REBOISEMENT IN FRANCE. " 353 



dng along the row a hollow into which the plants are turned ; the proper choice is 

 then very easily made, and the plants remaining are easiiy readjusted. Finally, the 

 operation of transplanting can sometimes be replaced by cutting off the root in the 

 ground by the use of the spade used at Hagena\i (coupe-pivot), which ends in a dia- 

 mond-shaped edge. The cutting of the root has for its effect to favor the development 

 of a fibrous root. This economical and beneficial operation, however, can only be 

 practiced in the earths into which the edge of a spade easily penetrates. It has not 

 been attempted in the case of resinous trees, and it would not be without interest to 

 make some attempts in this direction. 



The sowings in the nurseries are exposed to injuries by rats, field- 

 mice, mole-crickets, moles, birds, &c. The methods employed to com- 

 bat these enemies have succeeded but imperfectly, and it will be neces- 

 sary to devise others more efficacious. To prepare the plants for send- 

 ing away, a dry day must be chosen ; the digging must be with a spade; 

 100 plants are united in one clod ; the roots are immersed in a bath of 

 well-tempered, clayey earth, and they are covered with dry moss. They 

 are then packed in layers in a box with open bars, the spars of which 

 are covered with dry straw. A rapid conveyance is chosen, in order 

 not to leave the plants for more than five, or at most seven, days in the 

 boxes. On arrival, the plants are immediately unbound and assorted. 



Remarks. — It is by the spongioles, or the extremities of the fibers, that the roots 

 draw from the earth the nourishment of the plant. It is, therefore, in the highest 

 degree necessary to protect these delicate organs. For this purpose the bath of 

 tempered clay is a very useful precaution. Before putting the plants into the earth it 

 will be well to leave them nearly twenty-four hours in urine. This operation has the 

 effect of singularly reviving the vegetative power of the plant. 



To show the importance of the services that the nurseries are expected 

 to render, the conference at Clermont cited the results of the nursery 

 of Arpajon, formed scarcely two years before. It appeared that it would 

 contain 32,489,000 plants of various kinds, worth 159,622 francs. 



At Foix, the agents considered the operation of transplanting too 

 expensive and requiring too much land. Watering should be practiced 

 with moderation on account of the expense. The agents have unani- 

 mously expressed the opinion that it is advisable to diminish the shel- 

 tering fences as soon as the plants acquire strength, and that they 

 should be low, so as to expose the plants to the light. The transplanting, 

 which appears to the agents at Carpentras indispensable for the oak, 

 is considered less necessary for pines and the Il^orway fir. Watering, 

 if it is not indispensable, is at least useful to the resinous trees, and it 

 must, when once begun, be assiduously continued. 



Seed from the government drying-houses having been found much 

 superior to that from the merchants, four of these were established in 

 1861, and two others in 1862. The supply from these was 15,000 to 

 20,000 kilograms (33,069 to 44,092 pounds), corresponding with the 

 reboisement of 2,000 hectares. The cost on this account in 1862 was 

 38,515 francs. Later experience showed that there was no great econ- 

 omy in this course. 



In 1801 there had been formed 273 nurseries with an area of 330 hec- 

 tares, and a capacity for delivering 60,000,000 plants a year. In 1862 

 359 new nurseries were formed, covering 273 hectares and capable of 

 furnishing 40,000,000 plants. In this year the expenses of old and new- 

 nurseries were 153,772 francs. The experience in nurseries tended to 

 show great advantages to be derived from them above purchasing stock. 



After the first three years, a reaction in public opinion began to be 



manifested, especially in pastoral communities. The system promised 



herbage after twenty years or so, but they must in the mean time live. 



The mixed commission for improving communal lands proved power- 



23 F 



