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AMERICAN FORESTRY 



the stream and deposited where the cur- 

 rent becomes checked ; and especially in 

 the reservoirs constructed for water- 

 power use where the water is quiet and 

 therefore the silt most easily deposited. 

 This fine silt is deposited also in the 

 navigable portion of the stream. This 

 necessitates constant dredging to keep 

 the stream open for navigation. 



The process of denudation of the 

 mountain slopes already has seriously 

 affected the capacity of the Southern 

 streams for water-power development. 

 One prominent Southern engineer has 

 estimated this to be at least 40 per 

 cert. Apart from the menace to the 

 water powers, the washing away of the 

 soil from the mountains and from the 

 fields in the Piedmont region is a very 

 real danger to the water supply of the 

 cities and towns both from the stand- 

 point of quantity and quality. Fifteen 

 years ago the streams in this region 

 carried far less sand, silt, detritus, and 

 washings than now. These have been 

 filling up the channels and increasing 

 enormously the expense and difficulty 

 of purification so that many cities now 

 face not only a shortage of water dur- 

 ing the lengthy drought periods, but 

 unknown dangers in the water which 

 they do get. As an example, the city 

 engineer of Augusta, Georgia, stated in 

 1908 that their power canal had re- 

 ceived more silt in the last 18 months 

 than in all the 30 years previous. If 

 this is the case with only a portion of 

 the mountain slopes denuded, what will 

 be the plight of Augusta and other 

 cities similarly situated when the bulk 

 of the forests is gone? 



In the Carolinas and in Georgia alone 

 over $.50,000,000 is now invested in cot- 

 ton mills run by water power directly 

 or by electric power generated there- 

 from, and this is only the bare begin- 

 ning in electrical development. The 

 2,000,000, or, as some claim, 3,000,000 

 horse-power available in the streams 

 that flow from the Appalachians to the 

 Atlantic, when developed, would mean 

 an investment in hydro-electric plants of 

 upwards of from $200,000,000 to $300,- 

 000,000, earning annuallv from $40,- 

 000,000 to $60,000,000 at a conserva- 

 tive estimate, and saving the South on 



its coal bill alone some $15,000,000 to 

 $20,000,000. 



FORESTRY ONLY A PART 



Obviously, we do not advocate main- 

 taining a forest cover on the entire 

 watersheds of our rivers. Lands suit- 

 able to agriculture must be devoted to 

 that purpose, but there should be bet- 

 ter methods of farming which will pre- 

 vent erosion and will utilize a larger 

 amount of water through increased ab- 

 sorption of the soil and increased crop 

 production. My plea for forestry is 

 mainly in the mountain regions on those 

 areas of no permanent value for farm- 

 ing and situated most critically for 

 watershed protection. 



The total forest area of the Carolinas 

 and Georgia is estimated at present at 

 75,000,000 acres. North and South 

 Carolina have each 19,000,000 acres, 

 and Georgia 37,000,000 acres. 



Not less than 30 per cent of this 

 area, or about 25,000,000 acres, should 

 be permanently kept in forest for the 

 protection of the streams that rise in 

 the Appalachians. Of this protective 

 forest 9,000,000 acres should be in 

 North Carolina, 6,000.000 acres in 

 South Carolina, and 10.000,000 acres in 

 Georgia. Within this area there are 

 about 2,000,000 acres on critical water- 

 sheds that will be in need of reforesta- 

 tion. 



Serious injury to the industrial de- 

 velopment of the South can be pre- 

 vented by adopting right measures now. 

 The National Government has recog- 

 nized the public character of the prob- 

 lem in an extensive purchase of forest 

 lands on the headwaters of navigable 

 rivers. The National Forest Reserva- 

 tion Commisssion has approved the pur- 

 chase of 120,706 acres in North Caro- 

 lina, at a total cost of $924,589 ; of 23,- 

 286 acres in South Carolina at a cost 

 of $128,157, and of 96,132 acres in 

 Georgia at a cost of $622,654. These 

 Government forests, however, as you 

 can readily see, will form only a very 

 small portion of the forest area which 

 must be protected. The work of Gov- 

 ernment purchase is confined to the 

 protection of navigable rivers. A con- 

 siderable number of States have made 



