REFORESTATION AND TREE-PLANTING. 155 



XVI. REFORESTATION AND TREE- 

 PLANTING. 



BY reforestation is meant the replanting of trees 

 in any locality from which they have been removed 

 either accidentally or purposely. 



Where the removal of the forests has been 

 made in a hap-hazard way, and no care has been 

 taken to protect the soil from the effects of rapid 

 drainage, the loss of the soil in some cases is so 

 great as to render the area not only unable to sus- 

 tain trees of the same character as those which 

 have been removed, but even to render it unable 

 to sustain any trees whatever. If, however, in the 

 removal of the trees, care has been taken that the 

 loss of soil is but trifling, it may be possible to 

 again reclothe the surface with trees similar to 

 those which have been removed. 



The French term for this process of replacing 

 forests is reboisement. Our English word reforesta- 

 tion may be safely taken as its equivalent. 



The object of reforestation is to avoid the evils 

 which result from the removal of the forests by 



