DISCUSSION. 75 



forest, that lowering must be produced by evaporation, just as 

 when we expose a water-bag to a dry atmosphere the water then 

 becomes cool : below the temperature of the air — that is due to a 

 physical law there is no escaping from. While evaporation goes 

 on the temperature in the forest would be lower — as soon as the 

 evaporation stopped the temperature would rise. Therefore I 

 incline to the opinion that the temperature in a forest is not lower 

 during rain — it is only lower in dry weather. I would also call 

 attention to the matter Mr. Russell referred to, that nearly all 

 these statements that the rainfall is increased by forest growth 

 are merely theoretical. They are not the result of actual 

 observation extending over a long period. But with reference to 

 this piece of country I wrote about, I have my own personal 

 observations extending over a period of 26 or 27 years, and the 

 land has been in the possession of my family since 1848. All 

 these creeks were dry up to 1869. From 1869 up to the present 

 time (19 years) they have been running permanently; so that all 

 these cases are matters of fact known to myself. We must be 

 guided by fact in preference to theoretical ideas that forests 

 condense the moisture. Another thing is, that this effect of 

 deforestation of which I wrote is not confined to any small area 

 of New South Wales. I find that in every part of this Colony 

 from which I have been able to get information the same effect 

 follows more or less. Another matter. In the thick forests on 

 the coast range the dead leaves lying on the ground are never dry, 

 but I do not think that proves anything at all, because in these 

 rich brush lands the rainfall ranges from 120 inches. That is the 

 reason why the ground is never dry — it is continually saturated 

 with rain. There is no doubt that these forests on the coast range 

 are produced by the rainfall, and not the rain by the forests. 

 Allow me to refer to something that happened. When I wrote 

 the paper for this Society in 1880, all the references made in that 

 paper were to one particular area that had been ring-barked. At 

 that time there were a number of creeks flowing eastward from 

 a certain range. From that time up to now on the western side 

 of that range the creeks all remained dry, while those in the 

 eastern ring-barked side were running. Within the last two 

 years I have ring-barked the western side, and new creeks are 

 beginning to run permanently on that side. It follows almost 

 immediately on the dying of the trees, generally within 18 months. 



Rev. S. Wilkinson : — Two thoughts have occurred to me which 

 at this stage of the proceedings may be just worthy of notice. 

 Firstly, the ornamental point of view. For this object I have 

 often been grieved to see that when forest land has been cleared, 

 some portions have not been allowed to remain. Then there is 

 the economic, I may say the humane point of view. In some 



