Sacramento daily record-union., 1890-04-06
TREES AND SNOW.
THE ECONOMY OF NATURE IN THE
STORAGE OF WATER.
Snow Packed Away in Deep Pockets, and
Melting Slowly Throughout the Sum-
mer-A Thoughtful Paper.

crease the flow of streams and to dry nm
springs. There seems to be ample proof
that such is the case where the moisture
falls In the shape of rain or quickly melt
ing snow, but that it is equally true where
1t falls in heavy SHOWS, and especially on
high mountains, there are many reasons to
doubt. That water which drops on shaded
ground, thickly spread with spongy leaves,
and the air SO near the dew point that it
cannot absorb much more moisture, should
be held back, while Ia. -soming down on
open ground should run off quickly, seems
very natural, but in mountain regions
there are peculiar conditions which do
much to modify the action of thelaw. The
pine and the fir are the only trees found
growing high on the mountains in any
abundance, and their thin needles do not
make the heavy shade when on the tree,
nor the thick mat when on the ground, that
the broad leaves Of the maple or the oak do.
Instead OF forming a spongy layer three
or four inches thick, they are swept away
by the wind, and it is not unusual to see
the ground bare under the trees in a
mountain forest, and all the needles lodged
In one or two drifts. Even when they lie
where they fall the coating is compare
lively worthless so far as holding moisture
is concerned.
On the other hand, the foliage on this
class of trees being as heavy in winter as
in summer, the branches catch an i'm
mense amount of the falling snow and hold
it up in mid-air for both sun and air to
work on, and only those who have had
experience of the absorbing power of the
dry mountain air can form any idea of the
loss from that source. The theory that
the shade protects the moisture-laden soil,
thus retarding evaporation, and that each
tree, by giving off a constant touch of
dampness to the surrounding atmosphere
tends to increase the rainfall, means less
when applied to the Sierra Nevada than
anywhere else. The law is doubtless in
force with more or less strength wherever
rain falls and plants grow, but the class of
trees that thrive in such places require
comparatively little moisture and conse-
quently throw off less than other varieties.
They do best on loose, sandy soil, and
e1S OitSh SiOWiLS WiClS luCIS lS ub edTlu
in sight at all, clinging to the sides of
cliffs so bare that the roots run along on
the surface entirely uncovered until they
reach some crevice which they fill. and
send tendrils down to draw sustenance
from an unseen source. In such places the
melting snow disappears quickly from the
surface, and except for the influence the
trees exert in the way of keeping the
ground light and porous, so that the water
will soak in instead of running off, it mat
tiers but little whether they are there or
not. No moisture remains on top of the
ground for the shade to protect. 1t goes
either into the air or else into the ground
as soon as the snow is melted, and it is a
well-known fact that very large portion
of the water which finds its way down the
steep sides of the Sierras disappears near
the sources and is found again far below,
either in springs, by means of artesian
wells or in the increased flow of the parent
stream. Indeed, a number of very re-
spectacle rivers, not only in the mountains
but in some of our valleys, seem to owe
their existence to such distant and hidden
sources.
In timber the snowfall is comparatively
evenly distributed, and by the radiation
and reflection of heat from its own body
each particular tree Immediately sets
itself to work to clear the ground around
it, and long before there is a vacant foot
out in the open space will be bare for
several feet around each trunk So long
as there is no color but pure white for the
suns rays TO work upon It's heat is largely
thrown off, but let straw or hair stick
through and break the surface and it will
melt the snow or ice for several times its
own diameter on every side and stand
alone in a few hours. Exactly the same
is true on larger scale of every tree and
stump in forest. Following the reap
pearance of the sun after every storm the
process begins, slowly or rapidly, accord
ing to the temperature, clearing up large
patches before that beyond shows signs of
break. 1t was the observation of these
facts more than anything else which led
me to believe that nature has better and
surer way to secure the steady and regu-
Lar flow of water in the streams than we
have been led by popular teaching to be-
lieve.
Another way in which thickly growing
timber acts unfavorably is in the preven-
tion of drifting. The wind will throw up
miniature banks in places, it is true, but
nothing to what it does where it is left
free. Outside the timber belt, where
there is nothing to prevent the entire
snowfall from reaching the ground and
nothing to break the force of the wind,
one Of the most powerful and active
agents in preserving the water supply of a
country comes into play. BY forming
solid bodies of snow in the shape of drifts
the most effective means of saving water
is reached. Across the bleak SUBMITS and
down the vast canyons of the Sierras the
wind has force well-nigh irresistible, and
it not only gathers up the snow after it
has ceased to come down, but it usually
keeps at work all the time it is falling and
carries it in whirling clouds until it strikes
cliff or canyon set at Just the right
angle, and there the whole load is depos-
tied As long as there is any material left
outside to work upon this is kept up, and
there is no knowing how deep some of the
drifts get to be in the course of long
winter. As the days get warmer the sur
face thaws and moistens little, but the
cold nights found all the year around at
such attitudes, soon transform it into ice,
making crust upon which the heat of
the sun and the absorbing powers of the
air find it difficult to make any impress
sion. On open ground the process is aided
by the packing power of the wind. and it
is not unusual to see a man on horseback
travelling comfortably across snow-banks
high enough to hide both the horse and
his rider many times over if they broke
through.
1t is hardly necessary to point out the
advantage of having snow heaped up in
large bodies or buried deep in the canyons
rather than to have it spread out, expos
ing large surfaces to the sun and the
dry air, which in such places is almost
constantly in motion. The melting is
then almost all done at the bottom, and
far into the summer little rill will be
found running away from the lower side.
Good sized caves are sometimes formed in
this manner, and often the top crust is so
solid that the last seen of the big drift
will be an arched shell Of frozen snow
from one bank to the other. The beauti-
ful adaptation of the means to the end
seen everywhere in nature, is illustrated
here. To attempt to hold back an ade-
auate water supply for great region like
that living under the Sierra Nevada range
in any except a solid state would be
utterly useless. From Roseville, at the
foot If the mountain, the summit is