New-York tribune., 1910-02-14
FOREST AND FLOOD
France Likely to Encourage
Tree GrOzcing.
Paris. February l

dl L. cbl u1i L
NJ. Velain. professor of physical geog-
raphy az the Sorbonne. has drawn up a
report on the causes of the French
floods. which he attributes, in the first
place, to exceptional rainfall during the
last six months, and secondly TO the
wholesale destruction Of forests In this
respect NJ. Felain voices the unanimous
opinions of French scientists
Professor Velain explained to your
correspondent that the three most i'm
portant affluents of the Seine above
Paris are the Yonne. the Upper Seine
and the Marine. These three rivers flow
through soil of identical geological con-
ditions. They take their respective
sources in cretaceous formations in
regions of hard impermeable clay. and
afterward flow through zones of softer
milestone clay, which becomes quickly
saturated.
During the last thirty years the for
ests have been cut down to a most
alarming extent on the plateaus where
these three aff1uents of the Seine arise.
The pastures and cultivated soil, which
have replaced the forests. no longer re-
tain the rainfall, which is now sluiced
off as if from the roof of house. d1-
rectly into the rivers This water is
prevented from infiltration by the hard,
impermea bic clay It then flows into
the regions Of partially impermeab ble
milestone clay readily saturated Here
the water, after a few weeks of rain,
when the milestone clay has become sat
- 1li
of fitering down into the large natural
underground water reservoirs. it rushes
along in the river beds. In this way the
plateaus of Brie and Langres, now de-
void of trees, launch their total rainfall
in a sort of riIlrace toward Paris
In other words. the forests until re-
Gently absorbed the rainfall and diverted
the greater part of II into the soil
whence IT percoIated gradually into the
great natural subterranean sheets OF
water Most Of the forests have now
disappeared. Their destruction Is thus,
| fatally. national calamity. the terrible
consequences of which have just been
! denonsrrat ted by the present foods
In regard 70 future legislation 70 pre-
! serve the French forests, II Is pointed
! out by several large proprietors OF tim
Der land that the present excessive tax
/ alton on forests ha brought about ,
/ wnolesale transformation of wooded
/ regions into pastures or fields where
/ sugar, grain, wheat and vegetables are
| raised. The lan1 owners thus lay the
/ blame on the government for imposing
! almost prohibitive taxation upon for
! ests. Moreover the General Council OF
! the Department of the Marine, in its
/ special session On January 81, unanl-
mously passed a resolution declaring
that the cutting down OF the forests
/ was the fundamental cause Of the pres
/ ent foods and calling upon Parliament
, to enact. as matter Of supreme ur-
! gency. laws that will diminish taxes on
/ forests and that and replanted with
trees shall be totally exempt from taxa
ton until the first cutting takes place
which shall be done only IN accordance
with the forest laws established during
the reign Of Louis XIV. and which pro-
vide scientifically for q gradual increa Sc
/ IF trees
The parliamentary group for the pro-
lection Of forests met yesterday under
the presidency Of NJ Pierre Baudin ano
passed resolutions proposing few fsca
estimation Of forests. and urging that the
bill for the protection Of forests, with
several important amendments to favor
and encourage tree growing, be forth
With submitted TO the Chamber Of Depu
ties and the Senate. G. l. +.