The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1908-12-10

bAS1So 4ASO q putty VI obstruction
which cannot afford to take thought
for the morrow. This IL Just one Of
those matters which 1t ts fatal to leave
to unsupervised individual control. The
forests can only be protected by the
state, by the nation; and the liberty Of
action Of individuals must be condl.
toned upon what the state or nation
determines to be necessary for the COM
mon safety.
Is g lesson which mankind should have
learned many times already from what
has occurred in other places. Denuda-
ton leaves naked soil; then outlying
cuts down to. the bare rock; and mean
while the rock-waste buries the bottom
lands. When the soil is gone. men
must go; and the process Toes not take
long.
Cost Of Ruthless Destruction.
The ruthless destruction Of the for
ests in northern China has brought
about, or has aided in bringing about,
desolation, Just as the destruction of
the forests in central Asia aid in bring
Ing ruin to the ono rich central Asian
cities; Just as the destruction of the
forests in northern Africa helped
towards the ruin of a region that was
a fertile granary in Roman days.
Shortsighted man, whether barbar.c,
semi-civiliIed, or what he mistakenly
regards as fully civilized. when he has
destroyed the forests, has rendered GER
tain the ultimate destruction Of the
land itself. In northern China the
mountains are now such as are shown
by the accompanying photographs, alb
solutely barren peaks. Not only have
the forests been destroyed, but because
of their destruction the soil has been
washed OF the naked rock. The terri
BILE. consequence is that it is impossible
now to undo the damage that has been
done. Many centuries would have to
pass before soil would again collect, or
could be made to collect, in sufficient
quantity once more to support the old
time forest growth. In
the Mongol desert is practically extend
Ing eastward over northern China. The
climate has changed and is still
changing. 1t has changed even within
the last half century, as the work Of
tree destruction has been consummated,
The great masses Of arboreal vegeta-
ton on the mountains formerly alb.
sorbed the heat of the sun and sent up
currents Of cool air which brought the
moisture-laden clouds lower and
forced them to precipitate in rain a
part OF their burden Of. water. Now
that there Is no vegetation, 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,
disseminated. In consequence. instead
of the regular n plentiful rains which
existed 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
Tor lack Of rainfall; while the seasons
grow more and more Irregular; and as
the air becomes dryer certain crops re-
tiSe Il on ger IN rrnw AZ all That ox,or,,
thing dries out faster than formerly is
shown by the fact that the level Of the
wells all over the and has sunk per-
cept1bly. many Of them having become
totally dry. In addition to the result
Ing agricultural distress. the water
courses have changed. Formerly they
were narrow n deep. with an album
dance OF clear water the year around;
for the roots and humus Of the for
ests caught the rainwater and let II
escape by slow. regular eepage. They
have now become broad. shallow stream
beds. In which muddy water trickles in
slender currents during the dry sea-
sons. while when it rains there are
freshets and roaring muddy torrents
come tearing down. bringing disaster
and destruction everywhere. Moreover,
these floods and freshets, which diver
sify 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 1t is lost forever. and until
the forests grow again 1t can not be re-
placed. The sand and stones from the
mountain sides are washed loose and
come rolling down to cover arabic
lands. and in consequence, throughout
this part Of China, many formerly rich
districts are now sandy wastes, useless
fNH human 1Jy1t3xot(4~ ava a.
pasture. The cities have been of course
seriously affected. for the streams have
gradually ceased to be navigable. There
is testimony that even within the mem
DRY of men now living there has been
a serious diminution Of the rainfall of
northeastern China The level Of the
Sungari river in northern Manchuria
has been sensibly lowered during the
last SO years. at least partly as the re-
suit of the indiscriminate cutting of
the forests forming Its watershed. AL
most all the rivers Of northern China
have become uncomfortable, and very
dangerous to the jewellers along their
hanks. as a direct result Of the destruc-
ton of the forests. The journey from
Pekin to Jehel shows in melancholy
fashion how the soil has been washed
away from whole valleys, so that they
have been converted into deserts.
Complete DesoIation Pictured.
In northern China this disastrous
process has gone on SO long and has
proceeded SO far that no complete rem
edy could be applied. There are GER
tain mountains in China from which
the soil is gone SO utterly that only
the slow action Of the ages could again
restore it; although Of course much
could be done to prevent the still fur
Their eastward extension Of the Mongo-
liam desert II the Chinese government
would act at oEce. The ACCOMPANYING
cuts from photographs show the in
conceivable desolation Of the barren
mountains in which certain Of these
rivers rise-mountains. be 1t remem-
bered, which formerly supported dense
forests Of larches and frs, now unable
to produce any wood. and because of
their condition a source Of danger to
the whole country. 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 q
valley. Formerly. when the mountains
were forested. it was thickiy pcoplcd
by prosperous peasants. Now the
hoods have carried destruction all over
the and and the valley is a stony
desert. Another photograph shows a
mountain rood oNvaroS ,-yJ%h a. .-