EROSION AND PRECIPITATION 



147 



State included money or seed and plants, the plants having been esti- 

 mated below their actual value. 



TABLE 15.— SUMMARY OF FORESTATION BY COMMUNES, 1860-1909 



Most of the forestation work done by individuals (see Table 16) during 

 the period from 1860 to 1909 was paid for by the individuals. The de- 

 partments assisted them to the extent of 5.3 per cent of the total expense 



TABLE 16.— SUMMARY OF FORESTATION BY INDIVIDUALS, 1860-1909 



Departments 



Alpes 



Cevennes and Central 

 Plateau 



Pyrenees 



Miscellaneous depart- 

 ments 



Total 



Area 

 refor- 

 ested, 



13,092 



107,442 



7,887 



3,967 



132,388 



Amount spent 



By in- 



$72,862.02 



383,4.35.79 

 54,011.72 



17,051. 47i 



departments 



$4,151.09 



42,427.33 

 1,987.90 



By the State 



.$27,286.33 



270,860.93 

 24,543.67 



115.80 13,847.72 



$527,361.00 $48,682.12 $336,538.65 



Total expense 



$104,299.44 



396.724.05 

 80,543.29 



31,015.00 



$912,581.78 



and the State 36.9 per cent, leaving 57.8 per cent to be paid for by indi- 

 viduals — a total amount of $912,581.78 spent to reforest 132,388 acres, 

 or a cost of $6.89 per acre.'* 



THE DAMAGE 



Erosion and Precipitation. — It has already been pointed out (see p. 141 ) 

 that the rainfall is heavier in the mountains than in the plains, and that 



« In addition to expenditures for reforestation, allotments during the 10 years from 

 1899 to 1909 for the improvement of grazing amounted to $110,440. These figures 

 show the enormous damage that has resulted from deforestation (mostly due to over- 

 grazing) in the mountains of France, which should serve as a warning to all other coun- 

 tries where abuse of forest or grazing lands is in its infancy. 



