374 EUROPEAN AGRICULTURE. 



nected with the palace at Fontainbleau, only about fifty miles 

 from Paris, is said to contain 35,000 acres ; the forest connected 

 with the palace of Chambord, 20,000 acres. There are other 

 forests in France of great extent, some of them being portions of 

 the national domain, and many of them the property of individual 

 proprietors. They are not, however, kept merely for show, or 

 luxury, or sport. The heath, or common lands, in France, which 

 remain open and unproductive, are returned as 19,499,180 acres, 

 or about one seventh part of the whole surface of the kingdom. 

 The fuel generally used in France is wood or charcoal. There 

 are, it is said, large deposits of mineral coal in France ; but they 

 are not extensively worked, or are not easily accessible, though 

 their value is beginning to be appreciated. Wood, therefore, is 

 grown for fuel, and comes to market by means of the great rivers 

 and canals in the form of wood or coal ; so that these forests are 

 regularly and gradually cut off for timber or fuel, and either 

 replanted or suffered to grow again from the old stumps. The 

 law permits the proprietors to cut off their wood only once in 

 eighteen years ; and this under the control of a government 

 inspector, who requires that it should be cut clean, leaving only 

 such trees as may be valuable for ship-timber or for other pur 

 poses, which the government claims a right to take for its own 

 uses at an equitable price. Under these excellent arrangements, 

 the supply of fuel is constantly kept good, and the price of wood, 

 has scarcely varied for a quarter of a century. In the cities, and 

 in many parts of France, wood is always sold by the pound ; and 

 it is curious in Paris to see the immense arks of charcoal and 

 wood which come down the Seine, and piles of wood in the city, 

 covering acres of ground, and on a level with the tops of the 

 highest houses. The value of the timber in these immense 

 forests is likewise great. Although throughout France the prin 

 cipal and almost universal material for building is stone, yet 

 much timber and boards are wanted for floors and roofs, and 

 various purposes ; and many large proprietors think that they 

 cannot make a better provision for their children than by planting 

 forests, or preserving and cherishing such as they already have. 



