290 



THE FORESTS OF ALLEGANY COUNTY 



REGULATION OF INDISCRIMINATE CLEARING. 



'Examples of injudicious clearing are to be seen in many sec- 

 tions of this county, and include the instances where narrow hill- 

 tops, mountain ridges and steep slopes have been stripped of their 

 forest cover. Heavy surface washing and deep trenching follow 

 these clearings not only on the high slopes thus cleared, but also on 

 the better lands lower down. The result is a constant impoverish- 

 ment of the soil. The rapid deterioration of these naturally thin 

 hill soils under constant surface washing is abundantly attested in the 

 fact that many acres are now abandoned. Reference has been made 

 also to the increased rise of water in streams during the spring and 

 fall as a result of indiscriminate clearing. 



