The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1889-08-07
- NJ IlEIa CAUSES.
Felix l. s,.~ska.

n4u0 m the golden age ~ pagan
gllfsotton was Offset by neglect OF
1enltuyd enterprise. By the sfraFle
cnn o. spssing the woods Of the
s11oopes mountsin ridges. summer
innths and winter floods we're Ell
oc1noIly prevented. 1t = time xnen
- oonss lands Of the Mediterranean
Uoso IN the full pyoducfivenessof their
1G16s and The happiness OF their m
nokttants - superior 20 the vretsfies'
ofts which nsw occupy their geo
srrnphfcai sites ~ the paradise ri the
16nnessee highlands Is 70 the nakTi
1a- hills Of Western Arizona.
with the disappearance OF tb0es Tor
o<1n began that era Of degeneration
Vk3ch has almost sealed the doens OF
- ssdyipg continent, and which has
ronted tie perssnsnlas OF -olffiern
nruoe 10 mere skeletons Of the gar
90 lands inhabited b. the nalaofas %
o'nnnic antiquity. rtfunasf ksiss
. G1nrch the uuproteeted ss,il. hot sinds
! 6l,enrt, it, last yestsge Of moisture and
N t1se ar with clouds OF loose dust
~ slopes OF the naked mountains are
- an into deep rzvines. and Their
Iouid. carried seward By every rainy
mrine' Is Gep0sites! in the form
r5 fostering. mtasma breeding
1000 swamp. springs fail,
vf~~rx shriuk 70 feeble streamie;s,
Which a last become too shallow even
Is amply the irrigation canals bs
Whieh the starving peasants hoped TO
rr1Sssve their distress. And all that
wissrv IL aggravated aud perpetuated
~ fhe ever-recuyring rayages ui TIE
1fu4ev fiopis. The melting sross.
nor no longer absorbed by the sponge
NJ rayuets Of moss and tangled roots
r,s, <,fY The hill SLOPES like rain from q
efi~.covered roof. and by their
sccu rSuIation tend u deepen
- sorgcs of the rocky rasines
~htc6 n few hours pour
In-n In mad waste, the moisture
whIch once supplied the springs OF
fhonsand mountain brooks. ssollen
- the turbisI. floods OF countless
s{muItaueous torrents, the loviand
rivers roll down vast masses OF detfi-
esss and nv inevitable iags Of graylta-
tion cover the fields OF the upper
valleys With the heavy pafIle.es "
fhet d;iuvium. sand ard coarse grayei,
while the fertiiizing slime iscaffFa
down 70 add lis stimulus to TIE rahk
increases OF maiariosis delta. ihas
ehoaied by yearly aseamnlatiehs OF
sandbanks. the river beds rise hifhet
and higher above their former chah-
nels, and in every spring when more
than usually heavy SHOWS are 'haNea /
by sudden rains, the upiands seha
down deiugc which no dams can re- /
eist. and which often IN single hoar
dcmoiishes barriers which thousands
Of workmen have reared by The iaoor |
Of many years.
This brief summary outlines an ex- |
Derience which has repeated iiSeif
thousand times from the barren slopes
Of Mount Lebanon to the naked ter
race lands OF the Western fyreBees, !
and which will not fail 10 enforce It's
terrible lessons on the Inhabitants OF
the Western continent, II The torests
of our highland regions should ne sur
rendered 10 the land -blighiing axe.
"The solution Of that problem has
actually been attempted in Egypt and
Northern Europe. In the Landes oil
Gascony and In the Belgian campine'
the planting OF the umbrella pine
(fsHsu Marifiaa1 has eiiectuaily ar
rested the irruptions of the sea, and
has given the inhabitants new lease,
not only Of land. but also ot
life, the reduction oil the
presidential marshes having per.
ceptibly improved tho healihiulness
Of those districts, and, II il said, di'
minished the frequency of morning
fogs. In iss2 Mchemet Ali decided 10
try his luck with the wales, or sand
plains, on the coast Of Egypt. Upper
Egypt, Abyssinia and the slopes of
Mount Caucaeus were overrun by the
tree-agents Of the antoeras trees By
ship-luads and caravan loads were
landed at Cairo and distributed 10 the
overseers of an army Of Fellahs and,
according To various estimates, from
1900, 600 10 100000 forest trees were
actually planted and 80 carefully
nursed that 40 per cent. OF them took
root and helped 10 qualify the soil and
climate for further plantations. But
thus Tar only the plan Of Mehemet Ali
has led to anything like satisfactory
results.
prevention. however. Is better than
cure-so much 50. indeed. that II Is
even easier to arrest the progress OF a
far-gnne disease than 10 retrieve the
complete loss of health. In America
strictly enforced laws for the pfoteo-
ton OF all highland woods might yet
make the cndeayors Of the Forestry
Association something more than a
hopeless pull against the stream. and
help us 10 tide over the transition peri
cd to Carl Vogt's era of nature wor-
ship, when the physical laws OF God
will he so thoroughly understood that
men will think IL disgrace to be sick
and nations will be ashamed % a