141 



Tesin, and the wood of those which have been exhausted being sold for railway 

 sleepers and other purposes. But north of the Loire the maritime pine is not 

 sown, as in that region it does not yield a sufficient quantity of resin to repay the 

 cost of its introduction, and here it is sought merely to establish a crop of grass 

 on the ground. 



The law of 1810 relative to the treatment of the dunes, which is still in 

 force, provides that the government can order the planting up of any area which 

 in the public interest requires to be so dealt with. When the land or any part 

 of it belongs to communes or private proprietors, who cannot or do not wish to 

 undertake the work, the State can execute it, reimbursing itself with interest 

 from the subsequent yield of the forests. As soon as the money so advanced 

 has been recovered, the land is restored to the proprietors, who are bound to 

 maintain the works in good condition, and not to fell any trees without sanction 

 of the forest department. This system of raising forests on private lands would 

 not be likely to succeed elsewhere ; but here the extremely profitable cultivation 

 of the maritime pine, due to the large quantity of valuable resin that it yields in 

 the hot and moist climate of the south-west littoral coast, renders it a safe transac- 

 tion for the State to engage in. 



Before the forest department took over the work in 1862, 111,787 acres had 

 been dealt with ; and the entire area has now been completed. The works have 

 to be most scrupulously maintained, in order to prevent a recurrence of the evil. 



ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANIZATION AND DEPARTMENT STAFF. 



Administrative Organization. In order to carry out the work which 

 has been briefly described in the preceding chapters, a corps of professional 

 foresters, composed as follows, is maintained, viz. : 



1 Director of the forest department. j 



9 Inspectors-general. 



39 Conservators. Superior staff. 



24o Inspectors. j 



234 Assistant-inspectors. 



308 Sub-assistant-inspectors (gardes generaux) 

 3532 Brigadiers (head guards) and guards, subordinate staff. 



This body of officials is employed, partly in the ordinary duties of the 

 department, as being in administrative, executive, or protective charge of the 

 units into which the forests (including those of Algeria) are grouped, for their 

 more effective and covenient control ; partly in special branches, such as those which 

 -are charged with the preparation of working plans with the treatment of unstable 

 mountains, and with the communal grazing arrangements ; and partly also in the 

 central offices at Paris. The following statement shows the number of officers of 

 the superior staff employed on each kind of duty : 



