, 1872-11-21

CHICAGO, Nov. 20, 1872.
--o-
The Great foundations.
From the London Ifn1es
The floods in italy are assuming proportions
OF which our own experience OF English 1nunda-
tions would give very imperfect idea. With
ua, :" the rain it raineth every day. In Italy
the clouds condense their fury on few days OF
autumn and spring, at which latter season their
volume is aided by tho sudden thaw OF the &C
cumulatod winter snowe. They rush in thou
sand streams down the mountain slopes which
have just as much slant as seems contrlVed to
give tho de1uge the most terrific momentum.
tho tidings Of disaster reach us from every
quarter of the Peninsula; from the Genoese
Riviera, whore between the Appennines and the
sea border there seems to bo hardly span of
level land; from the extreme point Of Calabria,
most porpendicularly into the deep. Still. it is
from the level p1ains that We hear reports OF tho
greatest ravages, and more especially from
those fats OF Piedmont, Lombardy, and the
Emilia which are apt to assume the appear
ance OF 8 dismal swamp the moment they cease
to be q fertile paradise.
A glance at the map will be sufficient to reveal
the peculiar conditions Of TINT favored region.
The Alps encompass it On the west north, and
east, in the shape OF a vast crescent from Nice
to tho IZonzo. On its northern watershed the
streams Of this chain divergo in every direc-
tion; the Rhone into France, the Rhlne INTO
Germany, and the feeders Of the Danube, the
1llcr, tho Lech, the IBar, and the Inn, into Aus
tria. But on the southern side tho watercourses
converge into one channe1-the Po; and six
times as much water as spreads oVor any region
Of Central Europe north OF tho Alps meets IN
ono common trough south Of these mountains.
There is, too, this difference, that while the
northern streams wind leisurely down long and
comparatively gentle declivities, the southern
torrents tear down wall-like slopes, crags,
and cliffs, as if eagor that their course should
DO as rnpid and destructive as it is short.
It would be needless to say that, under such cir
cumstances, tho plain Of North Italy must al
Ways have been subject to floods. The Romans
found it great morass, and it was only oy the
most strenuous efforts that they reclaimed 1t,
draining and plowing it, probably BY elnve labor.
Il received further improvement in the Middle
Ages, whom, by the construction OF navigation
and irrigation canals, efforts wore made to turn
into useful servants thogo 1aw1esB streams which
had been such formidable masters. flnaNy, IN
later times, the Introduction OF rice enabled the
people to turn to profit even those lower plains
which admitted OF 10 other cultivation, and
which, although unhealthy as rice grounds, would
be much mare so it not cultivated at all The
bo effected ty dykes or embankments. But the
streams brought down not only water, but earth
aud sand, and vast masses OF rocks and debris OF
the mountains choking up their beds IN the
plains with deposits OF sand and mud which
have been advancing and rising Tor centuries
The dykes had, Of course, to be raised as the
rivers rose, and had to be made strong enough
to support all the enormous volume OF tho
waters which arc now flowing several feet above
the Lowell of the plain. These dykes are MASTER
pieces OF human skill; they tower above the fats
in some pieces as high as tall houses, and their
structure is so massive and solid that hi5hronds
run on the:top Of them; yet they CULVER and
groan like things Of life when tho streams are
A. f..1f aff1
them, or break through them, as those OF the Po
have done now at Revere, dcluging the richest
lIodeneso plains between the Secchin aud
Panaro, and carrying 60 sudden and Irresistible
havoc over those popu1oua districts as not only
to lav waste tho richest fields, but also to over
| whelm whole villages, not unfrequently With
| grievous loss Of human life The riverside
population, aware Of the precariouanoss Of their
| position, are usually ready for hfe-2nd-death
struggle with the hostile element. On tho first
alarm they are all up, headed by their engineers.
| and aided by such troops as may happen to be
| quartered among them. They run along tho
banks, dive into the raging water, and some-
times succeaa III stopping gaps, patching up
| with courage, skill, and devotion fully equal to
the emergency. On very disastrous occasions,
| as it seems in the present instance, they are
overpoWerod and have to slacken in
| their e1ertionB till the Hoods give elBn OF
| abating.
Unfortunately, although it is the plain that
suffers, it is the mountain that is at fault; and
| there the evil has been growing for centuries,
| and is now almost altogether past remedy. The
| volume of water which pours down from the
| Alps and Apennlnes Tas, probably, at all times
| the same; though it may be that, when tho
mountains were mantled all over with wood, the
moisture WAS more constant, the rain more fro
| oueut. aud consequently less violent. So long,
green the rain Of the melted enow was trapped,
as it were, by the ROOTS the trunks and the fallen
foliage of the trees, 1thad to trickle and strug-
gle through endless obstacles, and it's down.
ward flow YVES in some measure broken; what
came down was only, or at least mainly, water,
| 6tructed channels. But fo- these last four
or five hundred years the Italians, Like the Pro
vencals, like the spaniards. like all the people
along TIE ahoIes res OF me Meate1sanean, q, 81 nave
forests without dreaming Of replanting them
and the result has been.a general cruEnbling
down Of the soil, leaving the rocks baro ard
bleak with deep HcarB and seams, everywhere
| marking the path Of the landslp and the ravine.
The evil, as We have said, is already Of ancient
date; but it has assumed eaormous proportions
since highroads and railroads have made the
deepest recesses in the mountains accessible tt
the woodman's axe !; and the demand for timber
and for fuel for steamers and railway engines
has only too amply rewarded his destructive
labor The injury done to the plain in Italy,
however grlevous, IS not lrreparable SO long as
it can be kept within certain limits; for the de-
uosits p5 the mountain streams are not ire
ca:mab!y barren, and few years. care is sut6
ceut to cover them with fresh green and oblit
crate every trace Of their ravages. But the
wear and tear OF the plain is tremendous, ant
there is always the danger that tho destruction
may get tho better OF all human energy ant
perseverance, for, wherever the water is al
lowed to spread at large and stegnate, not only
the flooded surface. but the whole region fol
miles around is apt TO generate malaria, ant
risss . relapse into that swampy condition
from which Rouaac enterprise rescued it. Thrcf
or forr years OF incessant foods would render
vast tracts of beautiful Lomba.dy rs unhcalth,
ard deaolato So the Tuscan or Ponrine marshe:
are now ard other strips Of maritime territory
all along the coaRte OF the Peuinsula and Of tht
islands ot Sardinia and Corsica. The d;saaterE
of TIE plain. IS we have stated have their origir
in tie mountains. EoTezer arduous the las,
may be, whatever aDeoas: Of time. care, and cap
Jams must 1escre their Country from the 7ayagel
it suffered at sta bands Of their {orefathers