THE DESTRUCTION OF THE FOREST. 81 



VIII. THE DESTRUCTION OF THE 

 FOREST. 



THE removal of the forests from any consider- 

 able section of country, in the end, is invariably 

 followed by some or all of the following results : 



1. An increase in the frequency with which the 

 rivers in that section of country overflow or inun- 

 date their banks. 



2. An increase in the frequency and severity of 

 droughts, as witnessed by a marked decrease in the 

 amount of water in the river channels, and by an 

 increase in the frequency with which the springs, 

 in such section of country, either show a marked 

 decrease in their flow or dry up altogether. 



3. A rapid loss of the soil from such areas, re- 

 sulting from the more rapid surface drainage of 

 their surfaces. 



4. A marked disturbance in the lower courses 

 of the rivers, rising in or flowing through such 

 section of country, produced by the filling up of 

 their channels by sand-bars or mud-flats. 



