The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1873-07-11


ton, and it seems probable that as the area of
woodland is diminished, the summer rains will
grow more infrequent, even II the year y average
remains the same. ! wish the well founded
dread and anxiety which the consideration calls
for, would possess every mind in the country The
immense consumption of lumber; the multiple
cation of railroads; the manufacture Of charcoal
for smelling purposes, annually strip vast areas
of their natural rain inducers which left to
grow, empty the summer clouds, but once cut
OIL, leave these reservoirs ofhealth and growth to
float on to more favored sections
The late bill introduced into Congress by Mr..
Halderman of Pa, and which has now become
law, provides that all future sales of Government
land shall be made with the condition that one
tenth of the woodland shall be forever preserved
and that like proportion of all open land shall
be planted with forest trees within ten years,
and forever retained as woodland. One-ha the
price of the land will he deducted the expense
| of planting. These conditions must be observed
| under forfeiture OF the whole tract purchased.
In the monthly Report of the Department of
| Agricultu re for March may be seen letter from
| Mr.. Fred Hubbard, wherein he shows most i'm
pressively the destructive effects of clearing the
| forest land on the Island OF Santa Cruz. The
dessication and drouth commenced on the
| eastern and wndward side of the island, and
gradually, and in an accelerating rate, planta-
ton after plantation has been given up to
| drouth and barrenness.
| The springs and wells have dried up and thus
| the means of arresting the spreading devastation
are wanting. One planter, whose estate was al
| ready suffering, planted one thousand trees and
| lost every one Had this remedy been univer.
| sally adopted early enough, the evil might have
| been arrested, but now the writer's observation
leads him to the conclusion that the whole island
within short PERIOD is doomed to desolation.
st. Thomas, another island lying about 30 miles
distant, is similarly affected but the surface pre-
senting more elevation, it attracts more mois-
| ture and the destructive change is not so rapid
| The older inhabitants remember when the rains
| were abundant, and the groves and forests grew
| everywhere with tropical luXuriance. Porto Ri.
co. mountainous, large island, only so miles
distant, whose interior is still great forest re-
ceives abundant rains and no diminuion to pro-
duction of its forests; while the little island
Curacao, in latitude IL degs north, has within
| the memory of living men, become almost q des-
crt, most certainly through human agency in cut
| ting off for export it's valuable timber. "Rains
have ceased, and fresh water is among the luxu-
ries "--abandoned gardens and beautiful villas in
ruins everywhere meet the view ofthe saddened
| traveller.
My native valley in Berkshire county, Massachu-
sets, whose bordering mountains have been
stripped almost to their rocky submits to supply
charcoal for the smelling of the valuable iron ore
which everywhere abounds, has already suffered
greatly in the volume of its lakes and streams
Revisiting it after intervals of years, have q
| better opportunity to observe the gradual dimi-
mutton which the jewellers of the valley scarcely
notice, except in the much diminished values of
tains are cut over once about every 35 years,
and owing to the increasing dryness and gradual
exhaustion of the soil, the successive cuts of
timber doubtless grow less and less, till finally,
| | fear, the mountains like those of Palestine,
will be but barren rock, and the valleys arid, un-
inhabited deserts.
What we observe of dews is also true of rain
| A hard, bare, barren surface receives no dew,
while the cultivated grassy lawn is thoroughly
wet. "Unto him that hath shall be given and
he shall have more abundantly, while from him
that hath not shall be taken away even what he
hath" II brief passage that is especially applca-
bic to barren land and poor people.
| depend greatly upon my garden, which drys
all the harder because it lies so low. Now after
three years most tantalZing experience, during
| all of whose summers | have watched the fire.
qucnt showers going down the Gunpowder on one
side of me, and Winters Run on the other till
! ! have sometimes thought would sell my place
and move down to the banks of one or the other
of these streams. l have finally come to the
conclusion that must irrgate. To do this eco
nomically and with the least labor, have revolv-
cd various schemes; one involves deep well
| and wind mill, but observation shows that this
country is not "wind loved' places from what
| ever cause; the winds blow milder here than in
almost any other section of the whole country.
Another scheme involves small steam engine,
which might cut the wood, grind the feed
! thresh, and do the "chorcs" generally; but lat
| terly my mind has run upon large square vat
| or cistern, sufficiently elevated upon stout
frame work, to allow the water to run in hose
| to all points of the garden and large enough to
hold the water from the roofs for month, if
necessary. The 81 inches which fell in May
collected from the roofs of dwelling, barn and
outbuildings, would have given an abundance
Of water to every plant in any farm garden du-
| ring the past June, and with the occurring
showers through the whole summer where
| springs and streams are available, a more eco
nomical arrangement can be made; but it is
surprising that no more use is made ofthis eleva-
! ted source of pure water-the rain from the
roofs. Instances are known in this county where
! farmers have hauled the water from distant
springs for family use their long lives through,
where ifa well would have been too deep and diff
cult cistcrn costing from $50 to $50, would have
given an abundant supply. A subterranean &C.
mentcd cstern of ,, 900 gallons capacity used for
/ all purposes but cooking, watering the shrubbcry
and trees in the yard, and sometimes the gar
into it five years ago; and during the extreme
drouth last summer was great relief.
Mr.. Editor, | beg your forbearancc this. time
and promise to be brieier in future communca-
/ tions.
June, 1878, lowest temperature observed,
morning of the LIST, AZ dcg's.
Highest temperature, afternoon of the 30th,
% deg's.
Mean temperature of three days observations
for the entire month, Il deg's 10.
Mean temperature of June, 1872, II dcg's.
q" of June, 1871, 72 deg's 40.
Rain fall in inches LOS. No. of days without
rain 21-days of mist. and rain, O. Four rains
only were really measurable in amOunt-that in
the carly morning of the 9Th, that of23d and oath,
and the showers of the 2Sth and goth. The
amount Of rain, especially during the summer,
differs greatly within short distances.
G. &C.