CHAPTER ELEVEN 



HOW VEGETATION HOLDS THE SOH- 



H. W. Fairbanks 

 What the rivulets did to the hillside pastures where the grass was destroyed. 



A WALK up the mountains on a rainy day is not a pleasant 

 one. There are mud and water under our feet, and over- 

 head are the dripping branches which, if touched, send down 

 a shower of drops. But if we keep our eyes open we shall 

 learn something which will be of great value to us. We 

 shall learn how it is that Nature holds the soil on the slopes 

 — the wonderful soil which it takes her so long a time to 

 make and which is the source of all our wealth. 



Our way up the mountains is by a winding road. We 

 first pass the foothills upon which there are scattered oaks. 

 The rain is steadily pouring down and rivulets loaded with 

 mud are eating Uttle gullies all over the slopes. Along the 

 roadside, where they have united, the rivulets form a 

 torrent which is making a deep ditch that threatens to ren- 

 der the road impassable. 



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