“If you go north-west from Porto-Vecchio into the interior of the island, the terrain begins to rise quite steeply, and after a three-hour walk along winding paths cluttered with large fragments of rocks and in some places intersected by ravines, you will come out to extensive maquis thickets. Maquis is the homeland of Corsican shepherds and anyone who is at odds with the law. It must be said that the Corsican farmer, not wanting to take the trouble to manure his field, burns out part of the forest: it is not his concern if the fire spreads further than necessary; whatever it is, he is sure that he will get a good harvest on the land fertilized with the ash of burnt trees...”