The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1892-03-25
THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.
The Importance OF Our Northern
Woodlands to Its Navigation
Fcw Pertinent Ideas - 60 the Innu-
enc~ 81 dur Forests ON tho "Fafher
81 Waters" by Prof. :. Water
house. Of st. Louis

II the water that now flows In the
Mississippi We're contracted into a mar
row channel. IL would. even i'm mid
summer. b. amply sufficient for all the
purposes of navigation. But any ma
tcrial reduction in the volume Of water
would seriously increase the difficult
ties which now confront the govern
ment engineers. II the Ak Of the
northern woodsman Is lowering the
Mississippi and is upper tributaries.
congress ought az once 10 enact forest
nv laws that will effectively protect
those woodlands which are still under
the national control. That the Telling
Of large forests affects the distribution
OF the rainfall both reason and obser-
vation seem TO prove.
A. long rs the present constitution Of
nature exists. the moisture ~ceaselessly
carried into the air BY the process Of
evaporation must return TO the earth.
Does the presence or absence of trees
make any difference in the quantity Of
rain that falls in a given district? The
range Of comparative observation has
been too limited for science at present
70 give a definite response to this in
qniry. But II seems reasonable 10 be-
lievc hat the chill of evaporation tends
70 condense the humidity Of the atmos-
pherc and again to slake the thirst of
the trees with the water transpired
from their leaves. or wind-bornc from
distant sources. 1t Is well known that
the functions Of both animal and
vegetable life develop electricity.
and il Is highly probable that
the growth Of plants produces
electrical conditions that favor precip-
Ration. This IS consistent with the in
finite wisdom which cosmic processes
everywhere exhibit. IL would be
strange indeed, IL nature. which makes
such ~marvelonsly ingenious provisions
70 preserve the life Of all the rest Of its
children. should neglect its vegetable
offspring. The Biographies studied in
my childhood asserted that il never
rained in Egypt. During the first day
of my visit 70 that land there were two
showers They fell in the neighbor-
hood Of the Snez canal. But the GUAM
tity Of water in that canal was alto
gether too insignificant to account for
the result Apart from the construc-
ti0n OF this great waterway. there
have been for ages no phvsical
changes except the recent growth
of = large number Of trees and the
cultivation Of limited tracts on the
banks Of the canal. 1t would appear
70 be a legitimate inference that the
showers were due 10 the trees and the
tillagc- il i \ proverb among farmers
that the clearing Of woodlands causes
these springs that are not fed from ne
mote sources 20 dry mp. la New En-
glau'i some Of the streams that fifty
years ago were large enough to drive
mills have. since the removal Of The
woods. dwindled to mere
brookiets. The disforesture Of north
Name has heightened the spring
freshets and lowered the midsummer |
flow Of the rivers Many streams that |
once deep enough TO float logs 10
the mills have become too shallow for
the lumbermcn 20 use. IL is sail that
tue waters Of orr great northern lakes |
are gradually sinking.
- ~ &AINA ~ "a R4IUALIWU OF I
this subsistence. except the widespread
destruction 81 forests around the sources
the tributary rivers. The rains pass |
of in sudden fous.s. and do not, hy slow
filtration through the soil. maintain tho
level Of the lakes by a relatively steady |
and evenly distributed inflow.
Il has been stated that the rain-raugc |
shows that there is no greater amount
OF precipitation on wooded than on
bare lands II the same showers pass
over both tracts. the statement is prob
ably true: but IL is m ' belief that in
the case Of large sections. the forests
are more frequently watered than the
prairie.
But grant that the precipitation i
the same in both instances What fol-
lows? Is it necessary 70 trace merely
the results Of the rainfall in the sum
mer season. for that Is the time when
low water embairasses navigation: and
to speak only OF large areas. for small
ones would not exert perceptible in
ducnce on the climate.
The soil OF the north west IN which
the Mississippi has its sources. il large
~ a claycy loan When it is unpro-
BY the shade Of trees. the heat
Of n summer sun bakcs the surface
into a hard crust. Unless the rains are
p~rotracted. and they seldom are
in the warm months. they fail to soften
the crust and penetrate deeply into the
soil. III the surface is uneven most Of
the water lows quickly into the streams
and il borne away from that region.
II the surface is level. the intense heat
rapid evaporation. Moreover
the radiation Of a large body Of heated
land r~arifes the air and creates thirsty
winds. which grcedily absorb moisture.
la consequence Of the rapid off-how
and evaporation. comparatively little
water IS stored in the soil Of nm I'M
wooded district
But lands shaded by forests are mot
s~un-scorchcd. The ground remains
friablc. Most OF the rain is absorbed
into the porous earth. Unless the
showers are very heavy, the immediate
nov into the stream is relatively small.
The cool forests do not engender hot
winds, but break those which come
from the open plains; the trees ward
OF the solar heat with their leafy
shields. and the cxhalatiou OF moisture