76 SYLVICULTURE IN LA SOLOaNE. 



sowing, invades the heaths when these are not under pasture ; and fur- 

 ther, on the Dunes of Gascony broom is employed successfully to 

 shelter the infant pines ! 



" Choice of Ground. — Either arable ground or Landes may be 

 planted. The latter cannot undergo the operation at once without 

 being subjected to cultivation for several years. 



" The arable laud employed must of course be of the worst kind. 

 Sandy, permeable, light soil is generally destined to hoisement. Only 

 special circumstances ever induce a proprietor to plant with trees all 

 his property, whatever may be the nature of the soil ; but planting 

 may have to be carried on at the same time on pure sand, and on 

 sand which is more or less mixed with clay. 



" Before fixing on the trees to be used, the nature of the soil, and 

 the requirements of convenience, must be consulted, and the selec- 

 tion should be of whatever will yield the highest and most pei'manent 

 annual return. 



" Boisement in Sologne is either permanent or temporary ; per- 

 manent where it is in contemplation to farm a copse or a timber 

 forest ; temporary, when intended to prepare the soil for agriculture ; 

 and this may determine the choice of trees. 



" For temporary hoisement, trees which soon attain maturity 

 should be chosen. The maritime pine, which in favourable circum- 

 stances attains the age of eighty years, rarely lasts more than twenty- 

 five in Sologne. After this age the bark is covered with lichens, the 

 growth is feeble, and it is at a loss if the exploitation be delayed. 

 The ground which is cleared will then yield excellent crops without 

 further expense than that of the working of the ground — thanks to 

 the organic remains with which it is enriched by the trees grown 

 upon it. 



"In this way a rotation may be carried on according to the 

 following formula : 



Maritime pine, ... ... 20 to 25 years, 



Idem, ... ... ... „ „ 



Rye and buckwheat, ... ... so long as rye and 



buckwheat continue to thrive without the addition of manure. 



"The soil when again exhausted, is again replenished with 

 maritime pine, and so on continuously. 



" In this rotation the pine plays the part of a doubly productive 

 fallow, because, besides its commercial value, it restores to the soil 

 the elements which are required in agriculture. We cannot too 

 much admire the marvellous property of trees whereby they collect 



