The sun., 1878-04-28
TREES AND TREE PLANTINo.


nccticui Board Of Education. II umbpdics not
only the result of much observation aud study
at home, for Mr.. Nurlhrup has long been an en-
thusiast on the subject Of village Improvement
but also tho practical information obtained In
visit 10 the Old World whittier he went. COM
miesion"d by Gov. Hubbard to study tree plant
INK methods and experiments
The importance Of restoring our forests is
striLingly Illustrated in Pacific coast farming
So long as the timber still stood on tho Si1rras
the valleys did not suffer from drought or food.
Lately the trees have been cut away. und too
rapid evaporation of moisture has caused grave
misfortunes. Last year it was drought. whilo
this season the Sacramento and San Junuun
valleys. the chief source Of grain supply. will
pfoducc no crops because Of the overflow. Over
jO,G00 acres uf fall-sown grain practically de-
siroycd lands made unfit for tiling; buildings.
fences. and cattle swept away-thesc ara the
immediate results while the dread Of repet-
ton Of the calamity threatens to drive hus-
bandmcn to other regions. Yet tho season was
not unusually wet. The trees. the great equal
izors Of temperature and moisture. had been
removed, and the water from melting snow and
from rain flowed down unohstructcd
Other examples are not wanting. Mr. Nor
thrup mentions that Tunis and Algicrs were
once fertile regions. supporting dense popula-
ton. and that their docadcncu is traccabc to the
destruction Of thnir forests. The karst. the
high plateau north Of Trieste. was mauo barren
10y the removal of its trees for the building of
the nayies of Venice A vast desolnic plain was
similarly madc near Antwerp. hut it las been
reclaimed and made II garden Of lovcluess by
now planting. Great areas uf barrcnncss in Asia
Minor. Greece. Italy. Spain. and Russia have
been partially reclaimed in the same way. The
i -
duot,,c because It's trees had been removed.
They have been permitted to grow again. anl
a. a result the rainfall has doubled. Years
a.;, millions Of trees were planted in Egypt by
Mchcmet Ali. with the expectation that they
would bring rain TO the dry country. where
sometimes no rain fell for a twelyomonth. The
result was an average Of thirty rainy days
year.
The influence OF forests on springs has been
widely commented upon. all experience teach
ing that the latter discharge less and less water
as the trees that surround them are thinncd
out. Abundant foliage contributes to the pur-
ty of the atmosphere. In Italy it is firmly be-
li"vcd thnt narrow belts consisting Of three or
four rows Of poplars intercept tho malaria from
the swamps. 1t is asserted that the great
swGmps oi Virginia and the Carolinas were not
unhcalthiul until their trees were removed
Mr. Norihrup believes thai prlflt is 10 he made
out Of the raising OF timber, and that in no way
can the present generation moro enrich the
State than by plantin. the choicest trees on cx-
hau-tcd and unproduciiyc land. III proof. he
introduces letters from Plymouth aud Burnsia-
bic county Nn-sJ farmers vino have tried the
experiment on the worthless soil of that region.
Mr. john noane OF Orleans planted pine tree
seed in nearly four thousand acres OF land that
he had bought for iity cents an acre, The trees