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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



A FOREST RANGER S CABIN, BEAR CANYON STATION I GILA NATIONAL/ FOREST, 



NEW MEXICO 



while the seasons grow more and more 

 irregular; and as the air becomes dryer 

 certain crops refuse longer to grow at 

 all. That everything dries out faster than 

 formerly is shown by the fact that the 

 level of the wells all over the land has 

 sunk perceptibly, many of them having 

 become totally dry. 



In addition to the resulting agricultural 

 distress, the watercourses have changed. 

 Formerly they were narrow and deep, 

 with an abundance of clear water the 

 year around ; for the roots and humus 

 of the forests caught the rainwater and 

 let it escape by slow, regular seepage. 

 They have now become broad, shallow 

 stream beds, in which muddy water 

 trickles in slender currents during the dry 

 seasons, while when it rains there are 

 freshets, and roaring muddy torrents 

 come tearing down, bringing disaster and 

 destruction everywhere. 



NEVER MORE TO BEOOM AGAIN 



Moreover, these floods and freshets,, 

 which diversify the general dryness, wash 

 away from the mountain sides, and either 

 wash away or cover in the valleys, the 

 rich, fertile soil which it took tens of 

 thousands of years for Nature to form ; 

 and it is lost forever, and until the forests 

 grow again it cannot be replaced. 



The sand and stones from the moun- 

 tain sides are washed loose and come 

 rolling down to cover the arable lands, 

 and in consequence, throughout this part 

 of China, many formerly rich districts are 

 now sandy wastes, useless for human 

 cultivation and even for pasture. The 

 cities have been, of course, seriously af- 

 fected, for the streams have gradually 

 ceased to be navigable. 



There is testimony that even within 

 the memory of men now living there has 



