dugibd's pbojet de boisement. 61 



prietors of each ■will draw from the plantations during the earlier years of 

 their growth. And, secondly, it is the case that the gross expense of the 

 plantations, will not on all groimds be compensated by proportionate future 

 products. 



" These difficulties are very serious, and they cannot be overcome but by 

 one expedient, the intervention of the State. This may consist, 1st, in 

 premiums given to the planters ; 2nd, in the gratuitous distribution of seeds ; 

 and 3rd, in a remission of taxes in favour of the planters. 



" A premium should be granted to every proprietor whose sowings have 



been successful. The verification of this must be made by a commission, 



and the success stated in a minute addressed by this commission to the 



prefect. The value of the premium might be 20 francs per hectare, and it 



should be paid by the State conjointly with the department, the State paying 



three-fourths and the department one-fourth of the amount. Thus, on the 



supposition of two thousand hectares being sown annually, the department 



would disburse each year in prizes 10,000 francs, and the public treasury 



would disburse in the same way 30,000. . . . The grounds on which I 



propose that the department should not pay more than 10,000 francs a 



year are, (1) that the department is far from being rich ; (2) that it wUl not 



recover payment of the sums it furnishes, whilst the Government will 



recover all its advances ; and (3) in a word, that without such advances on the 



part of the Government, there is no reason to hope that the operation will ever 



he carried out. No doubt the department will derive very great advantages 



from the work ; but the sacrifices which it will make to contribute to the 



success will not be the less real sacrifices." . . . M. Surell says, — 



" This, which was a weighty reason at the time when M. Dugied wrote 



these lines, has become, since the law of the 10th May, an absolute 



necessity." M. Dugied goes on to say, " The second mode of intervention, 



consisting in the gratuitous supply of seeds, should be wholly at the expense 



of the State. Let us suppose that there are sown 2000 hectares annually, 



and that they are divided, in regard to kinds of trees, in the following way : 



600 hectares in acorns ; 600 in beech ; 800 in firs and pines — in all, 2000 



hectares. The whole expense of the seeds, carriage included, should be 



about 23,400 francs. The expense would rise to 35,100 francs if there 



should be sown 3000 hectares per annum instead of 2000. 



" The Administration, by delivering the seeds gratuitously, will have it 

 in its power to determine that the different kinds of trees have been distri- 

 buted with intelligence, and that each kind of soil has only received those 

 for the growth of which it is best fitted. Declivities too steep should be 

 sown with box trees and brooms. 



" The sowing will also require to be protected against cattle and against 

 plunder. It will be necessary to secure a very active and very strict 

 surveillance on the part of the forest officials, who may remain charged 

 with watching the future forests ; their number should be augmented, their 

 organization perfected, and at the same time their condition raised and their 

 circumstances improved. 



" In conclusion, passing on to the third means proposed — the remission 

 of taxes. Each proprietor, after an examination and approval of his 

 sowings, at the end of five years might have a remission of taxes for the 

 period of ten years. 



" Such are the sacrifices which impose themselves on the State to secure, 

 by degrees, the rehoisement of the mountains. 



