Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-06-14
FORESTs. THEIR INFLUENCE.

To the Editor Of the Union and American:
LIVINGSTON, TENN, June 3. 1872.-
Another idea on the climatic influence of
forests. A large portion, If not the whole
Of the great desert of Africa was once Gov
cred with forests. Beautiful groves, abound
ing in game covered that now silent and
desolate region. Flowers bloomed, and the
air was redOlent and odOrAerous, WhereThe
simeon now reigns supreme. Rivers flowed
where drOuth and dust and desolation are
only to be seen and felt. Nero, the ancient
capital of Egypt, was in the desert. Bay
ard Taylor in his travels in Africa came to the
head of what was once doubtless, the channel
Of a great river. The Arabs called it the
river without water. OF course no drop of
water is TO be found there now. The food
has dried up, and the waters have decayed.
Its myriads Offi0h that once spOrted in its
waters have persisted and gone. Its forests
are gone; its rivers and streams are gone;
its fish are gone; its meadows are gone; its
flowers have persisted; its OdOrs no more de-
lights its cities; its monuments and its col
umns, lie at the bottom Of an ocean of sand,
and the sUffocating simeon sweeps over its
burning wastes. Why is this? 1t is said
because the winds there have
no vapor in them. The theory is this:
1t is said that the rotary
motion Of the earth naturally causes a cur
rent of air to flow from west to east; that
this current, crossing the Pacific Ocean, be
comes saturated with Vapor, and that in
passing onward with its watery freight it
strikes the Himalaya mountains; that from
the inclined plane of these mountains the
current bounds high into a colder region,
which suddenly condenses the vapOr, and
it falls in rain, hail and snow, gradually, to
water and make fruitful the great plains Of
India. Thus it is supposed that the afOre-
said current of air is deprived Of all its
moisture, and in its course, when il sweeps
over northern Africa it has no moisture or
life to impart. The currents which, on
the west of the great mountain ranges of
Asia, gcarried life, and sweetness, and
fruitfulness; one the east, becomes death
and bitterness, and starility. But will any
deny that large portion of the great desert
was once covered with forests? Excava-
tions of modern sntiquarians show the
stumps and other remains of forests. Did
great cities rise there amongst a world Of
sand as at present? Whence cane the
moisture to supply its forests? Is it not
reasonable to suppose It drew its moisture,
under more favorable circumstances, from
the same atmospheric currents which cross
the mountains of Asia?
But there is another evidence. Forty
years ago it did not rain in Egypt. For the
truth of this, consult any book Typography
of that date. 1t had not rained there for
ages. The valley Of the Nile was made
fruitful BY irrigation. A few years ago the
Pacha of Egypt caused fifty millions Of trees
to be planted along the borders of the lower
Nile. 1t now rains there thirty days in the
year.
In 1859, believe, the Suez Canal was
completed. The company and the Pacha
planted trees along the margin and it now
rains along its shores frequently. The sands
of the desert are calcereous and need
only moisture TO render them
fruitful. If forest, from the borders of the
Nile, and made gradually 10 encroach upon
the desert, may it not be reclaimed? And
may it not, in future ages, be made TO main
tain mighty population, as in long gone
periods OF the world
1t was once populous. Folly and mad
ness, urged men TO destroy the forests, and
desolatiOn followed in their tracks, and the
precise location Of the ancient capital of
Egypt is scarcely known, and the great
desert stands as a wonder OF the world.
The laad of Palestine was once a land Of
fruits and flowers, and flowed with milk
and honey. Its people were happy,
but were not imbued with
the sentiment Of "Woodman, Spare that
Tree" The forests were cut away, and
the land fthe lily and the rose, of milk
and honey, and the fig, the land Of the vine
and the grape, the land of David and Solo
mon and Saul, and Ruth, is now a desert.
Sterility 5rOods over il, and its beauties,
that once delighted the maids of the chosen
people Of God, exist no more.
Be it known, that it is an irrevocable
law, that the utter humiliation Of forests.
will make any land desert. All history
proves this, and we are rot wise if we are
not warned by its teachings. Then It is
not in the mere spirit of poetry, but in the
spirit Of a fearful truth, we say 'sWoodman,
spare that tree" We would be pleased to
say more, but our communication is already
100 long. OTHELLo.