, 1875-03-06
The "AVIS"
ON THE INFLUENCE OF FORESTS
ON RAINFALL.
Is PUBLISHED
EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SATURDAY.
From Tho Sugar Cane.

The articles that have appeared, from
time to time, in this magazine, upon this
important subject have attracted a consi-
derable amount of attention, and have
been copied into various publications, at
home and abroad. We have received
communications from correspondents in
widely different localities, and now group
together for reproduction some of more
especial interest.
From a West Indian letter the following
is extracted -
81 was surprised to find in an old alma
mack, the other day, that the Antigua
rainfall, in the years 1838-39, amounted to
go and so inches respectively. This being
the case, it is an interesting question,
what has caused the frightful falling off
Wa the Island more wooded then ? or is
the climate of the West Indies generally
becoming drier2
"The rule of one exceedingly dry year
in every nine or ten, seems to have held
good from then until the present time;
they are indicated by the crops of 1867,
1856, 1854-5, 1864, and 1928, so
that the period appears to be one Of nine
years. Bishop Westerly remarked the
other day, that we seemed to be passing
through a cycle of drought, that he did
not remember so long a time before, when
the rainfall was below the average c%ontin-
uouslys"
Mr.. Spencer Holdings writes from Mont
serrat -
at may perhaps interest the author of
the very interesting article 'On the Infu-
ence of Forests on Rainfall, which has
lately appeared in your publication, as
well as some of your numerous readers, to
know that the necessity for prohibiting
the wholesale destruction of woods and
forests was fully recognized in this small
island nearly 900 years ago. | enclose
you an extract from a local Act dated
1909:
"Year 1902. That when any spring
ariseth, brook or river runneth in or
through any person or persons lands they
shall not cut down or clear any standing
woods, underwoods, copps, or bushes,, or
cause the anne to be done, or fire set to it
willingly to consume the same within TWEEN
ty feet of the same of each side, if in cane or
provision ground, except they do immedi-
ately plant so much ground as is before ex-
pressed, and by them cleared fully with
planting trees of each side of such spring,
brook or river, that the same may be shaded
or covered from the sun, (the laying thesame
open being oftentimes the cause of their
drying up,) and where any spring ariseth,
brook or river runneth through pasture,
then the standing wood, underwood, copps,
and bushes shall be left uncut down, as
aforesaid, on each side of the same for the
space of thirty feet, and any or all persons
offending herein shall forfeit and lose as a
fine, to our Sovereign Lady the Queen,
the sun of fifty pounds current money, for
every fifty feet Of ground they shall clear
or lay open as aforesaid after the date OF
this present Act"
The Hon. Luc Letellier, Minister of
Agriculture of the Dominion of Canada,
recently informed the writer of the arti-
cles which have appeared in The Sugar
Cane, that his Government is quite alive to
the Importance of the conservation of
forests, both as a permanent source Of
wealth and also in. order to the mainten-
ance of suitable climate. Notwithstand-
ing the immensely of the tracts Of forest
which confer wealth upon this magnificent
HH EA- =. HtsE