Public  attention  was  everywhere  awakened,  and  these  discussions,  and
the  inquiries  which  they  stimulated,  finally  led  to  the  passage  of  the
Code  du  Beboiscment  des  Montagues  on  the  28th  of  July,  1860.^

Before  stating  the  ideas  embraced  in  this  Code,  it  may  be  well  to
mention  some  of  the  theories  proposed  by  writers  of  various  degree,
from  engineers  of  great  experience  and  high  culture,  down  to  those  who,
without  knowledge,  presume  to  offer  their  views  that  scarcely  rest  upon
the  shifting  sands  of  public  opinion.*    Longitudinal  dikes,  transverse

1  lu  tbe  French  departmeut  of  the  Haute-Alps  the  mountain  valleys  had  diniiuishod
11,000  in  population  iu  twenty  years.  The  measui'es  of  reboisemeut  attempted  by  the
government  met  with  violent  opposition  from  the  peasantry,  and  they  were  allowed
to  substitute  gazownement,  or  sowing  of  grass.  The  result  has  been  excellent,  as  the
covered  soil  will  absorb  and  hold  the  rains  in  some  soils  with  good  effect.  This  re-
gion is  now  slowly  recovering  from  its  injuries,  the  streams  are  becoming  clear  and
more  gentle,  and  the  bridges  are  not  liable  to  be  swept  away  as  formerly. — {Nature,
December  9,  1872.)

^Among  the  more  important  of  these  was  the  work  by  M.  Surell,  published  in  1841,
entitled  -Etude  sur  lea  Torrents  des  Hautes-Alpes.  The  autlaor  had  beeu  engaged  iu  engi-
neering operations,  and  began  these  studies  for  i)ublication  in  the  Annates  des  Fonts  et
Chauss€es,  but  was  eucouraged  to  prosecute  his  researches,  and  finally  contributed  this
m-ist  valuable  memoir  to  our  knowledge  of  the  subject.  In  1870  a  new  edition  ap-
peared— with  a  supplementary  volume  in  1872  by  M.  Cezanne.
