Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1882-11-29
THE EFFECTS OF FORESTS.

The rapid destruction of the forests Of
the country has been the subject of
many able articles, and much thought
has been bestowed upon the best man
ner of improving and preserving some of
the forests of the great west. Every
thing connected with forest culture and
preservation should be of Importance to
us, as we'll as facts relating to the in
fuence of trees upon climate. In
recent pamphlet written by DR.. Schom-
burgh, the director of the Botanical
Gardens of Adelaide, Australia, some
new views are presented bearing upon
this subject. Contrary to the opinions
now beginning to be generally accepted
by scientific men, the object of his paper
is to prove that the destruction of for
ests usually has the effect of reducing
the rainfall. while, on the contrary the
planting of trees broadcast over a
country is one Of the best methods which
can be adopted for ameliorating its
climate and increasing the annual fall of
rain. Ploughed land attracts moisture
to much greater degree than the I'M
broken soil. In considering the effect
which the removal of forests has had in
altering the climate in South Australia,
the only direct test that could be taken
from the records issued by the govern
ment astronomer is the experience of the
neighborhood of Adelaide. If the time
is divided which has elapsed since 1889
(the year in which observations were
commenced) into two periods, there is
found for the first an average rainfall
of 22.S inches and for the second one of
21.7 inches. It will thus be seen tina
on the whole the rainfall of Adelaide is
though very slightly. and
it is likely the dim1nution in the amount
of timber has had something to do with
the change. In searching for illus
trations of the effect of trees on climate,
the writer goes further afield and brings
forward some instances IN which he
claims that loss of forests means loss of
and Ujce Uersd. He recalls how
the Russians by burning down some of
the Trans Caucasian forests at the time
of their struggle with the Circassiane,
the country from fertile land
into desert simply through the cutting
off of the supply of rain. Similar in
stances of rain having deserteda country
denuded Of forests have occurred in the
In Jamaica, the Azores, audit
may also be added, to a still more re-
extent in several of the small
er West India Islands. No sooner had
the forests of these places been de-
stroyed than the springs and rivulets
began to cease to flow, the rainfall be-
came irregular, and even the deposition
of dew was almost entirely checked. On
the other hand, it is accepted that |
Mehemet Ali increased the fertility III
Egypt enormously by planting trees.
He alone plantedsom 90, 900, 900 on the
Delta; his successors followed up the
work, and the rainfall rose from six
inches to forty inches. Planting has
also produced remarkable effects in
France and Algiers. Extensive regions
have been planted with gums and other
trees which, for the most part, grew to
about thirty or forty feet in height, and
it is noticed that the quantities of rain
and dew which now fall on the adjacent
land are double what they formerly
we're. In the United States steps should
be taken to replenish denuded portions
of our land with timber, both by plant
ing and the setting out Of such varieties
as are of the greatest value. If not, the
day viii surely come when we shall re-
pent of our prodigality and culpable in
difference. sG - 4