84 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 



inquire into the expediency of vesting in the state the title 

 to the lands forminsr the Adirondack wilderness, and convert- 

 ing the same into a public park. After a careful considera- 

 tion of the subject, they report very earnestly in favor of the 

 proposition, their arguments as to its great importance being 

 unanswerable. They show that while the forests may not 

 necessarily increase the amount of rain-fall in the country, 

 they yet equalize the distribution of the water so as to make 

 it more serviceable for the purposes of agriculture, manufact- 

 ures, and commerce. 



The Adirondack region is one particularly important in 

 this respect, being the highest part of Northern New York, 

 the streams of which, starting in the forests, flow to all 

 points of the compass, the most important being the Hudson. 

 The region, it is true, is in many j^arts very rocky, but these 

 rocks are covered with a dense growth of moss (sometimes 

 to the depth of several feet), and the whole region is heavily 

 timbered, with the exception of the summits of the highest 

 peaks, and the water at the surface is thus held as by a 

 sponge ; and hence, however violent the rain-fall, the moist- 

 ure is given off gradually through springs, so as to be equal- 

 ized to a great extent throughout the year. Under these 

 circumstances freshets in the mountains are of comparatively 

 rare occurrence, while at the same time the level of the watei* 

 varies much less than would be the case if the opposite con- 

 ditions prevailed. 



If, now, the timber be cut off and the underbrush removed, 

 the surface will be exposed to the action of the sun, and its 

 moisture rapidly exhaled into the atmosphere, instead of 

 draining off in the form of sj^rings and rivulets. The falling 

 rain, too, and the melting snows of spring, would pass off 

 much more rapidly, producing floods and causing great dam- 

 age, but soon running oft", and in a short time leaving the 

 streams below their natural level. 



The amount of wild land in the Adirondack wilderness is 

 estimated at 1,727,000 acres, or about 2703 square miles. 

 The market value of this property is very slight, and in most 

 cases is now represented by the worth of the timber and the 

 chance of o:ettino: it to market. The state alreadv owns 

 nearly 400,000 acres, and the remainder can be obtained at a 

 moderate price. It is thought that the mineral Avealth of 



