INFLUENCE OF TREES ON RAINFALL.

Southland Times, Issue 1192, 7 January 1870, Page 3

INFLUENCE OF TREES ON RAINFALL.

Tfc is now pretty well known that woods and forests of leafy trees' promote rainfall, and nourish the flow of springs and of rivers; but it is not so well known that trees of the kind described by the Germans as Nadelholz (needlewood) produce the contrary effect. That such is the fact, however, appears from a statement which will be read, with interest by owners of waste Linda. The forest of St. Amand, situated in the north of the district of Valenciennes, comprising 1800 acres of sillious sand mixed with a small quantity of clay, was formerly covered with scrub, and stunted clumps of oak and birch, and, being in many places very damp, was much haunted by snipes. In 1843 this unproductive growth was cleared off, and Scotch firs (pinus silvestris) were planted. These throve well, and arenow tall handsome trees adorning the waste. But during their growth, it was observed that the damp places became dry ; the ! snipes abandoned the locality ; then two or three springs and a small stream that once flowed: through the covert dwindled away, and at last entirely dissapeared. Here was a surprise ! The forestal functionaries set to work to discover, if possible, the explanation. They dug trenches 6ft deep on the site of the springs, and made borings to greater depths. The trenches disclosed no appearance of water, but showed that the roots of the firs, as also those of the former oaks and_ birches, had penetrated six feet or more into the soil. By the borings two underlying beds of water, one of considerable volume, were discovered ;> and the natural inference was that they had formerly stood at a higher level, and thereby maintained the springs; but in what way their level had been lowered by the growth of the firs was a question which could not then be answered , nor has a satisfactory answer yet been arrived at. The fact, however, remains, that trees included among the Pinus tribe exert a dedicating influence on the. soil ; and in the discussion occasioned by what has taken place in the forest of St. Amand, it has been mentioned that many of the lagoons on the south-west coast of France have been dried up and converted into woods by planting the maritime pine along their margins, and advancing the planting as the waters receded. Is there anything in these foreign facts that can be turned to account here at home ? In the_- recently p.uhlished__r^irort jof_ *h'©; eommisif6n r appointed to inspect forfifi"cations, an account was given "of the exceeding difficulty the builders had in finding a solid foundation for the forts at the marshy mouth of the Medway, and on the approaches to Chatham. Deep excavations were dug, but for a long time whatever was built showed a tendency to sink down out of sight; and even now that the forts do uprear their faces their stability is not absolute. Bightly do the natives of the district name the river the " Mudway." But if the marshy shores of Gascony can be dried up by plantations of pine trees, cannot the same be done on the marshy shores of Kent ? If it can, the benefit will be manifold. The ground will be made firm and dry, ague will disappear, the country within will be sheltered, and the landscape will look less dreary than at present, to say nothing of the gain in timber. — Atherusum.

Duel between a Lady and a Gentleman. — The Paris correspondent of a London journal writes: — " I bave another duel to report, this time between a lady and a gentleman. L. d'Aurevilly, a theatrical critic of the Nain JPawne, having said something which displeased Mademoiselle Duverger, an actress at the Gaiete, that lady called him out, and the duel came off on Sunday afternoon, at St. Germain. Mademoiselle Duverger chose pistols, and at the first shot succeeded in carrying off one of the locks of hair which adorned her opponent's head. Her seconds, two actresses from the same theatre, then declared honor satisfied, and the party wound up the day by a dinner at the Pavilion Henry IV. This duel will, no doubt, be followed by others of a similar nature, and I shall not be at all surprised to see half the actresses in Paris calling out their unfortunate critics, who, both in the name of honor and gallantry, will-be obliged to accept the challenge of their fair adversaries. "Really the gentle sex are going to nice lengths in Paris. I wonder what their Chinese visitors think of them." A Legal View of the Byron Controversy.—The Law Journal takes a legal view of the questions raised, and comes to the following conclusions :— l. That if the indictment were proved, Lord Byron must be pronounced not guilty on the ground of insanity. 2. That the accuser is an interested and not a reliable witness, and that she offers no other evidence than her dressed up recollections of conversations with Lady Byron, and which is indeed no evidence at all, 3. That Lady Byron's charge is baaed upon the alleged confessions of Byron ; that it was natural Lady Byron should, as the separated wife, be mortified and suspicious ; that she offers no evidence in support of her suspicions ; and that her conduct as represented by Mra Stowe was not consistent with her alleged belief in the incest of her husband. A Hungarian giantess who was lately married, charged an admission fee to the church when she was married The house was filled.