22 THE PASSENGER PIGEON IN PENNSYLVANIA 



in summer. The Allegheny, that once was large 

 enough to promise navigation, is transformed to a 

 valueless water course for this generation. When 

 the waste places of the hills and valleys shall again 

 become the beautiful forests that once crowned them, 

 the streams will assume their former volume of water; 

 for the rainfall will remain longer in the cool embrace 

 of the forests, to feed the innumerable springs that 

 break forth from the rocky cliffs to irrigate the slopes 

 and supply the streams. It is estimated that only 

 one-half of the land that constitutes the Allegheny 

 watershed is used or needed for agriculture. The re- 

 mainder is now a waste for briars and brush, or partly 

 grown over with ferns and grass, although in many 

 places foreshadowing a luxuriant second growth of 

 hardwood and giving evidence of what the reforestiza- 

 tion might be under the skill of a forester, applied to 

 the region." 



