Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1888-10-05
USES OF EoRss1x


ooihe tiiie Dack the world was Of
/ opinion that trees were of value merely
as supplies of timber. ard that where
building materials could be easily i'm
ported country might, without any
disadvantage. be laid entirely bare.
10 be sure. a few far-seeing individuals,
such as bernard Palissy, were aware
OF the influence Of woodlands as recu-
iafors Of climate. Similar views were
taken in antiquity by Critias. who
spoke vaguely Of the sickness of the
country in consequence Of the defor-
estation." and in 1910 by Fernando
Colon. who declared that the rains in
Madeira. the Azores. and the Canaries.
iiad become rarer since the trees had
been cnt down. But, in spite of these
warnings. tue process of clearing
was carried on in most countries with
reckless haste
1his havoc was not arrested until its
con eqnences were pointed cut by
Humboldt. Boussingauir and Becnue-
rel, and by a still more authoritative
teacher. experience, who on this occa-
sion seems To have chsrged unusually
high school fees. One of the most inn
portant effects Of woods upon a climate
Is that they promote rain. The theory
OF this process is not perfectly UNDER
oood, but the facts themselves are
malters Of experience There are dis
tricts on the continent where the chief
rivers have decreased notably in vol
time since the clearing of the districts
about their sources. We have seen a
small stream, a tributary of the Oder,
which, within the memory of living
persons. turned in its course two or
three corn mills At the time Of our
visit it was dry all the summer months.
save Immediately after a thunder
storm. In many di.fricts of Southern
France the destruction Of the forests
has caused much more striking mis-
chief.
The rain. instead of falling as here
tofore in moderate showers, now comes
in violent guShes, with long periods of
drought between As the natural con-
sequence. the grasses and other low
growing plants perish. their roots
yither sway. and the soil, no longer
held together by their fibers. is washed
away by the occasional violent rains
and carried down into the beds of the
rivers. The hiIIsides and the higher
plains remain as barren wastes of sand.
gravel. and single A similar process
has been going on in Spain, italy,
Greece, Algeria, Morocco, and. in
short, all around the Mediterranean.
Countries which were once the grana-
ries of the world, and which supported
numerous and thriving population,
arc now little better than deserts. Nor
has this mischief been confined to Eu-
rope The vegetable wealth of South
Africa, when it first became known to
Europeans, was remarkable.
The Cape was the source of numbers
of our finest greenhouse plants. But
now vast tracts have been rendered so
deso3ate that troop Of the Colonial
cavalry on the march actually gave
three cheers at the sight Of tree.
Even in the United States. once re-
garded as eminently the land of for
ests. many regions have lost. first their
vegetation and then their soil. in conse-
quence of tree telling. 1t may, perhaps,
here be objected that, fully admitting all
these unfavorable changes, they may
possibly have been produced by un-
known causes, and would have oc-
Cured all the same if the woodlands
had not been interfered with. This
plea can easily be refuted. In many Of
tie countries above mentioned replant-
ing has been undertaken on a large
scale by individuals. by commu tiles
and by Governments. and with the
most decisive results
Wherever such attempts have been
made the climate becomes less ex-
rene, the rainfall more uniformly
distributed and public health is i'm
proved. Such beneficial changes have
been distinctly recognized in North
western India, where fertility is grad
lally returning to the deserts. In
France, within about twenty years,
100000 acres Of mountain lands and
nearly the same extent of sanity coast
lands have been replanted-of course
At great expense, bnt with the most
results. In America, also,
is being vigorously carried
m. An eminent agricultural authori-
y in the United States has given it rs
Ms opinion that If oae-ft ufth Of ii coun-
ny IS left covered with trees. three
ourths will yield 4 better return in the
shape of crops than il would if stripped
lare.- Scientific NcrS