34 



THE UTILITY OF FORESTS. 



lurking in the river. Impurities of another kind may do much 

 injury, the acids and other chemicals for instances. According 

 to press reports, steamers on the Monongahela late this season 

 could not use the water from some of the pools without ruining 

 their boilers. The water of Cheat river must have been worse, 

 judging from the current reports that it put locomotives out of 

 commission and that it took the hair off the legs of cattle that 

 stood in it in fly time, and was fatal when they drank it. Con- 

 ditions must be very bad when a river will tan the skin of a 

 living cow and kill her when she slakes her thirst. It is believed 

 by persons who have looked into the matter that scarcely a liv- 

 ing fish remains in Cheat river between its forks and its mouth. 



''In the old countries, as well as in this, some of the cities 

 use their sewage on farms and thus put to good use that which 

 was formerly a standing menace. The city of Berlin spent 

 $3,000,000 for land and $10,000,000 to lead the sewers to it, 

 and is able to clear $60,000 a year on the investment. The waste 

 is used to fertilize the land. Some progressive cities and towns 

 are following a similai' plan in this country. Among them are 

 Brockton and Farmingham, Massachusetts, Bristol, Connecticut, 

 Plainfield, New Jersey, Altoona and Wajme, Pennsylvania, 

 Pullman, Illinois, Hastings, Nebraska, Colorado Springs, Colo- 

 rado, Salt Lake City, Utah, Helena, Montana, Phonix, Arizona, 

 Fresno, Los Angeles, Pasadena, Santa Kosa and Redding, Cal- 

 ifornia. 



"This Commission is impressed with the importance of 

 cleansing and keeping pure the rivers of West Virginia, though 

 a degree of excellence such as the waters possessed in pioneer 

 days can never again be attained. Rivers in other countries 

 more thickly settled than this state are maintained in compar- 

 ative purity. "What others successfully do, West Virginia 

 ought not hesitate to undertake. It is, however, no small un- 

 dertaking. This region is increasing in population and adding 

 to and enlarging its manufacturing plants. . The hills are steep 

 and the valleys narrow. Level tracts of land large enough for 

 sewage disposal are often hard to find within reach of towns. 

 The opening of a new mine or the establishment of a lumber 

 plant may lead to the building of a town in a year or two. 



