FORESTS REGULATING THE FLOW OF STREAMS IN THE SOUTHERN AP- 

 PALACHIAN MOUNTAINS. 



The leaves and branches above break the force of the raindrops; the shrubs, ferns and hu- 

 mus below catch the water and pass it slowly downward into the soil and rock crevices; 

 and from this great, natural reservoir, weeks or even months later, this water emerges 

 in the numberless springs about the lower mountain slopes and feeds the rivers that cross 



