66 Geoatapbtcai IRotes on 



populated and gardens of the world are now uninhabited and barren 

 wildernesses ; and this has been brought about by the wholesale de- 

 struction of the forests and the absence of any law to protect them 

 and provide for their replanting. In the United States it has been seen 

 that not only does the decrease of the forest area lessen the rainfall, 

 but also the fall of snow in the winter months, the consequence being; 

 a marked decrease in the supply of water for irrigation purposes from 

 the streams and rivers dependent for their supply on the snowy moun- 

 tain tops. 



Along the Mississippi River it is a common observation of the river 

 pilots and old steamship hands that the summers are becoming more 

 and more dry and the streams smaller, and that the big river itself has 

 shown a marked decrease of " navigability " every year during the past 

 twenty years. All this is caused by the indiscriminate chopping down 

 of the forests at the head of the principal tributaries of the big river. 

 Statistics from Russia, Germany, Spain, Italy, Palestine, Australia, and 

 India all prove beyond a doubt that the protection of the forests is a 

 matter of vital importance. 



Mexico is not only suffering from an annual decrease in rainfall,, 

 owing to the continual decrease in the timber-bearing area, the rainfall 

 being more and more unequal every year during the past twenty years 

 but the winters are becoming more and more severe, and the frosts are 

 reaching farther and farther south each year. This is undoubtedly due 

 to the wholesale destruction of timber now going on throughout that 

 Republic. 



The Government can cope with this matter only by legislation, and 

 having before it the example of the rest of the world, the Mexican Gov- 

 ernment should act without delay and in a manner that would benefit, not 

 only the present, but also future generations ; and I understand it has 

 been studying the advisability of prohibiting the use of wood for the 

 locomotives and sleepers. Experience has shown that in tropical coun- 

 tries iron sleepers last much longer, and are, on the whole, cheaper 

 than wooden ones, and our supply of coal will soon be ample enough 

 to furnish all the fuel necessary for the railway and mining industries. 



One of the most profitable investments for capital in the near future 

 will undoubtedly be the construction of reservoirs in the mountains, 

 dams in the rivers, artesian-well boring, the erection of pumping ma- 

 chinery on a large scale, together with the introduction of modern 

 devices and appliances that will facilitate the successful cultivation of 

 the soil and assure crops of all descriptions in all parts of the country 

 where it has been proved that irrigation must be resorted to. Not only 

 are these requirements essential for the conservation of water for irriga- 

 tion purposes, but many large cities throughout the Republic are with- 

 out any certain water supply ; and many that have a sufficient supply 



