Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-04-28
FOREST WASTE
MAY RESULTN
UNTOLD EVILS
Want0n Destruction of China's
Tree Growth Cause of
Present Famine
A CONSERVATION PLEA
By HARRY A. RODMAN.


In an appeal to the Nation for the re-
forestation of what was once wooded
lands and for the preservation of the
present forest tracts, foresters of the
United States Department Of Agriculture
declare that the ruthless destruction OF
forests by the Chinese is the principal
reason why famine and plague today
holds that nation in their sinister grasp
Denudation. wherever practiced, leaves
naked soil; floods and erosion follow.
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 or
mankind over the earth's surface, but
also deeply affects his spiritual, physical
and economic life. Foresters declare that
a country that recklessly wastes its nat
ural resources-and especially its forests,
faces ultimate poverty and decadence.
The cases of the provinces of Honan,
Shensi and Chill are fair examples of the
immediate result of deforestation. These
provinces. totaling an area of some 1O0,-
600 square miles in extent, have several
millions Of people starving, as the re-
suit of disastrous floods followed by long
periods of drought, which resulted in
the failure of three successive crops.
The great plains of Eastern China,
occupied by the first Chinese Of whom
history tells, were centuries ago trans
formed from forests into agriculture
lands The mountain plateaus Of Central
China have also, within the last few hun
dred years, been utterly devastated of
tree growth, and no attempt at either
natural or artificial reforestation has
been made.
AS a result. the water rushes off the
naked slopes in veritable foods, outlying
away the mountain sides, and carrying
enormous masses of fertile soil to the
sea.
The tree-covered mountains of China
of former ages absorbed a great por
ton Of the annual rainfall and let it es
cape by slow. regular seepage during the
dry season. Now. there are no trees,
shrubs or grass to restrain rainfall. the
streams that formerly were narrow and
deep and supplied an abundance of clear
water the year round. have become broad
and yellow with currents of muddy water,
which, when it rains, swell to roaring
torrents that bring disaster and de-
struction everywhere.
Water courses have also changed. as a
casual glance at the map of China will
show. Rivers beome uncomfortable and
the water level of the country lowered.
In consequence, the unfortunate people
see their crops wither and die for lack
Of water when It is most needed. In
many parts Of China. it is said, these fac
tors, combined with uncertain moisture
conditions, make seven years out Of every
ten more or less famine years.
The Yellow River or Hoang Ho, which
drains large part of the famine dis
trict of China, records show. once flowed
through a rich and fertile valley, its
tributary hills well wooded. Today 1t is
a broad, moving quicksand with small
amount of water most Of the year, but
when the foods come the whole face of
the landscape may be changed.
In 1856, this river, known as "China's
Sorrow" flooded more than 10000 square
miles of the most densely populated
lands. wiped out thousands of villages
and towns and drowned more than 2,0oO,-
900 people.
Some idea of the rapidity Of the run
off of the mountains may be obtained
from the records Of the Yantse River,