﻿HYDROLOGY 
  OF 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  291 
  

  

  The 
  clearing 
  up 
  of 
  the 
  catchment 
  areas 
  has, 
  however, 
  long 
  since 
  

   reduced 
  the 
  lumbering 
  business 
  to 
  nothing. 
  These 
  streams 
  are 
  

   therefore 
  much 
  less 
  extensively 
  utilized 
  than 
  formerly. 
  At 
  pres- 
  

   ent, 
  aside 
  from 
  one 
  or 
  two 
  points, 
  their 
  use 
  is 
  chiefly 
  for 
  propelling 
  

   small 
  sawmills 
  and 
  flour 
  mills 
  and 
  for 
  other 
  moderate-sized 
  indus- 
  

   tries. 
  With 
  one 
  or 
  two 
  exceptions, 
  there 
  are 
  no 
  large 
  power 
  

   developments, 
  throughout 
  the 
  whole 
  region, 
  but 
  undoubtedly 
  a 
  

   number 
  of 
  developments 
  could 
  be 
  made 
  on 
  the 
  Susquehanna 
  and 
  

   Delaware 
  rivers, 
  although 
  owing 
  to 
  high 
  flood 
  flows, 
  developments 
  

   should 
  be 
  made 
  of 
  a 
  very 
  permanent 
  character. 
  But 
  this 
  condi- 
  

   tion, 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  premised, 
  implies 
  large 
  expenditure, 
  and 
  whether 
  

   large 
  permanent 
  developments 
  can 
  be 
  made 
  to 
  pay 
  on 
  streams 
  

   where 
  there 
  are 
  no 
  facilities 
  for 
  water 
  storage 
  is 
  an 
  unsettled 
  

   question. 
  

  

  In 
  a 
  paper 
  on 
  the 
  History 
  of 
  the 
  Lumber 
  Industry 
  in 
  the 
  State 
  

   of 
  New 
  York, 
  Col. 
  Win. 
  F. 
  Fox, 
  Superintendent 
  of 
  Forests, 
  has 
  

   given 
  many 
  interesting 
  facts 
  relating 
  to 
  the 
  early 
  use 
  of 
  the 
  

   streams 
  for 
  floating 
  logs, 
  etc., 
  to 
  which 
  the 
  reader 
  is 
  referred 
  for 
  

   an 
  extended 
  account 
  under 
  these 
  heads. 
  1 
  

  

  Streams 
  of 
  Long 
  Island 
  

  

  The 
  sand 
  areas 
  of 
  Long 
  Island 
  present 
  conditions 
  of 
  water 
  

   yield 
  different 
  from 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  other 
  catchment 
  areas 
  of 
  the 
  

   State. 
  We 
  have 
  here 
  an 
  extended 
  region 
  of 
  course, 
  deep 
  sand, 
  into 
  

   which 
  the 
  rainfall 
  sinks 
  easily, 
  there 
  being 
  almost 
  no 
  surface 
  

   runoff. 
  These 
  sand 
  areas 
  form 
  subterranean 
  reservoirs, 
  from 
  

   which 
  from 
  0.7 
  to 
  0.8 
  cubic 
  foot 
  per 
  second 
  per 
  square 
  mile 
  may 
  

   be 
  drawn, 
  the 
  same 
  as 
  from 
  artificial 
  reservoirs 
  on 
  the 
  earth's 
  sur- 
  

   face, 
  these 
  natural 
  underground 
  reservoirs 
  possessing 
  the 
  advan- 
  

   tage 
  of 
  furnishing 
  a 
  filtered 
  water 
  of 
  a 
  high 
  degree 
  of 
  purity. 
  

  

  The 
  taking 
  of 
  the 
  water 
  supply 
  of 
  Brooklyn 
  from 
  the 
  sand 
  

   areas 
  of 
  Long 
  Island 
  has 
  led 
  to 
  the 
  development 
  of 
  legal 
  principles 
  

   relating 
  to 
  rights 
  in 
  underground 
  water 
  somewhat 
  different 
  from 
  

   those 
  derived 
  from 
  the 
  common 
  law 
  of 
  England. 
  The 
  decision 
  in 
  

   a 
  test 
  case, 
  tried 
  several 
  years 
  ago, 
  was 
  in 
  effect, 
  that 
  when 
  sub- 
  

  

  1 
  Published 
  by 
  the 
  Department 
  of 
  Agriculture, 
  Washington, 
  1902. 
  

  

  