FIXATION OF MOVING SANDS. 219 



ings and example of his predecessors, and not disdaining to interro- 

 gate the herdsmen, who knew by tradition the means of arresting the 

 sands_, Bremontier first applied himself to the task in 1787. The 

 works were interrupted in 1789, resumed in 1791, and completely 

 abandoned again in 1793, in consequence of the opposition given 

 by several of the inhabitants of La Teste. But important results 

 had been already obtained. More than 620 acres of moving sands 

 had been fixed in the environs of Arcachon ; pines, oaks, and vines 

 were in perfect growth, and the sowing of every two acres had not 

 cost more than 200 francs. The possibility of arresting the advance 

 of the dunes at little cost was perfectly demonstrated. 



At the commencement of this century the interrupted work was 

 resumed, and it was completed some years ago. The dunes of 

 Gascony, fixed for the future, enrich the countries which they for- 

 merly threatened to bury, and in consequence of the increasing value 

 of the pines and their productions, we must reckon the annual in- 

 crease of public wealth on the coast at hundreds of thousands of 

 francs. The estimated present value of the forests of the Landese 

 dunes is 25 millions ; that is to say, 600 francs the acre. Thus, the 

 means of safety applied by Bremontier has become a cause of prosperity 

 to the inhabitants. At the same time, several happy results, which 

 could not be looked for at first, have been obtained. The sand, pro- 

 tected from the rays of the sun by the shade of the pines, produces 

 herbs which are utilized as straw or food for cattle. The marshes, 

 which during six months of the year were transformed by rain- 

 water into impenetrable morasses, have been drained without the 

 intervention of man, owing to the thousands of roots constantly 

 pumping up the moisture from the sands. The surface of the vast 

 ponds, situated at the eastern foot of the dunes, is lowered likewise 

 to furnish the forest trees with the water necessary for their growth. 

 Besides this, the fixation of the dunes has caused the *' blouses ^' to 

 disappear, in which men and animals were engulfed ; the sands do 

 not advance any further, and the pools have ceased to exist. Science 

 has repaired the disorders formerly caused by man's imprudence. 



