The Albany register. [volume] (Albany, Or.) 1868-18??, 1874-10-30
rREAsURER sPIRNER.


TREASURER SPINNER.
A correspondent of the Albany EUen-
ing Journal gossips pleasantly about
the early life of United States Treas
urer Spinner, who has lately been visit
ing his old home In Herkimer county,
N. Y, and shaking hands with some of
the friends of his youth. He writes
"Mr. Spinner was born in the little vii
lage OF Herkimer about sixty-six years
ago. When he was about seventeen
years of age he went to Amsterdam to
learn the harness making trade. After
working couple of months for a man
whose name we have heard, but do not
now recall, he engaged his service to
David DeForest, Esq, who IS now one
of the oldest residents of that village.
At the end of year Mr.. Spinner be-
came partner in the business, which
he assisted in conducting year longer.
He then sold out his interest and re-
moved to Herkimer. Mr.. DeForest
takes great pleasure in talking about
his old friend, and regrets exceedingly
that he did not have an opportunity to
see him last week. According to all
accounts, the present watch dog of the
Treasury used to be a very studious
young man-entirely too much so for
his friend DeForest, whose fortune it
was to share his bed. Mr.. Spinner
liked to sit up at night and away into the
morning and read by candle light. AS
may naturally be supposed this course
of proceedings seriously disturbed his
slumbering companion. and the only
way the companion could get even
with him was to put out the candle by
throwing a pillow at it, which he was
frequently obliged to do. Whatever
Mr.. Spinner read he remembered, and
in all the discussions which he had with
his learned friend in the old harness
shop on Main street, concerning points
of history, ETC., he invariably came out
victorious. It's no use talking he
would say to his opponent, I've read
it and what I read remember On
one occasion it was found to be neces-
sary to send to a library in Albany to
decide O. bet, when it was discovered
that, as usual, Spinner was right"
DENUDLNG Il COUNTRY OF ITS
TREES.
The Khanate of Bokhara affords
signal illustration of the damage done
by denuding a country of it's forests.
Thirty years ago the Khanate was one
of the most fertile provinces of Central
Asia, and, well wooded and watered,
wasregardeda as an earthly paradise. Five
/ years thereafter mania for forest-clear-
ing brokeout among theinhabitants, and
continued to rage as long as there re-
manned timber on which to vent itself.
What trees were spared by rulers and
people were afterward utterly consumed
during a civil war. The consequence
of this ruthless destruction of the
forest-growth is now painfully manifest
in immense dry and arid wastes. The
water-courses have become empty chan
nels, and the system of canals construct
ed for artificial irrigation, and supplied
from the living streams, has been rem
dered useless. The moving sands of
the desert, no longer restrained by
orest-barriers, are gradually advancing
and drifting over the land. They will
continue their noiseless invasion until
the whole Khanate will become dreary
desert, as barren as the wilderness sep
arating it from Khiva. It is not sup
posed that the Khan has sufficient
energy or the means at his command to
arrest the desolation that threatens to
spread over his territories. The exam
pie is one to stimulate enlightened gov
ernments to avoid a similar catastrophe,
by preserving a due proportion of
forest lands in their domains, and by
restoring those which have been i'm
providently laid bare.