THE FOREST AS A CONDITION. 6l 



that country. So soon did the evil effects become 

 apparent, that even in 1792 the governor of the 

 Department of Basses- Alpes reported : " The clear- 

 ings progress rapidly ; from Dique to Entrevaut 

 the mountain slopes have been denuded of the 

 finest forest growth ; the smallest brooks have 

 grown into torrents, and several communities have 

 lost by floods their harvests, herds, and houses." 



In 1803 the agricultural society of Marseilles 

 complains as follows : " The winters have become 

 severer, the summers drier and hotter, the bene- 

 ficial rains of spring and autumn fail ; the Mejeanne 

 river, flowing east and west, tears away its banks 

 with the smallest thunder-storm, and inundates the 

 richest meadows ; but nine months of the year its 

 bed is dry, since the springs have given out ; irregu- 

 lar destructive thunder-showers are of yearly occur- 

 rence, and rain is deficient at all seasons." 



Yet, in spite of these early warnings, which were 

 supported by theoretical discussions of such sound 

 reasoners as Boussingault, Becquerel, and others, 

 action to stem the destruction and to recuperate 

 the lost ground was obtained only within the last 

 forty years, after at least 1,000,000 acres of moun- 

 tain forest had been denuded, and all aftergrowth 

 had been destroyed by fire and excessive grazing, 

 in consequence of which the mountain streams, 

 turned into torrents, had laid waste about 8,000,000 

 acres of tillable land, and the population of eigh- 

 teen departments had been impoverished or driven 



