St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-11-27

The trail is clear and distinct. showing
it TO be of comparatively recent date. 1t
is a reasonable Inference that when that
trail was III use
The Lake Was Dry
There are places near the shores OF
Devils lake where upright stumpS in
place are standing submerged in the
water. saw lake in Western Mime
sofa where the same phenomenon was
very marked. These are almost certain
indications of a time or times when the
beds of those lakes where the stumps
now stand were out Of water, or very
nearly SO. for periods of time sufficiently
long for the trees to grow. The climate
must have been very dry in those days.
The great continental plain must have
bordered pretty closely upon the desert
condition, and the Great American des-
ert may have been verify. Recent
experience in this latter region seems
to indicate that cultivation of the soil
has resulted in an increased rainfall.
But the Inference is far from precise.
Who knows but what it has been emerg-
ing from drought period like
that towards which the gaunt fin
gers of the silent stumps of
Dakota now point? Who knows but
what the much-derided great American
desert was, in the early days when its
name was born, a land where the soil
could only be cultivated by means of
irrigation? We do know that in all
regions where observations have been
made the quantity of rainfall for each
growing season varies between maXima
and minima limits; that the intervals
of time between those limits vary
widely and in manner which we do
not yet understand. And since there
are regions where the rainfall is very
great, and also those where it is prac-
tically nothing, there must be be-
tween them others of all varying grades
of rainfall between much and nothing.
There must be considerable country OH
the
BORDER Land of Desert
For desert means place where
there is not sufficient water to nouriSh
vegetation. tits almost entirely question
of water rather than soil. And SO may it
not be possible that the fertile plains of
Babylon and Tyre were on the border
land of desert?
And what makes these great treeless
plants which lie athwart the middle OF
great continents Shall we call it the
prairie fires destroying the young trees
before they gather the strength to grow?
Go to the western slopes of the mount
aims of Oregon. In that Water-bleSt
region the most extensive fires rage an
nually, but without effect in checking
forest growth. Looking over the whole
subject the great fact stands out that it
takes less water to nnur 81 a bunch of
grass than 1t does to ma d Tree grow,
and it takes still less for The su7tenance
of clump of sage brush. and it seems
evident that the great plains bear only
grass because the soil does not gather
enough water from the air to nourlSh
trees.
And now let us approach nearer to
the question before US. All vital growth
is dependent upon and largely nourished
by water and oxygen. The atmosphere
which envelopes the earth is loaded
with the latter, and hence it is, with
rare exceptions. within easy reach of all
living forms. But water does not per-
meate the environment of all living
things with precision and in sufficient
quantity. Not enough of it gets into
the atmosphere to go round; all sorts Of
things interfere with its airline dlstrl-
button, and, as consequence, some To-
calteS get too much, others too little,
ana some none at all.
Gathering Water.
Of the conditions under which the
air gathers it up from the surface in wet
places and distributes it over the earth
in both wet and dry places in the form
Of rain, we know some, but not many,
nor enough. We know that the Quanti-
by of water carried awav from wet
surface is a function of: First, the
of water; second, the car
rying capacity of the air; and third, of
he quantity of air brought into contact
with the surface in question. We know
hat while carried as vapor in the air,
certain underlined conditions of heat
md electricity will cause it to liquify
md fall back to the earth'S surface. But
beyond this we are mostly in the dark. 4
We can only believe what we see and
oresee but very little bit.
We are thus led up to the fact that for
areas of land in the United
States there is grave doubt as to Whetll-
ar the rainfall will continuously he suf-
icient for the cultivation of the soil.
For still larger areas it Is certain that
he water supply is not sufficient. 1t is
true that we are powerless to
influence rainfall. But it is certainly
rue that we can, as matter of engl-
leering skill, initiate nature by gather
ng water in great reservoirs in favored
ocalities and lead it to and over and
upon the unfavored ones. cannot too
strongly accentuate the fact that this is
. matter of engineering, and must SOON
II or later be handled by engineers.
The art of the engineer is to control and
adapt the forces of nature, in feeble
way, to the uses of man. He is the
,nly one in the body polite of society
who has practical experience in dealing
With those forces in that way. He will