The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1921-05-18
me Result
of Deforestation
Country Now Sub
10 Frequent Droughts
and Floods
Ruthless destruction of their for

20
by the Chinese is according to
= # Eers OF the United States De-
ssaent of Agriculture, one of the
IONS why famine and plague to-day
d this nation in their sinister grasp.
enudation, wherever practical. leaves
aked soil: floods and erosin follow,
ar1d when the soil is gone men must
also go-and the process does not
take long. Forests, it is pointed out,
not only play an important part in
the distribution of mankind over the
eartf,s surface, but also deeply al
feet his spiritual, physical, and eco
nonic life. A country that recklessly
wastes It's natural resources faces
ultimate poverty and decadence. HIS
tory is fun Of such examples.
Retorestaticn Not Practiccd in China.
In the provinces Of Honan, Shense.
and Chih1i, China, over an area some
100000 square miles in extent, severa
million people are starving. The i'm
mediate causes of the famine were
Disastrous floods followed by long
periodse of drought, which resulted IN
the failure Of three successive crops.
The Great Plains Of eastern emma,
occupied by the first Chinese OF
whom history tells, were centuries
ECO transformed from forest into agri-
cultural land. The mountain plateaus
of central China have also. .wlthin a
few hundred years, bee: utterly de-
rastayed Of tree growth, an3 no at
4enant made at either 'natura! or arti-
fSciaI reforestation. As a result, the
Watsr r;lushes off the naked slopes IN
verftabIe floods, guiiyins away one
mountain sides, causing rfver3 to run
md d.. with With, yellow soil, and carrying
enormous. masses OF fertile eaF1n 70
the sea.
water courses have also changed;
rirers become uncontroilabfe. and tue
w;sater level. of the. country lowered
5nes.rns;esutfbiy. s.n; In consequence, the un-
fortunate people see their crops Wit
8er ands die: for lack Of water. when II
IS most needed In many parts OF
China, II, IS said, these factors. com
hinad with uncertain moisture conoi-
stfons, make Z years out OF every ~
more OF less famine years
floods are Famine Are Common.
The Hwang Eo or Yellow River.
which drains. a large part OF the ram
me district, once, records show, flow
ed through rich, fertile, valley, its
TRIBUTARY hills well wooded. To-eav
it is broad moving quicksand, with
asnaH amount of water most OF the
wear. but when the floods come the
whole face Of the landscape may bel
changed. In 1856 this. river, which is
known as "China's Sorrow flooded
sone 10000 square miles of the most
denseiy populated lands. wiped out
thousands OF villages and towns, and
.drewned q .oeo. o.o0e people.
Some idea Of the rapidity OF the
rhn-on in the mountains may also be
obtained from the records Of the
Yansfe River. which has been known
to rise So feet above mean water lev
eli In one week and then fall So feet
In less than three weeks.
Human folly and shert-sightednessl
have thus mace a country fertile|
enough to support over 50,000.oe0f
people into place where man must
ever. b. haunted by fear Of starvation
and destruction. The lesson Of de-
fogestation in China is one which
mankind should have learned many
times from what has ocurred in other
places. In fact, it may, in lesser
degree, even be brought home to thel
people of America in future years un-
less. through wise fore-thought. care
is exercised in the preservation OF our
forests from destruction by fire and
wasteful numbering.