194 THE HUMAN SIDE OF TREES 



reservoir, to be fed gradually into the brooks and 

 so furnish a constant supply of fresh, running 

 water. 



In the temperate zone, the water disposed of by 

 direct evaporation is negligible. Under normal con- 

 ditions, a little of the rainfall runs off into the 

 streams immediately, but the great mass of it filters 

 down into the great earth reservoir. Now, the only 

 way that land can be kept soft and spongy enough 

 to absorb water is when it is protected by trees. 

 When exposed to the sun, it invariably takes on a 

 hard, dry crust off which the water tends to run as 

 off a board. This then is the vital reason for the 

 maintenance of large forest areas, particularly in 

 mountainous regions where great rivers take their 

 rise. Destroy the natural tree protectors of the 

 water sheds and a distressing succession of floods 

 and droughts always results. 



Fortunately, far-sighted men in this country have 

 seen the urgency of this phase of the forest ques- 

 tion for some time. A somewhat lethargic public 

 opinion has been aroused to its importance. There 

 may be still time to prevent disastrous results. 



Successive presidents for a number of decades 

 have set aside increasingly generous tracts of the 

 national domain. The states, led by New York's 

 million-acre Adirondack reservation in 1885, have 



