The Relation of Forestry to the Dcrclopmcnt of the Country 



37 



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Scotch Pine. Height, 108 feet; girth, 11 feet 10 inches. 



Forest Planting Helps Poor Lands. 



While the agricultural settlements in 

 mountain valleys have been referred to in 

 the preceding paragraph the same thing 

 applies to poor lands, especially sandy 

 lands, which may not be of any great ele- 

 vation. A very striking example of this 

 is seen in the district of the Landes in 

 southwestern France. The sands thrown 

 up on the sea-shore in the vicinity of Bor- 

 deaux and southward drifted in on the 

 farmyards and vineyards to the east, 

 gradually covering and destroj'ing these 

 and resulting in a condition of sand hills 

 or dunes moving slowly under the influence 

 of the wind, with stretches of marsh be- 

 tween them. On these sand hills and 

 marshes grew a scanty vegetation which 

 provided pasturage for a few sheep which 

 were looked after by the shepherds who 

 have often been described walking over 

 the hills and through the marshes on stilts 

 watching their sheep and sometimes busily 

 knitting in order to add to the value of 

 their time. Agriculture was impossible in 

 the district and this grazing which was 

 very poor and carried but a small num- 

 ber of stock was all the use that could be 



made of this extensive and increasing sand 

 area. In the year 1788 steps were taken 

 by the French government to ascertain 

 what could be done to improve conditions 

 here, and a policy of forest planting was 

 decided on with the result that these sand 

 wastes have been almost entirely jilanted 

 up with Maritime pine which jiroduces a 

 very valuable harvest of resin during the 

 life of the tree while the wood afterwards 

 is useil for paving blocks in Paris, for 

 props for coal mines in England and Wales, 

 and for other puri)oses. In fact one part 

 of the shortage of mine props in Great 

 Britain at the present time is due to the 

 fact that the supjdy coulil not be obtained 

 from northern France on account of the 

 scarcity of labor owing to the men having 

 all been called out to join the army. It 

 will be remembered that there was a depu- 

 tation from the British government in Can- 

 ada recently looking into the rjuestion of 

 the possibility of obtaining a supply of 

 pit jjrops in Canada to cover the shortage 

 from the Baltic as well as from France. 



The effect on the population of this re- 

 forestation work is shown by the fact that 

 in the parishes of La Teste and Cazeaux, 

 in this district the population before re- 



