Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1881-12-21
The EArth's surface.

According to Lombardini, the Po now
transports three times a. much sediment
a. formerly. the increase beng chiefly
due to the destruction Of the forests, ind
the consequent denudation Of the Alps
French engineers estimate that the delta of
the Rhone has advanced at . rate far
greater than it did previous to the cult
vation of its valley. In the Eastern
United States, wherever 4 mountain slope
has been stripped, ipcipient rsvines quick
ly form aud enlarge with such rapidity a.
to excite the attention Of geoloeists This
is especially the case with the sandy soils
Of Maryland, Georgia and Alabama, pre-
viously covered with pine forests. The
Back Earth of Russia, one of the chief
sources of the agricultural wealth OF the
empire, is quickly cut up into huge
ravines, and the finest soil in Europe is
being rapidly carried away to increase
the deltas of the Volga and the Don, and
TO silt up the sea OF Azov. During the
great foods of 1865 and 1868 in France
and Switzerland, the wooded soil alone
escaped being washed away. The i'm
munity of the provinces of Brescia and
Bergsmo from damage by the great floods
of 1872 was chiefly due to forest improve
ments. During ten years. the depart
ment of the Lower Alps lost 81, 900 acres
of cultivated soil from the effects OF tor
rents; and the clearing OF the forests of
the Ardeche has resulted in the covering
up of 10000 acres OF good land with
barren sand and gravel.
IT Is thought by many that vegetation
elevates the surface as much a. wafer de-
presses it. This. however. can only be
the case when natural vegetation is suffer-
ed to decay on the ground in which 1t
grew. In the case of cultivated crops,
which only partly return to the soil, this
elevation of The surface cannot take place:
and its compenssting effect being lost,
denudatlon is relatively greater from this
cause alone. Hence, it appears that one
result of mans influence, by laying bare
large tracts of land for cultivation, has
been greatly to increase the erosion of the
surface. In some instances, however.
the action of man has been to check the
natural transport of sediment. This
especially has been done IN the case of
shifting sand dunes and encroachments Of
the sea. Along that part Of the French
coast which extends from the Gironde to
the Adour, the sea throws up annually
/, 40, 900 cubic metres of sand, which
the wind heaps up in hills and carries
inland, overwhelming villages and con-
verting streams into marshy pools. The
annual progress of these hills was 50
great that in many parts of Brstagne the
tops of chimmeys above o sea Of sand
alone marked the site of buried villages.
The amount of duneland in Western Eu
rope alone has betn estimated to cover
more than a million acres; and still
larger deposits exist in parts of Africs,
Asia and America. The destruction caus-
ed by these shifting sands has, from an
early date, attracted the attention Of Gov
ernments; and the result has been to
check their ravages by careful planting.
Thus has mans ingenuity been success
fully opposed to the action of the agen-
cies which have caused those endless
wastes of drifting sands In Poland, Peru,
and the Unilei States; and to the devss-
tation which has resulted in the fcrma-
tion of the lan;les OF Gascony, Sologna,
and B:enne, and the Campine sands Of
Belgium.