160 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



useless and unnecessary in view of the 

 intrenched method of fighting which 

 now prevails. But a considerable 

 damage has already been done, and in 

 order that the next growth may properly 

 take place, it will be later necessary to 

 again cut away these remnants of 

 trunks. 



In the plateau of Amance, before 

 Nancy, the trees were all felled for 

 strategic reasons. The woods of Crevie, 

 between Dombasle and Arancourt, were 

 destroyed by fire (August 22 and 

 23, 1914). I have not been able to 

 learn whether the fire was due to the 

 accidental spreading of the kitchen 

 fires, a careless match, or to the explosion 

 of an incendiary shell. 



For several weeks I have been 

 quartered in the vicinity of Arras. In 

 the wood of La Have, all of the trees 

 and undergrowth have been cut prac- 

 tically throughout the whole area of the 

 forest. It was done for the purpose of 

 providing firewood for the kitchens and 

 shelters. Daily, I have seen the men 

 file away, axe and billhook in hand, to 

 return later laden down with great 

 bundles of wood, which they threw 

 down beside their shelters, and which 

 they would afterward split with wooden 

 wedges. 



USE FOR SHELL PROOF SHELTERS. 



To construct our subterranean shel- 

 ters, which are practically shell-proof, 

 we use roof supports consisting of 

 small trunks of trees from four to six 

 inches in diameter. Resting on these 

 are the split slabs, in two courses, 

 separated by small branches or straw. 

 Over the whole is strewn earth to the 

 depth of about eighteen inches. In 

 order to keep the rain and melting 

 snow from finding its way through this 

 roof, a shelter-roof is built overhead. 

 This is composed of bundles of small 

 branches and straw, which are laid 

 at a proper angle and which rest upon 

 a small sapling stretched across the 

 roof area. They serve as an umbrella 

 to protect the roof beneath. 



The shelters vary considerably both 

 in plan and in dimensions. Generally 

 they are entirely beneath the ground. 

 Occasionally, they are built by taking 

 advantage of a steep slope which offers 



protection from the enemy's fire. They 

 are sometimes large enough to contain 

 fifty men, but that is the maximum. 

 Many of them contain but two, three, 

 or four soldiers. 



I have spent many long days in a 

 shelter whose construction and plan 

 are indicated in the accompanying 

 sketch. Stairs, cut in the earth, descend 

 to this subterranean dwelling, from 

 which issues a chimney. It was cut 

 through the clay soil and the smoke 

 escapes from our fire through a piece of 

 terra eotta pipe. The walls are in- 

 sulated against dampness by wisps of 

 straw. A small bench provides a sitting 

 place facing the room. The straw of 

 our beds is disposed upon mattresses 

 composed of branches, sufficiently thick 

 to protect us from the moisture of the 

 ground. An umbrella, such as I have 

 already described, protects our shelter 

 from the rain and snow. The real roof 

 is of course even with the ground. 



While it is true that much of the 

 wood employed in constructing these 

 shelters and in building trenches and 

 roads will not be wholly lost, it will of 

 course serve no other purpose than that 

 of firewood. But even this service is 

 problematical and will of course depend 

 largely upon the duration of the cam- 

 paign. We also cut off large branches 

 with which to mask the heavy guns and 

 the caissons of ammunition, which are 

 generally stationed near the edge of the 

 wood. This practice is everywhere in 

 vogue as a means of preventing the 

 discovery of their location from the 

 prying eyes of the aeroplanists. It is 

 impossible for one of these, obliged to 

 fly, for the sake of protection, not 

 nearer than six to seven thousand feet, 

 to distinguish the ambush under which 

 the guns and caissons are hidden. It is 

 impossible, even in winter, when the 

 branches employed are of course quite 

 leafless. 



CUT TO PIECES BY ARTILLERY. 



In respect to the damage done by 

 shells and projectiles, it is worthy of 

 note that the war of 1870 led to the 

 publication of an important work on 

 this subject, either through the Acade- 

 mie vStanislaus of Nancy, or through the 

 Societe des Sciences Naturelles, of the 



