‘The surface of the downs, which form the landes of Bordeaux,’ says he, ‘being equal to 337,000 Bordeaux journaux, of 840 square toises, the amount required to fix the whole of these downs would be 8,000,000 livres. Now, a journal (0·33 hectares) of sand planted with pines, gives an annual return of 15 livres, that of 337,000 journaux would therefore be of 5,055,000 livres.
1855, “Brick and Marble in the Middle Ages: Notes of a Tour in the North of Italy. By George Edmund Street, […].”, in The Civil Engineer and Architect’s Journal, Incorporated with The Architect, volume XVIII, London: R. Groombridge and Sons, […], “Reviews”, page 343, column 2