176 FORESTRY IN THE LANDES 



ruling genius of the commission until he was appointed Inspector General 

 of Roads and Bridges at Paris. He claimed that the cost would not be 

 more than 4,000,000 livres (about $772,000). 



In 1804 the new Inspector of Dune Work, De"jean, covered the sowing 

 with branches with the ends stuck about 4 inches in the sand, using 

 heather, genista, and furze, as well as tamerisk and pine branches. 

 In the same year he was able to report that the trees sown in 1788 and 

 1789 at Teste (Gironde) produced 2,196 pounds of resin and that many 

 trees had reached 12 inches in diameter at the end of 14 or 15 years, 

 while in the Landes 30 years is necessary to reach the same size. On 

 September 17, 1808, the first public auction was held by the Forest 

 Service agents to sell resin and turpentine secured from reforested areas. 

 The cost in 1807 was about $9.26 per acre but varied considerably (see 

 p. 183). In 1810 locust, chestnut, poplar, and oak were planted with 

 some success. 



(4) Bridge and Road Service. The administration by the Bridge 

 and Road Service, 1817-1862, followed the commission form of adminis- 

 tration which had established the methods of sowing, regulated the pro- 

 ductions of the sown areas, and had practically solved the question 

 of ownership. The principle of an artificial dune was described by 

 Bre"montier as early as 1787, but the first work of this kind was under- 

 taken some years later by the Forest Service which was able to suc- 

 cessfully stop the sand. The permanent administration of these areas 

 and the continuance of the work, however, required a stable organization, 

 and the commission was therefore terminated in 1817, the work being 

 turned over to the Bridge and Road Service. At that time the Forest 

 Service was in bad odor and could not count on the liberality of appro- 

 priations which the Bridge and Road Service could secure. 



(5) Waters and Forest Service. As the stands began to mature it 

 was increasingly difficult to keep distinct the work of the Forest Service 

 and that of the Bridge and Road Service which, until 1862, had charge 

 of the reclaimed areas. The engineering details of barrier dunes and 

 drainage had been solved so the main problem was to protect and manage 

 the forests. It was therefore entirely logical to turn the entire forestry 

 work over to trained foresters, which was done in 1862. This organiza- 

 tion is still in charge. 



Statistics. Huffel 9 says there are the following maritime dunes in 



France: 



9 Huffel, Vol. I, pp. 149-150. 



