The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1888-06-28
THE USES OF FORESTS.
WHY TREES ARE VALUABLE APART From
THE QUESTION OF TIMBER SUPPLY.

THE QUESTION OF TIMBER SUPPLY.
Some time back the world was of
opinion that trees were of value merely
as supplies of timber, and that where
building materials could be easily i'm
ported a country might, without any dis
advantage, be laid entirely bare. To be
sure few far seeing individuals, such
as Bernard Palsy, were aware of the
influence OF woodlands as regulators of
| climate. Similar views were taken in
antiquity by Critias, who spoke vaguely
OF the sickness of the country Ia coDse-
| quence OF the deforestation, and in 1910
by Fernando Colon, who delared that
the rains in Madeira, the Azores and the
Canaries had become rarer since the
trees had been cut down. But in spite
of these warnings the process OF clearing
was carried on in most countries with
| reckless haste.
This havoc was not arrested until its
consequences were pointed out by Hum
| boldt, Boussingault and Becquerel, and
/ by a still more authoritative teacher, eX
| perience, who on this occasion seems to
have charged unusually high school fees.
| One Of the most important effects of
woods upon climate is that they pro
mote rain. The theory Of this process is
not perfectly understood, but the facts
| themselves are matters of experience.
/ There are districts Oh the continent
| where chief rivers have decreased not
/ ably In volume since the clearing of the
! districts about their sources. We have
| seen a small staeam, tributary of the
/ Oder, (which within the memory of living
| persons, turned IN it's course two or
| three corn mills. At the time OF our
! visit it was dry all the summer months
! save Immediately after storm. In
many districts Of southern France the
/ destruction of the forests has caused
much more striking mischief.
The rain, instead of falling rs hereto
! fore il moderate showers, now comes in
violent gushes, with long periods of
| drought between. As the natural cOnse-
| quence, the grasses and other low grow
ing plants perish, their roots wither away
and the soil no longer held together by
their fibers, is washed away by the occa-
! siOnal violent rains and carried down
| into the beds of the rivers. The hill
sides and the higher plains remain as
barren wastes of sands, gravel and shin
gle. A similar process has been fgoing
on in Spain, Italy, Greece, Algeria, Mo-
rocco, and, III short, all around the
| Mediterranean. Countries which were
once the granaries Of the world. and
which supported numerous and thriv
ing population, are now little better than
! deserts. Nor has this been confined TO
| Europe. The vegetable wealth Of South
Africa, when il first became known to
| Europeans, was remarkable.
The Cape was the source of numbers
of cur finest greenhouse plants. Bat
now vast tracts have been rendered 50
de8olate that troop of the colonial
cavalry on the march actually gave three
cheers at the sight of tree. Even il
the United States, once regarded as emf
nently the laud of forests, many regions
have lost their vegetation and then their
soil, III consequence of tree Telling, Ii
may, perhaps, here be objected that,
fnlly admitting all these rnfavorable
changes, they may possibly have been
produced by unknown causes, and would
have occurred all the same if the wood
lands had not been interfered with.
This plea can easily be refuted. In
many of the countries above mentioned
replaDting has been undertaken on a
large scale by individuals, by communit-
les, and by governments, aud with the
most decisive results.
Whenever such attempts have been
made the climate becomes less extreme,
the rainfall more uniformly distributed
and public health is improved. Such
beneficial changes have been distinctly
recognized IN northwestern India, where
fertility is gradually returning to the
deserts. Ii France, within about
twenty years, $500 acres of mountain
lands and nearly the same extent Of
sandy coast lands have been replantel-
/ of course at great expense. but with the
most satisfactory results. In America,
also, replanting is being vigorously car
ried on. An eminent agricultural au-
thority in the United States has given il
as his opinion that if One-fourth Of O
country is left covered with trees, The
remaining three fourths viii yield a bet
ter return in the shape of crops than il
would if stripped bare.-Soientifc
News.