26 THE BEAVER IN ITS RELATION TO FORESTRY. 



supply. Everywhere the forest l)as been opened u\) \>y fire and 

 axe to tlie parching effects of sun and winds. 



What are some of tlie consequences which result from these 

 untoward conditions? Whenever a few warm days occur in early 

 spring, the snow is rapidly melted^ and the t;urface, stripped of its 

 deep spongy mould and hardened by exposure to the alternate heat 

 and rain of summer serves but as a floor over wliich the freshet 

 rushes to fall into the nearest brook and hasten unimjjeded to the 

 sea. A similar fate is in store for the summer rainfall. Thus 

 under present conditions there is the minimum of Avater deposited 

 and absorbed, and the maximum carried away in a few days, 

 leaving the brooks and rivers comparatively emptv and the surface 

 dry before summer even begins. Is it to be wondered at that the 

 forest is often pa»*ched in autumn and becomes a j>rey to devastat- 

 ing fires? 



Foremost among the provisions of any wide measure of forest 

 [)rotection must stand the solution of the problem how to arrest 

 and hold even this diminished water supply where it will do the 

 most good. Various suggestions have been made. Some advo- 

 cate the erection of dams on rivers and floatable streams, forming 

 large catch-basins; but while the presence of sucii w'ater areas 

 must exercise an influence for good on the forest growth immedi- 

 atel}'^ adjoining, they must of necessity from their limited num- 

 ber and position be of little use to the forest as a whole. The 

 maze of streams, brooks, and rivulets to be found on the forest 

 floor would not have their supply sensibly increased by such 

 means, and it is in the bosom of the forest country, in the region 

 of the little water-ways, where the supply should be retained in 

 order to have it contribute most to the growth and preservation 

 of the forest. 



Does the careful study of primitive conditions reveal the pres- 

 ence and operation of any special means to this end, other than 

 those already mentioned? Explore the valley of some brook 

 and note the little meadows, that occur one after another, 

 sometimes six or seven in half a mile. At the lower margin of 

 each, a dam of earth and decayed sticks may be made out, 



