The New York herald., 1874-08-11
ladies and gentlemen may indulge the luxury
o very fair limit without great injury to
their purses.

very ihir umlt WltnOut great INJURY W
their purses.
The Threatened Water Famine i'm
Northwestern Europe
The alarming condition of the Streams and
rivers OF Northwestern Europe is attracting
much attention there, and has called forth
several serious scientific prophecies. In the
early summer of 1870 MN. Belgrand and Le-
moine, OF France, announced thatthe summer
and autumn would be characterized by ex-
treme dearth Of the subterranean water.sup-
ply-a conclusion reached by careful COM
parison Of the precedent rainfall Their pre-
diction, based on their joint labors, was too
closely fulfilled, and the great aridity of the
soil was prolonged into the winter of 1901.
These two able Investigators, after recent re-
ductions of French rainfall returns, jointly
predict o similar water famine for northern
1874. 1t seems that their announcement had
hardly been made before another independent
investigator, working from similar data, ar
rived at the same results for southwestern
France. The inquiries excited by the almost
Simultaneous prophecies, from different sources,
have developed the fact that the condition of
the soil in several other portions of North
western Europe, including the British
Isles, indicates great dryness and de-
fciency in the subterranean water sources.
1t might at first appear hazardous to
venture any such statements as these scientists
put forth. But moments reflection will
show otherwise. The summer rainfall does
not control the supply to the myriad springs
and streamlets on which agricultural interests
and municipal health depend. The rains of
summer are SO rapidly evaporated by the sun
and the superheated earth that they cannot
keep up the perennially drained fountains
beneath the soil. For this purpose an abun-
dant winter rainfall is necessary, and where
the precedent winters rains have been few
and light the heated term finds the subter-
ranean reservoirs greatly depleted. Such was
the case when the present summer opened,
after an extraordinarily small winter rainfall
in Northwestern Europe The dryness of the
cold season in 1857 produced the remarkable
droughts Of 1858, and the dryness of the last
winter on this portion of the Continent, it is
forcibly argued. win be felt from the present
time till next October. Indeed, so early as
May the want of water was seriously felt in
France, and farmers had, in some localities,
to cart their water from the rivers. No sum-
mer rainfall can now replenish the deep
caverns of the earth in time to avert the
threatened scarcity of water, which will, in all
likelihood, increase until the last of October.
1t is happily true, however, that the August
rainfall may suffice to avert any great decline
in the agricultural yield throughout the dry
sections But the facts elected by the inqui-
ries of the scientists named may prove
timely warning to European and other coun-
tries to provide against these cyclical periods
of water dearth, which might at any time Gre
ate famine as frightful as that in Bengal.
The agriculturist of our day, not content with
stripping the soil of its forest covering and
exposing, it to the excessive vicissitudes of
frost and sun blaze. has pushed the system Of
drainage to Q ruinous extreme. TO derange
or impair the character of the soil in the
densely peoplsd districts of Europe is to strike
at the root of national existence and reduce
every industry to state of languor and de-
preston. Instead of drainage we now need
the most expeditions, economic and extensive
systems of irrigation, which shall frugaIly en-
ploy the gathered stores dropped from the
clouds in supplying moisture at all growing
seasons. Then, instead of periodic crop fail
ures and famines, the soil of the great grain
growing countries would vie with the banks
CT the Nile in prolific yield.
The Ross MYSTERY,-The number of innO-