312 FORESTRY IN FRANCE. 



within the next three or four years. The cork oak is the most important tree over an area of 

 about 2,300 square miles, of which one-half is included in the state forests. Above 6,000 tons- 

 weight of cork, valued at £2i'j,']oo, were exported from Algeria in 1878; and 5,940 tons, 

 valued at nearly ;^290,000, were exported in 1880, chiefly from private forests. The quantity 

 will increase every year in proportion as the trees in the state forests are gradually prepared for 

 yielding marketable cork by the removal of their rough, natural coating, which is almost value- 

 less. The timber cut from the forests does not suffice for local requirements, about ^120,000 

 worth of logs and scantlings being annnally imported from Sweden and other northern coun- 

 tries. The preparation of the cork trees in the state forests has not long been commenced, and 

 several years must elapse before they can yield any considerable revenue ; hence the gross 

 returns from these forests are at present very small, and are far exceeded by the expenditure 

 on them. Thus, in 1884 the expenditure was over ;£'96,ooo, while the revenue did not much 

 exceed ^^25,000; the heavy charges being due principally to the treatment of the cork trees 

 and to demarcation and survey. After a time, however, these forests will pay well ; but the 

 value they have in regulating the water-supply and in ameliorating the climate would, even if 

 they had not this prospect before them in the near future, amply justify the expenditure which 

 is now being incurred on them. 



It is, of course, most desirable that such denuded areas as are unsuited for cultivation should 

 be reafforested, and«some attempts in this direction have been made ; but the difficulties encoun- 

 tered are great, and the expense of such work is very heavy, while at the same time the closing 

 of any portion of the scanty pastures is strongly opposed by the inhabitants. On the other hand, 

 although the greater part of the water-courses, which are dry during the summer months, be- 

 come flooded torrents during the rainy season, the results are not nearly so disastrous as those 

 which occur in the Southern Alps; and taking all these circumstances into consideration, it 

 has now been determined not to undertake the formation on a large scale of additional forests 

 but rather to devote all available funds to the improvement of those which exist. What has 

 to be done in this direction is to protect them from fires and from over-grazing, especially by 

 goats, sheep, and camels ; to develop a system of roads and paths, and to build houses for the 

 forest officers and guards; to stop the practice of felling poles and young trees, and, by the in- 

 troduction of the use of the saw, to promote the utilization of large trees ; to plant up blanks 

 within the forest, and to expropriate and stock portions, at any rate, of the cultivated areas 

 within forest limits ; to purchase such of the private forests as in tlie public interest ought to be 

 under state management; to regulate the grazing arrangements, improve the pastures, and 

 develop the growth of alpha grass on the plateau ; to introduce a larger proportion of species 

 affording heavy shade, so as to improve the soil; and to encourage enterprise in the way of 

 forest improvement among private proprietors. These measures will tend to improve the 

 cHmate and to regulate the water supply; and when, some years hence, they have advanced 

 towards completion, it will be possible to commence the formation of new forests. In the 

 meantime, the cultivators of the Tell have already done something to counteract the evil effects 

 of the irregularity of the water-courses by erecting dams, constructing tanks, small canals, and 

 other such works; and they have also planted up considerable areas of marsh land with gum 

 trees (chiefly eucalyptus globulus), which have succeeded well so far. 



The law of 188 1 provides that all laws and rules which obtain in France apply in Algeria, 

 in so far as they are not contrary to local legislation; but the governor-general has been invested 

 with special powers, in order to avoid constant reference to the central government at Paris. 

 Among other local laws there is one, enacted in 1874, relative to forest fires, the principal pro- 

 visions of which are as follows, viz.: (l) No one, not even private proprietors in their own 

 forests, can, between July I and November l, light or carry fire outside the houses, even for 

 charcoal-burning or the manufacture of tar or resin, either in the interior of the forests or within 

 two hundred yards of them. (2) Neither can any one, within the same period, Hght shrubs, 

 grass, or other vegetation within two and one-half miles of a forest without special sanction. 

 (3) The native population is compelled to aid in the protection of the forests ; and any persons, 

 European or native, who, when called upon to put out a fire, refuse to assist, are liable to penal- 



