Arizona republican., 1908-12-09

lower and forced them to precipitate in rain a part of their burden of water Now that there is no vegeta- tion, the barren mountains, scorched by the sun, send up currents of heated air which drive away instead of attracting the rain clouds, and cause their moisture. to be dissemi- mated In consequence, instead of the regular and plentiful rains which ex- isted in' these regions of China when the forests were still in evidence, the unfortunate inhabitants of the defor- ested lands now see their crops wither for lack of rainfall, while the seasons grow more and more irregu- lar; and as the air becomes dryer certain cops refuse to grow longer at all. That everything dries out faster than formerly is shown by the fact that the level of the wells over the land has sunk perceptibly, many of them having become totally dry. In addition to the resulting agricultural distress. the water courses have changed Formerly they were narrow and deep, with an abundance of clear water the year around; for tbe roots and humus of the forests caught the rainwater and let it escape by slow regular seepage. They have now become broad shallow stream beds, in which muddy water trickles in slender currents during the dry seasons, while when it rains there are freshets, and roaring muddy torrents come tearing down, bringing disaster and destruction everywhere. More over, these floods and freshets, which diversity the general dryness, wash away from the mountain sides, and either wash away or cover in the valleys, the rich fertile soil which it took tens of thousands of years for Nature to form; and it is lost for ever, and until the forests grow again 1t can not be replaced. The sand and stones from the mountain sides are washed loose and come rolling down to cover the arable lands, and in consequence, throughout this part of China, many formerly rich dis tricts are now sandy wastes. uselss for human cultivation and even for pasture The cities have been of course seriously affected, for the streams have gradually ceased to be navigable These is testimony that even NllIliH lllt IltllOlg Ol Iltii iAON living there has been a serious dimin- ution of the rainfall in Northeastern China. The level of the Sungari river in Northern Manchuria has been sensibly lowered during the last fifty years, at least partly as the result of the indiscriminate cutting of the for ests forming it's water shed. Almost all the rivers of Northern China have become uncomfortable, and very dan gerous to the dwellers along their banks. as a direct result of the de- struction of the forests. The journey from Pekin to Jehol shows in melan choly fashion how the soil has been washed away from whole valleys so that they have been converted into deserts.
 In Northern China this disastrous process has gone on so long and has proceeded so far that no complete remedy could be applied. There are certain mountains in China from which the soil is gone so utterly that only slow action of the ages can again restore it; although of course much could be done to prevent the still further eastward extension of the Mongolian desert if the Chinese government would act at once. The accompanying cuts from photographs show the inconceivable desolation of the barren mountains in which cer- tain of these rivers rise-mountains, be it remembered. which formerly supported dense forests of larches and frs, now unable to produce any wood, and because of their condition source of danger to the whole county. The photographs also show the same rivers after they have passed through the mountains, the beds having become broad and sandy because of the deforestation of the mountains One of the photographs shows a caravan passing through a valley. Formerly, when the noun tains were forested, it was thickly peopled by prosperous peasants. Now the floods have carried destruction all over the land and the valley is a stony desert. Another photograph shows a mountain road covered with the stones and rocks that are brought town in the rainy season from the mountains which have already been deforested by human hands. Another shows a pebbly river bed in Southern Manchuria where what was once a great stream has dried up owing to the deforestation in the mountains. Only some scrub wood is left, which will disappear within a half century. Yet another shows the effect of one of the washouts, destroying an arabic mountain side, these washOuts being due to the removal of all vegetation; yet in this photograph the foreground shows that reforestatiOn is still a possibility in places.
 What has thus happened in North ern China, what has happened in Central Asia, in Palestine, in Norh Africa, in parts of the Mediterranean countries of Europe, will surely hap pen in our country if we do not eX- ercise that wise forethought which should be one of the chief marks of any people calling itself civilized. Nothing should be permitted to stand in the way of the preservation of the forests, and it is criminal to per init individuals to purchase a little gain for themselves through the de- struction of forests when this de- struction is fatal to the wellbeing of the whole country in the future.
 Inland Waterways.
 Action SbouId ba hag,,,