DISCUSSION : FORESTS, RESERVOIRS, AND STREAM FLOW 417 
sound basis for thought concerning streams,” writes Dr. McGee, “is Mr. Leighton. 
that of geology, in which running water is viewed as an agency, in- 
deed as the most energetic and effective agency in earth making; and 
this property of water arises in the extraneous matter carried within 
it. Sediment-bearing water is fundamentally distinct in its behavior 
from clear water.” Dr. McGee further contends that if these prin- 
ciples are borne in mind the conclusions at which Colonel Chittenden 
arrives would be impossible. 
With reference to the assertion that our rivers are not shoaling by 
reason of erosion, it may be remarked that, if the author will review 
the reports of the Chicf of Engineers, U. S. Army, he will find ample 
evidence to the contrary. Of course, erosion does not mean uniform 
shoaling throughout the entire course of a river. It means rather 
additional bar formation. The schedule of dredging on the Ohio 
shows a fairly constant increase since 1875, and it is significant that, 
in the recent report on the 9-ft. canalization of this river, the Board 
of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors recommended that $1000 000 per 
year be provided for dredging. While it is recognized that the need 
for this great sum arises from the cessation of bar cutting that would 
be occasioned by the erection of locks and dams, it indicates, never- 
theless, that the United States Engineers have recognized that the 
débris problem is of far more consequence than Colonel Chittenden 
would have us infer. ‘ 
The speaker will pass over the author’s discussion of forest policies. 
Here again, his mistakes are fundamental, and his contentions con- 
tradictory; but a reply will undoubtedly be forthcoming from some 
persons better qualified than the speaker. 
In reference to the section on artificial reservoirs, as the speaker 
has already replied to many of the objections,* he will merely refer to 
them. 
It is evident that Colonel Chittenden recognizes fully the possi- 
bilities of the reservoir, and accepts the principle of conservation. 
Indeed, were one desirous of establishing this principle beyond all 
controversy, he would need but to take the report of the Board of En- 
gineers on the Upper Mississippi Reservoirs,t of which Colonel Chit- 
tenden was a member, and, to demonstrate the absolute soundness of the 
reservoir principle, would have only to hold this report aloft and stand 
mute. 
It is stated that Fig. 2 illustrates a contingency which nearly 
happened on the Upper Mississippi in the flood of 1905, namely, the 
operation of reservoirs to increase floods. The speaker is unable to 
concede the correctness of this deduction. Fig. 2 shows that the 
maximum flood height at Aitkin occurred from the 1st to the 15th 
* Engineering News, November 5th, 1908, pp. 504-507. 
+ Pages 290 and _292. 
