The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1878-03-22

PRESERVATION OF FORESTS.

PRESERVATION OF FORESTS.
| The influences exerted on climate and Oh
rain, by the presence or absence of forests
are very remarkable. It is not only that
belts OF forests give shelter from cold cur.
rents of air, and that when they are cut
down the cold is rendered more piercing, as
In New York, siace the northern forests
have been 80 much thinned, but they actu.
ally increase the heat Of the places wharo
they are found for the heat does not rali.
ate so quickly from the surface when 10 is
protected by the trees, and the cold air does
not descend through the obstacle which the
foliage presents. 1t acts to the earth as the
elder down quilt to the bed .,,..zgssg i
In the recesses of the w5Nsf wts1p<h aud
|'stillaess are to be found, eS. S.&,thQstt che
- - cold -dissgrboik "a 4e6
ieayesshf the Forests project nt( ~
air, attract the rain and briPg y y NJ Is
the earth. In some places the clearing of
the forests has diminished the annual rain
fall. Moreover, the leaves of the trees re-
tain the moisture which has once fallen, as
all may know who have passed through
wood after time of rainy weather. Out
side the wood the roads and fields may have
dried up under the influence of sun and
wind; but under the trees the paths are
still muddy, and the ground soft with the
fallen moisture.
Agasn, forests prevent the too rapid pass
ing away Of water. The earth from which
the tree springs, the dead foliage which
covers it, the mass Of moses and under
wood, and the network Of the tree roots, all
act like vast sponge, which absorhs the
water easily and parts with i'll slowly. Frvm
forest.covcred land, therefore HdtefpEJ5s2
gradually. away. The spriuS = which feed
the lakes of forest covered countries are I'm.
failing, and the rivers which take their rise
in wooded hills, suffer neither from sudden
dimiuution of their streams, nor from de-
structive iundations which work woe wher-
ever they pass. Tho forests act in the sup
ply OF their water as the governor or-balls of
steam engine in the supply of steam, !,
q Ii, however, the forests which guard the
Beginnings of these springs are cut down,
either through ignorance or through greed,
nature revenges herself aud man, SO puny
before her great forces, suffers for his folly
and short-sightedness. Tho cutting down
Of forests on the Alps and Apcnpines has
helped to, cause those terrible inrs Tos
Of the Po which hayeSsoread - -, 81 81
ShsTs eisiS nsaaa saa bSfs 5SSss hiI,Iss Al Ass
cultivation was possible, testiA ,S1le9f rava-
ges. of the wild stream on the slopes 'of the
mountains themselves.
Since the forests round the sources of the
Cauvery in Hindostan, have been thiuucd by
the exertions of coffee planters, who have
established themselves Oh the siopes,of the 1
Western Ghauts, that river has been sub
jcct to sudden foods after the rains brought
by the south-westcrn monsoons, and it has
been source Of terror to the people dwell
ing in its lower valley, carrying away brid-
ges, destroying crops, doing mischief meal
culable, instead Of acting as a benefcent,
fertilizing stream. In such cases as these,
the water, instead of being retained by the
forest land, and slowly parted with as need
ed, rushes down the river bed at once, and
between the times when rain falls the river
sinks to less than its usual size:ss,s.-
1t is thus evident that the place held by
trees in the economy Of nature is a most
important one; and that their preservation,
care aud cultivation, are matters of impor.
tance in many ways to the well.being of hu-
man creatures. For other than economic
reasons, also, it is well that tho axe of the
woodman should not be lifted up against all
goodly trees. The destruction of forest land,
especially in thickly peopled countries, is to
be lamented, not only because of the phys
ical changes which are thus brought about,
but because, when woodlands are done away
with, great source of pleasure and beauty
is removed. Sunday Magazine, Eng.
' GREEN OR RorTED CoTToN SEED
Moons INFLUENCE ON PLANTS AND
rotted cotton seed better than
the green for corn, or does it, as have
often read, give its strength to the plant
during the process Of decomposition
Does the Moon really have any effect on
the growth aud products Of plants, or is it
all a myth? Also, has it any influence
upon meat, when the animal is killed on the
increase or decrease Of the moon /? Do not
some Of the latter day scientists disregard
the moon and tide theory y?-H. b. M,
Liberty, Texas"
ANSWER The green seed is better, be-
cause as usually rotted, much Of the nitro
gen Of the seed is lost, and that is the sub.