312 CLIMATIC CHANGES IN THE PRAIRIE REGION. 



nificent water-source was desiccated in consequence of the destruction of the 

 forest near by, which, however, flowed again and regained its full force upon the 

 restoration of the timber. 



From 1778 to 1835, xn tne Oder, and from 1828 to 1836, in the Elbe, the 

 volume of water materially decreased so much so that Mr. Berghaus calculated 

 that should it continue in the same ratio for a number of years it would force a 

 "change in the construction of boats," but in this case it was not fully attributed 

 to disboscation. 



In the time of the Romans it is known they brought water from the fountain 

 of Eturee to Orleans, but now that fountain is perfectly dry. An authority says : 

 "Extensive excavations made within a few years have brought to light the foun- 

 dations of Roman constructions where no source of water any longer exists ; a 

 stream, moreover, to the east of Orleans, which contributed to the defense of the 

 city during the siege of 1428, and which was considerable enough to turn mills, 

 has completely disappeared ; now, on that side of Orleans there were great for- 

 ests which have been cleared away. In consequence of these clearings, the 

 wells of the city have continued to yield less and less water, so that the municipal 

 administration has been obliged to incur an expense of three hundred thousand 

 francs in order to bring potable water from the source of the Loire." . 



Bolando, in writing of the redwoods of California, says: "It is my firm 

 conviction that if the redwoods are destroyed (and they necessarily will be, 

 unless protected by the wise action of our government,) California will become a 

 desert in the true sense of the word. In their safety depends the future welfare 

 of the state ; they are our safeguard. It remains to be seen whether we shall be 

 benefited or not by the horrible experience which such countries as Asia Minor, 

 Greece, Spain and France have made, by barbarously destroying their woods 

 and forests. Wise governments would be able to replace them in those countries, 

 but no power on earth can replace the woods of California when once completely 

 destroyed." 



*" Once a great pine forest bound with its roots the dune sand and the heath 

 uninterruptedly from Danzig to Pillau. King Frederick William I. was in want 

 of money. A certain Herr Von Koff promised to procure it for him without 

 loan or taxes if he could be allowed to remove something quite useless. He 

 thinned out the forests of Prussia, which then, indeed, possessed little pecuniary 

 value; but he felled the entire woods of the 'Frische Nehrung,' so far as they lay 

 in the Prussian territory. The financial operation was a success; the King had 

 money, but in the elementary operation which resulted from it the state received 

 irreparable injury. The sea winds rushed over the bared hills; the Frische Haff 

 is half choked with sand ; the channel between Elbing, the sea and Konigsberg is 

 endangered and the fisheries in the Haff injured. The operation of Herr Von 

 Koff brought the King two hundred thousand thalers; the state would now will- 

 ingly expend millions to restore the forest again." 



This branch of the subject is so intensely interesting that it is with regret I 



*"Man and Nature. "[Marsh. 



