REPORT ON FORESTS. 305 
planting in its lee. The surface of the sand is covered with 
brush arranged like the slates on a roof, with a shovelful of sand 
here and there to hold it down. ‘Then the seeds of Pumas mart- 
tima are sown, with seeds of other plants to shade the young 
pines. The pines usually come up well, and grow quickly, 
although close to the littoral dune they are gnarled and stunted 
by the salt winds. Thus the sands are fixed, and, although the 
forests do not yield a large interest in cash, they are of incal- 
culable value to a large proportion of the people of Gascony—in 
fact, indirectly, to the whole of France. Fire-lanes have been 
constructed across the dunes, and, thanks to the watchfulness of 
the guards and the rigid enforcement of laws, fires are not fre- 
quent. Owing to a lack of roads and means of transportation 
on these dunes, only the most valuable timber is marketed after 
being tapped for resin. If it is desirable to remove a tree, it is 
bled to death before being cut. 
The fixation of the Dunes rendered possible the work of M. 
Chambrelent; which was the reclamation of the Landes by 
drainage and plantings. It is a unique example of personal 
initiative. M. Chambrelent, a young engineer in the Depart- 
ment of Bridges and Roads, in 1837 was sent to Gironde to 
study the drainage of 800,000 hectares of land in the districts 
of Gascony and the Landes. His conclusions were not accepted, 
so he bought some land and put into effect the measures he 
advocated. In 1855 the results of his experiments were sub- 
mitted to an international jury. The jury was so favorably 
impressed that it recommended the application of Chambrelent’s 
plans to the entire region, and in 1857 a law was passed requir- 
ing the Communes to do this work. The Communes paid for it 
by selling a part of this land which increased in value after the 
completion of the work. This region was one hundred meters 
above sea level, flat and sandy. It was underlain with a hard- 
pan called “alios.”” In summer it was a bed of burning sand, in 
winter constant inundation, and between the two a period of 
pestilence. The country was characterized by its sterility and 
insalubrity. 
A complete system of drain-ditches was dug and the seeds of 
Pinus maritima sown. In 1865 all works of drainage were 
_ complete.. The pines grew with extraordinary rapidity. The 
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