16 – The Forest in Nivernais – Removal of oaks

The sixteenth postcard of the series “The Forest in Nivernais” depicts a logger in front of an oak logs cart ready to be skidded.

As a matter of fact, logs are loaded on a four-wheeled cart named “fardier”, “triqueballe” or “trolley” and are ready to be skidded by a team of two horses. Horse skidding has been used in France until the 1950s and is today regaining growth, in particular in the mountains where horses are capable of mastering steep slopes and in zones sensitive to soil compaction.

Achille Millien complements the postcard with verses of poetry about the future of oak logs and what they will be used for: “Vers quelles terres lointaines / Vous emporte-t-on, grands chênes, / Et que fera-t-on de vous ? / Servirez-vous à construire / Prison, palais ou navire, / – Poutre ou mât, qui peut le dire ? / O grands chênes de chez nous!”