The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1892-03-25

N'F tHt r'I mFAt1N. 8nA the
rains would sink deep into the earth.
In he comparison Of crops with woods,
evaporation would be greater. and
Transportation less: for even the most
luxuriant maize would not break the
force Of hot winds rs effectively as
trees would. while the cxten Of the
cereal LEAKAGE would be far less than
that Of the sylvan foliage. II il is
true that, since the colonial times.
there has been no material de-
crease in the rainfall Of New
England. the fact IS ~unauestion-
ably attributab bile I a cultivation which
i nearly ~coextensivc with the cleared
lands But this condition Of general
tillage does not prevail in the remote
northwest In that uninhabited region
there Is scarcely one cultivated acre TO
the square mile Consequently the
plowed clearings are too limited per-
ceptiblv 70 countcract the injurious ef-
fccts Of telling the forests.
In a brief discussion o. the climatic
conditions wnichaffect the stage Of wa
ter in the Mississippi. IL Is quite unnec-
essary TO advert 10 the influences which
mountain ranges irrespective Of woods.
exert upon precipitation. inasmrch rs
there nre no mountains near the sources
Of the Mississippi.
With an equality Of condition in area.
temperature. ~friability and rainfall. il
seems probable that there would be a
greater exhalationof moisture from the
cleared than from wood land. There
Is less evaporation in the shade than in
the open air: and the trees only exhale
the water which comes to their roots
by the mysterious process of diffusion.
In the denscst forest the roots occu-
py only a small portion Of the ground,
bnt diffusion is active among all the
atoms Of the soil. 1t would certainly
seem that the free evaporation from the
whole surface Of the ground would lie
more rapid than Transportation through
foliage OF moisture drawn from rel
atively limited spaces. Under the
assumed conditions. unless the absorb
ent force Of the capillary attraction is
vastly greater than the diffusive en-
ergy Of the soil. the amounts 81 tran
spiration and evaporation would ap-
p~roximately correspond to the proper
ton that subsists between the areas OF
the roots and Of the given tract.
Even in the most respectable and
civilized climates. there are surprising
instances Of m~isbehavior. Turbulent
cyclones create tumults i'm the most
peaceful and best ordered states Of the
atmosphere. But. though there
are apparent exceptions to the
normal actions Of the elements
which il battles the present
efforts Of science to explain.
these phenomena do not at
all impair our confidence in the general
stability Of natural laws. The con
stancy with which nature provides for
the wants Of vegetable life would seem
to Justify the belief that the showers
which refresh the woodlands are more
frequent than those that water the open
plains But il is certain that, even If
the forests 10 not Increase the rainfall.
they a. all events insure its slow and
useful distribution. This is a highly
important fact (which statesmen DESTROYS
Of improving the navigability Of the
Mississippi river can not afford 70 ig-
The importance Of the subject
invites the grave consideration Of our
legislators. III more stringent
forestry laws would AZ all serve 10
maintain the volume OF the Mississippi.
then congress would be faithless 10 its
If it failed 70 enact them. A ju-
preservation Of northern wood
lands might perhaps prevent the ex-
penditure Of additional millions in
the channel Of the river.
The improvement OF the Mississippi is
now a sufficiently rduous undertaking.
without the increased difficulties with
which a still lower stage Of water
would invest the problem.
I-mnrnxemen NJ The HtIssissInni uir~.