Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-03-22
FINE FRENCH FORESTS
GREAT WAR SUFFERERS
Germans Cutting Marketable Lunl-
Der From Lands Now In Their
Possession.
MAKE IsIPRovIsED RoADwAys
FelIed Trees Used for New Roads,
Over Which !artilierymen Move
Their Guns and Ammunition.
Much Damage by Shells.
Especial to tho Times Dispatch.J

WASHINGTON March 2i.-The Ger
mans are cutting the marketable tim
Der from the forests In Northern
France now In their possession and
selling II In Germany. jean Paul Alaux,
AN officer In the French army now In
the trenches near Arras. informs the
American Forestry Association. Ire
mendous damage Is also being inflicted
on the forests OF France by the mill
tary operations. He says when Paris
was threatened with capture. the for
este to the north were cleared
The winter rains" says NJ. Alaux
have rendered most Of the roads i'm
pnssable, especially In the wooded re-
gions. I'm the Forest of Bouvigny.
near !arras. and in the Forest OF Berth
onval. the artillerymen were unable to
move their guns over the muddy and
intrenched roads. and 1t was impossi-
BILE to even transport ammunition In
order to keep the guns supplied ii was
necessary to cut new roads. in all
directions. through the forests using
the felled trees for the purpose. The
trunks. in sections OF about twelve
feet. are laid side by side and bound
together with ropes and with galvan-
lied iron wire. They are further Sc
curely fastened TO stakes driven deep
In the ground. The first layer Of trees
having proven insufficient Il second
vas added. This, again, failing to suf-
nee. third become necessary. until. in
superposed in order to permit the pas
sage OF convoy wagons. To avoid the
too rapid wear OF the wood through the
grinding of the heavy wheels and tho
tearing OF the horses shoes. earth
mixed with straw, bark and the twixs
and small branches OF the fallen trees
Is strewn over these fmprovised road
ways.
The forest of Vitrimont, beh4nd
Luneville. has been completely RACED.
! In the forest OF Meaux, lanes from $50, :
600 to 100000 feet In width have been
cut at intervals Of every thousand feet.
This was. OF course. for the purpose
OF allowing the artillery to shower its
murderous fire over wide area, as
through some gigantic loopholc. One
| cannot find remnant of copse or
thickets: all the trees and saplings
! have disa appeared throughout the RACED
area.
For several weeks have been quar-
tered in the vicinity OF Arras In the
wood OF La Haye. all of the trees and
underground have been cut practically
| throughout the whole area Of the for
est. 1t was done for the purpose of
| providing iirewood for the Kitchens and
! shelters.
! The forests In the Ehet, which were
! the scene OF some of the most violent
encounters at the beginning OF the cam
| paiGn. were literally cut to pieces by
artillery fire. The trees within the
zone Of fire were completely ruined.
! The wooded sections in the east
! have endured the most terrible bonn
| bardments. They are reduced to q
| CHASTITY array OF skeletons: torn to
| bits by the bursting Of shells; riddled
| by fire: blackened with smoke, these
! forests must be entirely cleared away
and the area reforested.
In certain forests such as that OF
Arancourt, where the French troops
J lay in concealnent, and where the Ger
! mans attempted TO dislodge them with
| artillery Are. the bombardmcnt pro-
duccd an enormous damage. Such trees
AS were not cut down by the fire were
| entirely denuded of their branches.
IL have seen enormous trees cut down
! by shells as though they were mere
! finder"