FRENCH FORESTvS IN THE WAR ZONE 



783 



piles of slag and pit rubbish which are 

 so abundant in similar mining districts 

 in England are, however, apparently 

 scarce. This is due to the fact that 

 these heaps are frequently planted with 

 larch, birch, and other trees, which 

 grow surprisingly well on such sterile 

 soil. In spite of the fact that it is 

 usually necessary to bring in small 

 quantities of earth in which to plant 

 each tree, the result is said to be fairly 

 profitable to the mine owners and is 

 certainly a great benefit to the public 

 from an artistic and health point of view. 



A part of the Belgian Ardennes of 

 special interest to foresters is the 

 private forest of Mirwart, which from 

 1891 to 1903 was the property of Dr. 

 Schlich. When he acquired possession 

 of the area it consisted of some 100 

 acres of Scotch pine and 2,700 acres of 

 mixed broadleaf trees in a most irregular 

 state. Having observed that Norway 

 spruce had grown remarkably well in 

 the few experimental areas and that 

 the wood was in much demand in the 

 neighborhood for pit props, he deter- 

 mined to convert the greater part of the 

 forest to spruce as rapidly as possible. 

 This work, which has been carried out 

 at a cost of about $20 per acre, has ap- 

 parently been very successful. One of 

 the principal difficulties encountered 

 was the fondness of the red deer for 

 young spruce shoots. It was found 

 that this damage could be prevented, 

 to a considerable extent at least, by 

 sprinkling the trees liberally with white- 

 wash, particularly in the spring. 



South of the Ardennes is the forest 

 of Argonne, concerning which so much 

 has been heard in the present war as 

 the scene of many vigorous encounters. 

 The region to which the name is com- 

 monly applied comprises a rocky, for- 

 est-clad plateau some 63 miles long by 

 19 miles wide extending from the 

 plateau of the Ardennes on the north 

 to the plateau of Haute Marne on the 

 south. On the east it is bounded by the 

 River Meuse and on the west by the 

 Aisne and the Ante. In this district 

 have been some of the most sanguinary 

 engagements of the war. The plateau 

 has an average elevation of about 1,150 

 feet, and, like the Ardennes, is much 

 dissected by many precipitous gorges. 



In addition to its numerous forests of 

 oak and beech, the region is excellently 

 suited to form a natural barrier to any 

 hostile invasion because of the fact that 

 the Airc and other rivers traverse it 

 lengthwise parallel to the French border. 

 The heavy forest cover, the roughness 

 of the country, and the necessity of 

 crossing instead of following up the 

 streams, all conspire to render difficult 

 the advance of an army. It was here 

 that Dumouriez in 1792 held the Duke 

 of Brunswick in check and, by giving 

 the French forces time to rally, made 

 possible the subsequent defeat of the 

 latter at Valmy. In the present war 

 history seems to be repeating itself, and 

 the forest of Argonne has evidently 

 been largely instrumental in helping 

 to prevent the advance of the Germans 

 in that region, when in the more open, 

 level country to the north the move- 

 ments of both armies covered much 

 wider areas. 



Southeast of the forest of Argonne on 

 the Moselle River, only about 10 miles 

 from the border of Lorraine, is the 

 town of Nancy, one of the principal 

 military posts in France and one of the 

 chief objectives of the attack by the 

 German left wing. It is the seat of the 

 only French forest school for the train- 

 ing of technical foresters, although there 

 is another school for the education of 

 subordinate forest officers at Barres. 

 The school at Nancy was established in 

 1825, up to which time the Government 

 forest service had been made up chiefly 

 of retired army officers who were not 

 specially trained for the work. One of 

 the interesting points connected with 

 the early history of the school is that its 

 first directors were severely criticized 

 for their "unpatriotic" tendency to 

 advocate methods of forest manage- 

 ment in vogue in Germany, where they 

 themselves had received their education. 

 So deep-seated was this feeling that the 

 very existence of the school was several 

 times threatened and the first director, 

 Bernard Lorentz, is said to have been 

 dismissed for this reason. The school is 

 organized along military lines and offers 

 a three year course including both 

 theoretical and practical instruction, 

 with considerable field work in the 

 neighboring forests. Only a limited 



