The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1876-11-24
FOREsT DEsTR UcFIt, v.

AttotuS VI -.-Dz, anu bNtHts go ~'N
records Of 2:26. 6.-Nce HqUea Regfsfef
FOREST EsTBUcTION
some Of fhe Result, OF the yandafisss n
the -1r.
The ancient Greeks used the. word
do,.drot4peia, literally 10 "cut down the
trees, 10 denote the utter ruin and de-
vastation of country They wefe wise
men, for, by the cutting down d .ae
forests, more than by any othes ca e
many of the most densaly -
gions oil Dne wsgf1es I1lss>7 = st,f.. Z Fs
-deserts. Pelestine, wlie J,rl :. - S..sassI.
took possession of it, was land of rivalets
and fountains, being thereby distin.
guished from Egypt, which mu4 be
"watered by the foot" In the palmy
days Of the nation this territory, not as
large as the state of Massachusetts, sup
ported in plenty a population of at least
100000, where now not more than
100000 find scanty subsistence. Even
the conquest of the As-yrians did not
permanently reduce the population, for
under the Roman rule it was still dense
ly peopled. But during the wars which
followed the revolt under Vespasian and
Titus the Romans systematically cut
down not merely the fruit trees but the
forests and in the course of a few gener-
ations the greater part of the country
was reduced to the desert which it now
j.. The channels OF the rivulets still re-
main, but they are dry ravines. except
directly after a rain, when they become
roaring torrents, the only exceptions be-
ing those streams whose sources lie high
up among the wooded heights Of Leba-
non. Greece tells the same story. In "a
large part Of It the forests which once
clothed the hillsides have long been de-
stroyed the famous fountains Of anti
guilty now flow only in song, and rivers
Of historical reEown are now but scanty
brooks which a child may ford The
African shores OF Mediterranean, long
the granary ef the Roman empire, have
from some cause become not merely un-
inhabited, but practically uninhabitable
by any except nomads wandering from
one scanty fountain to another
The same story is repeated in modern
times, down to our own day, and all over
the world. In Ceylon the forests have
been cut down for coffee plantations,
and more than twenty years ago the loss
of springs and fountains had grown to
be a threatening evil. When, two cen
turies ago, Spice islands fell into the
hands of the Dutch, they were clothed
with dense forests Of spice-bearing trees.
To increase the value OF the monopoly,
the Dutch set about at indiscriE1s9ate
-desJructI0u on Une EaFsst>5 stfIst -
lands were converted into arid deserts.
Not many years ago the world was
thrilled by reports of the famine in the
Cape de Verde islands The soil there
Is very light and porous, and requires
constant moisture as a condition of fer
tiity. For many years the increasiag
lack Of humidity was noticed. The riye
Socorridos, in MADEIRA, down which
Nhip-timber was formerly foated to the
sea, gradually dried up until it became
a mere rill whose waters, except at
food-time, could hardly he seen along lis
pebbly bed. The diminution OF moist
ure was found TO have kept pace with
the destruction of forests on mountain
sides, and the Portuguese government
made laws prohibiting the cutting down
of trees near river sources But wine
culture Was profitable, and the laws were
powerless against Immediate interest.
30 the trees were cut down more and
more the springs failed, the fountains
dried up, and drought and famine fol-
lowed. Only a quarter OF a century ago
the Danish island of Santa Cruz was a
garden of fertility The hills were COW
cred with forests. trees were everywhere
abundant i person who had formerly
resided there recently revisited the Is
land, and found Il third part of it re-
duced to an utter desert. The planters
had barred the island of its forests; the
soil was gradually desiccated even the
short, copious showers had ceased. The
island O.! Curacao was, within the mem
ory of living men, one OF the most fertile
and well-watered spots on earth but
now" says Mr.. Hough, whole planta-
tions, with their once beautiful villas
and terraced gardens, are nothing but an
arid waste; and yet, sixty miles away
on the Spanish main, the rankest veee-
tation covers the hills, and the burdened
clouds shower down abundant blessings
The United States commissioner of agri-
culture in 1871 writes: In Upper
Egypt. the rains which eighty years sgo
were abundant, have ceased since the
Arabs cut down the trees along the val
ley of the Nile toward Libya and Arabia.
A contrary effect has been produced IN
Lower Egypt from the extensive plant
ing Of the pasha. In Alexandria and
Cairo, where rain was formerly rarity,
it has since that period become more
freouent. - 40gleto5'S journal.