Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 26.djvu/84

74 demanded; and, 3. The doubt whether such torrents would not wash away the plantations as fast as they could be made.

The first two difficulties demanded great patience and kindness in making clear to the peasants the necessities and advantages of reforesting, and in convincing them that the work would be done so honestly and cheaply that they might reasonably expect to be able to repay the cost of the work and get back their land, which would soon begin to yield some income, and in the course of twenty years would, as a rule, be more profitable than pasture-land. A sort of science primer, "Les Études de Maître Pierre sur l'Agriculture et les Forêts," was prepared and circulated among them with excellent results. It consists of eight dialogues between a government teacher and a peasant, Mâitre Pierre, in which the latter is converted from a stubborn opposition to the reboisement law (which he said would ruin him because, in obedience to it, his landlord was about to withdraw a certain pasture from his moutons) to a quite intelligent advocacy of it. The main reasons for and methods of forest propagation, conservation, cutting, thinning, etc., are gradually instilled into the peasant's not very bright mind. The book is a fine model of Socratic teaching.

The velvet glove was always kept upon the iron hand in carrying out the law. As far as possible the co-operation of those whose land was taken was secured; and none was taken except after full opportunity for every one to learn just what the government meant to do and to present objections. Local magistrates and land-owners must be united with the state officials upon the boards which decided where to run the lines which included lands to be reforested.

The third difficulty—doubt as to the possibility of success—was overcome by the prudently bold policy of attacking some of the worst torrents first. Of course, victory over these insured success with less violent ones.

The conflicts with physical obstacles may be classified as preparatory and final. The first thing was to exclude sheep and goats from the pastures above the forest zone. The next was to divide the whole area by horizontal walls into two or more zones, and in the lateral ravines to build as many dams as the case might require, so as to check the downward flow of water and compel deposit of earth above the walls and dams. In the deeper ravines whole trees were thrown with tops down-hill, fascines, etc., being packed among the limbs. Then, with explosives, the sides of the ravines were thrown down upon these trees so as to afford a deep and somewhat level soil that could be planted at once. Horizontal mule-paths about a metre wide were made where, later on, roads for working the forest would be needed. These paths, in passing ravines, ran upon the dams, etc., and by them laborer and material could reach the points where they were needed in the preliminary works. Besides these paths there were made, at distances twelve