Abandoned Pasture on Tributaries of Cane Creek, Several Small and Several Very Deep Cullies Are on This Land 



Mitchell County, North Carolina 



were such as would exist on the steep 

 slope. Representative Weeks of Massa- 

 chusetts, who had taken charge of the 

 hearing -during the morning when Mr. 

 (.'urrier had to attend a hearing of his 

 own committee, suggested that so far 

 as the nature of the land was con- 

 cerned, its selection depended upon the 

 judgment of the Geological Survey. A 

 general discussion arose at this point, 

 participated in by Messrs. Scott, Lamb, 

 Currier, Plumley, and Roth, in regard 

 to erosion, slopes, and farming. When 

 Professor Roth was again allowed to 

 proceed he urged that it is worth some- 

 thing to know that the people of Eu- 

 rope, who have fought this question all 

 over, believe in the influence of the 

 forests upon stream-How, and without 

 exception have laws regarding the 

 maintenance of protective forests. He 

 also called attention to the fact that 

 ( 'ongress, in 1897, was largely influ- 



enced by the fact that the western for- 

 ests were generally believed to have a 

 beneficial influence upon the flow of 

 water of the western states, making 

 them important in the irrigation work. 

 He then pointed out the fact that upon 

 the main issues there was general 

 agreement among scientists, engineers, 

 and others, as well as among the people 

 of our country ; that it was generally 

 believed that forests were especially im- 

 portant in holding the soil on the slopes 

 of the mountains, keeping it in a re- 

 tentive condition and retarding the ratn- 

 fall by preventing gullying, the gullies 

 being in the nature of tinder-drains or 

 ditches in which the water rapidly col- 

 lects and rushes away. He called at- 

 tention to the fact that the forests a; 

 the present time appeared to be the 

 only feasible and economic means of 

 regulating the flow of our navigable 

 rivers; for artificial reservoirs, the only 



