, 1879-08-14
THE Destruction of our Forests.


axes upon the thick trees" In the days
when American forests were considered
pract cally limitless, our fathers were
far too famous for lifting up axes upon
the thick trees, and the resultant de-
struction is even now upon us, like the
Philistines upon Samson. This destruc-
ton comes upon us in many forms, most
Of which are, in fact, rapidly and terribly
cumulative. Here is beautiful stream
Of water, for example, which was great
element of wealth, to the re.
gion through which it flowed. It might
not only have continued to do so, but to
have gained in usefulness instead of be-
ing either dead or surely. and swiftly
passing away. The numberless little
hollows on the hills where were the
springs which grew into rivulets to feed
it have been stripped of the moisture
economizing verdure with which the
Creator clothed them, and so the springs
are dry, and the rills no longer
murmur their once glad songs of labor
as they hastened down the valleys to
turn the mill-wheels of mechanical in
dustry. In this one matter Of destruc-
ton of hydraulic power with which we
have already been smitten, hundreds Of
millions Of dollars Of annual damage has
been and is the actual result. That this
drying up of the streams is attributable
not only chiefly to deforesting, but al
most solely to it, common sense-which
is, in fact, the very essence of both fact
and philosophy-must make plain to
every candid nina. Rain feeds the
springs. TO feed them economically it
should be gentle and frequent, not vio-
lent and at long intervals Intelligent
forest engineering would require that
such portion of hills be clothed with
mantle of green trees, as by its cooling
influence it would more frequently SO
contract the aerial sponge as to give us
showers at short intervals. This is the
case in forestclothed, beautiful Britain.
The reverse is true in tree-stripped
Spain, whose people have become as
proverbial for their hatred of trees as
their country has for sterilityof soil and
sleeping streams. There. and on east
ward all through the Orient, relent-
lessly brilliant sky and an appalling alb
sence of verdure will teach one as
nothing else can, how beautiful are
clouds that weep, and, in its proper time,
how delicious q drizzling rainy. day.
These deforested Eastern lands are as
famous for storms, and valleys torn by
terrible torrents, as they are for the re-
verse They will soon find their coun-
terpart in all these characteristics in
America, unless we rouse ourselves with
a will to understand and to master these
evils. Forests promote streams available
for precious manufacturing interests,
also, by furnishing vast and innummer-
able beds of fallen leaves and moss,
which act on the earth like huge over
lying sponge, to check the sudden rush
of The rainfall into the valleys and
down into the streams. Very irapidly
in recent years are mournful instances
multiplying in, which manufacturing
streams ore transformed by freshets from
spirits of blessing ITO give homes and
food and clothing to thousands who live
in the hamlets, by ttnMing the machinery
which helps them by their labor to help
themselves Ito demons of destruction.
Forests also promote such steadiness
of flow of the streams as to
make them sources OF national
wealth in giving employment to
skilled labor, by preventing the rapid
evaporation6f moisture, Probably more
than half the water that falls on de
forested regiop ina dry season is whisked
off by evaporatioa .igst at the time when
it is most needed to strengthen the de-
plered mill,streams.S The steam-engne,
to be Of any practical use as a motive
power, must have its action, controlled
by the conservative influence of the bal
ance-wheel Otherwise its wheels would
whirl at one time With Il fury which
would result only in destruction, and
then they would move too slowly to be
Of service Then the forest, by increas'
ing the frequency Of gentle rains, and so
decreasing the Volume and length of IN
tervals between showers, also by regu-
lating their too sudden plunge into the
streams, is the great regulator provided
by nature for their control in the service