ETFLUENCE OF THE FOREST ON" SPRII^GS. 221 



well kaown as one of the best in the country ; it was remarkably 

 abundant, and sufficient, in the severest droughts, to supply all 

 the fountains of the town ; but as soon as considerable forests 

 were feUed in Combe-de-pre Martin and in the vaUey of Combe- 

 foulat, the famous spring, which Hes below these woods, has be- 

 come a mere thread of water, and disappears altogether in times 

 of drought. 



" The spring of Yarieux, which formerly supplied the castle of 

 Pruntrut, lost more than half its water after the clearing of Yari- 

 eux and Rougeoles. These woods have been replanted, the young 

 trees are growing well, and, with the woods, the waters of the 

 spring are increasing. 



" The Dog Spring between Pruntrut and Bressancourt has en- 

 tirely vanished since the surrounding forest-grounds were brought 

 under cultivation. 



" The Wolf Spring, in the commune of Soubey, furnishes a re- 

 markable example of the influence of the woods upon fountains. 

 A few years ago this spring did not exist. At the place where it 

 now rises, a small thread of water was observed after very long 

 rains, but the stream disappeared with the rain. The spot is in 

 the middle of a very steep pasture inclining to the 'south. Eighty 

 years ago, the owner of the land, perceiving that young firs were 

 shooting up in the upper part of it, determined to let them grow, 

 and they soon formed a flourishing grove. As soon as they were 

 well grown, a fine spring appeared in place of the occasional rill, 

 and furnished abundant water in the longest droughts. For forty 

 or fifty years this spring was considered the best in the Clos du 

 Doubs. A few years since, the grove was felled, and the ground 

 turned again to a pasture. The spring disappeared with the wood, 

 and is now as dry as it was ninety years ago." * 



Siemoni gives the following very important and remarkable 

 facts from his own personal observation : 



" In a rocky nook near the crest of a mountain in the Tuscan 

 Apennines, there flowed a clear, cool and perennial foimtain, 

 uniting three distinct springs in a single current. The ancient 

 beeches around and particularly above the springs were felled. 

 On the disappearance of the wood, the springs ceased to flow, 



* Ueber die Entwaldung der Gebirge, pp. 20, et seq. 



