24 



THE UTILITY OF FORESTS. 



the rivers is about two-fifths of the whole precipitation, and in 

 a year amounts to a sheet of water 16 inches deep over the entire 

 surface of the state, or approximatly 921,842,176,000 cubic feet. 

 The portion which evaporates would equal a sheet of water 24 

 inches deep over the whole state. 



"The water which goes off as vapor renders plant growth 

 possible. Part of it is taken in by the roots and after being used 

 by the plant for various purposes, is evaporated through the 

 leaves. But it is the water which gets into rivers that counts 

 for navigation, water-power, and other purposes. The theoreti- 

 cal horsepower possible of development from the streams of 

 West Virginia exceeds two million. One-half of this should 

 be set aside as not available in practice. In order to utilize the 

 other remaining one million horsepower it would be necessary 

 to develop all the streams, construct reservoirs on the mountains 

 to collect floods, and provide means of obtaining a steady flow 

 all the time. One million horsepower would go a long way 

 toward meeting all the state's needs in that line. The following 

 table shows the amount of power used in West Virginia for the 

 years given: 



Steam, Water, 



Year. Jwrsepower horsepower Total. 



1870 17,176 10,195 27,331 



1880 28,456 9,454 37,910 • 



1890 44,680 10,552 55,457 



1900 95,595 10,273 108,566 



For the purpose of comparison, a similar table for the 

 United States is given: 



Steam, Water, 



Year horsepower, horsepower- Total- 



1870 1,215,711 1,130.431 2,346,142 



1880.., 2,185,458 1,225,379 3,410,837 



1890 4,662,029 1,263,343 5,954,655 



1900 8,742,416 1,727,258 11,300,080 



''Railroads are not included in these tables. It is important 

 to note that in 30 years, both in West Virginia and in the whole 



