ABSTRACT REPOET 1861. I8l 



almost all of which have been approved. And the communes have com- 

 peted energetically with private proprietors. 



" The extent of communal lands rewooded by aid of subventions is 2653 

 hectares. The regions of the Alps, and the Pyrenees, and the central 

 plateau, have been the sites of the greater part of these reboisemenis. The 

 lands replanted with woods by private proprietors comprise 584 hectares. 



" Besides, there have been executed works of reboisement on 1402 hectares 

 of State lands on the mountains. 



" In all, 4639 hectares. The expenses have been 372,000 francs, or 80 

 francs per hectare ; the proportion of this paid by the State has been 

 200,000 francs. 



" B. Beboisements ohligaioires, or enjoined reboisemenis. 



" Of 1,100,000 hectares of lands capable of being rewooded, the resources 

 put at the disposal of the Forest Administration did not admit of actual 

 reboisemenf over an area of more than 80,000 hectares. It has been 

 necessary first of all to determine what were the localities where the works 

 were most urgently required, and it is towards the origin or source of the 

 water-courses that the explorations have been directed. 



" There were taken into consideration 129 projects of reboisement, 

 embracing 107,474 hectares of land situated in the Alps, the Pyrenees, and 

 the mountains of central France. These lands are not all designed to be 

 replanted with trees ; a portion will require to be preserved as pasturage, 

 subject to regulation of trespass ; the remaindermay be successively replanted 

 in definite portions annually, either immediately or after the preparation of 

 the soil by the erection of fences, and by the natural or artificial production 

 of vegetation of an inferior order." 



A second conference of agents employed was held in 1862, on 8th 

 September, and following days, at Clermont-Ferrand, for the regions of the 

 mountains of Central France ; at the same time, at Carpentras, for the 

 region of the Alps ; and on 15th September, and following days, atFoix, for 

 the region of the Pyrenees. Of these conferences, the following is a r6sum6, 

 with annotations by the Administration : — 



" I. Rbboisements Paoultatips, Sanctioned Reboisemenis. 



" Fifrst Question. 



" Up to the present time numerous applications for aid in carrying out 

 sanctioned works of reboisement have been made by communes, by public 

 bodies, and by private proprietors. The Administration has reason to 

 believe that the parties for whom this aid is desired, and more especially the 

 private proprietors, do not always possess the information necessary to 

 enable them to make the most of such aid. 



" The Administration has reason to believe that it can in general rely 

 with confidence only on works of restocking woods effected by itself, or 

 under its direction. Again, looking at the subject from another point of 

 view, the reboisement carried out on scattered patches, and often very 

 imperfectly, will not efi'ect the object in view excepting in so far as they 

 shall by combination form, sooner or later, a suflGicient and effective protec- 

 tion to the soil. 



" In accordance with these views, it is not unreasonable to enquh-e 



