RECLAMATION OF WASTE LAND. 433 



the kind, and the Societe d' Agriculture de la Gironde (specially 

 interested in consideration of the presence of extensive 

 landes within its district) — and probably other local societies 

 besides — have special " Sections of Forestry " in their 

 organisation. There are important private societies, Hke 

 V Association Centrale pour V Amenagenient des Montagues, 

 more particularly in the districts of the Landes and the 

 Alps, for conducting rehoisement in the public interest. 

 And in the Sologne my friend Baron de Larnage, one of 

 the most active agricultural reformers in France, and a 

 considerable landowner, has since a few years organised 

 Syndicats forestiers (after the analogy of the well known 

 Syndicats agricolcs, whose praise Lord Reay has sung) for 

 the purpose, not only of studying forestal questions, but 

 mainly for enabling owners of forest to proceed conjointly 

 towards a reform of forestal mismanagement and the intro- 

 duction of scientific forestry. So greatly has this step been 

 felt to meet a present want of the country, that the example 

 set has soon been followed by others, and by the time of 

 the outbreak of the war France already numbered more 

 than a score of syndicates of the order mentioned. In 

 addition to this, of course the high merits of French scientific 

 education in forestry, with the College of Nancy at its head, 

 are well known. 



Possibly also what has been done in the Netherlands in 

 the matter of reclaiming waste land, more particularly for 

 the purpose of planting forest, may prove helpful towards 

 our devising an acceptable poHcy. Thirty years ago the 

 Dutch Crown had only very Httle forest to call its own, 

 and indeed only very little Crown land altogether. For its 

 accepted policy had been to dispossess itself of all land 

 alienable at law. Some of that land was actually offered 

 for sale at public auctions and got rid of at much less than 

 its genuine value. However Nature provided a reminder. 

 The dune-sand kept blowing over stretches of fruitful arable 

 land and doing much damage. And elsewhere the exten- 

 sive heath, being steadily robbed of its timber — none of 

 which was replaced — became in its pitiable aspect a standing 

 reproach to the Government. About 1890 the latter came 



