﻿HYDROLOGY 
  OF 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  179 
  

  

  the 
  balance 
  deforested. 
  The 
  reason 
  why 
  dense, 
  primeval 
  forest 
  is 
  

   specified 
  is 
  because 
  such 
  forest 
  acts 
  more 
  efficiently 
  as 
  a 
  wind- 
  

   breaker 
  than 
  does 
  an 
  open 
  forest. 
  It 
  has 
  been 
  common 
  to 
  assume 
  

   that 
  even 
  when 
  the 
  soft 
  wood 
  (pine, 
  spruce, 
  hemlock, 
  etc.) 
  is 
  

   removed 
  from 
  an 
  area 
  the 
  hard 
  wood 
  still 
  forms 
  about 
  as 
  efficient 
  

   a 
  covering 
  as 
  before 
  the 
  removal 
  of 
  the 
  soft 
  wood. 
  The 
  writer, 
  

   however, 
  thinks 
  that 
  anybody 
  who 
  has 
  spent 
  much 
  time 
  in 
  the 
  

   forest 
  will 
  understand 
  that 
  this 
  is 
  a 
  mistake. 
  Certainly 
  during 
  

   the 
  late 
  fall, 
  winter 
  and 
  early 
  spring, 
  a 
  period 
  of 
  from 
  six 
  to 
  seven 
  

   months, 
  when 
  the 
  leaves 
  are 
  absent 
  from 
  the 
  hard 
  woods, 
  they 
  are 
  

   not 
  a 
  very 
  efficient 
  wind-breaker, 
  although 
  without 
  doubt 
  consid- 
  

   erably 
  better 
  than 
  nothing. 
  As 
  an 
  estimate 
  based 
  on 
  judgment, 
  it 
  

   is 
  considered 
  that 
  a 
  hardwood 
  forest 
  is 
  not 
  equivalent 
  in 
  water 
  

   protective 
  influence, 
  on 
  an 
  average, 
  to 
  more 
  than 
  50 
  per 
  cent 
  to 
  60 
  

   per 
  cent 
  of 
  dense, 
  primeval 
  forests 
  of 
  spruce, 
  pine, 
  balsam 
  and 
  

   hemlock. 
  Moreover, 
  the 
  weight 
  of 
  evidence 
  goes 
  to 
  show 
  that 
  the 
  

   soft 
  wood 
  consumes 
  less 
  water 
  than 
  hard 
  wood. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  Adirondack 
  forest 
  beech, 
  maple, 
  birch, 
  elm, 
  ash 
  and 
  

   other 
  hard 
  woods 
  are 
  mingled 
  with 
  the 
  soft 
  woods 
  spruce, 
  pine, 
  

   hemlock, 
  balsam 
  and 
  to 
  some 
  extent, 
  larch. 
  If 
  we 
  remove 
  the 
  

   soft 
  woods, 
  we 
  have 
  done 
  two 
  things 
  to 
  lessen 
  the 
  protection 
  from 
  

   evaporation 
  : 
  (1), 
  we 
  have 
  opened 
  up 
  the 
  area 
  for 
  the 
  admission 
  of 
  

   wind, 
  which 
  by 
  itself 
  will 
  materially 
  increase 
  the 
  evaporation, 
  

   consequently 
  leaving 
  less 
  water 
  to 
  run 
  off, 
  and 
  which 
  will 
  be 
  

   specially 
  operative 
  during 
  the 
  six 
  or 
  seven 
  months 
  of 
  the 
  year 
  

   when 
  the 
  leaves 
  are 
  absent 
  from 
  hardwoods; 
  and 
  (2), 
  we 
  have 
  left 
  

   on 
  the 
  area 
  the 
  hard 
  woods, 
  which, 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  the 
  evidence 
  goes, 
  

   consume 
  more 
  water 
  than 
  the 
  soft 
  woods. 
  The 
  writer 
  has 
  no 
  way 
  

   of 
  proving 
  the 
  proposition, 
  but 
  assuming 
  that 
  the 
  data 
  as 
  to 
  

   transpiration 
  of 
  hard 
  woods 
  as 
  compared 
  with 
  soft 
  woods 
  are 
  

   measurably 
  true, 
  he 
  has 
  no 
  doubt 
  that 
  the 
  combined 
  effect 
  of 
  

   transpiration 
  and 
  evaporation 
  will 
  be, 
  on 
  an 
  area 
  from 
  which 
  

   the 
  soft 
  woods 
  have 
  been 
  removed, 
  from 
  2 
  to 
  2% 
  inches 
  more 
  than 
  

   on 
  the 
  same 
  area 
  with 
  the 
  soft 
  woods 
  standing. 
  

  

  We 
  have 
  seen 
  in 
  the 
  foregoing 
  that 
  the 
  area 
  of 
  the 
  Adirondack 
  

   park 
  is 
  4387 
  square 
  miles, 
  of 
  which 
  a 
  little 
  over 
  one-half 
  was, 
  in 
  

  

  