Excerpt from Water-Powers of Canada Importance of There has been a tendency on the part of many persons water-powers interested in the conservation Of natural resources to state May be that this or that particular resource is the most important. Exaggerated Some have said that the forests are the most important asset; others maintain that the soil, with its fertility, is the most important re source; and, of late, great stress is being laid upon the statement that water is the chief asset, the prediction being made that the nation which has the most and cheapest water-power available is destined to take precedence in the world of commerce. AS a matter Of fact, however, all these various interests are interdependent one upon the other. If any one feature Of our natural resources is to be placed before others, probably it could be most reasonably urged that a fertile condition Of the soil is the most im portant natural asset to be safeguarded; because, for his sustenance on the earth, man requires food, raiment, and Shelter, and these essentials are supplied him, in one form or another, either directly or indirectly, from the soil. It must be manifest, therefore, that the factors which make for the permanence of the soil's productivity are factors Of paramount importance; and hence the subject Of the conservation and use Of waters as a natural asset must, among other things, be considered in its prime relationship to the subject Of the productivity Of the soil. It may assist to a better understanding of some Of the statements made herein if the fact is borne in mind that the greatest danger which besets the natural resources Of not only this country, but of the world, is the undue disturbance Of the balance which Nature seeks to maintain. Hence, in presenting the data which follow, no special effort has been made to attach an importance to water-power, per se, to which it is not entitled. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.