REPORT ON FORESTS. 303 
are ‘‘Les Landes de Gascogne,” by M. Chambrelent, and “ Les. 
Landes et Les Dunes de Gascogne,” by M. Grandjean. 
In the early part of this century (before 1857) the condition of 
this flat triangular plain, known as the Landes, which is roughly 
bounded by the Bay of Biscay, the river Adour, and the river 
Garonne and the Medoc, was, in brief, as follows: There were 
miles of marshy, almost treeless wastes, covered mainly with a 
low, dense growth of herbage. It was wet, unhealthy and 
sparsely inhabited. ‘The few people who lived there depended 
upon their flocks. The accompanying picture shows a native of 
the Landes standing upon stilts watching his flock. (See Plate 
XXVI) He is dressed in a heavy sheepskin paletot. By stand- 
‘ing on stilts these shepherds can easily see their sheep in the 
“herbage and can easily follow them through wet and marshy 
regions. ‘Their spare time is spent in knitting stockings. The 
condition of the Landes was due to the immense sand dunes 
which arrayed themselves along the shore of the Bay of Biscay. 
_, They moved inland, covered villages and occluded inlets. The 
'’ ‘damage done by these moving sands so increased that the govern- 
ment officials studied the work and devised and executed plans, 
and now, thanks to de Villers, Chambrelent and Bremontier, the 
pioneer workers, the Dunes and Landes are covered with a beau- 
tiful growth of the maritime-pine. The region is now a famous 
health resort, combining the beauties and pleasures of the sea- 
shore with those of a well-managed pine forest which extends 
almost to the edge of the ocean. 
There are evidences that the Dunes were naturally originally 
fixed by forests. These forests were destroyed by vandals and 
all attempts failed to stop these menacing mountains of sand. 
* In 1778 a talented engineer, Baron Charlevoix de Villers, was sent 
to Arcachon for the purpose of forming a military post. He 
saw at once the necessity of fixing the sand, and was, according 
to Grandjean, the first to establish the fact that the way to fix 
the dunes is by the means of plantations of pine. He met with 
‘ troubles in his work and was finally sent back to the Island of 
‘. San Domingo. 
In 1784 Bremontier began the work and, it is said, by using 
the result of de Villers’ labors, finally succeeded in fixing the 
moving sand.* 
* Bremontier tells of a dune which advanced, in a violent tempest, at the rate of two feet in three 
hours. 
