Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1883-12-26
Forests and Water SUNNY.

has been allowed to 60 on simply because
here is no popular apprehension or knowl
edge OF the results, Aside from few
musty statutes and little tree planting
here and there by village dccorattv.
societies, mainly in New England ant
New York, together with tho tree cultur,
required under n law of congress permit
ting the taking up Of new land, nc
organized efforts have been made tc
prevent the unrobing of our mountains
| After many articles and lectures on The
danger to the great water supplies result
ing from the destruction of forest it il
encouraging to know that the new Yort
| chamber OF commerce is to take the
matter up, and proposes to save if possible
he Adirondack woods The southern
portion of this wilderness feeds the Hud
son. the Mohawk and the Black rivers, n.
well as the Erie canal. So long as the
mountains are wooded the lack of abund
mt supply of water need not be feared
The forests are like II national reservoir
| lending to check inundalions in rainy
seasons, and yielding of its supply when
II is most needed. The natural watershed
OF these rivers is small and should The
Adirondack mountain region became clear.
ed the results would be serious to COM
merce and agriculture.
This vast and naturally rich section has
been long bidding for capital of railroad
men; some lines have already been built
and others are projected, and owing 10 the
high price OF lumber private owners are
beginning to run logs to market. The
heart of the Adirondacks is still untouched
and the chamber of commerce in its
memorial to the legislature proposes that
the state of New York "shall acquire the
whole territory popularity known MS the
Adirondack wilderness and hold it fol ever
rs forest preserve" The executive
committee having charge of the matter
believes that the state could seize 900 :
900 by right of eminent domain. This
would make IA section larger than Con.
necticut and nearly twice AS large as the
Yellowstone national park and comprs
ing about one seventh of the area of the
state of New York. Although the work
cf forest destruction hardly begun the
injurious effects can be seen in the de-
crease of the water supply. Many of the
smaller streams are dry during the sum
mer months, so that the Hudson above
Troy is now often in dry seasons made
almost unnavigable. The Mohawk has
also suffered to some extent. This
decline in the volume of river water
has an Importance broader over than
commercial inconvenience. For some
years the doctors have been called to
explain the prevalence of malaria on the
banks of the Hudson. This mysterious
disease usually follows the lowering of
water in ponds and rivers. The right of
eminent domain will have severe test if
this vast wilderness of northern New
York is seized. and the success of the
undertaking will depend much upon an
intelligent public sentiment and general
telling of forest trees There are many
reasons why the public is apathetic on
this question, not the least of which
is that the councils of the wise are divided
as to the immediate danger. Commits
sioner George B. Loring, in his recent
address before the American forestry
congress in session at St. Paul, while
admitting the rain producing influence of
forests and showing how the Venetian
ship builders had turned the luxuriant
Karst regions of South Austria into an
landscape, still undertook to
impress it on the public that there may be
danger of assuming too hastily a prospect
i've timber famine. He says: "Denude
any portion of this forest surface and trees
spring up spontaneously and grow rapidly.
There are millions Of acres of young
forests in the south in which the corn
hills are almost as prominent as when
the waving corn occupied the surface.
Naturn abhOre a of brown
sedge, the first growth of abandoned
fields, and speedily replaces it with a
forest of pines" This optimist view of
the case is echoed by lesser lights, and
does deal of mischief. Dr. Loring
himself admits that the southern forests
are now being thought of as source of
timber supply. Why so in the northern
mountains are inexhaustibly clad? A
local paper in the Connecticut valley has
been recently saying that the popular
theory of a diminishing volume of water
in the Connecticut river resulting from
the destruction of the forest is
The opinion of Prof. Sar-
gent of Harvard college, whose attention
has been called to this statement, is that
an American forest is doomed rs soon as
active numbering operations begin lumber
ing operations begin with its borders,
since the debris acts as kindling wood to
spread destructive fires which destroy all
the seeding trees. This danger is so
well understood, he says, that it has
become the usual custom in northern New
Hampshire and Vermont to make clean
sweep of any tract of which the saw logs
have been cnlled and TO manufacture
from the trees too small for the
mill. In this way great tracts of mountain
side are laid bare yearly about the head
waters of the Connecticut. Three great
states, where agriculture is wealth, and
where the great river is wheel horse to
the mills, are vltally concerned with this
question. The northern woodman's AK
opens and drains the storage grounds for
the water supply Of great valley, dries
up the small streams and pliers the
farmer. The Connecticut, like the Hud
son, is being, so to speak, knocked in the
head. The volume in our river has never
been so small before in the opinion of
good judges. The evil is the work of
seasons, bnt the remedy will demand the
slow repairment of ocades.-Spring1feld
Republican.
The EFFECT OF ALCOHOL WHEN TAKEN
the meeting of the
Woman's Christian Temperance Union