The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-05-26
PRICE, FIVE CENTS.

GET9.
By the destruction OF woods alone the
general value Of earth to mankind has
been reduced at least one-third. Lands
that now entail only misery ON their
cuitivators. were once the garden spots
OF our planet. On The plateau OF Sidf.
Belbe1, In the. very centre OF Sahara.
Niebuhr traced the course Of former
rivers and creeks by the depressions jim
the soil and the shape OF the smooth
washed pebbles. Hs also found tree
stumps, now almost pstrified, and
covered by q six foot stratum OF burn-
aAnd so the astounding truth dawns
upon u.s." he says. shat this desert may
have once been q region OF groves and
fountains. and the abods OF happy.mil-
lions. Is there any other crime against
| the physical laws OF God whioh calls
down more. terrible vengeance than
| that OF stripping our Mother Earth OF
her sylvan covering | The hand of mfnt
has produced this desert, and. r verify
| believe, every other desert ON this globe
Earth was Ellen once. and we have con-
verted the gardan into q sand waste.
The burning sun is the angel with thew
flaming sword, who stands between us
and paradise"
| 1t was about O century ago that this
discovery was made. Since that time it.
has been the effort OF all European
countries to correct the evil and restore
their former rains. In almost ali the
countries OF Continental Europe strics
forestry laws are In force prohibiting
tho destruction OF trees. But peg
| haps the greatest schemes for the I'm
provement OF climate yet tried are those
immense public iabers even now being
carried on In Egypt. According to Baker
Pasha, II R b.. the region between Kar-
max and Soldan enjoys now yearly
| trojy all RI ni an mi inn.
inches were the maximum before 1870,
the change being due to the persistent
tree culture of the Khedives, who have
planted six millions OF palm trees and q
million and u half Of willows on the
table land OF Wady Halfa alone. Not
only these tree plantations. but also the
adjoining districts have been benefited
ourrant bushes and wild mulberries
having sprung up whore they never
grew before, and the summer heat i'm
the upper valley Of the Nile is not nearly
as oppressive rs 1t was within the mem-
ory OF men now living.
Utah, too. has been metamornhoseh
BY the same means. The Uintah
|, Mountains are now full OF springs
! where fifty years ago only an occasional
, oloudburst furnished water to the
parehed oaaons, and tho Green river
!, did not deserve the name till the dis
eiples Of Joe Smith lined it's banks with
peach trees and syoamores. The hos
pital steward OF Fort Bridger reports
] that during the last q ifteen years the an
, nual rainfall has more than doubleds
, twenty inches now, where the observa-
tions Of O. scientific Lieutenant OF Cav
: airy showed only nine inches and hall
In 1868. The great Salt Lake is slowly
| rising, and only Mormons speak OF
. mirages, formerly produced by the ex-
| treme dryness OF the air, which are now
D never seen.
. SO successful has been these schemes
i and so many acres OF desert land have
} been given back by them to cultivation,
a that il has given rise to @ scheme, now
: being discussed by the French govern
] ment, the Sahara Canal prejsot, by
which the Atlantic Ocean Ia to be poured
: into the Desert OF Sahara, q Gonsidera-
+ BILE portion OF which is below The level
9 Of the ocean, and form there lake.
It Such lake would give Northern Africa
e and South Europe heavier rainfall and
d Iuak5 Byeu the dfesUrtt tttioofn.
It has been demonstrated that the So
Q called basin Of the desert once COM
:, nunicated with the Mediterranean,
= and constituted an interior gulf. known
Q as the Great Bay OF Triton. but that
a this reservoir had dried up toward the
g beginning OF the Christian era, after
q the formation OF an isthmus which eut
y it off from the sea. This isthmus needs
q only to be cut to convert the bed OF the
1t Bay of Triton into lake.
,, There seems to be no doubt OF the
q beneficial effect OF this inland lake. The
y. oniy question seems to be it's practica-
u bility. The Scientific An1erica,t, the
/. New York World, and certain other
:. Northern papers. seem TO regard IL as
" too monstrous I'm undertaking, but the
= - report. Of Capt. Roudaife, an eminent
French engineer, shows how the Work
, can be begun by digging canal across
,, the isthmus Of Gabes OF only twelve
+ miles i'm length, which can be done at
/ the small expense OF 5000, 900. For
10 this sum wasted dozen times over ON
u many O building In Paris, the French
u government can convert the entire
"a S1uthern portion Of Algeria. us well as
20 Tunis and Tripoli. into fertile. healthy
" and pleasant country, and there seems
little reason to doubt that 1T will be done.
a The lake that Mr.. Roudaire proposes
~ TO make would be comparatively o
II small one: III IL should be successful,
70 however, there is little doubt that the
4 mere gigantic scheme OF filling the entire
Desert of Sahara, covering, perhaps.
"a eight hundred thousand square miles.
d will be attempted. The latter scheme
70 OF forming q sea larger than the Medf-
il terranean is certainly 80 gigantic an
=, 20 undertaking that it might we'll cause us
q . to hesitate as it would visiby affect the
10 level Of the ocean, and probably COM
10 pletely change the climate of Europe.
i It is therefore, perhaps, 80 great an
n undertaking that 1t will not be done for
40 many years. There seems, however, TO
~ y be- little doubt that the scheme Of Mr..
ix Rendaire will be attempted and COM
r pieted soon.
"a II it proves successful, there Ia little
ia reason to doubt that it. will be the first
ii of number OF similar schemes to
10 remedy the defects OF Nature, or rather
20 TO restofe Nature where she has been
r, 70 dethroned by man, and begin q system
a Of climatic internal improvements by
m aa which the climates OF Iceland and Gem
,p y trail America be modified dfouth and