The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1865-07-21
Aarifultural.
the Effect Of Stripping a Country
of its Trees.

~ 10 iull and noisy, and the attention of
observing people is again turned TO the fact
oI The dlmlnution, year by wear. of the
quantity of water in our streams n, cer-
tain seasons, in consequence of stripping
the country OF IFS trees, and converting the
forests into titled fields and pastures. AL
most everywhere our rivulets and rivers
show, by certain indications in their chan
nels, that they once flowed towards the
sea with larger current than now. If
we 90 on As We now do. we shall al length
see many of our ancient water-courSes a.
nearly obliterated as Addison found them
IN Italy, when he wrote:
.'Sometimes, misguided by the tuneful throng,
look for streams immortalized in song,
That lost IN silence and oblivion lie;
Dumb are their fountains and their channels
fetrun forever, BY .he Muses. skill,
And In the smooth description murmur still.
This denudlng a country of It's trees has
made the rivers of Spain for the most part
mere channels for the winter rlins. The
Guadalqulver, which some poet calls the
- mighty river enters the sea AT Malaga
without water enough 70 cover the loose.
black stones that pave Its bed. The Holy
Land now often misses the '.latter ram
or receives ii but sparingy. and the brook
hebron Is long, dry ravine passing off TO
the eastward from Jerusalem TO descend
between perpendicular walls beside the
monastery of Mar Saba 10 the valley of the
jordan and the Dead Sea. Mr.. Marsh.
in his Very instructive book entitled Man
and Nature" has collected a vast number
of instances showing how. in the old world
the destruction of the forests has been fol-
lowed by general aridity of the country
which they formerly orerSiladowed-
Whether there are any examples of fre-
quent rains restored 10 country by plant
inc groves and orchards. WE cannot say
but we remember when travelling al the
West thlrty-three years since 10 have met
with 4 gentleman from Kentucky. who
spoke of an instance within his knowledge
in which a perennial stream had made IL
appearance where at the early settlement
OF the region there was none Kentucky.
when Its first roloniSts planted themselves
within its limits. was a region in which
extensive prairie>, burnt over every wear
by the Indians, preiominated
More than forty years since a poet Of
our country. referring TO the effer; of strip
ping the soil of lis trees. put these lines IN
to the mouth of one OF the :,borii yiinal in
habitants:
Before these frlds were ~horn and titled,
Full 30 the hrim our rivers flowed,
Tie melody Of waters filled
The fresh aud boundless wood:
And torrents dashed, and rirulets PLAYED,
And fountains spouted IN the shade
Those grateful sounds are heard 40 more.
The springs are silent in the sun;
Tie rivers. 6y the b,ackened shore.
With lessening current run.
The realm our tribes are crushed TO ge:,
May be a barren desert yet
The causes which operate 10 make the
the rains more frequent and the springs
more regularly full i'm well wooded eoul-
try are probably more than one. Under
the trees ola forest a covering of fallen
leaves are spread over The ground. 10y
which the rains are absorbed and gradual
ly given out 10 the springS AMI rivulet>.-
The trees also take up large quantities of
this moisture IN the ground, AMI give il
out TO the air in the form of vapor. which
afterwards condell>eS into cloud. and falls
IN showers All the SHOWS. likewise. that
tall IN forests are more slowly melted AMI
sink more gradually and certainly into the
earth than when they fall on the open
fields. On the other hand. the rains that
fall in an unwooded region run off rapidly
by the water courses. and that portion oi
them which should he Reserved for 4 dry
season Is lost
In some parts of the country. with
view OF supplying the deficiency occ.lsion-
ed by the gradual dimmuiion of water in
the streams. They are beginning 10 resort
10 the old method of collecting the rains
INTO RESERVOIRS. In part OF Massachu-
setis contiguous 10 this stale. the county oir
Berkshire, the owners of the paper mills
on what Is called Windsor Branch of The
lIousatonic have already begun the coli-
struciion of a lrasin on tina, stream, at a
spot IN Windsor. Just above a series at
cascades sometimes called Windsor Falls.
and sometimes the Waconnah Fails
Here The mouth OF small valley through
which the stream deSeenlS i 10 be CLOSED
, 10y wall of massive masonry resting upon
a stratum Of the igiIlal rock. No IA ,,ind
OF earth would answer the panso-,. nor
wall OF stone resting upon earth, since ii
that were 10y any possibility 10 giee way
before the water pressing against ii In a
t time of eopious RAIN, a fool would be let
loose which would carry destruction 10 the
t village below. By thiS reservoir a hum
: dred acres or more will be covered 10 n
great depfi, and As ii is the centre of an
extensive wafer shed. ii Will be filed in
rainy weather in a very short time
This example viii probably be followed
in other parts of the country by those who
desire TO secure supply of water for .heir
q mills in such season aS We had last sum
mer. when the want of water WAS very
severely felt.
= Cows.-A farmer from a neiglhoring
Il town says, Feeding COWS on lanched
ears of corn will remove ilfe aiieri,ir1l-
| have tried il many times without Il fai!-
r ure- Ii Is worth more for one COW than
u Il $500. 4