FOREST CASUALTIES OF OUR ALLIES 



903 



Underwood and Underwood 



AFTER BEING STRUCK BY A SHELL 



A tree struck squarely by a shell as this was by a 75 m. shell is usually 



torn into splinters. This one stood near Vitry le Francois. 



countries,' five millions of cubic 

 meters of lumber, and the United 

 Kingdom bought more than fif- 

 teen millions of cubic meters. 

 The latter received prodigious 

 quantities of mine props furnish- 

 ed by our pine timber in the 

 Landes. At the present time, the 

 forests in the Landes will not be 

 able to furnish any timber for a 

 period of years. Furthermore, the 

 export of timber from Russia, 

 which supplied a large part of 

 the needs of the British, will now 

 be reduced or suppressed for a 

 long time. Our Allies of the 

 United Kingdom will then have 

 to take for their own needs a 

 large part of the enormous fell- 

 ing to be made in Germany. 



"Besides we must consider 

 that the Germans themselves, 

 especially after we shall have 

 issued orders to forbid any other 

 felling that may interfere with 

 our own operations, as mention- 

 ed above, could be authorized to 

 receive part of the products of 

 the felling in case some timber 



would remain unnecessary for our allies and ourselves. 

 Probably we would not refuse to cede them some timber, 

 eventually, at a reasonable rate." 



Forestry Losses in France 



French soil having been the chief battle ground it is 

 proper to first of all consider the forest conditions and 

 plans for restoration of her forests. 



The total area of the French forests situated in the 

 fighting zones and in the regions which were long oc- 

 cupied by the enemy, or subject to his fire, has been 

 estimated in round numbers at 1,482,600 acres. 



The principal varieties of trees which make up these 

 forests are as follows : 



Among the deciduous trees : The Common Oak (var. 

 Quercus sessiliflora and Quercus pedunculata) , the 

 Beech (Fagus sylvatica), the English Hornbeam (Capi- 

 nus betulus), the Ash (Fraxinus excelsior), the Elm 

 (Ulmus campestris), the Birch (Betula alba), and the 

 Alder tree (Alnus glutinosa). 



Among the indeciduous trees: The Fir (Abies pecti- 

 nata), the Norway Spruce (Abies or Picea excelsa), the 

 Scotch Pine (Pinus sylvestris) and the Black Pine of 

 Austria (P. laricio Austriaca). 



These varieties are scattered very differently according 

 to the regions. The deciduous trees predominate in the 

 north of France (Departments of the North, of the 

 Somme, of the Pas-de-Calais, of the Aisne, of the Oise, 

 of the Ardennes, and of the Meuse). On the contrary in 



Underwood and Underwood 



DAMAGED CAUSED BY ONE SHELL 



One shell, a large one, struck this tree and the photograph shows its effect. Thousands of trees in all 

 forested fighting areas were struck squarely during the storm of shell-fire and were destroyed in this 

 manner. 



