New-York tribune., 1895-12-12

adds TO the available extent Of farm ianu' p"'
II also deprives the country OF cons"
proportlon of It's water supply. ana 's '"'''
by no means an always welcome ch"hee'
.cordcn and Forest" which calls atten''on 10
this strange phenomenon has secured so"e p'p
r,or and ex,srt opinions as to Its cause i.'''
or, mt all I'm accord. nor does any OF 'nen'
aoo,, a,,occtber conclusive The popular 'heo''
& ,hot since the prairie land has been DroNeh
go, ,or cultivation the rain soaks directly INTO IL
,,,ho, +, falls instead of running into hoiio"s
and forming lakes. 1t is true that those iahe'
,,hic, ara stiI surrounded by unbroken pra'r'e
ho,,o sbrunk and dried up Just rs much as 'hose
IN cultivated regions. But that does ho' "''
prove the theory. since, OF course 'he s"''
=, any considerable number Of the lakes wouid
.o,d 60 ,ower the general water level OF 'ne
whole country The fact that practicaiiy III ''e
,ores over an area several hundred miles IN eN
toni ON several entirely different wa'er'n'',
have pre.ty uniformly subsidized, ana 'h". d"
,,vors and streams in the same couh'r! nav
also become much smaller than they WERE Po'"''
STRANGELY 10 the operation OF some generai c""se
7, t. not credIbp that that cause IL 10 De io"n"
:, change Of climate. for none has occurred me
rainfall has not diminished to any marKeu ~
font II ot all. Ordinary wet and dry seasons
have OF course. some effect upon the lakes o"'
noro such 40 that which Is now observed
Ceolocists have theory. seemingly wen
founded that there have hitherto been just such
phenomena as this. The lakes nave s""'
and many of them have dried up altose'her
,rben the water level has risen anu al ''o
,.los have been filed up again. The cause OF
such movements. however. Is proiouh" my
ferry. Whatever 1t be, IT Is apparently once niofo
NJ work Whether the water has yer reacheu '''
lowest level Is a matter 81 earnest specula'ion'
Certainly il Is 10 be hoped that the dryihs-"p
nrocess will not go much further. II IL uoes'
the country which has been so famous 1or i's
abundant water supply may actually pecoine
or,d According TO ancient precedent. there
sboud before long be Il reaction. which wo"i"
refill the lakes to their former lever. b", we
nust tala into account the other causes which,
! ,hor,h narbons martial are unquestonably p0-
font The tillage of the soil is doubtless not
,,,hort some snch effect as that which popular
theory attributes to IT, The wholesale des'ruc-
ton of forests is also playing Its part. iah'as
these things into consideration, 1t seems scarceiS
nrobable that the water level Will again rise
quite as high as Of old. But there Is IN the case
| an obvious and urgent lesson to VIII tliat !"
! goodly proportion Of forest land should De care
fully preserved. and where 1t does not exist
! should be created. No country can aiIofu 10
he trpoless unless it Is designed TO be desert
| Our Eastern States have suffered much from
| reckless CLEARING off Of woodlands. Our west
| ern States many Of them. have suffered ann
| ara suffering from original lack OF trees. Inc
| intelligent practice Of the science OF ioresu'!
will BE- of service to all. equally 70 maintain 'he
| steady flow Of water In the tributaries or the
| Hudson and to conserve. SO far as 1t Is wl'hh
mans power. the unrlvalled lake system oi
| Minnesota.