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Show TO PUKVKNT FLOODS. PHILADELPHIA MAN SUCOEBTs! EXTfcNSIVE TTttE I'LANTINQ. The Ijin.U Mn.l N.r.li,,, o In rnraat are Th.aa I r,,l-, fr A(rlraf (lira, ante y aie' l'anh nf airaatn. nil lha IlllUt.laa. The forest la to rainfall what the balance wheel la to the Htcam enulne. ' It Kivee relief to rutremia of i!roui;h and of freihi t by loniihihin not l;i- , erearltiK -nilltfn I. Therefore, the 01- ; ent In proper proportion, on the enth'a eurfiice la the cure of ih-vajtatltiK flooila that waste hutirin and Innte Uvea and destiny nillllotiK of dnllare worth of property. Thla l ia I y true In the Mli.pil lumln, tit more particularly In th1.- lower parte of : that banln. From the 111 milt of the Ohio to the MlnKlnnlppI delta thla dam- j axe renehea tens of minimis of ilollara a year. The ratio of ruin Is ateadi'y Increasing there, and Is s-ire tu eon-tin eon-tin ue to Increns- till the nrhorciil remedy rem-edy above atiKKested la appll.d. Thia la not theory; It baa been widely proved prov-ed by reulurlea of experience In Kit rope and Asia flreat rlv. ra and thlr affluents have vibrated between drearily drear-ily dry beds and torrents that were a terror lo all roncerneil after the deforesting defor-esting of their watersheds. In well known cnKes, especially In France, equable flow has followed refor. sting or those a'opea. Htttily of thp natural philosophy Involved In this problem shows thla must be the case; the "Ionic of events" practically i-nrroborat.-s theory. The parts most needing to be In forest are those least'lu-eded Tor agriculture. They are th steep banks or atreania nml the renrnt r hillsides, especially In reidons Initni illniely drained by their headwaters. Hence, to be aiifllcleutly remedial. ntntea l.niiD mllea northerly from New Orlenns must belt, to save the region of which that city la the center; Wisconsin, Minnesota and the Pakotna. Illinois. Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas must co npernte; their lextslators and the boards nf trade and rhnmhera or com nierce must be Induced to act; the boards of education must take the subject sub-ject Into the common schools, so that the young grow up to understand the practical philosophy of this aubject. In all these eduentlve departments It must and can be shown that It will pay and pay promptly to wisely trent these forest Intercuts, Thus mid thus only can the people be led to demand need-ed need-ed torest legislation, ami sustain such legislation after It Is ai ureil. Nn Interests In-terests can better afford to favor f.ir-eat f.ir-eat Improvements than chambers or commerce and boards of trade. Water transportation la aeciind by one-tent'.i the traction to move a ton or rrelght than la needed to move it bv rail. The rivers are not reliable tor nevlgatlon unleaa their (low la more rrgttlar than In most of our rlvera. When they plowed through "the forest primeval" there was little change In their volume. vol-ume. A boat requiring a given d.-pth of wnter rou'd float pretty torch nil the ' year when the stream was not Ice-blocked. Ice-blocked. For well known reasons a proper piopurtloii of forist- reven's the "slltlnit" of streams that ruin many harbors, mid cre.'t bars that prevent sea-going vesnels and others requiting deep water from reaching their docks. I'hllndclphla Is a rise In point In this connection In au nildre a by the writer before the recent Southern South-ern luiluntrlal convention In I'hlla-de'phlH, I'hlla-de'phlH, lie showed that railways and others have cleared millions In less thnn t-vo decades by tree planting. Therefore the profits of forestry are Iho key to the situation. It will pay splendidly to Intelligently engage In tree planting. It la terribly rulnoin to full to restore our wntcd arboreal wealth. Fivery year of il duy to begin to upply the retndy to evils here suggested sug-gested la a loss or many millions of ilollara to the people of practically each and every state In the nation. It ts an opportunity that should In. graxped. Cenrgo May Powell in Philadelphia Times. |