1156 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



AMERICAN OPERATIONS IN PROGRESS IN A FRENCH HARDWOOD FOREST. IN THE CENTER A LOAD OF LOGS ON A CAR ON 



THE WAY UP THE INCLINE INTO THE MILL 



the progress of the dunes. In 1779 Baron de Charlevoix- 

 Villers, a Naval officer, was ordered to study the creation 

 of a naval port at Arcachon. He submitted several papers 

 showing that moving sands could be fixed by vegetation, 

 really adopting the process used at that time at Dunkirk. 

 However, he was unable to put his plans into execution, 

 through tranfer to other duties, and for five years the 

 crying need for permanent fixation of the dunes in the 

 Landes and Gironde was permitted to drag on. 



In 1784 Nicolas Bremontier, an engineer, born near 

 Rouen, was appointed chief surveyor at Bordeaux. To 

 this man is due probably the existence of the present 

 maritime pine forests in France for he put into execution 

 the researches of Despiey and Charlevoix-Villers. He 

 secured permission from the government to give two 

 years of study to the problem of the sand dunes, and be- 

 fore this time was up, by the pure lights of his views 

 and the persuasive strength of his faith he at last interest- 

 ed the government in the great work of creating forest 

 land out of a vast desert. 



At the beginning of 1787 a sum of 50,000 livres was 

 placed at his disposal for the commencement of the 

 work of forestation in his district. It was not until the 

 middle of that year that the first experiments of Bremon- 



tier were made. Having profited by the failure of Despiey 

 in the mere planting of gorse he conceived the idea of 

 planting maritime pine and he followed this course suc- 

 cessfully until 1793, at which time his government fail- 

 ing to provide funds, he was forced to discontinue his 

 efforts. However, this valiant Frenchman, who had ever 

 the courage of his convictions, was not daunted and ap- 

 plied to the learned societies of France for assistance, 

 having proven to himself and to the inhabitants of this 

 country that the fixation of the dunes was a possibility. 

 He fought with persistent effort and with an admirable 

 earnestness for both the attention and the resources of 

 his government. It was not an easy thing at this time, if 

 one will refer to French history, to convince a government 

 that a plan of forestation deserved important considera- 

 tion, for it was about this time that France was in the 

 throes of her revolution. 



Bremontier saw the changing of a mighty tract of 

 land from a desert of sand, whose yearly encroachment 

 inland was threatening and wiping out entire villages, to 

 a huge forest which would give competence to the popu- 

 lace which it had steadily driven back, and for his un- 

 wearied persistence he is entitled to the gratitude of 

 posterity. 



