Periodical Literature. 81 



the necessity of other treatment, liming or fertilizing, in order 

 to secure satisfactory crops. 



Entwasserung und Aufforstung nasser Fldchen in Aufforstungsgebieten. 

 Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Forstwesen, 1908, pp. 305-312, 333-34 1 - 



Palestine is often cited as affording an ex- 

 Inftuence ample of the effect of deforestation on 



of climate. Mr. E. Huntington in a paper 



Deforestation dealing with the climate of ancient Pales- 

 on tine gives as evidences of the changes of 



Climate. climate the reduction in population owing 



to the diminution in fertility and resources 

 of the countrty ; the ancient routes of invasion, migration and 

 trade, especially through Sinai and the Syrian deserts — which 

 show more favorable natural conditions in the past than exist to- 

 day ; and the ruins of large cities, abandoned on account of lack 

 of water. In explanation of these changes of climate he discusses 

 the four hypotheses "of uniformity, of deforestation, of pro- 

 gressive change, and of pulsatory change." As regards deforesta- 

 tion, he finds that "forests were of limited occurrence in the time 

 of the greatest prosperity of Palestine, and that there seems to 

 be no evidence whatever that the cutting away of forests has had 

 any appreciable effect upon the rainfall although it may have done 

 harm in other ways. He comes to the conclusion that "none of 

 the evidence conflicts with the hypotheses of progressive and of 

 pulsatory changes with the probability on the side of the latter 

 explanation. 



Bulletin American Geograpkal Society, 1908, pp. 513-522, 577"586, 641- 

 652. 



The forest area of Mauritus has been re- 



Deforestatiou duced from one-third in 1850 to one-tenth 



and in 1880. After investigating the effect on 



Climate. the climate, Mr. A. Walter, Royal Alfred 



Observatory, concludes that the cutting of 



the forests may have had some effect, although a very small one, 



on the total rainfall, but that the effect has been greater in the 



case of the number of rainy days. The rainy days in the districts 



denuded of forests have been decreased by about thirty a year, 



6 



