Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-12-16
FOREST CULTURE,
The Climatic Cha. 20. ~,i.tcet' 6y the az
tire; los, II Trrrs.


n. Z. Herald.
In valuable paper read before an agri
cultural meeting at northampton, Mass,
on the 9TH, Pro-. G. S Sargent pointed out
the vast losses to the uo1utGy annually by
forest fires. The strongest point in his
paper-on the permanent damage done by
these fres-is that they destroy not only
the growing wood, but the fertility of the
soil itself.' As this is the season for leg
islation it is timely to press on legislators
the necessity for revising existing enact
ments to better secure the wasted forests
from the wholesale CONGREGATIONS to which
thsy are every year exposed. In a recent az
ticle Profsss,r Sar ysnt takes this ground
that "forssts do no. produce rain: ran
produces the forests. and without certain
amount OF rain they cannot exist" Rain
quantities by the condensation of atm,s-
pheric moisture caused by the cloud-chilling
forest; but the Indirect agency of the tim
bered land in augmenting the supply OF
rainfall which pernleates the soil and be-
comes agriculturally beneficial is certainly
very considerable. The addition of a sin
gle inch of rainfall to the amount which
penetrates the soil instead of running Off
is on every acre over 1850 gallons.
But there is another effect Of forests
which is generally overlooked even by
scientists in discussing their physical i'm
portance. In historic tines marked eli
matte changes have occurred in Europe
and America which can be explained only
by the progress OF continental decreasing.
The able British physicist. Admiral Smyth,
III his work on the physical geography OF
the Mediterranean BASH, clearly shows
that great climatic chIu,es have ta'.al
place. The effects OF intense cola weather
in Italy, Greece and Asia EI;uor recorded
By ancient writer's, he n,tes, have been in
later ages uakl,y..' I, tbs county
it is doubtful wtatie- T, Wi e7,r
have as cold winters as that Of 1870. wten
the Chesapeake bay was frozen solid" &C
cording to Mr.. Jefferson, s'from its head to
the mouth of the Potomac" and Wash
ington's troops securely crossed en- the
solid ice from New Jersey to Staten
Island. Making due allowance for histor-
! zeal Inaccuracies it seems clear that while
the cold spells of late years have been as
istense as those of 1889 and 1856 thei,
duration has not been so protracted
Forests, of coarse, project the soil from
rapid radiation of its heat and frpm the
frigorifc downward currents of tn:
| great ''col dwaves." But they mast also ma
terially retard the passage of these "polar
/ waves" and serve to dot ain them longer on
the continent than would he the case were
the soil cleared. The removal of the for
ests by the spread of civilization aud con.
! hagrations thus expose the soil to increased
fluctuations of abnormal cold and heat ana
enables the heavy masses OF cold air te
roll over 1T with grea4er velocity to the sea
We may congratulate ourselves on the lat
ter eject of soil denudation. as it prob
ably g7ves US winters of higher mean tenn
peratnre than our ancestors had. But i
rs not improbable future Investigation
4 viii demonstrate that while "
4 THUS gain our ''rnildsr winters tn
precipitation OF winter aud s.srin.s is re
/ duced and the a=ricdi.T IL -seaSoEs opel
with disastrous droI ,hts Ser it is seer
that exceptionally mild winters. like those
of 1S77-7S, 1890 ana I ST S3, have beer
marked by deicienc es OF winter rainfall
and by w 3sspread dron::hts, with fores
fires and army worm ingastons In the sue
ceeding spring months, and aridity some
times extending far into summer. 1t is t.
be hoped, therefore, that during the com
ing winter the preservation of forests wi!
be made a matter of more effective and in
teilgent legislation than has yet been de
| vised. sF