, 1873-11-22

less fury they destroy the woods
on the slopes of the mountains, and
for the sake of a mOmentary gain
desolate for ever their dwelIing-places.
The chestnut forests, which used to cover
the heights near Lozere and Lacgoul are
wasted more and more; the denuded
Auvergne-mountains give free admitance
TO a freezing wind, which mocks the hus-
bandman's prospects; on the formerly
impenetrabIe plateau of Classes not a bush
is seen now the sources dry up and man
and beast frequently suffer from scarcity
of water. The smelting-houses thin for
ests, the inhabitants destroy them, and the
charcoal burners and wandering cattle
complete the waste"
Up to 1898 more than 80 Departments
had sent to La commission d'agriculture
remonstrances against the existing state
Of things all came with the same laments:
night trosts and winter cold were intensl-
tying, the rain swept away the soil, olive
plantations and vineyards went to ruin:
from Haute-Gar0nne they complained OF
poor h~arvestS, from Gers and MOnt-Blanc,
that the rivers frequently inundated the
meadows, causing contagious diseases
among TIE cattle the climate and guam
tity of rain underwent a change, cold
winds found their way to the country, the
dec)iyjties of the mountains We're bare, and
in summer the fields were scOrched and
parched by the sun in Haut-Rhin, Cote
d'Or and several Departments, sickness had
become more prevalent among the inhabi-
tants in a number Of places there existed
no longer the necessary fuel, in Haute-
Loire and in Sa0ne ct Loire COw-dung,
broom-brush and similar substances had to
be used instead, aud in Finisterre even
truit-trers were cut down to serve as fuel
there was want of wood for hoops and for
stakes to Support the vines. Not satisfied
even with driving goats-the worst enc
mics of forests-intO these, people burnt
in MoselIe the trees for the sake of the
ashes.
III the course of ten or twelve years,
more than 10000 acres of land had been
completely laid bare, and the remainder
greatly mal-treated, abandoned to itself or,
what was still worse, horses, cattle, goats
and sheep. When the Government needed
money, they sold parts of their forests to
spectators, who right off turned them into
money, exposed as they were to the same
fate as their predecessors, who had been
robbed of their property with the purpose
Of it's being sold to a new owner. What
10 such people care for the interest of the
country, whether their neighbours fields
were ruined, whether springs dried up,
and the climate was changed for the worse
il a locality, which they themselves were
soon to leave? When the Government
sold the lands without any restrictions, it
had taken no regard'to such considerations.
Under Napoleon as First Consul orders
were given in 1904, that the Departments
should fGrniSh detailed Repo is on the state
of the forests. These were not slow in
being forwarded from all parts Of France
the projects sent statements to the Go
vernment. The words varied, but the sub
stance was the same, that raw ayarice and
the most inconceivabIe thoughtlessness had
every where proved confusion and distress.
1t is unnecessary, to lay before the reader
an extract of the Reports, as they are per-
fectly in accord with what is stated above,
with this difference only that as a result OF
the still continued devastation the picture
they exhibit was still sadder and yet in
many cases they are nothing but a bare
representative of the extent OF forest
destroyed aud the degree in which the
~roIuo+;op of corn opd wina had diminished