THE INFLUENCE of FORESTS ON CLIMATE.

Waikato Times, Volume XIX, Issue 1638, 4 January 1883, Page 4

THE INFLUENCE of FORESTS ON CLIMATE.

Dit. SoiloMiiUKGK, the director of the Botanical Giu'itcns at Adelaide, lias added to his recently issued rcpoi't ail appendix on the. subject of the influence of forests on climate. The object of .this paper is to prove tU.it the desfci uotjou of forests , usually has the effect of i educing the l.iint.ill, while, on the contrary, the planting of trees broadcast over a country is one of thebest methods which can he adopted for ameiioiating its clinute audinci casing the annual fall of i.u.i. It cannot, indeed, Le prbvcdth.it tho climate of Sou tli Australia i< altoiing h» tlvwoiscm this 1 ; i aspect. In taut, a oo.np.ui -on of the mef-ooiologiual iceords will show th.it the annual average raiiif ill tor the colony during the past ten yeats li.i a been 21 1 »« compared ;u; ut l, .jo 1 i" for t!)e previous ton years. The fact ia that in tlic n"iicfiltural districts of the colony, and especially those which were not ongiually timbered, the bunging of tho land into cultivation h.is had the ellect of slightly favouring tho fall of rain. Houghed land attiacts moistuie to a much greater degree than the unbioken soil. In considering the efleot which the lcmoval of forests per m has in altciing the climate in South Australia, the only direct test that could be taken from the records issued by the Government astronomer is the experience of the neighbourhood of Adelaide. If the time is divided which has elapsed .since 1839, the year in which observations were commenced, into two periods, there is found for the first an average rainfall of '22-8 in., and for the second one of 21 -7 in. It will thus be seen that, on the whole, the rainfall at Adelaide is diminishing, though very slightly, and perhaps tho diminution in the amount of timber may have so-nc-thing to do with the change. Dr. Schombiugk, in searching foi illustiations ot the efl'ect of trees on climate, goes further afield, and biings foiward borne striking instances, in which it ]£ evident that loss of forests means loss of rainfall, and one onsa. He lecalls how the liu^sians, by binning down some of the Tiansoauoasian forests at the time of their struggle with the Circassians, converted the country from a fertile land into a dcbeit, simply tlnough the cutting off of the supply ot lain. .Similar instances of lain having deserted a country denuded of forests have occurred in the Mauritius, in Jamaica, the A/ores, and it may also lie added to a still more icmaikable extent in several ot the smaller West India islands. No sooner had the forests of these places been destioyed tlinn the spungs and muelts ceased to how, the laintall been mo lncgiilar, and e\ en the disposition ot dow was iiiiiKi^t ciitnely checked. On the other hand, it is generally accepted as a fact that iUehemet Ah increased the fortillity of K»vpt enormously by planting trees. Ife alone planted some -20,000,000 on the Delta, Ins biiccesbors followed up the uoik, and it i* a noteworthy circumstance that tho'iamfall lose horn (im. to 10 in. I'l.intiii'i has also, it would seem, jnoduced umaikable effects m Fiance and AJgieis Extensive i onions have })ccn planted with gums and othei tieos, which tor tho most pait, giow to about ;]0 ft. or 40ft. in height, and it is noticed that the quantities ot l.iin and dew which now fall on the adjacent l.iud aie double \\ hat tney formally weic.

I/imjun Tiuth says :— " At the lcccnt examination ior cloikslup m tlic I'o.stoihce there weie 1 .">OO female candidates." Tui.< iovpalof LuUehas been tiauslated into tin- i'.itagoni.in language by the Jiov. Tlu-odoie Budges., a\ ho liab labomed in thai countiy tor twonty-fhoycais,. Two liii|)ui.st dandies li.u'c l)cen icccntly«i tjAnisuil Jn.Jsipan — oxjoutChogo, near Yokohama, and one on the Island of SlilKokn. The nu'inbci ship is I So. BtiiKH'Giiow I'Mi'.K, '• JCngLu)d\s black bishop," »epoit-> that the .nivage .Sunday attendance at hi-, stations cm the Niger i-> 347*2. Tin Uhustohuich T'/"/i"p/i says :— >lr{'ioetni .-. inline has so heely and general!} Wen cimm ck-d with I'iotesbor I'laz/i Smyths us holding the theory tli.il, the comet .seen lately will fall into the miv tx'ict year, causing an inciea.be of its heat which w ill bum up the \\oihl, tlidt we are Kin prise to find in the (ieiitlemcn'b S) t \i! ) ,iMini lor October .in articlo by Mi I'ioelm, failed ' I'yi.iinid J'lopliel.s and Hyypti.ui Kvt'iils,' in « hioli he iittt'ijy udieules L'lofessoL I'l.i/'/iNiiiytir.stliooiy." 'I'm. opening of <i ivm' (Jullt'^ 1 aL the Univeiaity of (Jiinibiidge (au\s the Ifomt JS"< it -.) is a splendid and Itelittm^ im'inoiial to one of the gieatest ot tm^sionaiKsb. jijshop Selw.vn was mi ideal bisliop \\ ho earned tlic (jo^pnl to the uttcnuost p.uts of the eaitli, and was, like .Bishop Piitleson, piepaied to haeufi<e his lite in tiie gieat cause. Hew. is litly and apTpirojM lately des-ciibc'd at the inanimation 'uf tiic College wliicJ) bc.iis. his name ab "a- du.tin«ui>hu(l son of t)ic C'lniich and an example of manliness jnul Minplieity of living " Bishop Sulwyn was ,i model 4'olonial r>islu/p. His dioeose ra a jpatteui ot oiyankiaOou and elective discipline ; but lie was "ic.Ltly loved by those he mled. No special i ides Ijavo been laid down to limit the usefulness of the now College, which has been established by public subscription. JJut ot the whole amount two latgo burns have been »i\eu solely to help missionary work, llcnee the new master, the lion, Aithur Ly ttelton, M.A., has utiuoiuiccd In* intention of devoting a laiftc poition ot the jtnulij to inisMouary sdiolarships ; and tlierc ib no doubt that the College, as the Jiishop of Ely Mid, would loolc for its l.iboui s beyond the circumference of En#dish life. lt\sunld piobably giow into and iucioabinutly popular beat of learning for theological students /join ill the outlying pjulb of the ISiupitc, and will render ebpeeially useful .services to the Colonial Churchesj. SoMl'.j'Ciivsago (says Ghambn s 1 Joidukl) a poor woman was disco\oivd lying dead on the lloor of her room m a low part of ■\Vcstminstur, with such m.irksof violence upon her body— notably a deep longitudinal cut on her head, which had incised the bone of the skull itself — as to point to the conclusion that she had been the victim of foul play. Her husband was taken into custody, and put upon trial for murder. In making his defence lie accounted for the bruises, blood-stains, sind other collatci al evidence in various plausible ways ; and for the scalp-wound >by showing that the room was an attic with a broken skylight in the loot, and insinuating that a sharp-edged piece of jglasp.nmst have fallen on his wito's head siwishestood underneath. The surgeon who had been called in to view the body, iv giving his evidence, expressed his opinion that a ipiece of glass would not have Hiiflicienfc foice in falling to cut iuto a bone. TTotwithstand ing. this and other facts tending to prove' that there was no moral doubt tiB to title guilfc oftlie paused the balance of leg^l testimony aga/ust him was twt strong ouough to .couyjet, and he escaped. The surgeon-— toiifc since risen to th« top oi the professional tree,' and now a man «f European rep^iitatafcion — was at that tinur orator- of aii dnatomical lnuscuin, wherein thedopait- < incut devoted to zoology and comparative anatomy stood t\m skeleton of a cow. A' few after tlje tvifll above quoted, 1 a 1 violent thunder-storm, aoeonjpaniediby' ( hailj 'buwt o\er London one mghjb« and much damage -was done ; amongst , other .things," the museum skylights were ex- : tensivdy shattered.' Wlietfthe ciftratov Arrived next morning, lie found a «pi#uluh) }ol'ikokizh glass actually Wti6king upVjght, Hn the' very edge 1 of one of *the*fsliai;p KyttQivtei&iGek of ' bone— ilcchniettfljfo 'Hie >'*(t^4c«~pl'6jecti>ig; HvoyA - tUe , v6its>rsb'-'of'-0i ( ' ddwj^-l shave" )jJoftei4 hiirt ; "liMi^ '-tHd Un'ddenfc * atf. ' U/ t WiiriiiiiJif^to^youtifet 'ili^nj, I Jga^ni^^n'cMliO^Mj"^ l^^' . ffi