The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1881-12-08
Changes ef the Earth's Surface.

IL According to Lombardina, the Pc
now. transports three times as much
sediment as formerly, the increase be-
ing chiefly due to the destruction Of the
forests, and the consequent increased
denudation OF the Alps. French engi-
neers estimate that the delta of the
khone has advanced at d rate far
greater than it did previous to the Gull
tiyation Of its. valley. III the Eastern
United States; wherever mountain
slope has been stripped, incipient ra-
vines quickly form and enlarge with
such rapidity as to- excite the attention
OF geologists. This is especially the
ease withithe sandy soils OF MARYLAND.
Georgia, and Alabama. previously GOV,
cred with pine forests. The Black
Earth of Russia, one of the chief
sources of the, agricultural wealth of
the Empire. Is quickly cut up into huge
I iravines. and the finest soil in Europe lis
being rapidly carried away to increase
the deitas 81 tie Volga and the Don
and tpsslit up the Sea Of Azov.i2 During
the great floods ,of, 1861. and 1868 in
France and Switzerland, the wooded
soils alone escaped being washed away
The immunity Of the PROVINCES of Bres-
|scia and Bergafno from damage by the
great floods OF 1872rWns chiefly due to
f0Festal improvements. During ten
years the department. Of the Lower
Alps lostt6l 900 acres of cultivated soil
from the effects of, torrents; and the
clearing of the forest OF the Ardeche
has resulted inithe covering up of TO-
of good land with barren sand
and gravel. N'3sIe e5 iss's;sss'aii Il 20
. E1t is sithought,iby many that veeeta..
tlqn eleyates the, surface as much as
water depresses IL. This, however. can q
only be the caseiwheA. natural vegeta-
ton @ ls suffered 70 decay on the, ground
iinswhich it grew. In tbs case Of cult
vatedterops,' iwhiclI i1nly partly return
TO the s9il, this eleyation Of the. surface,
cannot take place; and, its compensa.
ting efectsbeing lost. :denudation isrela
tiycay greater from this cause alone.
= Hence It appears that one resul9Df
man sii inf1uence BY laying bare. large
tracts. of land for cultivation has, been.
greatly to increase the erosion of the
surface. I'm some Instances, however,
the action Of man has been to- check
the natural transport Of sediment.
Ibis especially has been done in the
case of shifting. sand dunes. and: en-,
caoachments Of the sea. Along that
part oflthe French coast (which extends
from tho Gironde to the Adour.. the sea
throws up ANNUALLY one million two
hnndresi and fortystive thousand icubics
metres of sand, which the wind heaps
up into hills and carries inland, over
whelming villages and converting
streaais into pmarsh5 pools The an
nuai progress of f1tLe sandrhills was so
great that in many parts of Bretagne
the tops iofschimneys above sea Of
sand alone marked the site of buried
villages. The amount OF duneland III
Western Europe alone hassbeen esti-
Inatrd to cover more than, q, million
acres; and still larger deposits exist in /
partshof' Africa. Asia. and America. 4
The destruction caused BIZ, these shift
less sands has, from an early date, at
tractedithe attention OF governments,
and the result has been, to, check their
rayages BY careful planting. Thus has
mans ingenuity been successfully OPP
posed TO the action of the agencies,
which have Caused those endless wastes
OF drifting saiids in Poland, Peru, and. /
the United States; and to the devasta-
ton which has resulted in the forma-
ton of the Sandea iof Gascony, Eologne
and Bremen, and the Campine sands ot
Belgium. ~ Chambers JournaI. as' =