63 



The district through which we were driven had all the appearance of poor 

 country from the general agricultural point of view ; the soil is light in 

 character, and more or less stony on the surface. It is certainly fortunate 

 that soil of little value for other purposes should be able to yield wine the 

 general quality of which has never been approached anywhere else in the 

 world. Here and there one even runs into the sandy wastes of the Landes, 

 once a standing menace to neighboring towns and villages, but now more 

 or less completely reclaimed and fixed by vast plantations of pines (Pinus 

 marilima), which are periodically tapped for their resin. 



THE LANDES AND THE PYRENEES. 



On October 9th I set out for Bayonne, in the direction of the Spanish 

 frontier : I thus had the opportunity to traverse the Landes, that flat, dreary 

 waste of country so largely planted over with Maritime pines during the 

 course of the last century. I have collected some interesting figures which 

 will serve to illustrate the progress of afforestation in this district within 

 recent times. The total area of the Department of the Landes is represented 

 by 2,330,325 acres. Of this area there were in 1842, under forest trees, 

 583,110 acres, i.e., over 25 per cent, of the total area ; in 1860 the area under 

 forest trees had risen to 959,900 acres, i.e., over 41 per cent, of the total area ; 

 and in 1882 to 1,299,380 acres, i.e., close on 56 per cent, of the total area. I 

 have not had occasion to see more recent statistics; but I have no reason 

 to believe that the afforested area has undergone any reduction since 1882. 

 The bulk of the forest lands, as is indeed the case throughout France, are 

 State owned ; portion of them, however, are the property of local communes ; 

 and portion again that of private individuals. Although the great bulk of 

 these forests consist of Maritime pines, exploited both for their timber and their 

 resin, there are also to be found in the Landes forests various types of oaks, 

 poplars, chestnut trees, robinias, &c. The value of these forest lands is said 

 to have varied in recent times within the following limits : 

 , s. d. s. d. 



In 1852 From 9 2 9 to 14 10 5 per acre. 

 " 1862 " 6 4 6 " 40 18 3 

 " 1882 " 6 10 7 " 33 15 2 



In this connection, I take it that, from our point of view, the principal 

 interest attaches to the reclamation and afforestation of the sandy wastes 

 and dunes bordering the Atlantic Ocean, which, for centuries hampered 

 settlement on the south-west coast of France. These moving dunes are said 

 to have choked up watercourses and engulfed forests, and even towns and 

 villages. These w r aste lands which adjoin, and indeed form part of the 

 Landes, are said to cover an area exceeding 220,000 acres. Their reclama- 

 tion and afforestation was first taken in hand in 1781 by the engineer Bremon- 

 tier. The work has been continued and completed during the course of the 



