CHASMS OF EROSION AND FOREST DEFENSE 



BY CHARLES A. WHITTLE 



N( ) inore strikint; exhiljitioii of the results of erosion 

 w ithiii the historic a.s^e is to he found than in parts 

 of Georgia near the river liasins aion^- the (lividin;; 

 Hne of the Piedmont and coastal plain renjions. C hasms 

 two hundred feet deep, with tall trees sjrowint,' from 

 their l)ottonis. hul with sides hare and i^uUied. liavc heen 

 resolutely gnawed deep into the iilateaus hy the forces 

 of erosion. Farms have been riven, barns and houses 

 have been engulfed and generations of men have looked 

 with awe and helplessness upon the jjlienomena. 



During geological ages of the long ])ast, the now 

 gashed and barren earth came down with the floods and 

 found its present resting place. Hut now the police 

 forces of nattire are commanding it to "move on" ami 

 sturdv liquid minions are .set tn Inistling it. 



Only one staying hand has l)ecn lifted — the dark pin;- 

 forests that grip the earth with strong fingers an 1 

 re.solutelv confront the dragons of the caverns. Wher.' 

 the forest is weak the chasms have jiulled it down. Where 

 the forest is .strong the caverns give u.p the struggle.- 



Man has taken cognizance of the comiiat and given 

 his onl\- aid tu the struggle against erosinn : he has learuL-i 

 to let the f(jrest alone where the gorges encroach. '1 o 

 ])lant a forest athwart the line of api)roach has seeme-i 

 futile to ilu- farmer land o\\-ner. Me realizes P.ow lor. ^ 

 it takes to grow a forest and how formidable it has t 

 be to withstand the under-cutting of the ])ersistent force. 

 So that once the gorge has invaded, the farmer aljandon- 

 hope of ever again bringing the land under agricultural 

 subjection, so forbidding are ibe rough steej) slopes ;m(! 



INVADIXG GOOD F.\RM LAXD 



Eai'li liay t-rosion nibbles more ami more of tile farm laiul and \v.>oJ lot 

 seen in the upper section of the picture and a great wedge i.'^ beiuR driven 

 into a valuable property. 



XOT THE GR.WD CANYON 



This shows erosion of land in Stewart County, Georgia. Note the depth of the gully in which 

 large trees are growing and how wooded land (left upper corner of picture) is threatened hy 

 the progress of the erosion. 



492 



so narrow and tortuous the boiionis of 

 the gorges. 



The scidpturing elements have lett 

 grotesque and often picturesque monu- 

 iiients ;ilong the courses of these chasms, 

 .IS if to redeem their merciless work 

 from utter sordidness. Behold th-j 

 towers, the minarets, the miniature repre- 

 sentations of the .\lps, the Grand Can- 

 yon, the "Rad Lands": see the carved 

 animals and strange forms of no name^ 

 the grand and grotesque in these valleys 

 of destruction ! 



If we pry into the secrets of this 

 strange gallery there is an ap])arent 

 reason for all of the sculpturing. Cap- 

 ])ing each upstanding figure is a protect- 

 ing stone, often scarcely larger than a 

 hand. From this stone slopes the earth 

 forming a very ])retentious peak. One 



I 



