Man and Nature

by Marsh, George P.; Lowenthal, David

• ISBN13: 9780674544529
• ISBN10: 0674544528
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1973-10-01
• Publisher: Belknap Pr

Summary

George Perkins Marsh's Man and Nature was the first book to attack the American myth of the superabundance and the inexhaustibility of the earth. It was, as Lewis Mumford said, "the fountainhead of the conservation movement," and few books since have had such an influence on the way men view and use land. "It is worth reading after a hundred years," Mr. Lowenthal points out, "not only because it taught important lessons in its day, but also because it still teaches them so well...Historical insight and contemporary passion make Man and Nature an enduring classic."

Table of Contents

Introduction

A Note on the Text

Man and Nature

Preface

Introductory

Natural Advantages of the Territory of the Roman Empire Physical Decay of that

Territory and of other parts of the Old World Causes of the Decay

New School of Geographers Reaction of Man upon Nature

Observation of Nature Comical and Geological

Influences Geographical Influence of Man Uncertainty of our Meteorological Knowledge

Mechanical Effects produced by Man on the surface of the Earth

Importance and Possibility of Physical Restoration Stability of Nature

Restoration of Disturbed Harmonies Destructiveness of Man Human and Brute

Action Compared Physical Improvement Arrest of Physical Decay of

New Countries Forms and Formations most liable to Physical

Degradation Physical Decay of New Countries

Corrupt Influence of Private Corporations

Note.

Transfer, Modification, and Extirpation of Vegetable and of Animal Species

Modern Geography embraces Organic Life Transfer of Vegetable Life Foreign Plants grown in the United States American Plants grown in Europe Modes of Introduction of Foreign Plants Vegetables, how affected by transfer to Foreign Soils

Extirpation of Vegetables Origin of Domestic Plants

Organic Life as a Geological and Geographical Agency

Number of Quadrupeds in the United States Origin and Transfer of Domestic

Quadrupeds Extirpation of Quadrupeds

Numbers of Birds in the United States Birds as Sowers and Consumers of Seeds, and as Destroyers of Insects Diminution and Extirpation of Birds

Introduction of Birds Utility of Insects and Worms

Introduction of Insects Destruction of Insects Reptiles Destruction of Fish

Introduction and Breeding of Fish Extirpation of Aquatic Animals Minute Organisms

The Woods

The Habitable Earth originally Wooded

The Forest does not furnish Food for Man First Removal of the Woods Effects of Fire on Forest Soil Effects of the Destruction of the Forest Electrical

Influence of Trees Chemical Influence of the Forest

Influence of the Forest, considered as Inorganic Matter, on Temperature

a, Absorbing and Emitting Surface

b, Trees as Conductors of Heat

c, Trees in Summer and in Winter

d, Dead Products of Trees

e, Trees as a Shelter to Grounds to the leeward of them

f, Trees as a Protection against Malaria The Forest, as Inorganic Matter, tends to mitigate extremes

Trees as Organisms: Specific Heat Total Influence of the Forest on Temperature Influence of Forests on the Humidity of the Air and the Earth

a, as Inorganic Matter

b, as Organic-Wood Mosses and Fungi-Flow of Sap-Absorption and Exhalation of Moisture by Trees Balance of Conflicting Influences

Influence of the Forest on Temperature and Precipitation

Influence of the Forest on the Humidity of the Soil Its

Influence on the Flow of Springs The Forest in Winter General Consequences of the Destruction of the Forest Condition of the Forest, and its Literature in different Countries

The Influence of the Forest on Inundations Destructive Action of Torrents

Transporting Power of Rivers

The Po and its Deposits Mountain Slides Protection against the Fall of Rocks and Avalanches by Trees Principal Causes of the Destruction of the Forest American

Forest Trees Special Causes of the Destruction of European Woods Royal Forests and Game Laws Small Forest Plants, and Vitality of Seeds Utility of the Forest

The Fo

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