29 



Do the results thus far obtained justify this con- 

 ckision, or in other words, are these causes local, and 

 can the preservation of the trees at the sources of our 

 streams do more than retard a result which is inevitable 

 from other and more far-reaching causes? 



It has not been my fortune to visit the North 

 Woods or Adirondack region, as my fishing trips have 

 been confined to the Catskill region and Canada. For 

 over thirty-five years, however, I have constantly 

 visited the Catskills, and during all that time have been 

 thorouehlv familiar with the streams of that reo^ion; and 

 while my personal knowledge of these streams does 

 not extend much beyond thirty-five years, yet I feel 

 assured that the statement of facts given below will be 

 corroborated by many persons who could be named, 

 and who have been familiar with these streams for over 

 fifty years. 



It will be conceded that, all other things being 

 equal, like causes will produce like results, and if the 

 North Woods and the Catskills are alike in their 

 characteristics, tii-rn the causes which have produced 

 and are producing a decrease in the waterfiow of one of 

 these regions will produce a like result in the other. 



The eastern part of the State of New York is 

 divided into two immense watersheds, the northern 

 with its streams emptying into Lake Ontario, the St. 

 Lawrence, Lake Champlain and the Mohawk River, 

 and the southern with its streams emptying into the 

 Mohawk, Hudson and Delaware Rivers. 



Both of these regions are mountainous, and the 

 altitude of these mountains and the intervening valleys 

 above tide water are substantially the same. 



The highest mountain in the northern watershed 

 is Mt. Marcy, which is 5,468 feet high, and one of the 

 highest in the State of New York is Slide Mountain, 



