1 66 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



First, that at the time of the maxi- 

 mum of high water, the channel of the 

 deforested region carries thirty to fifty 

 per cent more water per unit of sur- 

 face than the wooded region. 



Second, that after prolonged dry pe- 

 riods, the springs of the deforested re- 

 gion dry up completely and the bed of 

 the stream is dry, while the stream 

 from the wooded valley is still yielding 

 at least five liters of water per second. 



Is it necessary to call attention to the 

 fact that the observations of the Swiss 

 foresters are in complete contradiction 

 to the measurements of Mr. Lauda in 

 Moravia, measurements given, more- 

 over, with express reservations which 

 we have cited above and that weaken 

 very much the conclusions that some 

 have wished to draw from them, hos- 

 tile to the influence of the forest upon 

 streams and springs? 



FORESTS AND THE REGULATION OF 

 STREAM-FLOW 



"Forests," says an eminent geogra- 

 pher, "play an important role in the 

 regulation of rivers. They retain for 

 some time the rainfall and lessen the 

 volume of flood flow. Wherever for- 

 ests have been destroyed, stream-flow 

 has always become more irregular and 

 floods have increased in number and 

 violence."^ 



The clearings made throughout the 

 basin of the Mediterranean caused a 

 diminution in the flow of the streams. 

 Crete no longer has the superb forests 

 of Mount Ida, in which the infant Jupi- 

 ter was concealed, guarded by the naiad 

 Amalthaea. It has only floods now. 

 One would search Greece in vain for 

 the cool shadows of Algidus, the black 

 forests of Erymanthus, of Taygetus. 

 and of verdant Cragus or the famous 

 forests of Dodona from whence Oro- 

 pus was born, sad Acheron and Thya- 

 mis. All these rivers with the poetical 

 and pleasing names, of which the an- 



cients have left us faithful descriptions, 

 became unimportant streams after the 

 mountains from which they issued had 

 been stripped of the forests that cov- 

 ered them. 



The rivers of Asia Minor, issuing 

 from deforested uplands, have like- 

 wise changed in stream-flow ; they are 

 burdened with an enormous amount of 

 detritus, and their beds are incumbered 

 with deposits of sand and gravel which 

 are an obstacle to navigation ; several 

 rivers have disappeared completely. 

 Numerous streams in Asia Minor which 

 were still navigable in ancient times 

 and in the middle ages became inac- 

 cessible to boats after the region had 

 been deforested. This was the case 

 with the Cestros (Ak-su). with the 

 Calycadnus (Ermenek). with the San- 

 garius (Sakaria), and with several 

 streams flowing into the Black Sea de- 

 scribed as navigable by Arrian. 



In the northern part of Korea, where 

 the forests are still intact, the varia- 

 tions in the level of the water courses 

 are insignificant, while in the southern 

 part, where the forests have been al- 

 most entirely destroyed, floods develop 

 rapidly and unexpectedly.' Vicomte de 

 Vaulserre, who explored in 1898 the 

 course of the Yang-tse-Kiang River 

 from Su-chow to Ta-li-fu. attributes 

 the enormous variations in its flow and 

 the flow of its tributaries to the absence 

 of forests on the mountain slopes of 

 Thibet, which constitute the upper basin 

 of this river.* 



The Russian rivers are valuable 

 means of communication in a country 

 almost destitute of railways. For a 

 long time they were the only means 

 of communication, by boat in the sum- 

 mer and by sleds in the winter. These 

 "are the allies of the Russians against 

 that which they call their great enemy, 

 distance, "° and they have contributed 

 not a little to the conquest and unifica- 

 tion of the empire. "ITnfortunately." 

 says again ]\lr. Camena d'Almeida. 



"P. Camena d'Almeida. la Ture, rAmc'rique. rAustralasie. Paris. 1904. Colin, p. T03 



"]. Denikcr, la Geographie, V, i er, 1902. 



'La Geographic, I, i er, 1900, p. 451. 



■'A. -P. Rambaud, Histoire dc la Russia, Paris, Hachette, p. 8. 



