The Forester and his tent

Agate presents its current favorite.
Here we are in 1877, in the Basses-Alpes, during the great mountain reforestation efforts. Through the lens of Eugène de Gayffier, a solitary tent stands watch over the freshly planted pine trees, a testament to the hard work of foresters striving to bring new life to these fragile lands.

Plantation of hook pine trees, Canton of Chaumasse, Seyne area. Photograph taken by Eugène de Gayffier in 1877, in the context of mountain reforestation and grassing works.

On the same subject

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    Testing of a back-pressure implement carrier at the Central Agricultural Machinery Testing Station in 1923
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    Spring is the time to prepare the soil...

    Back in 1923, staff at the Ministry of Agriculture’s Central Agricultural Machinery Testing Station (SEMA) were designing and testing innovative tools, such as this retro-force implement carrier. Designed to carry and operate various implements (plows, seeders, harrows, etc.), it illustrates the ingenuity of the era in making farm work easier.

  • Cherries and Cows...
    Cows among the rows of cherry trees in a Belgian orchard, 1946
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    Cherries and Cows...

    In 1946, cows seem to have found their place among the neatly aligned rows of this Belgian orchard. This photograph, taken from Edmond Van Cauwenberghe’s work Cherries: Standardization and Cultivation, illustrates—long before the term became widespread—the principles of agroforestry: fruit trees for production, and animals to maintain and fertilize the soil. A natural coexistence that, nearly eighty years later, continues to inspire resilient agricultural systems.