Rural School Leaflet 



945 



TREE STUDY 

 John Bentley, Jr. 



i. our forests 



THE forests and woodlands of our State are valuable 



not only as a source of wood and lumber, but also 



because of the beneficial effects they have on 



the supply of water. Nearly all of our large 



streams and rivers rise in the mountains or hills 



of the State, which were originally covered with a. 



dense growth of timber. The ground was covered 



with leaves, and the trees broke the fall of the 



rain so that, instead of rushing down the hill, 



the water soaked into the ground and reappeared 



farther down as springs. Thus the flow of the water 



was kept regular and even, and because of this the 



water was clear. After the forests were cut 



<'j&i>- down the leaf litter was washed away or 



destroyed, and soon the heavy rains began to 



make gulleys in the land; so that sometimes the 



streams were high and at other times low, and after 



heavy rains they were frequently muddy. 



The contrast is very marked between streams that 

 come from mountains covered with timber and those 

 that flow for a long time through treeless regions. 

 Those persons who have crossed the States of Montana, Nebraska, 

 Kansas, or Wyoming know that the rivers in those sections are all very 

 muddy; while the rivers in the States of New York, Pennsylvania, and 

 West Virginia, and in other Eastern States in which there are many 

 mountains covered with timber, are comparatively clear and clean. This 

 is because the forests hold the soil in place and prevent it from being 

 washed away by the heavy rains. 



It is important, therefore, to preserve the woodlands and timber at the 

 headwaters of our streams and rivers, and if we desire good, pure, clear 

 water for drinking purposes we must see that the springs and small streams 

 which form the source of our water supplies are protected by a good growth 

 of timber. 



In the development of this country a great deal of timber has been 

 destroyed. Many times some careless hunter or traveler, passing through 

 the woods, has left a camp fire burning and the wind has come up and 

 blown the fire into a mass of leaves and dry sticks, setting the woods on 

 fire. This fire, perhaps small at first, grew to be a destructive forest fire. 



