The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1898-06-22

with cropping up among the sand,
while frequently, as in the Libyan des-
ert, there are mountain ranges rising to
a height of several thousand feet above
the level of the plain. And 1t is these
exposed rocks which form the source
whence the sand was, and still Is, de-
rived. Such mountains naturally at
tract what moisture may remain In the
air, and in their valleys are found
more or less luxuriant vegetation
Gases, too, where the soil is more or
less clayey, occur in most deserts; and
1T is in such spots that animal and veg
etable life attains the maximum devel-
opment possible in the heart of the des-
ert. In the most arid and typical part
of the Libyan desert the sand IS blown
into large dunes, which are frequently
flat-topped, and show horizontal bands
of partly consolidated rock; and be-
tween these are open valleys, partly
consolidated rock; and between these
are open valleys, partly covered with
sand, and partly strewn with blocks OF
rock polished and scored by the sand
blast. In such sand wastes the travel
er may journey for days without see
ing signs of vegetation, or hearing the
call of a bird or the hum of an insects
wing. But even in many of such dis
tricts it is a mistake to suppose that
vegetable and animal life is entirely abb
sent throughout the year; in the west
ern Sahara, for instance, showers gem
orally moisten the ground two or three
times year, and after each of these a
short-lived vegetation springs suddenly
up, and, if no other form Of animal life
is observable, at least a few passing
birds may be noticed
Among the most important and ex-
tensive deserts Of the world we have
first the Great Sahara, with an approx
innate area of sixteen thousand square
| miles, nearly connected with which is
the great desert tract extending
through Arabia, Syria, Mesopotamia
and Persia. BY means of the more or
| less desert tracts of Baluchistan, Sind,
and Kuch, this area leads on to the
great Rajputana desert of India. More
important is the vast Cobb desert Of
Mongolia, and other parts of central
Asia. In southern Africa there is the
| great Kalahari desert, of which more
anon. In orth America there is large
| desert tract lying east of the Rocky
Mountains, and including a great part
| of Sonora; while in the southern half Of
the new world there is the desert Of At
acama, on the borders Of Peru and Chi
II. Lastly, the whole Of the interior of
Australia is desert Of the most arid and
| typical description.
| But among these are deserts and
| Gnrtc Fry.on tp r,ff t,x,> I~o,,
4 sandy type are, as already said extern
| sively developed in the Sahara, as they
are in the Cobb and the Australian
deserts. Between such and the plains
| of the African weld there is an almost
| complete transition, so that it Is some-
times hard to say whether q given
! tract rightly comes under the designa-
ton Of a desert at all. A case in point
is afforded by the South African Kala-
| hari. Although there are endless roll
ing dunes of trackless sand and rivers
are unknown, yet in many places there
! is extensive forest and after rain
large tracts could scarcely be called a
desert at all. Mr.. III. A. Dryden, for in
| stance, when describing the Kalahari
writes as follows; And yet, during
the brief weeks Of rainfall no land can
assume fairer or more tempting as
pect The long grasses shoot UP green
succulent and elbow-deep: flowers
| spangle the weld in every direction; the
giraffe acacia forests robed in fresh
dark green remind one Of nothing sc
1 much as an English deer park; the
bushes blossom and flourish; the air is
full Of fragrance, and pans Of water lie
on every side. Another month, and ali
is drought; the pans are dry again, and
| travel is full of difficulty" During the
grassy season herds of springbok used
to migrate in the old days to the Kala-
hari, in the northern part of which gi-
RATES. live the whole year, although
they must exist without tasting water
for Notwithstanding