226 TIMBEKS AND THEIE USES 



some 70,000 acres of land were denuded. Several 

 streams became greatly reduced in volume, while 

 droughts, alternating with floods, frequently 

 occurred. A local authority, writing in 1871, 

 says that ' until recently the island was a mass 

 of verdure. But,' he proceeds, ' when the forests 

 were cleared to gain space for sugar cultivation, 

 the rainfall diminished ; the rivers dwindled 

 down to muddy streams, the water became 

 stagnant in cracks, crevices and natural hollows ; 

 while the equable temperature of the island 

 entirely changed ; drought was experienced in 

 the midst of the ocean, the thunder showers 

 were rarely any longer witnessed. The lagoons, 

 marshes and swamps along the sea-board were 

 no longer filled with water, but gave ofi noxious 

 gases, while the river waters became impure 

 from various refuse. After a Adolent inundation 

 in February, 1865, fever of a low type set in.' 

 This serious change in the chmate led to replant- 

 ing on a large scale, and after over a miDion 

 trees had been restored the streams began again 

 to reach their former volume. 



" And now let us turn to recorded observa- 

 tions in India in our own day. Mr. Macartney, 

 the agent of the Sandur State, Bellary district, 

 in Madras Piesidency, holds that during the 

 last decade the rainfall in his district has become 

 lighter and more irregular as the forests have 



