Nebraska advertiser., 1868-01-16
DEPARTM ENT
0b os-,t28E> SSJtS--4~k-lsJ Gci9iAu5>4 a@l1D
Utility Of Forests inithe EcOABmy
uo9 3fe. II Of Nature.

/
Utility Of Forests lnthe ECOnBnI
mos q Of NatuFe. u5hsa
!. What is the use of Forests? Wba
part do they play in nature I! Are The!
Of any utiIiiy to maa. except in The pro
ducrion Of lumber and fuel? Thes- ar.
questions that unrii recently have but lit
lie occupied The attention Of either H.
Aericuitdrist or Man If Science f wa
carc~ly su, pecred thai trees had any il
Auence upon he weather The ,cirnc
of meteorolOgy is even now in its infah.
cy Eucugh Is however known % prove
that Forests, and even scattering Trees
like mountains. under fayoring circum-
stances, cause the formation of invisible
vapor INTO clouds. and The precipitation
Of water to the earth. The atmosphere
always contains more or less vapor, even
When The sky appears The .ciearest. Tht
air is never 50 dry in the hottest wea her
but lha, a considerable reduction Of tem.
peraldre in any stratum of the aimos,
rhrre, willimmediately form clouds, and
fire chang e is great. or sufficiently rap
id. rain is fteciphated 10 the. earrh.-
There are always several distinct strata
in the atmosphere, generally moving in
different directions. and posSesSisge va.
rious degrees of temperature. When
these strata, from any cause. are more or
less, mixed, the temperature Of one or
more is lowered, clouds are formed aqd
if IF sufficient depsily, rain fqlls,-
ElecTiciy has much 10 do in, all meteor
ological Pheuomenar Dry, air is a poor
conductor almost an absolute nop-cOn-
ductor of-electriciiy.-- The strata of air
are in various electrical conditions at
dilferent times and generally different
from the earth. Whatever extends high
into the air has a constant tendency 10
equalize the electrical cohditions of the
lower portions of The atmosphere with
the earth. Thus mountains, trees, spires,
and ascending columns Of smoke, are
sometimes conducting electricity to the
earth and sometimes fromi il. The effect
of this is to facilitate lhe mixing of the
lower stratum and ear in higher regions.
Macy gmeleorologists believe that lab,
Srracung eleefrictty from the air lessons
its capacny for moisture, and that clouds
and rain are thus formed Be this as il
may, 1ha forests. great lfres. and ascen,
ding colums of smoke, more or less affect
the weather. are>well known facts.
Large coufngrauon%, and great battles
are aImo: invariably followed by rain.
Countries, once partially covered by for
esrs, aud remarkable for fertility, afler
being denudpd. have become 'deserts.-=
Thus the Cape de Verde Islands so nam
ed from their greenuess, have been strip
ped of their forests by their improvideni
inhabitants. since which time they suffer
terribly from periodic droughts, some,
times no rain falling for three years al a
time, and 80 600 inhabitanls-on third
of the -PoPdqH,n have perished. Thus
famine cuts dawn The inhabitants as pit
lilessly as they cut down the protesting
trees. Palesline-the land Of Canaan
once the most favored spo. Of earrh-a
land flowing with milk and houey-slnce
The Cedars of Lebanon have been swept
away is sterile--almoSt. barren, and ma
ny of the surrounding. countries, once
leemiDg wuh the depsesl populations, are
now Tnckless- destrIs,. over which only
wild beasts and few roaming Arabs
ever pass.
On the olher hand EgyPr, which from
The most remote antiquity has been spok-
en- OF s rainless region, since Moham
Ct Ali, The present ruler, has made bis
immense rlaulatlons of trees, within a
few years, 10, the .aslonishmenl of lhe ma
uves, has been visited BY frequent show
ers. The great desert Of Sahara, is be.
ginning to give evidence that il can all
be reclaimed aud brought under culIga
ton. A. The outskirts Of some Of the
Gases the French coloasls. few years
ago. commenced digging artesian wells.
The AlOhammedaDs,. seeing that waler
could thus be obtained, continued The
practice, and dug wells at convenient
distances along their lines Of travel.
As these we're flowing wells. trees were
p.auled around them for shade. and !hus
new oases were arlifclally produced. Bal
the most remarkable efeet arising from
these labors is. that in proportion as the
trses, planted around the edges Of Fhe
desert increase in hight ard in numbers,
showers advance into the interior-falItbg
where perhaps i neyef before raihed
since the world 5egan. 49,, .,.,.
IT IL II - ~ 81