Weekly journal-miner., 1908-12-16

I | inc damage in the shape of permanent l the damag in Ihc shape of permanent | iurv to the soil and the river sys tcms which comes from reckless de ! forcsta,ion. lt matters not whetherl ! this dcforcstation is due to the actual | reckless cutting of timber, to the 1 fires that inevitably follow such reck ] less cutting of timber, or to reckless and uncontrolled grazing, especially ! hy the great migratory bands of sheep, the unchecked wandering of which
 over the country means destruction to
 forests and disaster to the small home
 makers. the settlers of limited means
 hortsightcd persons, or persons | blinded to the future by desire to
 make money in every way ont oi the
 present. sometimes speak as if mol
 great damage would be done by the reckless destruction of our forests lt i, difficult, to have patience with the arguments of these persons. Thanks lto our own rccklcssncss in the use of our splendid forests. we have already
 crossed the verge of q timber famine in this country and no measures that
 we now take can. at least for many wears. undo the mischief that has al
 
 further mischief being done; and it
 would be in the highest degree repre-
 hensiblc tn let any consideration of
 temporary convenience of temporary
 cost interfere with such action. es.
 pecially as regards the National For
 csts which the nation can now, at this
 very moment, control.
 The lesson of dcforestation in China
 is q lesson which mankind should have
 learned many times already from what has occurred in other places. Denuda. ton leaves naked soil: then gullying cuts down io the bare rock; and mean while the rock waste burics the bot tomlands. When the soil is gone, men must 20: and the process does not
 take long.
 This ruthless destruction of the for. . csts in northern China nas brought about or has aided in bringing about. desolation. just as the destruction of the forests in central Asia aid in
 bringing ruin to the once rich cen 2 trNl Asian cities; just as the destrue-
 ton of the forests in northern Africa . helped towards the ruin of region s that was fertile granary tn Roman ' days Shortsightcd man, whether bar | barrie. scmi.civili2od. or what nc mis
 takculv regards as fully civilized, when hc has dcst roycd the forests, t has rendered certain the ultimate de Il stuctiou of the land itself In q northern China the mountains are now r such as are snown by the accompany c photographs. absolutely barren peaks.
 Not onlv nave tho forests been de- r siroycd. but because of their dcstruc. n lion the soil hls hccn washed of the V naked rock. The terrible consequence IT k that it k impossible now to undo H Inc damage that has been done Many | centuries would have to pass before t the soil would again collect. or could n he made to collect. in sufficient quan' ' tity once more to support the old time v forest growth. In consequence the q Mongol Desert is practically extend e ing eastward over northern China T. The climate has changed and is still e changing. IL has changed even with ', in the last half century, as the work e of tree destruction has been consum e mated. The great masses of arborcal T. vegetation on the mountains formerly c absorbed the heat of the sun and sent e up currents of cool air which brought c tho moisture ihdcn clouds lower and 'e forced them to precipitate in rain n 70 part of their burden of water Now 'c that there is no vegetation, the bar d ren mountains. scorched by the sun a send up currents of heated air which n drive away instead of attracting the Is rain clouds and cause their moistur, h to be disseminated. In consequence c instead of the regular and plentiful y rains which existed in these regions of e China wnen the forests were still in o evidence, the unfortunate inhabitants d of tho deforcsted lands now see their h crops wither for lack of railfalk while 70 the seasons grow more and more ir ,r regular; and as the air becomes dryei l. certain crops refuse longer to grow n, TT all. That everything dries out Taste, If than formerly is shown by the fac, " that the level of the wells all over tho e land mas sunk perceptibly. many of e them having become totally dry. Ir [ addition t0 the resulting agricultural IT distress, the watercourses have chang y cd. Formerly they were narrow ant h deep, with an abundance of clear wat v CT the year around: for the roots ana d hunts of the forests caught the rain n water and let it escape by sbw, reg h ular seepage. They have now bccom, e broad, shallow stream beds, in whicf y muddy water trickles in slender cur d rents during tine dry seasons, whil, r. when if rains there are freshets, ana y roaring muddy torrents come tearing e down, bringing disaster and destruc m tion everywhere. The journey iron y Pekin to Jehol shows in melancholy 'e fashion how the soil has been washed r. away from whole valleys, so that they y have been converted into deserts. It What has thus happened in northern 1T China, what has happened in Central r. Asia, in Palestine. in North Africa 'e in parts of the Mediterranean coun
 tries of Europe, will surely happen ir
 our country if We do not exercise tha, re wise foTethought whico should be on, m of the chief marks of any people call m ing itself civilized. Nothing should 'f be permitted to stand in the way of 'eI the preservation of the forests, and il m Is criminal to permit individuals t,