all used for making planting spots for 

 spruce. Heaps about 20 ins. x 20 ins. are made about 5 feet 

 apart, but before laying down a heap the grass has to be 

 scraped off" to allow of the heap adhering to the soil. The turf 



