220 J. H. MAIDEN. 



the surface soil will account for the more rapid rise of floods and 

 the greater erosion of river-beds." 



Mr. R. Wyndham writes: — x 



"The Hunter River Valley is now, generally speaking, all 

 ring-barked, with the result that now dry creeks are running 

 creeks, and dry gullies have water-holes in them. . . . Before 

 the valley was ringbarked, the Hunter River was generally a chain 

 of water-holes every summer, now it is always a running stream. 

 I have no fear of ringbarking causing droughts, but I fear it will 

 cause higher floods, as it stands to reason that creeks and gullies 

 full of water cannot carry off the rain that dry creeks and gullies 

 can." . . . "To show how trees make the ground dry and 

 hard, I may mention that I once gave a contract for fencing on 

 ringbarked country where I had clumps of trees left for cattle, 

 camps. The fence went through one of these clumps, and the 

 ground was so hard that the men had great difliculty in getting 

 down their post-holes." 



The writer forgets that cattle make ground very hard 

 around shelter trees, through trampling. The trampling 

 of cattle in its effects of hardening the soil, of forming 

 tracks and incipient water channels, breaking down the 

 banks of water-courses and setting up new conditions, is a 

 most important factor in connection with the conservation 

 of water and the mitigation of floods. 



The question of ringbarking is a most important one in 

 connection with my subject. I have already referred to it 

 incidentally, and it is worthy of a little more emphasis in 

 this place. 



One writer says, 



" Squatters know the value of shade too much to carry the 

 practice (of ringbarking) to too great an extent." 



1 Sydney Morning Herald, 10th January, 1899. 



