118 FOREST LANDS FOR THE PROTECTION OF WATERSHEDS. 



bearings may be fully disclosed. There is manifestly no necessity for precipi- 

 tate action. In spite of all that the pessimist may say, our country is not 

 going to ruin if the Appalachian bill is not passed at this session of Congress, 

 and it is important, in the interest of intelligent legislation, that a very thor- 

 ough investigation of the whole subject be made before any definite policy is 

 adopted. 



I have been greatly impressed with the immense drawback to the country, 

 due to the situation of some of our forests, which are so remote and inaccessi- 

 ble as to be almost valueless, and it has seemed to me that any intelligent 

 policy must include the restoration of our forests where they used to be and 

 in these situations that are most accessible and most convenient to the homes 

 of the people. 



I am in no sense opposed to the Appalachian forest reserve, so far as such a 

 reserve satisfies the requirements of a source of timber supply, but when it 

 comes to creating such a reserve on the ground that it will simplify or cheapen 

 the problem of flood protection and navigation in our navigable rivers, the 

 matter requires further investigation. 



Very respectfully, H. M. CHITTENDEN, 



Lieutenant-Colonel, Corps of Engineers. 



I forgot to refer to the effect of snow upon the forest bed in our eastern de- 

 ciduous forests. The fallen leaves of the previous year are pressed down per- 

 fectly flat and form a partially water-tight lining between the snow and the 

 ground, which not only interferes with absorption of such melting as may take 

 place from underneath, but materially accelerates surface run-off into the 



