74 SYLVICULTURE IN LA SOLOGNE. 



springs. Before planting a firwood pinery it is necessary to ascertain 

 if the soil and sub-soil are suitable to the maritime pine, as this 

 tree pines in argilaceous, stiff, cold, and damp soils, and thrives in 

 such as are deep, sandy, and well drained." 



M. Boitel supplies also the following information on the compara- 

 tive extents of wooded and arable ground in La Sologne : " About 

 1836 the forests covered an extent of about 38,730 hectares, which 

 included those belonging to the state, to communes, and to private 

 individuals. Since that time much sandy unproductive arable land 

 has been planted with maritime pines, and I am not far ft'om the 

 truth in fixing the total extent so occupied in Sologne at 50,000 

 hectares. Forests thus cover one-eighth of the whole surface. The 

 forest of Bruadan, lately uprooted, was famed for its size and for its 

 beautiful oaks. The forests of Boulogne and Chambord take a high 

 place. In the interior of Sologne may be mentioned those of Villette, 

 Chaon, and many others lately planted with pines. The oldest forests 

 are composed of white oak copse, growing under large timber of the 

 same tree. These usually occupy a stiff clay. The pedunculated oak 

 presents also a luxuriant appearance, reminding one of more fertile 

 countries. The good success of deciduous trees proves that they have 

 not so many requirements as herbaceous plants ; for, while the latter 

 cannot procure nourishment, the former, on the contrary, appear to 

 derive from the sub-soil and the atmosphere everything necessary for 

 their welfare. 



" Such differences between these two classes of plants are often 

 apparent. The marl so useful for crops seems positively hurtful to 

 certain trees. The upper soil, exhausted by frequent cropping, 

 appears equally favourable to the germination and the development of 

 trees. The Solognese peasant says that sand is ripe for ti-ees when- 

 ever barley refuses to grow. 



" Trees with deciduous leaves, the oak in particular, are certainly 

 the greatest improvement to the landscape; and when under the shade 

 of these magnificent specimens scattered here and there on the edges 

 of the farms, one questions whether the soil should be called sterile. 

 Every domain, and, it may be said, every farm, has one part of wood- 

 land assigned to the proprietor. The oldest forests are coppices of oak 

 and birch. The pedunculated or stalk-fruited oak occupies the 

 argilo-silicious soil, whilst the oak with sessile acorns, is found on 

 stiff clayey soil, where it succeeds as coppice better than any other 

 tree. The new forests, planted within the last thirty years, are usually 



