of the sixteenth century the destruction 
caused by the shifting dunes was a matter 
of national concern. As the dunes moved in- 
land they not only destroyed farms, but actu- 
ally overwhelmed villages. Near Mimizan is 
to be seen an ancient church, dating from 
about the twelfth century, the west front and 
nave of which succumbed to the inroads of 
the sand. 
As the years went by many recommenda- 
tions were made as to ways to relieve the 
situation in the Landes, but it was not until 
1787 that anything really effective was actu- 
ally begun. In that year a French engineer, 
Bremontier, started the work that has cul- 
minated in the transformation that we behold 
today. Bremontier’s idea was that if the 
dunes could be stabilized it would be a rela- 
tively simple matter to reclaim the back 
country. So he set to work to direct the 
forces of nature in such manner that there 
should be built up all along the coast a fittor- 
al or barrier dune, which, kept in place by 
sand binding grasses and other vegetation, 
should prevent the formation of other dunes, 
and so protect the land behind. It required 
many trials to learn how to do it, but finally 
methods were evolved that proved satisfac- 
tory. 
Very briefly the several steps in the pro- 
gram of building up a barrier dune are as fol- 
lows: First fences are set up parallel to the 
shore, a little above high water mark. The 
wind blows the sand up against the fence 
and starts a dune. The stakes of the fence 
are then raised several feet. More sand is 
blown in and the dune gains in height. This 
process is repeated again and again till the 
height of the dune is sufficient to offset the 
power of the wind to carry the sand, over the 
top in sufficient quantity to be dangerous. 
The height of the completed littoral dune va- 
ries with the locality. Usually it is between 
40 and 50 feet. At the same time, and along 
with its building up, the surface of the dune, 
top and sides, is planted with a sand binding 
grass, maram (also called gourbet), which 
keeps on growing as the sand accumulates. 
Finally, when the required height is attained 
the grass cover keeps the dune fixed. 
But it is not as simple as this in practice. 
Heavy storms are frequent, when the wind 
gouges out great hollows in the dune that, if 
not attended to instantly develop’ into 
breaches that let the wind through and tend 
to set at naught ail that has been accom- 
plished. It takes a long time to get a barrier 
dune to a condition where even technically it 
can be regarded as ‘fixed’. And thereafter 
it is a question of eternal vigilance to keep 
the dune intact. This is done by means of 
constant patrol and the quick repair, through 
planting out more maram grass, of any blow- 
outs that may be formed. The problem is 
further complicated by cross winds, and other 
local factors, so that in detail the methods 
that are effective in control may vary to a 
greater or less extent every few miles. 
One of the best examples of a littoral dune 
that is considered to be fixed and safe is 
found at Mimizan, now a popular sea side re- 
sort, 60 miles or so south of Bordeaux. On 
the coast west of Bordeaux, and a bit to the 
north, at Lacanau-Ocean, is another inter- 
esting barrier dune, but as a whole it is not 
as yet in as perfect condition as that at Mimi- 
zan. For that very reason it is fully as in- 
teresting to visit, for there can be seen in 
process the methods used in building up the 
dune and in repairing the damage done by 
blow outs. It gives one an idea of the diffi- 
culties that must be overcome. Scarcity of 
labor during the war made itself felt here, 
as elsewhere in France. One had to be satis- 
fied to do only what was absolutely necessary. 
THE MARITIME 
PINE FORESTS 
Behind the littoral or barrier dune the sand 
is fixed with a cover of artificially established 
vegetation. The barrier dune prevents the 
influx of sand and so stops the movement of 
the older dunes in this zone. The chief 
plants in use are the sand binding grass, 
maram, genista (a sort of broom), heather, 
and one or two other shrubs. At first, when 
there is still tendency for the sand to blow, 
in this zone behind the barrier dune, pine 
branches, reeds, or other covers are placed in 
regular rows, one end of the branch, in the 
case of pine brush, being fixed in the sand. 
The protective zone behind the barrier dune 
is not usually very wide—perhaps two to 
three hundred yards. Then comes the for- 
est, of maritime pine. Along the outer edge 
the trees naturally are short and crooked, 
for they have to withstand the wind, but 
farther in one finds better development, and 
somewhat back from the shore excellent 
stands. In Bremontier’s time it was neces- 
sary to establish the maritime pine by sow- 
ing the seed with the genista. It now repro- 
duced itself naturally and easily, so that to- 
day the only worry that the local forester has 
about securing reproduction is to see that the 
proper silvicultural methods are carried out 
in the management of the forest. 
In an official statement, issued in May, * 
1921, M. DeLapasse, conservateur at Bor- 
deaux (a position corresponding to that of 
district forester in the U. S. Forest Service), 
gives the area of the maritime pine forests in 
the six departments in southwest France, 
where it is the important tree, as 821,400 
hectares (1,979,574 acres). The Landes has 
462,400 hectares, Gironde 229,200, the oth- 
ers much smaller areas, under maritime pine 
forest. For this total area, the average an- 
nual production of timber and wood is given 
as 1,125,000 meter cubes; the forms in which 
it is put on the market being timbers, tele- 
graph poles, ties, mine props and fuel. 
Mine timbers, especially for export to Eng- 
land, have always, in recent times, been one 
of the chief products of this region. The 
English ships that bring over coal from the 
mines in Wales and the Midlands carry back 
“pit props’. They can do it cheaply, as oth- 
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