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[Page 16]
Valley Of Soane Marcon
27/3/16
Just before coming in the district seems to become more countrified and the houses further apart. Good stretches of wood and cultivated land and green all over. Along the little brooks green short stumpy trees. To the west a range of hills with villages nestling close in to them. The tops quite barren and rocky.
All the houses very old fashioned along one quiet road a funeral procession was going towards the church.
At Marcon at 1100 we had lunch, the men being specially provided for. The country between Marcon & Rully is nothing like as heavily populated as the Rhone Valley but consists of fine farms delightfully green & neat with the farm houses nearly out of sight of each other.
Great attention seems to be paid to forestry, definite areas are set out for planting and for reserves. Definite parts of forest seems to be left and men who are work felling and cutting up the larger trees and thinning out the small ones. Wherever water is willows grow thickly and are kept well pruned down the trunk perhaps 2' through and a head of long suckers shooting up from there. These I thought were alders at first and are quite a feature in the landscape. The cuttings are tied up in sheaves and used for brooms &c. Such old farm houses and inns.
Today is dull and grey with some rain. Passed a company of French infantry who had their arms piled on a road. They ran over to cheer us on – everyone comes out of houses and waves, the girls throw kisses most demonstrative.
Brooks running between the green paddocks and overhung with shrub. The meadows carpeted with heavy green grass with daises violets primroses & jonquils growing wild. No fences but poplars planted rows mark boundaries.