342 ANNUAL REPORT 



tected from dry winds on the lowland and from avalanches on the 

 upland. 



Experience has shown that denuded countries suffer more from 

 storms than do those where the forests have remained standing, 

 and that farm and garden crops become uncertain. As soon as 

 the plateau became covered with trees, the ground could be 

 profitably cultivated. Normandy, in France, is an example of 

 this. 



The forest, also, has a positive effect on the climate and on the 

 heat. It serves to ijreveut extremes. With i-egard to its effect 

 on hail storms nothing definite has been ascertained. It was ob- 

 served in France at a certain time that a hail storm raged with 

 great fury until it reached a pine forest, when the hail stones 

 ceased to fall, but began falling again when a section of country 

 was reached where there was no forest. An ordinary forest has 

 not as much power in this respect as a pine forest. 



The influence of the forest in the moisture of the air, on the 

 amount of rain-fall and on the dew is of untold significance. 

 Exact examination has shown that the atmosphere in and near 

 a forest is more moist than elsewhere. How dew, mist and rain are 

 formed can be seen in the forest on a damp summer's day. Here 

 and there small clouds of mist become visible, which grow 

 larger and larger and cover more and more of the forest streams. 

 Along ou the plateau this occurs much later or not at all. The 

 most important use of the forest consists in the regulation of 

 the water courses above and under the surface, especially in the 

 mountains and high laud, but also in the low land. The springs 

 and streams depend upon the forest. This was demonstrated ou 

 my farm. As I was walking along the edge of the forest I un- 

 expectedly stepped into a spring which was hidden by grass. 

 Years afterwards a house was built near this place and from the 

 spring the water was to be obtained. But there was no water 

 to be found owing to the cutting down of the trees. 



The water supply is kept up by the water forcing its way 

 along the roots of the dead and living trees. With regard to 

 the quantity of wa^er in a country of forests and in one where 

 there are none, I have noticed this statement somewhere: If 

 there is a quantity of water beneath the soil covered with litter, 

 and the water be represented by 100, then there will flow into 

 the strata the quantity of water that can be represented by 

 85.8 beneath the littered surface, whereas the water from the 

 unlittered surface would be represented by 56.5. These figure 



