Millheim Journal. [volume] (Millheim, Pa.) 1876-1984, 1883-03-22
FORESTS AND FLOODS.
The Destruction az tho Former the Cause
OF the Latter.

The Destruction az tho Former the Cause
OF the Latter.
Many persons assume that a great
flood contradictS the theory that cut
ting away forests causes exceptionally
low water in the dcnudcd country.
The truth is. the destruction Of the
woods means water courses to run cN-
traordinarily low and high, according
to the season. In 1881 we had the
lowest water ever known in the Ohio,
and to-day we have the highest water
ever known. These extremes equally
illustrate the theory we urge upon the
attention of the people
The reasons are perfectly distinct.
Take a mass of mountains on the Ale
ghany, Monongahela or Kanawha
Let us suppose them clothed with
trees from the foot to the crown, and
with underbrush and maSses, with beds
of half-decayed leaves, resting upon
soil that represents deposits of leaves
and vegetable growth for thousands Of
years. Each mountain is an enormous
sponge. The rain may fall for days,
and the greater part is absorbed, satu-
rating the soil, the grass, the leaves,
lingering in the bushes and the trees.
The half-decayed logs will hold barrels
of water, and for weeks after a heavy
rain the moisture is trickling away in
thousands of flush springs Cut away
the treeS-the underbrush perisheS,
the moss is dried up. the soil washed
away and the rocks are exposed. The
rains descend, and the mountains shed
the water like the roofs of houses. All
that falls makes its way into the tor
rents at once. Take a thousand
mountains at the head-waters Of the
Ohio, and reduce them to barrenness,
and it follows that the river is lower
in dry weather and higher in wet
weather. and more and more subject to
extremes of high and low water.
Europe is suffering more from floods
than in former generations. They are
the clearly-traced results of the de-
struction of forests, and made more de-
structive by system of leveeS that are
equally false and futile. The expert
ence Of Hungary and northern Italy is
especially instructive. The preserva-
ton of mountains from destruction;
that is, from becoming utterly barren
"a desolation of rocks is a duty that
public safety demands. The greater
part of Switzerland would have been
uninhabitable long ago if it had not
been for the systematic cultivation and
preservation of forests. There are
many mountain sides in Switzerland
that are wonderfully supported by
trees and shrubbery, cared for with
full appreciation of their Importance.
The wasteful, reckless cutting Of
trees, and carelesSness, or worse, in
burning away woodlands, must stop,
for it is a public mischief. Forest
culture in the mountains is needed;
and the whole trouble is not in the
higher lands. The hillSideS must be
cared for, as well There is way Of
blowing them that is conservative
and when there is a tendency to wash
they should be supported by grasses.
Here the rotation of crops comes in,
the preservation Of brooks by the cul-
tivation of willows, the restoration of
land that is growing ragged under the
rains by the native forest trees, or, if
the case is bad, trees of quick growth.
A magnificent forest Of black locust
can be raised from the sprouts in from
fifteen to twenty years.-Cincinnati
Commercial.