The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1871-12-22
THE DESTRUCTION OF FORE rs.

. CtoSitJ w ePSS~J
, less citizens, in greater need OF sue
, cor than even the tens of thousands
in Chicago, it also suggests forobod-
ings Of serious climatic changes :
These changes arc inevitable if
without replanting, forest after for
est is swept away by the blows oil
the woodman's axe, and by the
wholesale destruction wrought by
fire.
Any one passing tho Alps into
northern Italy. and proceeding as
far south as Naples or travelling from
old CASTLE down to Cadiz and Mala-
ga, or visiting Sicily and Greece,
and still further to the east, Palcs
tine and the Euphrates valley, can
not shut his eyes to tho causes which
have brought about the decline OF
empires. Foremost among these
causes has been the deliberate
destruction Of forests. In the
south of France the disastrous
consequences became so evident that
the late imperial government sub
mitted the question to the most
searching inquiry, and the unani-
nous opinion given by scientific OBJ
servers was that the climate of a
country is subjected to a serious
change the moment the mountains
are shorn Of their moisture attract
ing forests. Suffering from pro-
longed droughts and destructive IN
undations, a country deprived OF its
woodlands finds its agricultural in
terests in constant danger, and sinks
at last to precarious state of de-
tendency on the grain-production of
other countries.
There is now bat one opinion on
the subject of the downfall of the
nations Of the Euphrates valley
The prolonged droughts enfe bIed
the physical, and therefore the moral,
nature Of the inhabitants. When
the Romans landed ia Spain the
country was inhabited by forty mil
lions of comparatively prosperous
people, the Iberians. The country
was then we'll wooded, but during
the Roman, and subsequently during
the Gothic and Arab occupation, the
destruction OF forests was continued
! in the most merciiess manner, and
not tree has been replanted to this
day. From forty millions, the pop
ulaiion during nineteen hundred
wears dwindled to nine millions a;
the commencement OF the present
/ century. In CASTLE, especially OF
the plains, the traveller may not see
a tree during whole days journey
Haiittsi,5fl ms, diroas th;s, lasting. ~ii;isii
out drop Of rain, from April I'll
October. or sudden and destructive
: foundations, arc the consequence
The same thing IS observable j.
every land Of Southern E1roPs
q, where the conditions are similar.
We are a prosperous nation Eow
The entire failure Of any cg0E
n throughout the land IS unknown
t among US, ye. i. cannot be de
MED that scorching and prolonged
droughts, especially outside tht
, Gulf-stream influences, arc yearly
more frequent. These northwestern
fires are an illustration Of this fact
: having had their origin in this cause
, The sensitive nature of our leading
staple, cotton, should not be forgot
, ten. A long season Of dry weather
after the plant is a foot from the
ground will not do it much harm
but q continuation Of rain and Of oc
casional foundations may easily re
! duce a crop from five millions o
, bales to three millions The longer
we proceed indiscriminatcly TO de
stroy forests, without repiantinG
single tree, tho more capriclous tn
Z climate becomes from Maine to tn
Rio Grande. On our Pacific coast
. this year, the drought has been sue
that more than a quarter of tn
J wheat crop is lost. Taking exam
pie in their distress, from the Ro
mans and tho Moors of Spain, til
J farmers of that State propose to OF
. tain irrigation by aqueducts throuS
the wheat regions. The destructlo
of forests in California and Orego
has been on a gigantic scale durin
8 these twenty years, and the const
70 queuces begin to be felt already.
l. Is it not time that subject of sue
to paramount Importance should /
- discussed in Congress and in tt
- legislative bodies of every State Z
y Is it not time that some stringel
=. laws should be enacted to comp
re the individuals and companies tn;
are destroying our majestic Amer
can forests, to repeople the was
J. places with trees, wherever agricu
turo does not claim the land 7 Les
% islative measures should be takel
n too, with the CO operation of til
}. Canadian authorities, as the peopI
i of tho Dominion are forest destroy
y ers like ourselves.