REPORT ON FORESTS. 303 



are u Les Landes de Gascogne," by M. Chambrelent, and " Les 

 Landes et Les Dunes de Gascogne," by M. Grandjean. 



In the early part of this century (before 1857) the condition of 

 this flat triangular plain, known as the Landes, which is roughly 

 bounded by the Bay of Biscay, the river Adour, and the river 

 Garonne and the Medoc, was, in brief, as follows : There were 

 miles of marshy, almost treeless wastes, covered mainly with a 

 low, dense growth of herbage. It was wet, unhealthy and 

 sparsely inhabited. The few people who lived there depended 

 upon their flocks. The accompanying picture shows a native of 

 the Landes standing upon stilts watching his flock. (See Plate 

 XXVI.) He is dressed in a heavy sheepskin paletot. By stand- 

 ing on stilts these shepherds can easily see their sheep in the 

 herbage and can easily follow them through wet and marshy 

 regions. Their spare time is spent in knitting stockings. The 

 condition of the Landes was due to the immense sand dunes 

 which arrayed themselves along the shore of the Bay of Biscay. 

 They moved inland, covered villages and occluded inlets. The 

 damage done by these moving sands so increased that the govern- 

 ment officials studied the work and devised and executed plans, 

 and now, thanks to de Villefs, Chambrelent and Bremontier, the 

 pioneer workers, the Dunes and Landes are covered with a beau- 

 tiful growth of the maritime-pine. The region is now a famous 

 health resort, combining the beauties and pleasures of the sea- 

 shore with those of a well-managed pine forest which extends 

 almost to the edge of the ocean. 



There are evidences that the Dunes were naturally originally 

 fixed by forests. These forests were destroyed by vandals and 

 all attempts failed to stop these menacing mountains of sand. 

 In 1778 a talented engineer, Baron Charlevoix de Villers, was sent 

 to Arcachon for the purpose of forming a military post. He 

 saw at once the necessity of fixing the sand, and was, according 

 to Grandjean, the first to establish the fact that the way to fix 

 the dunes is by the means of plantations of pine. He met with 

 troubles in his work and was finally sent back to the Island of 

 San Domingo. 



In 1784 Bremontier began the work and, it is said, by using 

 the result of de Villers' labors, finally succeeded in fixing the 

 moving sand.* 



* Bremontier tells cf a dune which advanced, in a violent tempest, at the rate of two feet in three 

 hours. 



