Canadian Forestry Journal, May, 1919 



231 



of coarser, infertile materials washed away in- 

 creases greatly and transforms erosion from a 

 constructive into a dangerously destructive 

 force, difficult of control and capable of doing 

 untold damage. 



As Water Users See It. 



From the standpoint of the water user, the 

 tendency of the mountain forests to prevent 

 erosion is of the utmost importance. Wherever 

 storage reservoirs must be used, whether for 

 municipal supplies, irrigation, or water power, 

 they are exposed to the ever-present danger of 

 silting up. Every bit of soil brought down by 

 the streams and deposited m them reduces their 

 capacity and consequently their effectiveness 

 by just so much. This sedimentation is serious 

 under any condition, but doubly so when, as 

 not infrequently happens, no other satisfactory 

 dam sites are available and the reservoir can 

 not be replaced at a reasonable cost. 



Water heavily laden with eroded material 

 often decreases the efficiency and mcreases the 

 cost of mamtammg diversion dams, pipe lines, 

 flumes, canals, and other irrigation works. 

 Sometimes such water damages the crops to 

 which it is applied, and not infrequently it ser- 

 iously injures or even ruins the land by burying 

 it under a mass of sand, gravel, boulders, and 

 other infertile debris. Excessive erosion may 

 interfere seriously with navigation by filling the 

 streams with material which is deposited in 

 their lower reaches and in the harbors into which 

 they empty. 



Even-Flowing Streams. 



The action of the forest in reducing surface 

 run-off tends also to regulate the flow of streams. 

 Instead of rushing away in uncontrollable tor- 

 rents the water is absorbed into the great re- 

 servoir of mineral soil, from which it is gradually 

 paid out to the springs and streams. This tends 

 to decrease the high water run-off and to in- 

 crease the low water run-off. Both results are 

 good. The decrease in the high water run-off 

 means that there is less danger of destructive 

 floods and less waste of valuable water; while 

 the increase in low water run-off means that 

 a larger supply of water is available during the 

 dry season, when it is particularly needed. It 

 is the low water flow that to a great extent de- 

 termines the availability of any given supply 

 for municipal use, irrigation, or hydroelectric de- 

 velopment, and anything which will increase this 

 flow is therefore a factor of prirqe importance. 



SAVE TREES BY USING THEM. 



"There is no need of our saving trees through 

 the non-use of wood", say the chiefs of the 

 Forest Service, who are the nurses, sales-agents, 

 and managers of our more than 150,000,000 

 acres of nationally owned forest lands. They 

 are also consulting physicians to the remaining 

 four-fifths of our forests still under private 

 ownership, and are available as expert advisers 

 to all users of trees or tree-products. 



Under certain limitations we have plenty of 

 timber, provided it is conserved intelligently and 

 consumed with sensible economy. But we have 

 been getting less than 50 per cent of the value 

 out of the trees we fell, as against Germany's 

 98 per cent. 



We should conserve not by non-use, but by 

 intelligent use — that is to say, by getting the 

 fullest possible return from every tree. This 

 means more efficient lumbering, better saw- 

 milling, and better wood-working all along the 

 line. It means also the unlimited utilization of 

 waste products. — The Nation's Business. 



THAT EMBARGO ON PULPWOOD. 



"With the end of supplies in sight in many 

 United States mills, some of them have turned 

 to Canada. Instead of taking measures to in- 

 sure a continual growth in their own land they 

 have killed the goose that laid their golden eggs, 

 and have come north in the hope of finding 

 another brood. The fact that the Canada 

 goose has turned out to be somewhat in the 

 nature of an owl and looked with some degree 

 of wisdom and foresight on the situation seems 

 to disturb those who would have raided the nest. 

 Canada has foreseen the danger in time, and 

 intends to have her forest resources continue to 

 contribute to the welfare of future generations 

 of Canadians."— Can. Pulp & Paper Magazine. 



The Forest Products Laboratories at Madison, 

 developed from "clabber" (casein) taken from 

 fine Wisconsin Jerseys a glue of remarkable ad- 

 hesiveness. Woodblocks joined with it have 

 held against ten days' soaking supplemented by 

 twenty-four hours' boiling in water. The pro- 

 cess is now available without cost of industry 

 and enables any manufacturer of furniture to 

 put together articles that will stand the test of 

 any climate. 



