Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1865-06-27

Tie Effect Of Stripping Country of its
Trees

Trees
The summer heats are beginning to dry up the
springs and brooks which were lately 50 full and
noisy, aud the attention Of observing people is
again turned to the fact Of the diminution, year
BY year, Of the quantity Of water in our streams
at certain seasons, in consequence OF stripping
the country of ts trees aud converting the for
ests into pastures and titled fields Almost every
where our rivuets and tiv rs show, by certain
indications in their channels that they once hJwed
towards the sea with larger current than now
If we go on as we now do, we shall at length see
many Of our ancient wAtercourses as nearly OBJ
Uttered az Addison found them IN Italy, when he
wrote
Sonnet mes. mis- uided by the mneful hrong,
lo,k for btres ms immott4lzed in song,
That lost Ia silence AID oblivion H.,
Dumb are th n fountains and thsir channels dry
Itttun forever by he Mu'es' skill
Ana IN the smooth description muTmut still."
This denuding a country Of its trees has made
the rivers Of Spain Tor the most part mere chan
nels for the winter rains. The Guada culver,
which some poet calls the mighty river" enters
the sea at Malaga without water enough to cover
the loose black stones that pave it's bed. The
Holy Lind now often misses the latter rain" or
receives it bat sparingly, md the brook ksdron
is a long dry ravine passing of to he eastward
from Jerusalem to detcend between perpendicu-
lar walls beside the monastery Of Mar Saba to
the valley Of The Jordan and the Dead Sea. Mr.
Marsh, in his very instructive hook entitled I" Man
and Nature has collected vast number OF in
stances showing how, in the old world, the destruc
ton OF the forests has been followed by general
arldiiy of the country when they formerly over
Swallowed Whether there are any examples Of
frequent rains restored to country by planting
.nd Cd k,,f
member whe travelling at the West thirty three
years since to have met with gentleman from
Kentucky, who spoke Of an instance Within his
knowledge in which pereuti' stream had made
its appearance where at the early settlement Of
the region there was none. Kentucky, when It's
first colonists planted themselves within its limits,
was region in which extensive prarles burnt
over every year by the Indians, predominated.
More than forty years sirce poet oil our
county, referring TO The effect Of stripping the
soil OF Ifs trees put these lnts into the mouth Of
one Of The aboriginal iebabitants
'f.fote thee fields were .horu and ull.d.
Full q the brlm r,v flowed
The meod. Of WA era flied
The rsn - boundes- wood
And ,or ens dashed, and r,yuieis played,
Aud fountains spgut,d IA he shade.
"Tho,e grateful sounds are heard no more
TGe springs suent IN the sun
The rivers. By The hi .okenri shore,
Muh itSs,nnE eat.ut run
The realm eur trites are esusned to get
May be barren desert yet"
The causes which operate to make the rain
more frequent and the springs more regu,r
full in a well wooded country are probably NOR
than one. Under the trees OF q forest cover
lug of fallen leaves are spread over the ground
by which the rains are absorbed and gradual
gwen out to the springs aud rvulels. The tree
also take up large Quantities of this moisture j
the ground, and give II cut to The ar 10 the foru
of vsp r, which Afterwards coudenses into cloud
and TALL. in showers. All the SHOWS, likewise
that I'll in forests are more slowly melted an
sink NOR gradually and certainly into the cart
than when they fail on the open fields. On tn
other hand, the rains that fall in an unwoode
region run off rapidly by the water courses, an
that portion Of them which should be reserve
for dry season is lost.
Ia some parts Of the country, with view
supplying the deficiency occAsonrd by the gradu
dlmiuuton of water IN the streams, they Al
beginning to re'or, TO The old method OF collec
ing the rains INTO reservoirs. In part Of Mass
chusrts contiguous to tiis state, the county
Berkshire, the owners OF the p per mil $ on VII
is called the Windsor Brancn Of the Housatou
have already begun the construction ct a basin q
series OF CASCADES sometimes called Wadsor Fall
and sometimes the W.oonnah FiIl.. Here Il
mouth OF small vale, through Which the stea
desce DIS is TO be closed by wall Of massl
misonry resting upon stratum Of The origin
rock. No mouud Of earth would answer the ~
pose, nor wall OF stone resting u. on earth, SIN,
II Ia were by any possibility to give way beio
the water pressing against II n tine Of c5pn
rain, hiod would be let Loose which would car
destruction TO the village, below. by this rest
yom hundred acres or more will be covered L
great depth, aud as is the centre Of an ext,
ave water aned it will be filled in rainy weati
10 very short time.
tbs example will probably be followed in 9th
paris OF tie county by those 0ho desire TO teu
supply OF wattr for their mills IN such seas
a. We mad last summer, when the want Of va
ives very severely felt.