Show r v I j V-i V 1 How Hover to Safeguard d Towns Town a and 1 I Farms 0 0 0 O 0 4 O m o Trees Trees- and Shrubs lbs Prevent Floods t 9 i dres ts s Conserve Vater Supply I J d' d By ByJ By J. J H H H- HPAUL PAUL f. f University of Utah In the Rocky mountain West tt s. s and nd are vital is- is sues EUes Westerners cannot consider Arbor day vday programs in terns terms so sm l s ards parks and ancL side side- sid t shade hade trees and tIO lowers S. S at t. t h hoto are tine fine things s In Inv v way tJ t nothing finer and the q I at I me messages recommending r 1 a le appropriate and tn- tn m 4 et et these messages to w- w wl l lize into cont forms 4 o become to solemn and too tool l ct Often Orlen tit they e lack lacle the force a that Western con conditions dS T id d. T THE THE E PINE FAMILY J rA A bearing i j e 1 ne- ne trees pines tree tre 7 pines If s n-s and Tare rare nd of irUm il e in in fl flood od prevention T t l Yr od of occurrence occurrence occurrence-in In vast g OC forming the tho only true truo for for- c- c cf f have in the West West makes Vest ti of surpassing Importance Int In Inse t th y dense se Northern forests no f fI odd hrush rush through these groves wl p deprived ot of its load o oil Most floods are j d into the carpet of of leaves teave nd es 1 at it the tho foot pf Of the trees I b. b Ues af ot Northern r conifers for tor torI r I Tr f the beginnings of t floods fir which at great alti- alti rows prostrate its branches lying the ground gt Siberian juniper Ues on on the tho ground formIng forming form- form Ing Inga a a dense impenetrable mass several yards In eter etel groves of lod lodgepole pino te re similarly effective in flood prevention rc c hward as s in the t est eat Where yellow v pines abound the x trees stand too far fal apart to have haye the tI same power of or stopping topping the the- flood that the denser groves of ot Northern woods possess THE P POPLAR F FAMILY MILY Chief among our true defenders is the lanc lancI lance leaf I af cottonwood a a large tree with shaped lance long shaped lance 1 leaves with dark gra gray rough deeply deeply deep deep- ly channeled bark bArl soft wood and widely spreading branches and root systems Southward the Fremont cottonwood With elegant heart heart- shaped leaves and wide ide sp spreading light green branches replaces the lance lance leaf leaf and an there are other species The chief value alue of these theseas' theseas theseas' theseas as' as flood rs lies In their rapid growth and in their ability to thrive v in almost any of soil i ii if only they have a. a a p plentiful supply of moisture moisture- Planted in treble or fourfold formation along the banks o of our mountain 11 they In Intercept intercept intercept in- in the heaviest materials of ot floods rendering them comparatively comparative comparative- i water tel its I ly harmless wa speed ch checked and tso d deposited ed r runs runs its I Ion on to the valley valle every but every town Inthe Inthe In inthe the Rocky mountains i might with i sm slight ht e expense expense thus illus vender itself comparatively safe from floods I while at- at the at-the the same sam time making its canyons more beautiful arid amid useful I On moist mountainsides where where- eyer ever landslides or or fires have swept wept the ground clear of ot every trace trace trace-of of major vegetation i young oung as aspens ens Often grow in dense stands sometimes In formations so close that one one can cati t scarcely l make his W wa way way- m It It has been repeatedly noticed th that t these young groves intercept the h o coarser r o debris very every flo flood that rushes through th them tn and while while they do not not- not halt halt the water they take aw away y the e larger part Qt Its l the load ad the amr m with with which l it would oth- oth se wreck k v nearly rie ii i in Its path Aspens arc first the trees to grow after attel floods fir fires s fl floods or landslides landslides landslides land land- slides have bared the ground Before Defore Be lie- fore stock are permitted to graze among these groves the trees should be at least six feet in height WHAT SHRUBS CA CAN DO The river haw probably comes next to the aspen in flood floo value Haws are thorn thorny trees of at rather quick growth and dense formation Along water courses the they often form torm barriers that are practically Impassable impassable im Im- Im passable t to flood m materials Haws Haw have tough yellowish wood stood and masses of fragrant white flowers followed by many mealy large targe seeded berries which be bears rs and birds devour in large numbers Service berries usually occur in dense globular bush bushy masses Where they touch the ground they form Corm flood b barriers As food for animals the they support the bears and were the main reliance of early settlers set set- tiers for fruit that needs needs need no sweetening sweet sweet- ening L Red Red dogwood called lo locally locally lo- lo cally though the In Indian In In- dlan dian Is ls another shrub stands stands- about five feet high It grows on every stream bank in our mountains It It has large green s-reen ovate pointed ves masses of ot white flowers white berries and nd most notably a tangled nest of long strong reddish reddish brown brown stems tough and unbreakable No flood debris can get through the dogwood od It deserves universal planting in both canyons canons and valleys as an ornamental ornamental ornamental orna orna- I mental shrub In parks parks' and gard gardens ns it if Is most suitable As a flood pre pro venter enter it has few peers Twinberry honeysuckle a companion companion com com- panion of ot the dogwood grows grows grows' grows grows' in inthe the thee same l localities and affords similar protection against roods floods It has hall notable twin berries blu blue blue- black and shining each lying in ji t l scarlet hood or bract Freely eaten by birds but said to be be poisonous to man the tha berries are bitter and acrid but beautiful ISO so that this Is Is' another native shrub b br r recommended commended for home gardens As a flood sage brush has nas only a slight value value- value value-as as also h has s mountain snowberry Rabbit brush Is fair elderberry excellent and arid trailing mountain ash a most not not nota- bio blo flood barrier Gooseberry bushes are good and currant durrant- bushes fair fall for this service r j MOUNTAIN LOVER AND SUMACH Mountain l Hover over is found eVer everywhere everywhere every every- where in the shade of ot trees on the moist slopes of ot all our mount mountains ns It Is a low bushy evergreen with small elliptical t leathery evergreen en leaves and numerous ground hugging hugging hugging hug hug- ging stems I have seen piled up behind one small bunch of it p perhaps per per- r haps taps halfa ton of gravel sand mud and leaves showing ho ho v it It had tak taken n out the load from rom the flood floodwaters floodwaters floodwaters waters that had come come Its way This shrub it would be f feasible sible to plant almost every everywhere where on shaded slopes lopes where it would af afford o d. d practical immunity from the begin beginnings of the flood Fox FOR table d decoration especially iIi in winter whlter it is almost without a a. aval rival It It will grow in cool valleys and makes a hedge far more more- suitable than that formed by the imported import d privet In the southeast the buffalo berry berryl l horse high pig tight and bull bun strong strong malee the the best of flood barri barriers barriers rs It h has s 's silvery foil foli foliage age and a a. profusion of ot small juicy red berries said to be among the f finest inest of all fruits fruits' for table use Cultivation of ot this sp species cies for hedges windbreaks aks c cattle barriers and flood as as well as for tor its wondrous fruit should be beg begun n nIn In earnest or squawberry the fragrant sumach Rh s of the books booles has sn small all trifoliate je leaves ves with a a a pung pungent nt aromatic a mati odor It has bas nu numerous rp s small red red r berries of ot which birds are v fond Sumach grows about live five feet high and survives survives sur sur- vives fire tire and other ill usage It It- could be pla planted t d along mountain streams and wWi its and dense stem masses would afford afford af af- ford reasonable s safety by Ly the he stones and mud at the waters water's edge GRASSES AND FLOWERS Certain giant bunch grasses of our region Withstand terrific rushes of flood waters without being uproot up up- root rooted d. d They thus slacken tile speed peed of ot the water and relieve it of much of ot the material that it is carrying onward The great bunches formed by species called barley grass and rye grass may be e four tour feet or more more In height and from one to to two two feet teet in d diameter am tel Their strong stems as large around as lead pencils bend without break break- breaking J brcak-J ing and th their Immense root systems systems make make them drouth Each grassy bunch has been ob observed observed ob- ob served sered to be backed by large amounts of flood materials which it has some time halted halle Restocking Restock Restock- ing hillsides even d dry y hills with these great masses would seem to tobe tobe tobe be feasible giving rough forage and providing flood lood barriers Among flowering herbs the lupines lu lupines lupines lu- lu pines are foremost as defenses against floods their beginning Lupines are plants related to sweet peas having mas masses es of ot blue or white blossoms and woolly pods that are poisonous to sheep They are related also to the loco a well known and m much ch dreaded sheep poison polson They They- are stouter than loco weeds more sliver silvery than sweet peas their leaves in pat palmate mate or Cr fingerlike divisions rh They y are dangerous to stock when the range has bet been n overgrazed Last and ami perhaps best of the flood lood among flowering herbs i is the sweet clover which fortunately will grow on even the southern slopes of ot any of the lower mountains It is a flood lood absorber a n forage for stock a honey plant of the first rank rank rank-a a fertilizer of the soil a a. retainer of moisture for fu future future fu fu- ture hillside shrubs It will 1 halt small floods such as deluge the avenues of Salt Lake Ci City y almost almos t ever every summer Easl Easily seeded e easily ers ers- s- s fly ily removed paying for its itself lf in grazing value and seeds seea sweet clover clo clo- clover 10 ver er is a wonder pt plant nt that deserves extensive seeding oh on on western hills hill hillsand hilland y and In all western bare spaces CONCLUSIONS From the facts presented hereit herein here n it follows 1 That the forest carpet of natural natural natural nat nat- ural vegetation holds in place th the e soil of the mountain sides and prevents prevents pre pre- vents at their very beginning an and d origin the floods that would oth other otherwise otherwise r- r wise gain the momentum that carrie carries car car- rie ries In torrents vast quantities u of f f mud rocks and debris up upon n ou our tur r towns and valleys valles 2 That the ordinary summer ordinary summer r. r Goods floods which commonly o monty follow tOlloW each l I jf r i heavy rain can be Prevented from forming xon on on the mountain tops by p planting lanting ting on hillsides that face th the e str streams s certain native trees sh shrubs l grasses grasses and herbs lerbs 3 3 That wherever groups J groups groups' o jolt of leaf lance cottonwood willow vii tow liaw in maple oak ak brush densely lens ly p packed c d d aspen aspen elderberry or or ino mountain nta occur occur- in their original unburned stat slate state there 1 gill U b be Sound found O nd just back of or among therm them the l boulders boulders' rocks r rocks c i. i gravel grave If sand and dirt dIt which former ol o. o siave car car tIed rigid down the fife mountains mountain side to these clumps of of- trees and nd which were re there halted and laid ld d by oy y the fife rushing flood waters nesters 4 4 That plant on on the banks o of ot f canyon any n such as tar Jar lar willow W li haw v alder ld birch Ina ma ma- mapie pie and mountain ash shrubs s as as' dogwood honeys honeysuckle sumach on on nor north north h clones sl pes elderberry y noun n tain lain lov lover r. r rl gooseberry gooseberry- rr Oregon grape on south slopes slope s sweet clover l lupine pine giant lI Bunch t grasses e etc tc Would be one of ot th the e best guarantees of the safety an and d prosperity of Ve Western |