196 THE POSSIBILITIES 



tinually reclaimed for culture upon every 

 crag. On both sides of the roads one sees the 

 plantations of apricot and cherry trees, while 

 between the rows of trees early beans and peas, 

 strawberries, and all sorts of early vegetables 

 are grown. In the spring the fine perfume of 

 the apricot trees in bloom floats over the whole 

 valley. Strawberries, cherries, apricots, peaches 

 and grapes follow each other in rapid succession, 

 and at the same time cartloads of French beans, 

 salads, cabbages, leeks, and potatoes are sent 

 towards the industrial cities of the region. It 

 would be impossible to estimate the quantity 

 and value of all that is grown in that region. 

 Suffice it to say that a tiny commune, Saint 

 Desirat, exported during Ardouin Dumazet's 

 visit about 2,000 cwts. of cherries every day.* 



The results of this development are simply 

 striking. Thus it appears, from an inquest 

 made in 1906 by the French professors of 

 agriculture, that the yearly export of fresh 

 flowers from the departement of the Alpes Mari- 

 times attains as much as 400,000, and that 

 of the flowers used for perfumes gives from 

 280,000 to 320,000 in addition to the just 

 mentioned sum.f From the departement of the 



* Ardouin Dumazet, vol. vii., pp. 124, 125. 



I M. Auge-Laribe, Devolution de la France, agricole, Paris 



