The Meeker herald., 1899-08-12
Says Sheen Ituin rorests.

Says Sheep Ruin Forests.
The damage that viii result 10 til
whole w astern Gouatry If the foresty ri
serves are allowed ID Je used as feedifE
grounds was graphically told 10y L,
Neutleton Yesterday. Mr., Nattleton h +
/ been an irrigation engineer in this ssfE
for the last 30 years. Ills work Us
taken him 10 europe and Asia.
III the order OF the interior depsIt-
meut,n he said, that allows grazingbn pr
any part OF the forest reserves is not IT,
nuiled irreparabls damage VIII be dtbe
The grazing Of sheep in llese IeseEos
is especially fraught with dagger. the
danger is more of tue future thal ci
tie present. Allow sheepmen AMI ac-
cess at all to these reserves and itEwill
not be long until there VIII he no Water
during the irrigating season.
The grazing will destroy the trass
and all the young trees that are sloot-
ing mp to replace the big ones khen
these are DESTROYED by fire or timber
men. The roots will be torn frod the
groand and the heavy rains will carry
the soil away. The constant tr.sding
Of the soil VIII aid in putting /; in /,
condition 10 be washed from Uhe hit
tops and the rams ihat fall will rdp "a
at onee. The main value of sgess.
sarHbbery aud grass on the ucl Tain
s0Ii Iss . i;vfd tticwrrr<r rsrr.f as 80
gradually run into the streams, Keeping
them tlele all the year"
Elwoed Mead, formerly with the
State agricultural college of this state,
but now with the governments investi-
eating engineer force, assented to the
statements made by Mr.. Nettleton, and
added
"Theu it would bo simply the history
Of paiaa.i1e over agin."
YES, went on Mr.. Nettletou, and
of Persia aud OF Spain. In the latter
country u. is only about $50 wears ago
that the destruction Of forests in the
southern slope of the PYr6neqs cora.
menced, and now the whole country
has been laid waste. g'he people OF
Spain aud Of France were then euarrel-
ing, as they usually have been, ana the
Spanish destroyed all the immense
forests on their side of the mountains.
The Malaga river, running through the
city Of Malaga, was one of the principal
streams Of this section. The rivers
were all short, running from the noun
tains to the sea, ami through a fertile
country. The forests were cut and
burned away, and the heavy rains in
the denuded hillsides washed away all
the soil, carrying it down when id filed
the beds of the streams. l saw houses
built 200 years ago that had been covered
by this debris. But the most serious
result was in the mountains, whtre all
the soil was carried away. 1t il now
useless to plant trees, for there Isl moth
ing on the hills TO sustain theml All
that is left is the big bare rocks. The
country is devastated.
1.-The Malaga river, once living
stream, is now like Cherry creek, dry
the greater part of the year. is bed
filled with mountain debris. When
heavy rains are in the mountains the
water runs off at once, creating the
same havoc as cloudburst up Cherry
creek. Then the stream goes dry until
the next storm.
THE Spanish people have no use for
any tree that does not bear fruit or nuts.
They fail to see the utility of shade trees
of any kind. When Napoleon ruled the
county, early in this century, he ordered
that every owner of land should plant
so many trees year. The Spanish
planted olive trees. which are practically
useless for shade, and the order Yves OF
little avail. 4
'1f the government does not make
the most rigorous rules for the protec-
tion of the forests of the West all the
irrigated districts will be threatenet
with the same fate that befallen desc
late Palestine and the Spanish Pyrenees
The order of the interior department.
should be annulled at once.n-Denve'
Republican.
-> 90