OBITIQUB BY 8AMANOS. 147 



Societies being formed for the clearing and sowing of the landes it 

 was needful to give instructions to the shareholders or capitalists of 

 these companies, and show to them the great advantages which they 

 might derive from this — to make palpable to them the supposition 

 which might engage them to lay out on uncultivated and arid lands 

 money, of which the interest would be invested on their hopeful 

 promises — to remove from their minds the unwarranted prejudices 

 which seemed to exist against our landes, and to prevent their 

 receiving the attention they deserved ; and it was necessary, in fine, 

 for the success of the enterprises, that by descriptions, always 

 exaggerated, our country should be shown to be another Louisiana, 

 which should be exploited by another law. And this is what our 

 economists have done. The question relating to the improvement of 

 our landes was almost always treated of by men to whom a creative 

 imagination supplemented the lowest modicum of knowledge in regard 

 to the forest culture of our maritime pine ; and these, seizing with 

 itching hand the pen dipped in vapouring exaggerations, extolled 

 the sterile plains which they described, and, by aid of subtile logic, 

 they insinuated into the ideas of their readers ideas which had only 

 for the greater part of the time absurd and incoherent foundations. 

 With them our maritime pine was the veritable tree bearing apples 

 of gold." 



To expose the fallaciousness of these writings he cites some passages, 

 for which, says he, common sense alone may supply pitiless refutations. 



Delamarre thus writes (Traite de la culture des pins a grandes 

 dimensions; page 306; third edition): "The culture of pines 

 supplies the means of acquiring wealth. As the proprietor of unculti- 

 vated grounds, a hundred Parisian arpents for example (correspond- 

 ing to thirty-four hectares) in extent, more or less unfit for every 

 other crop, may, by a moderate advance of two or three thousand 

 francs, and such attention as should be a work of pleasure, may 

 flatter himself, not only to be reimbursed the outlay, capital, and 

 interest in some ten, twelve, or fifteen years, but of obtaining from it 

 from the first pretty considerable profits, and ultimately, in some 

 fifty or sixty years from the commencement of the enterprise, a 

 wealth to be reckoned by millions for himself, and perhaps as much 

 for those whom, from the very nature of the undertaking, he will 

 find he has associated with himself in the magnificent and honourable 

 benefit which he has given ; for even in localities in which the price 

 of wood does not exceed twenty sous per cubic foot, his personal 

 benefit should exceed fiftee n hundred thousand francs." 



