284 FEATURES OF FRENCH NATIONAL FOREST ADMINISTRATION 



Up to 1862 apparently the chief cause of fire was incendiarism, but 

 since that time it has been carelessness, railroads, and the execution of 

 improvement work. During the last period given in the above table 

 fires on 297 of the 435 acres burned over were caused by lumbering 

 operations. It is quite significant that out of a total of 21,999 acres 

 burned over during the years 1838 to 1857 the amount was 17,310.16 

 acres, and during 1858 to 1877 the area burned over was reduced to 

 4,459.65 acres, and from 1878 to 1905 it was only 229.66 acres. Un- 

 questionably the largest conflagrations have been due to the extreme 

 droughts when even fire lines failed to stop the damage. The disastrous 

 fires of 1918 were due largely to the lack of labor with which to clear 

 out underbrush which is cleared out by day labor. Light burning is 

 never permitted. 



Much the best example of intensive Federal fire protection is in the 

 State forest of 1'Est^rel which is in the Nice Conservation (Toulon In- 

 spection), with a forest assistant residing at Frejus near St. Raphael, 

 Agay, and Le Trayas on the main line of the P. L. M. Railroad between 

 Toulon and Nice. The total area of this forest is 14,226 acres, of which 

 10,915 is forested. The boundary (34.7 miles) is marked by boundary 

 pillars, and fire lines, half on the forest and half on bordering land, have 

 been maintained since 1894 for the entire boundary in accordance with 

 the law of 1893. There are no free-use rights other than right of passage 

 for grazers and this is restricted to forest roads. The topography is 

 hilly, two small mountains reaching an altitude of 2,020 and 1,788 feet, 

 respectively, but the general relief is rugged. The soil is formed from 

 volcanic rocks (porphyries), with some projecting ledges of schists. 

 Red porphyry occupies alone more than two-thirds of the surface of the 

 forest. It produces on decomposition a sandy soil which is arid, easily 

 dried up and very permeable. The climate is typical of the French 

 Mediterranean border, with extreme temperatures, hot summers, and 

 mild and humid winters. The annual temperature is 14.5 C. (58.1 F.), 

 minima of 6 C. to 8 C. (42.8 F. to 46.4 F.) are exceptional. The 

 winds are frequent and very violent, the so-called "mistral" blowing 





