32 FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION January 



course in these colleges will become strumentality of the agricultural col- 

 professional foresters through later leges, in some such way as has been 

 training. I believe that the possibili- outlined, is not generally realized, and 

 ties for good work in popularizing for- I think that this idea should be adopted 

 estry in this country, through the in- as a part of the national forest policy. 



WATER POWERS OF THE SOUTHERN 



STATES 



* 



A Discussion of Their Relation to the 

 Southern Appalachian Forest Reserve. 



BY 

 HENRY A. PRESSEY 



Hydrographer, U. S. Geological Survey. 



HP HE water powers of the southern tematic study of the discharge of the 



* states have for many years re- south Atlantic and gulf states, and 



mained undeveloped and this great has since that time maintained gaging 



source of power has been allowed to stations on nearly all of the important 



run to waste. southern rivers. From the data ob- 



The reason for this is, perhaps, four- tained very satisfactory estimates of 



fold : First, the southern people had the daily flow have been made which 



become interested in the production of are, without question, far more valu- 



raw cotton rather than in its manufac- able in determining the low water dis- 



ture. Second, during the last fifty charge during the last ten years than 



years there has been insufficient capital any possible estimates that could have 



for the development locally of water been made from rainfall data, or by 



powers and the construction of manu- comparison with northern watersheds, 



facturing plants. Third, the necessity From these records a comparative 



of placing the factory at the site of the list has been prepared showing that the 



power, now overcome by long-dis- minimum flow of rivers throughout 



tance transmission of electric power, the Carolinas and Georgia are larger 



Fourth, northern capital has been un- per square mile of drainage basin than 



der the impression that the southern on the rivers of New England or the 



rivers were practically dry in the sum- middle states, 



mer season. The lowest flow ever recorded on 



The first reports written concerning the Yadkin, Catawba, Broad of South 



the rivers of the southern states were Carolina, Broad of Georgia, Savannah 



made by northern engineers, who were or Coosawattee, is over .2 of a cubic 



accustomed to the large lakes and foot per second per square mile ; while 

 marshes of the northern states, and ' records are available on the Potomac 



who thought that rivers not having and Susquehanna showing less than 



these equalizers of flow were sure to one-half this amount per square mile 



have exceedingly small discharges dur- of drainage basin, 



ing the dry season. The reason for this is not difficult 



Fortunately, the United States Geo- to determine. The very high rainfall 



logical Survey in 1895 began a sys- and remarkably even distribution of 



*Read at Annual Meeting of the American Forestry Association, Washington, D. C, 

 January 16 and 17. 



