THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



229 



them beinj? that they represented the 

 work of Nature in drawinji; moisture 

 from the water, which, wafted inhiiul, 

 fell upon the soil in refreshing rain, 

 gathered in the brooks and rivers and 

 flowed to the sea, to be again thus sent 

 back to freslieu and brighten the 

 parched earth. 



The speed of our vessel was mater- 

 ially retarded by winds from the west, 

 a common occurrence in the summer 

 season. The fogs and moisture through 

 these winds are driven upon the Con- 

 tinent, where drought seldom prevails, 

 and particularly do they freshen the 

 verdure of Ireland, and hence the bril- 

 liant green of the Emerald Isle. 



In reflecting upon this subject, I 

 contemplated the drought then prevail- 

 ing in several of the western and mid- 

 dle states of the Union. "What had 

 they to gather rains from? Alas, what 

 have they ? For a generation our far- 

 mers have been draining their lands 

 of moisture. They have run their til- 

 ing through every slough; they have 

 drawn out the water from every 

 swamp; they have dried up the pond ; 

 they have obliterated the beautiful lit- 

 tle lake. In doing this they have made 

 such easy and rapid egress for rainfall 

 from the soil as to endanger the homes 

 and farm lands of all the settlers along 

 the great rivers in the southern re- 

 gions of our country, already inflict- 

 ing great distress, loss of life, and 

 property equalling in value many mil- 

 lions of dollars — an evil which is grow- 

 ing in magnitude each year. 



The result of this wholesale drain- 

 ing of the upper country of water is 

 not only thus disastrous to life and 

 property along the larger streams, 

 from frequent overflow, but there is 

 such absolute drainage of moisture 

 from the earth as to produce severe 

 drought, accompanied by such intense 

 heat and dryness of atmosphere as re- 

 sults in the hurricane, the cyclone, and 

 innumerable village, prairie and forest 

 fires. 



In the early days when the process 

 of evaporation of moisture went for- 

 ward from the swamps, the ponds and 

 lakes of our western and middle states, 

 an extended drought, with extremely 

 intense heat, was a rare occurrence. 

 In those days sunstroke was very un- 

 common, and the cyclone was compar- 

 atively unknown. This year we are in 

 the second season of drought in various 

 portions of the country, while every 

 year brings its devastation from wind, 

 the result of an excessively dry and 

 frequently disturbed condition of the 

 atmosphere. 



With the land thus denuded of nat- 

 ural water supply, there is but one 

 course for our farmers to pursue to 

 save themselves from these evils. 

 They may drain their soil, but they 

 should gather the rainfall in ponds and 

 lakes scattered throughout their lands. 

 Instead of running the drains through 

 and out of the swamp, they should 

 lead to an excavation of such size as 

 circumstances will permit, which 

 should be made at a depth of three or 

 four feet, where the water can gather 

 and will remain throughout the year, 

 quenching the thirst of animals, giv- 

 ing drink to birds, a reservoir in case 

 of fire, a home for fish, a place of 

 beauty on which one may sail the boat, 

 an opportunity for the bath and for 

 teaching the young people to swim. 

 This will yield ice for the family, pro- 

 vide skating for the happy youth in 

 winter time, and moisture, which, 

 through evaporation, will pass into the 

 cloud to be returned again through 

 rainfall to the needy earth. 



No fear need be entertained of stag- 

 nation from water thus held in reserve. 

 Fish will of themselves purify it. 

 Every rain will change it, while, if the 

 lake covers an acre or more in area, 

 the wind will constantly keep it pure. 

 In proof of this, the writer has an ar- 

 tificial lake on his farm, the result of 

 dredging aswainp, which is filled only 

 by rainfall, the water being, in the dry- 

 est season, always perfectly clear and 

 fresh. 



On the low lands the general aban- 

 donment of farms and homes from 

 river overflow will be the inevitable 

 outcome of this water wastage in the 

 high grounds. Such is already the 

 fact, while the expenditure of many 

 millions of dollars by the government, 

 in the construction of levees and em- 

 bankments along the great rivers, will 

 be necessary for the further protection 

 of adjoining property. Vastly better 

 that this expenditure be made in hold- 

 ing the water where it is required in 

 the up-country. 



Dot the faruis of our inland states 

 with ponds and miniature lakes, and 

 while they will afford health, attraction 

 and pleasure in a thousand ways, they 

 will give us back the uniform rainfall 

 we had in the early settlement of the 

 country, when successive seasons of 

 drought, forest fires and cyclones were 

 unknown. 



[Those of our readers who live in that part 

 of the country wliere cj'clones and drought 

 prevail will be particularly interested in 

 reading the above.] 



