The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1894-09-26
WOODLAND AND FLOODS.

" ltniciilDtfttis "a tfit hsttt va tiit bliL-
zard which was phenomenal for this
latitude.
"April 18th was warm and clear. The
mass of snow disappeared 50 rapidly
from the exposed places, that by night
the Brandywine was bankfull a few
hours more OF this rapid thaw would
have meant disastrous freshet.
"Whence came this water? Mostly
from the open grounds; because on the
morning of the l4th much of the snow
remained i'm the woods, but the fields
were almost wholly bare; i'm other
words, it was pointed argument for
the statement that melting snow com
ing from the woods is less likely 10
cause freshets than that from the open
grounds, because its delivery is less
rapid
This is true, but il is general truth
and like all other such, is liable 10 spe-
cial exception.
Woodland may be so situated that
there will be no melting of snow until
the season il well advanced. The whole
fall of snow may lie until advanced
spring, and in the difiused warmth of
late April or early May day the
entire mass may go Off in deluge,
long after the open grounds have de
livered their water. Hence in some
lands, bordering on the Connecticut
river, ii is "a common saying that there
is no security against a flood until the
snow has gone. But this is the eXcep-
ton to the rule, in our State.
Sod will retain more waterthan a bar
ren region. But il does not ordinarily
conduct water to great depths, nor does
it offer any great protection against
rapid evaporation. Even the scrub un-
der brush which covers so iarg portion
of our State after the matured forest has
been removed, retains much more mois-
ture than the sod. This is so, because
its roots penetrate deeper than those of
the sod, and afford highways along
which the water seeks the greater
depths. The height of the shaded zone
is greater than on the sod, hence
evaporation is slower, and there is,
besides all this, the mating % leaves
on the earth, which alone il as efficient
as the sod. The real trouble comes in
when such "scrub lands are fired, as
they are, at least once in three years
throughout our State, burned over, and
roots, leaves, branches and homus
wholly, or in part, destroyed. Under
such conditions the region becomes
ultimately but little better than a
desert, though il nominally is forest
land, and is usually 50 reported on our
assessors lists.
The "high forest''-that is the ma
tured timber, is the most efficient con-
servator of wafer. To begin with the
leaves; their agency in breaking the
force of the rainfall is seldom sufficient
ly appreciated. The phrase, ''pelting
of the Storm" is more than a figure OF
speech. Those who are most frequent
ly exposed to il, know best the actual
force of impact of the falling rain drop,
and will be most likely TO properly esti-
mate the power Of falling water To pro-
duce important changes in the suri;ce
of the earth. Nothing more clearly re-
veals this TO the ordinary observer than
the effect OFFS dashing rainstorm on a
freshly cultivated field. Within twenty
four hours / have seen such a surface
furrowed throughout its entire length
and the soil removed ia lower level,
where il covered the growing corn
Then beneath the living foliage on
the trees, and above the decaying veget-
able matter on the surface of the soil,
there is belt of moist air which, of il
self, is a reservoir of aqueous vapor. The
air there, if not constantly saturated
with moisture, at least holds it longer
than that of the open ground, and this,
also, is a most important factor i'll re-
tarding loss of the water in the soil by
evaporation. Every branch that leads
to the main trunk, and this main stem
itself, conducts the water to the ground,
where along the diyerging roots and
rootlets the water is distributed through
the soil. This distribution il simply as
water borrowed from the surface.
Absorbed by the roots, it finds its way
through the leaves TO the air, or
perculating along the sloping strata, it
reappears rs flowing spring, possibly
hundred mile from where il entered
the earth.
The important point TO be emphasized
here is that matured forests, more than
any other from of plant life, carry with
them the conditions of perpetuation.
There is no Obvious reason why forest,
once established, should not remain in
a perpetual succession %. trees forever.
1t makes its own soil, supplies to "a
large extent its own food, and maintains
the requisite moisture for its own
growth. More than this, failure to
produce seeds for single year, or for a
score of years, induces no change in its
growth and perpetuity. The EXTREMIST
vicissitudes fany half century in the
latitude where it grows, hardly ever
Threaten ifs exiSfence
The recent storms in May), have
been full of instruction for me. Along
the valleys of the north and west
branches of the Susquehanna and also
of the Juniata the fresbets have been of
unusual severity. Open grounds, more
or less steep, and on which the drainage
is rapid, characterize large portion of
the valleys through which these
streams flow. High stages of water
have always been com mon i'm them,
but il is probably capable of proof that
these have become more frequent, or at
least of greater severity, in recent years.
The reason seems obvious Let one
look at the absolutely bare hills back
of Beech Creek, or those along the
Northern Central Railroad between
Williamsport and Canton, and the
explanation will probably suggest itself
The mere statement that there has been
"A cloud-burSt l. no exDIanafiou If il