human
Have no fear of that, I said.
gpt
And yet--would you believe it? Many years ago these hills, as far as you can see to right and left and behind, were bare like the inside of your hand. Then somebody looked at the landscape and said: 'What a shame to make so little use of these hundreds of miles of waste soil. Let us try an experiment with a new kind of pine tree which I think will prosper among the rocks. One of these days people may be glad of them.'
human
Well?
gpt
You see what has happened. Right up to Genoa, and down below Levanto--nothing but pines. You Italians ought to be grateful to that man. The value of the timber which is now being felled along this stretch of coast cannot be less than a thousand francs an hour. That is what you would have to pay, if you wanted to buy it. Twelve thousand francs a day; perhaps twice as much.
human
Twelve thousand francs a day!
gpt
And do you know who planted the trees? It was a Scotsman.
human
A Scozzese. What kind of animal is that?
gpt
A person who thinks ahead.
human
Then my mother is a Scotsman.