The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1893-04-29
VALUE OF FORESTS.
They Are Natures Regulators of He
Water Supply.

AAOJ AA0 NatuTo hcEuiAtOI0 u A1O1
Water Supply.
The value of forests in the preserva-
ton of water during times of drought,
in the prevention of destructive floods
and in the regulation of climates is
gradually being recognized or all sides.
We see the result of this recognition in
the various movements for the planting
OF trees and setting aside of forest reser-
vations- just as mans existence upon
this planet would have been impossible
had not the pre-existing trees furnished
a rich vegetable mold to give fertility
to the soil, SO the entire extinction of
the forests now would in time bring
mankind to a disastrous end.
In order to understand how important
forests are in regulating the water sup
ply let Us imagine a scene which has
been realized in thousands of places in
our country. Picture to yourself a
broad hill, with long, sloping sides,
surrounded with pleasant meadows,
fruitful orchards and rich grain fields.
A majestic forest covers the hill, and
clear brooks that never u dry come
dancing and sparkling down it's TANKS,
carrying refreshment to the surround
ing country. In the forest, with its
deep bed of leaves and moist soil, there
is a perpetual reservoir that absorbs the
rain when it falls plentifully and that
retains some to feed the brooks when the
long, dry seasons come.
But the scene changes lumbermen
invade the forest and rob it of its noblest
frnar WHIT 49, l--olo-,z-- $1,000 A.
farmer, as if he would kill the goose
that laid his golden eggs. destroys and
feeds to the flames. The great hill is
barred, and the plow turns up it's soil to
the sun The farmer has gained many
acres of valuable land, and presently
he will learn what he has lost
A dry season comes, and in a little
while the brooks are empty, and the
neighboring valleys are suffering from
an unprecedented drought. Natures
great reservoir on the hill has been de-
stroyed there is no water to be had to
give renewed life to the perishing crops,
and for the first time in it's history this
once fertile countryside fails to give a
bountiful return to its c%ultivators.
Then follows a rainy season. Floods
of water pour down upon the bare back
of the great hill, and being no longer
retained, as they Ice were, by the
soft, root-matted soil of the forest, they
fill the dry brooks and instantly swell
them into raging torrents, which pillow
huge gullies through the land, turn
the fertile soil into mud and sweep it
away, and spread ruin and destruction
on all sides.
When the floods are past, the farmer
finds that his hilltop has become a bar
rem waste of rock and gravel, and that
his meadows and grain lands have been
robbed of their power to bestow wealth
and plenty upon him. Neither he nor
his children nor his children's children
may be able to repair the damage
done. It may require two or three
centuries to restore the scene as it once
was.
1t is plain. then, hat everybody
must be interested in preserving the
forests that are left to US, for they help
to maintain the prosperity of the whole
country. Youths Companion.