The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1900-03-16
NO. II
GOOD WATER FROM TREES.

In many sections of the forest lands
of the south during the dry seasons
man may walk for miles without find
ing stream of water or spring by
which to quench his thirst. If, how
ever, he is an experienced hunter and
woodman, he will not have to drink
water from the stagnant pools in order
to keep life in his body.
Queer as it may seem, an expert
enced man can hunt for days through
such dry tracts and yet experience
no inconvenience Oh account of the
lack of water Nature has provided
means which is only known to the in
itiated. Every old hnutsman carries
with him, when going on long hunt,
small auger, by which he can secure
refreshing drink and water to cook
with at any moment.
A cottonwood tree or a willow is
the we'll which the willy huntsman
taps. He examines each tree until he
finds one that has what woodsman
calls "vein." 1t is simply an atten-
uated protuberence. BY boring into
this "vein' a stream of clear water
flows out. 1t is not sap, but clear,
pure water. The huntsmen say that
the water it better than the average to
be had from the ordinary wells. There
is no sweetish taste about it, but has a
strong flavor Of sulphur, and is slight
y carbonated.
The reason for this phenomenon cam
not easily be explained, but that sup
ply of water can be contained in tree
is not so surprising. The fact of its
flowing is the wonderful feature, show
ing that it must be under pressure, or
in the other words, that there is more
at the source of the supply. When it
is considered that the trees furnish the
water in the dry season, and that the
ground is literally baked, it is the
more remarkable, especially when the
roots of the tree do not extend to any
great depth into the ground.
Owing to the fact that water can be
obtained by tapping cottonwood and
willow trees, very peculiar testimony
was recently heard in case in the
Federal court here. About 20 years
ago, at certain point on the Missis-
sippi river, one of the islands, which
was formed by the channel forking and
surrounding large tract Of land was
deserted by the stream on the Tennes-
see side. Years afterwards this land
was claimed by the man who owned
property in Tennessee adjoining the
former island. His claim was that the
island had been washed away, and that
the present land was formed by accre-
ton.
The former owner, to prove that the
land had been washed away, sawed off
the top of a cottonwood stump that
was on the island and showed that it
contained Sc circles, or rings, begin
ming at the heart. His statement was
that ring was formed in the tree,
hence the tree was sapling IS years
ago. and was consequently growing 36
years before the island became a part
of Tennessee.
In order to prove that a ring was
formed every year he testified that
while hunting, about 20 miles from
that place in 1865, he had tapped
cottonwood tree for water, and had
put plug in the hole afterward to
keep the water from wasting. His
theory was that the tree in its growth
would have covered up the rings and
that the number of rings from this
plug to the bark of the tree would be
in the year 1899, "a, showing that a
ring had been formed for every one
of the 81 years it had been imbedded
| in the wood.
The tree was found and sawed up.
The plug was found, and was distant
from the outside of the tree by exact
ly 81 rings.
Although such testimony would MOI
be doubted by woodsman, it was
not received as good evidence by the
court