FOREST PRESERVATION AND NATIONAL PROSPERITY. 21 



proper treatment of the. woodlands on the mountains in the central 

 part of Colorado. In Montana and Nebraska are similar conditions. 

 In Nevada is under construction one of the largest irrigation works 

 in the world. The integrity of that great S3^stem, which will cost at 

 least 3 million, and possibly 5 million dollars when it is completed, 

 will depend largely on the conservation of the forest growth in the 

 State of California. 



J. B. LIPPINCOTT, 



Supervising Engineer, TJ. S. Reclamation Service. 



* * * A striking example of the output of a barren, treeless drain- 

 age basin is shown in the case of Queen Creek, Arizona. This stream 

 discharges only in violent freshets, recurring usually as great flood 

 waves, subsiding almost as rapidly as they arise. During the larger 

 part of the year the channel is almost dry. The area of the drainage 

 basin is 143 square miles. 



In contrast with Queen Creek is Cedar Creek, in Washington. 

 The drainage area is the same as that of Queen Creek. It is heavily 

 timbered, and in addition the ground is covered with a heavy growth 

 of ferns and moss. The total annual rainfall in the Cedar Creek 

 basin in 1896 was about eight times that in the Queen Creek basin, 

 yet the maximum flood discharge per second is only 3,600 cubic feet 

 for the former, while the maximum for the latter was 9,000 cubic 

 feet per second. The mean discharge for Queen Creek was 15 cubic 

 feet per second, and for Cedar Creek 1,089 cubic feet per second. 

 These two streams represent extreme types. The radical difference 

 in their character is believed to be largely due to the difference in 

 forest cover. 



ARTHUR P. DAVIS, 

 Assistant Chief Engineer, TJ. S. Reclamation Service. 



...* * * Although the tendency of modern construction is to the use 

 of the more permanent materials, less subject than wood to destruc- 

 tion and decay, the requirements of irrigation works are very great 

 for piling and subaqueous structures to which wood is well adapted, 

 and for buildings and the large class of temporary structures re-, 

 quired. No satisfactory substitute has yet been found for timber in 

 tunnels, and every structure of concrete requires wooden frames. It 

 is not too much to say that the feasibility of some important irriga- 

 tion works depends upon the proximity of ample timber supplies. 



The development of irrigation will in the future lead to the rapid 

 opening and development of timbered areas which are now merely 

 in their natural state. This fact emphasizes the necessity of placing 

 the forests at once under the rigid scientific supervision of trained 

 Government experts. If left to the manipulation of selfish interests 



