A Typical Everglade Scene Ten Miles South of Lake Okechobee 



He saw at once the necessity of fixing 

 the sand, and was, according to Grand- 

 jean, the first to establish the fact that 

 the way to fix the Dunes is by means 

 of plantations of pine. He met with 

 troubles in his work, and was finally 

 sent back to the Island of Santo Do- 

 mingo. 



In 1784, Bremontier began the work, 

 and it is said that, by using the results 

 of de Yillers' labors, he finally suc- 

 ceeded in fixing the moving sand. 



The fixation of the Dunes rendered 

 possible the work of M. Chambrelent, 

 which was the reclamation of the 

 Landes by drainage and plantings. It 

 is a unique example of personal initia- 

 tive. M. Chambrelent, a young engi- 

 neer in the Department of Bridges and 

 Roads, in 1837, was sent to the Gironde 

 to study the drainage of 800,000 hec- 

 tares of land in the districts of Gas- 

 cony and the Landes. His conclusions 

 were not accepted, so he bougnt some 

 land and put in effect the measures he 

 advocated. In 1855, the results of his 

 experiments were submitted to an in- 

 ternational jury. The jury was so fa- 

 vorably impressed that it recommended 

 the application of Chambrelent's plans 

 456 



for the entire region, and in 1857 a law 

 was passed requiring the Communes to 

 do this work. The Communes paid 

 for it by selling a part of this land, 

 which increased in value after the com- 

 pletion of the work. This region was 

 100 meters above sea level, flat and 

 sandy. It was underlain with a hard- 

 pan called "alios." In summer it was a 

 bed of burning sand,, in winter in a state 

 of constant inundation, while between 

 the two was a period of pestilence. The 

 country was characterized by sterility 

 and insalubrity. 



A complete system of drain ditches 

 was dug and the seeds of pine were 

 sown. In 1865 all works of drainage 

 were complete. By the fixation of the 

 Dunes and the drainage of the Landes 

 650,000 hectares of land were made 

 productive. Fomerly, if one wished to 

 buy land he mounted a hill and called in 

 a loud voice ; the land over which his 

 voice carried was worth 25 francs. "A 

 man," says Grancljean, "was forced 

 to take some of this sand for a debt. 

 He became a millionaire later by sell- 

 ing it in small parcels." The first sum- 

 mers, the visitors lived in the rosin- 

 gatherers' cabins ; now every luxury is 



