The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1879-04-12

DURING SUCCESSIVE years, from 1870 to 1876,
this journal repeatedly and earnestly urged the
! absolute necessity Of protecting the forest and
underground Of Nuuanu valley from cattle, if it
was desired to preserve the water suppiy. But
those in authority at that time did not believe in
the theory that the presence or absence of trees
or vegetation had anything to do with rainfall,
(therein differing from about all tie rest OF the
worldly and our appeals 10 favor of preserving
the forests were either disregarded entirely or
ridiculed as quite visionary. At length, how
ever, in 1876, a strong public sentiment having
been aroused on the subject, the government of
the day felt impelled to move in the matter, and
the " cow pasture " at the upper part of the
valley came into the possession of the Interior
Department. and ever since the pasturing of
horses and cattle there has been strictly tabued.
The result has been surprising, even to the
strongest a gocates Of the measure. The whole
Of that portion of the (" head -" of the valley
which was formerly a dry and almost barren
waste, is now covered with q thick underground
of grass and shrubbery, and young trees are
here and there making their appearance. All
the lower portions of the ground where formerly
no water could be seen, are now knee-deep
swamps and boys, forming altogether a great
natural reservoir, wherein is stored the moisture
distilled from the trade-wind clouds. This, as
the ground becomes sureharged, percolates down
and into the valley streams and springs, and con-
%stitutes a standing guarantee that the supply for
the city shall never again be curtailed as in
former years, when the " cow pasture > existed.
We trust that the lesson thus practically illus
trated in Nuuanu valley will not be disregarded
- Al. - - $3.50 u
may have control of forest lands. or of any
lands wherein water courses take their rise. The
apathy-and in some instances, perhaps, the
ignoranee-exhibited for years in these Islands
in the continued destruction Of the forests, will,
if persisted in, result in our ruin as an agricul-
tural country. And without agriculture, what
will these Islands be worth? Anyone who lived
here twenty-five or thirty years ago must have
remarked the great change that has taken place
in many localities, where formerly running
streams were plentiful and deep, but where now
they either creep along as tiny rivulets or have
dried up altogether. This is a direct result of
the depasturiDg of cattle and sheep. and the
greedy cutting Of trees for frewood. While the
wood-cutter deprives the soil Of the shade Of
large trees, and lets in the suns rays whereby
the stores Of moisture are eyaporated, the cattle
and sheep tread down the underground and de-
stroy the young trees, which if left to grow
would take the place of the old ones. Almost
everywhere, all over the Islands, this work of
destruction and ruin is going on unchecked. We
may remark, however, that on quite a number of
sugar plantations the plan has been adopted of
late Of using coal for fuel in the mills, instead of
wood. We should be glad to be convinced that
the substitution Of coal for wood by our planters
invariably resulted from a conviction of the
necessity of preserving the forests, rather than
from motives of economy.
The conservation OF forests as q measure of
governmental policy and regulation, has long
since been the subject of legal enactments in
Europe, and more particularly in Germany,
where the Forester or Guardian of the
Forests is a regularly salaried officer, and where
the business of planting new forests to take the
place of the old ones is vigorously and constantly
carried on. Scientific men of Europe have clear
ly demonstrated the disastrous results to apy
country which follow the destruction of it's for
ests. OF late years, a good deal has been written
on this subject in the United States, and public
opinion has been awakened to its Importance.
On the fourth page Of to-day's paper will be