40 TRAVEL, ADVENTURE, AND SPORT. 



into your councils. It would surely assist, without 

 thwarting, the operations of Nature, if care was taken 

 to preserve the incline of the Theiss by dredging if 

 the bar at the river's mouth were removed and if 

 the combined Hungarian waters were given a readier 

 outfall at the Iron Gates. Before enlarging on the 

 various " cures " for the evil, there is something to 

 be said about prevention. 



In the economy of nature, forests play an important 

 part in regulating the rainfall of a country ; and it is 

 well known that the destruction of forests has a most 

 injurious effect on climate. Sir Andrew Ramsay, in 

 writing on the inundations of the river Po in 1872, 

 says : " Xot only do widespreading forests tend to 

 produce a moist atmosphere, but their shade prevents 

 rapid evaporation, and the roots of the trees hinder 

 the quick flow of the surface-water in the streams of 

 the wood-covered area, . . . But by foresight and 

 skill much may be done ; and if the great old forests 

 of the mountains were allowed to reassert themselves, 

 the recurring danger would be in time less than now. 

 But to be even nearly safe, dredging must, if possible, 

 be added to embanking, so as to keep the long incline 

 of the river-bottom at an average level, otherwise the 

 time in the far future must come when Nature will 

 of necessity overcome even the best directed efforts 

 of man." 



The destruction of forests has been a crying evil 

 in Hungary for many years past. M. Keleti, in his 



