The Effect op Deforestation upon the Water Level op 

 Montgomery County. 



H. L. Barr. 



HISTORICAL. 



The relation of the forest to many problems of vital interest to the 

 welfare and prosperity of the people is becoming more apparent. Until 

 comparatively recent times the far reaching intluence of the forest has not 

 been seriously considered, but the gradual disappearance of our vast areas 

 of forest cover and the siumltaneous appearance of certain phenomena 

 that are, in the popular mind, probably incorrectly in many cases, ascribed 

 to the cutting off of the forests, has stimulated interest and study along 

 these lines. European countries were the first to recognize the importance 

 of these questions and have conse<iuently taken the lead in matters that 

 have to do with their study or solution. Our own vast forests, with their 

 seemingly inexhaustible supply of timber, have, until recently, blinded us 

 to the facts and lessons which other nations have begun to leara. 



One of the far-reaching asi>ects of forest influence is its relation to 

 the ground water level. Influenced by public men, the press, private preju- 

 dices, etc., the public is divided on the question, the partisans of one side 

 asserting that forests have a beneficial effect upon the water level, the 

 others that they do not. Scientists are not agreed upon the subject, and 

 many observations and experiments have been made which give conflicting 

 results. The greatest faults have been that the areas under consideration 

 have been too large for careful study, preventing definite conclusions. 

 Really simple and trustworthy data in sufficiently comprehensive quantity 

 has not been secured. We have deemed it possible that some definite con- 

 clusions might be reached by obtaining from a small area all statistics 

 and data available regarding the past and present water level, also the 

 forest, swamp, and drainage conditions. Tliis paper has been undertaken 

 to show the effects of deforestation upon the water level in Montgomery 

 County, Indiana. 



