Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1889-06-14
CURRENT AFFAIRS.
orr FORESTS.
How they Conserve aud InCreRse the
Water supply.

From the Boston Transcript
What have the trees to do with the loodsi
Some day in March, when the winds and
the warm sun have caused the evaporation
of most of the snow, go into the neighbor-
ing wood. The trees, even stripped of
their foliage, have shut out 50 much wind
and sunshine that far more snow lies here
than in the meadow without This is just
as true in the wooded districts where the
thousand little rivers rise that unite to
form the Hudson, the Merrimac, the Con
necticut. After the first two or three
storms of early winter, the forest floor
keeps its carpet Of white till spring the
pasture and the farm land lie buried in
wind swept drifts today, and to morrow
are half bare. Let us dig through the
snow to the soil below ON the open land
you are almost certain to find the ground
frozen deep In the forest you will find
under the snow "a layer of loose leaves /;
below this the forest soil, scarcely resisting
the stick with which you loosen it and
still lower the deeper layers of earth that
have not felt the frost since the new year
began Each fresh mantle of snow has
done its part to keep the others warm the
lowest strata are slowly melting and oozing
away into the softened soil while the mead
ows outside are hard as adamant. Now
come the spring rains whatever snow lies
on pasture or farm land or meadow is
quickly melted and runs off the frozen soil
in rapid and destructive course. The for
est SHOWS melt also but the loose layers Of
leaves and the easily penetrated soil be
meath absorb the water with most wonder
full rapidity Millions of little drops are
| following the roots deep down to the rocky
lodges that shall guide them far off to issue
as springs days or weeks after. Much of
the water is simply retained by the leaves
and the soil temporarily this by and by
will seek lower levels or flow off naturally
when the beds of the rivulets are less full
Thus we find the forests acting not only
as wonderful protection against floods,
| but at the same time serving as reservoirs
of the redundant bounty, ready to yield it
up slowly. But if the trees are felled, all
| Nature benefcent provisions are changed
The plough, the fire, the wind, soon remove
the leaves the thousand rootlets that made
channels to the subsoil die, and the passages
become obstructed the winter frosts seal
up the ground too tight for any thawing
to take place till after the spring rains
!
ready market Perhaps the same field
from which it was taken furnished profta
ble pasturage or fine crops. Meanwhile
all the valleys below are 50 much the more
exposed to flood and to drought 1t i,
plain, Of course that lumberman aud herd
man and farmer must stop. They found
this out long ago in Europe; we are just
beginning IN see the danger and the rene
dy. Germany, especially, watches and
guards and uses her forests For the for
est can be used and preserved, too. More
over, not only is the right treatment Of for
est lands necessity 10 the welfare of the
community, but it will probably bring
greater pecuniary gain to the owner.
Heretofore numbering has meant clearing
the land Hundreds of thousands Of acres
have been left as bare and desolate behind
| the lumbermAns axe as they would be al
ter fire. The practice should be insteac
to remove only the oldest largest and best
timber from time ~ time. This should he
done in such way as to encourage tn,
growth Of new wood but never so freely
as to expose the young trees to extremes
Of wind aud sun and drought Tree,
should not be felled until others are pro
vided, naturally or artitcially, to fill theii
places. Leaves ought not to be interferet
with, but the underbrush should be kept
down 10 prevent the spread of fire If ex
pertinent should prove that in some case
private owners could not do this wlthou
loss. the government should lend its aid,
Everybody remembers the foolish monk
to whom came every year two splendid
surgeons. One they were permitted 4
catch and eat the other went oil alone
but next year returned with companion
Prudent counsels long prevailed, but at las
some special hunger led the monks To din'
on two surgeons. 1t is easy to guess tn
end Of the tale Is not its application u
our subject just as plain Are We an.
wiser than the monks in our Wholesale de
struction of Natures gifts