FOREST PLANTING AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY 



717 



large amount of water. Here, then, 

 was a solution to the prohlem, "^lore 

 water." The land, including the reser- 

 voir-site, together with a considerahle 

 area immediately surrounding it, has 

 heen accjuircd by the University during 

 the past two or three years, and plans 

 are now under way for the construction 

 of a dam and the preparation of the 

 site for a large reservoir. 



The dam will be constructed to a 

 height of fifty feet and this will cause 

 the stream to flood an area of approxi- 

 mately ^'^O acres. The depth of the 

 water will vary, but over an extensive 

 part of the area it will average 25 feet. 

 The capacity of the reservoir, when 

 full, will be one hundred and fifty mil- 

 lion cubic feet. No power plant will 

 be installed at the reservoir, nor will 

 there be any transmission-line; the ob- 

 ject of the development is simply to 

 make possible an increased flow of 

 water from time to time as necessity 

 requires, for the proper operation of 

 the present power-plant which is situ- 

 ated near the University and about two 

 miles below the reservoir-site, on Fall 

 Creek. 



At the time the land was acquired it 

 became necessary to purchase consider- 

 able land which was not actually 

 needed, either because the owners did 

 not care to divide their i)roperty, or 

 because the properties were so situated 

 that division would be impracticable. 

 It therefore happens that there is an 

 ;u'ca of approximately one hundred and 

 eighty acres which borders the reser- 

 voir site, and which will be above the 

 high water line after the dam has been 

 built and the reservoir filled. The ques- 

 tion immediately arose : What shall be 

 done with this land above the high 

 water line? It was considered inad- 

 visable for several reasons to have ten- 

 ants occupying those portions of the 

 farms that would be left above the high 

 water line, and it also seemed impracti- 

 cable to maintain the land in a state of 

 cultivation. It was, therefore, pro- 

 posed to reforest such portions of it as 

 were not already occupied by trees, and 

 establish an unbroken forest cover 

 which would serve a double purpose. 

 Not only would erosion be checked, but 

 the University would have, in process 

 of growth, a stand of timber which will 



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iL. iT, ^; . 



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LOOKING OVER LAND THAT WILL BE FLOODED. THE FARM BUILDINGS IN THE PHO- 

 TOGRAPH WILL BE TORN DOWN AND REMOVED BECAUSE THEY ARE BELOW THE 

 HIGH-WATER LEVEL OF THE PROPOSED RESERVOIR. 



