NEWS AND NOTES 



565 



r|ue:-tcfl to communicate to the Forest 

 Service any facts in their possession 

 which may throw any ackhtional light 

 on the various phases of the question 

 of relation of forest covers to water 

 supply. The letter follows : 



I'nitc'l States Department of Agri- 

 culture. Forest Service, Washington, 

 Office of the Forester, 



August 27, 1908. 



The National Conservation Commis- 

 sion appointed by the President as a re- 

 sult of the conference of the governors 

 held last May, has asked the Forest 

 Service to furnish information regard- 

 ing our forest resources and their re- 

 lation to other natural resources. One 

 of the most important subjects in this 

 connection is the relation of forests to 

 the water supply in all its phases — ir- 

 rigation, water power, navigation, and 

 the supply for towns and cities. The 

 Forest Service is planning to take up a 

 detailed study of this problem in coop- 

 eration with the Weather Bureau, the 

 Reclamation Service, and the Geolog- 

 ical Survey. In order, however, to se- 

 cure immediate information for the 

 commission and to supplement the field 

 work of the Forest Service, which will 

 necessarily be confined to somewhat 

 limited areas, the following questions 

 are being asked of competent observers 

 throughout the United States who are 

 known to be interested in the problems 

 which concern our national welfare : 



1. Have any instances come under 

 your notice where the removal of the 

 forest cover from a certain watershed 

 has had any definite effect upon the 

 flow of the streams which take their 

 rise there, and if so to what extent? 

 Please give the dates, as nearly as pos- 

 sible, the exact location of the water- 

 shed, and describe, as nearly as you 

 can, the topography, the rock, the soil. 

 and the kind of forest removed. 



2. Have you observed any relation 

 between the condition of watersheds 

 and the silting up of rivers, ponds, and 

 reservoirs? 



3. Do you know of any specific in- 

 stances where the destruction of the 

 forest cover upon watersheds which 



furnish water for the use of towns or 

 cities can be held responsible for the 

 breaking out of epidemics? 



4. Do you know of any specific cases 

 where springs have dried up after de- 

 struction of the forest cover, or where 

 they have returned with its restoration? 

 Please give the dates, as nearly as pos- 

 sible, the exact location of the spring, 

 and describe the topography, the rock, 

 the soil, and the character of the forest 

 which was removed or which has sprung 

 up again. 



5. Do you know of any instances 

 where artesian wells have dried up, or 

 where they have begun to flow again ? 

 Can any connection be traced between 

 this and the condition of the catchment 

 basin ? Give the dates as nearly as pos- 

 sible, the location of the catchment 

 basin, and describe the topography, 

 rock, soil and the general forest con- 

 ditions. 



6. Can you suggest the names of any 

 persons who would be in a position to 

 give additional facts? 



Any information which you can give 

 along these lines will be greatly appre- 

 ciated by both the Conservation Com- 

 mission and the Forest Service. As 

 early a reply as possible is desired in 

 order that the material may be used 

 by the commission in its report Novem- 

 ber I. T enclose a franke 1 envelope for 

 reply. 



Very truly yours. 



W. F. Cox. 

 Assistant Forester. 



«i «? ^ 

 Production of Pig Iron in the United States 



THE pig-iron production of the 

 United States in 1907 amounted to 

 25.781.361 long tons, as compared with 

 an output of 25,307,191 tons in 1906. 

 and of 22,992,380 long tons in 1905, ac- 

 cording to a statistical report just pub- 

 lished by the United States Geological 

 Survey. The smallness of the increase 

 shown in 1907 over 1906 is due to the 

 falling off in demand and production 

 during the last quarter of the year. If 

 the rate of output of the first half of 



