"HIS TALK WAS OF TREES. "
(J\i)Hi thid htad.ng the following intutirint; It tti-i appeued in a lecont sue ot the Nelson Mail : — Hin,— ln li eland, that once jjiancLy v 'M(iU 1 c<ni!ili a y, though now »o b.ut,, tin--pl intuit,' .mcl ti'icr-iecl inning .no m u cliiiiy on in rinllH hnra, and many may > 1. 1 h c long enough to st_e tin jjiiaiii k'l.i\ui ant in all the bounties of nature, and its (,'ir iioutcl .md lio^n.Ublc people comioit ible and contented. J j.i_li -In-i^-ii allowed the Mauritius to be 'lefoie-tul at the very time i une of tlm West India Le;ji~latuie-> were p.i'-wntf mci- , u«j-. to pitncivu tho woodud lnlK of tho^e beautiful nlai.d*. This act of the Legislature na-, taken prior by the writings of Humboldt, one of the great bnnefuctorrt of mankind, whose oft quoted words of caution cannot be too often brought before the public of this colony. By felling the trees that cover the tops and the sides of the mountains, men in every climate prepare r.t onca two c.ilainuies for future generations — the want (>f fuel (Ireland) and the scarcity of water. Where forests are destroyed — as they are everywheie by Europeans \\ ith an imprudent piecipitaiion, the springs are very soon dried up or becoino less abundant, the borls of the river remaining dry during a part of the year are converted into toironts whenever great rains fall on the heights." Had Humboldt been where I now live, he would have seen on a small scale tho results he anticipated. I find I must extend this communication, foi I have just come across the following observations on the " mightiest of rivers," the Mississippi, by Joaqum Miller. The Tiber is comparatively a rivulet. But when the Romans permitted tho trees about its source to be cut down, the roots of tho fallen tices let go their hold upon the hoil, the leaves of the trees held back the falling rains no more ; but down, down, down tho loosened soil, the leaves, the decajing the rocks that lotted in the Mm, all rolled down the little river together year after year ; giadual at first, &lowly for many (•oasons, many centmios, indeed; but each year, as the mountain grew more bare, as the bed ot the river grew more rank and full with sand and mud and muck, it began to leave its banks and grow audacious as a buccaneer. The mouth of the Tiber was filled full at last. Beautiful little Ostia, the city at the mouth, became a bed of fevers. And then for the first time was the woid " malaria " made a part of the eIa&MC language of the Roman Empire. The valleys from the mouth of the Tiber, even to Rome, began to back up and fall into malarious floods. Tho Pontine marshes were formed, and made famous as breedei s of death. The Tiber filled up its bed, and backed up even to the heait of the city of Rome. "And all this because Rome sold her woodd, her forests far gold, away out in the foot hills. Ah ! every s>uch ravishment must be paid for sooner or later. And Rome's penalty was to see her she wolf at the door of her tomb, her population reducedj her place on the map of the world nothing for a thousand years. A inoie recent example. We denuded the foot hills of California, swept the mountains into our great river, and deluged and mined half a State. Our capital is to-day ten or twelve feet below a dirty stream of disease that was once like silver, its bo.soin a tower of health. * * * This city of the Mexican seas here by the great river— this flower town, this magnolia land, this city where you plant and gather the orange and the fig, and all the sweet fiuits that grow under the full of the sun is only another Ostia. "It in a dismal thing to say, but there are duties that mu^t not ba inn away from. True, this wondrous mothero is a thousand Tibeis tied t<igethcr. You say and may believe that it is btrong enough to sweep it way for ever to tho sea. Not so. The soft loo.se soil of twenty States contiibuto cvei y hour to choke it up. The land of Illinois fills its iinuth. ISo on denuding, deploying, defying nature ; and a thousand years will bury not only this city, this State, but many States. And the remedy i 3 so chea p and simple. Sell no more lands up yonder in the north to be pillaged of all that nature planted there. Turn it back into fore&ts. Nature knew what she was about. Set trees along the banks of cvory stream. Keep out the fires, mako parks, places of pleasure, turn your hundred thousand old pensioned tramps in there to take care of these parks. And that my neighbours of tho north, will be ' siving tho union' to some purpose." — I am, &c\, Aiißoitvroß An exchange says : "Can Dr. Veil an arrest the cholera ?" We suppose he tan, but what good would it do him ? He could never get a judge or juiy to try it. We see there have been "Three failures in oil"" in New York lately. We have seen a great many more than that at the exhibition of the National Academy in that city. — Boston Commercial Bulletin. " Wito stands at the head of the Philadelphia bar ?" asks an inquiring subscriber. We don't know, but unless what we have heard of Philadelphia liquor is false he is not particularly to be envied.— New York Graphic. Princess Beatrice doesn't know the first thing about housekeeping, but, as the young couple will probably live on the old folks as long as they last, thU defect will never be noticed by her husband. — Lowell Citizen. A Nmv Usk for Cork.— The wa^te cuttings of cork arc now being emploj td for making brick, which can be used foi walls, impervious alike to heat or damp The cork cuttings are reduced to a povvdti in a mortar and mixed with lime or clay, and from this composition the bucks are made in the usual way. Take a slip of paper and place thereon, in figures, your age in years, diopping months, weeks and days. Multiply the sum by two ; then add to the result ob rained the figures 3758 ; add two, and then divide by two. Subtract from the result obtained the number of youryeaid on earth, and see if you do not obtain figures you will not be likely to forget. Gold and Silver Kerns. — L. G. Doan says, in the Microscope :—": — " Upon a slip of glass put a drop of liquid auiic chloride or argentic nitrate, with half a grain of metallic zinc in the auric chloride, and copper in the silver. A growth of exquisite gold and silver ferns will grow beneath the eye. New Hygrometers.— M. Bourbouze has devised two interesting and novel forms of the dew-point hygrometer. It li well known that when water condenses on a plate of glass held between the observer and a luminous point, there appears concentric rings round the point, similar to the halo sometimes seen round the moon in cloudy weather. These hygrometers are based on this fact, and consist of a rectangular tube having panes of thin glass closing the parallel ends. A very sensitive thermometer is plunged into the liquid to a small depth, and when evaporation of the liquid is set up by a current of air, the dew halo foi ins on the panes, and is observed by looking through them at a luminous point. The halo is red outside and violet inside. Magnets op Hard Steel.— An electric contemporary informs us that hats of file j tempered steel may be strongly magnetized by the following method, and great permanency secured. An old flle, for example, is placed in a coil of moderate sized wire, with one end resting against a block of iron ; one of the wires from a dynamo is connected to one end of the coil wire ;to the other end of the coil wire is attached a small block of iron, Which rests against the free end of the file ; the other wire from the dynamo is attached to a good sized hamrnei, the face of which is past injury by tlie sp nk It is clear that, when the block to v\ Inch is attached the coil wire is struck by the hammer against the end of the file, it a mechanical shock, while at the wiine instant the current passes tluough the coil, which being instantaneous, will not injure it, even though very poweiful. By this plan of combined mechanical and elctrical shock, the molecules of the haul steel are jarred into position. A Rattlbsnake's Bitk —The quick venom of the rattlesnake has not killed so many people is the more insidious but deadly poisons found in the air of foul rooms. The .cration of thi- blood by the lungs becomes impossible sometimes, and the failing health, crowing weakness, anil loss of appetite arc harbingers of approaching death. For such cases Hop Hitters ir<> the potent and all-powerful remedy to drive all fevers out of the system, purifying the blood, and riving a new and happy leas* of life. Get genuine.
American Co's Hop Bitters are the Purest and Eest Bitters Ever Made. They <ue rompoundeil fiom Hops, Malt, Buehu, M.uidiake, and Dandelion, the oldest, best, and the most valuable medicines m the Moild and cont.nu all the best and most dilative pioputies of ill othei remedies, being the gieatc^t Blood I'uiih'or, Li\cr Kegulatoi, and Lift mid Health llestonmj Agent on eaith ><o disease or ill health can possible long t \ist wheie they are used, so varied and peifcctaie then opeiations. Theyguc now life and vigor to the aged and in fiim. To all « lio^e employ ments cause incgnl.uity of the bowels or urinary oiijans, or who rcc|wiip an Appeti/.er, Tome and mild Stimulant, Amei ican Co's Hop Bitters are in\ alu.ible beinp higlily cmatixe, tonic and stimulating, without intoxicating No niuttei what youi feelings or symptoms aie, what tho diheihe or ailment is use Hop Bitters. Don't wait until you aie sick, but if you onlj feel had or miseiable, use Hop Bitteis at once. It liuj &a\eyour life. Hundteds ha\e been «a\ed by so doing. £.300 will be paid for a case they will not cuie 01 help. Do not suffer or let jour friends suffer, but use and urge them to use Amencan Hop Bittcis. Remember, American Hop Bitters is no vile, drugged, drunken nostium, but the Puiest and Bet Medicine e\ei made. Try the Bitteis to day. (Jet at Chemists or I'iuggists, Bewaie of imitations. Genuine has Dr Soule's name blown in bottle. J
Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WT18851027.2.32
Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka
Waikato Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2076, 27 October 1885, Page 4
Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,813"HIS TALK WAS OF TREES." Waikato Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2076, 27 October 1885, Page 4
Using this item
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
No known copyright (New Zealand)
To the best of the National Library of New Zealand’s knowledge, under New Zealand law, there is no copyright in this item in New Zealand.
You can copy this item, share it, and post it on a blog or website. It can be modified, remixed and built upon. It can be used commercially. If reproducing this item, it is helpful to include the source.
For further information please refer to the Copyright guide.