The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1898-12-24
FACTS ABOUT DESERTS.
Erroneous Notions as 60 Their Charac-
stterjics and Inhabitants.

only one degree less incorrect than the
idea Of their submarine origin 4 the no.
ton that deserts consist Of unbroAen
tracts Of sand. IL is true that such tracts
On certain districts may extend on every
side as far as the eye can reach, ana
even much farther. but. sooner or later.
ridges and bands OF pebbles or OF soild
rock Will be met with cropping up among
the sand. while frequently. as in the Lib
yam desert. there are mountain ranges
rising to a height of several thousand
feet above the level Of the plain. And IL
is these exposed rocks which form the
source whence the sand was and still Is
derived 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
whore the soil Us more or less claycy oc-
cur in most deserts. and 10 is IN such
spots that animal and vegetable life at-
talns the maximum development posi-
bile i'm the heart of the desert IN the
most arid and typical part Of the Libyan
desert the sand is blown into large
dunes. which are frequently fat-tOpUe1
and show horizontal bands Of partly con-
soidated rock; and between these are
open valleys parity covered with sand
ANA partly strcwn with blocks or rock
polished and SEQ red by the sand blasts. l.
such sand wastes the traveller may jour
nev for days without seeing signs of yege-
tati0n or hearing the call of bird or
the hum Of an Insects winG. But even
in many OF such districts IL Is mistake
90 suppose that vegetable and animal HE
Us entirely absent throughout the year;
in the western Sahara, for instance
showers generally moisten the ground
two or three times a year. and after each
d o. g Tn .H.rfr
suddenly up and. If no other form Of
animal life is observable. at least few
passing bin DIS may be noticed.
Among the most important and extern
sive deserts Of the world We have FIRST the
Great Sahara. with an approximate area
Of 1900 square miles. nearly connected
with which is the great desert tract ex-
tending through Arabia, Syria, Mesopo-
tamia and Persia. BY means Of the more
or less desert tracts Of Baluchistan, Sind
and Kuch. this area leads on TO the great
Raiputana desert Of India More impor-
tant is the vast Cobb desert OF Mongolia
and other parts of Central Asia. In
Southern Africa there f. the great Kala-
hari desert. OF which more anon. In
North America there IS a large desert
tract living east OF the Rocky Mountains
and including great part Of Sonora
while I'm the southern half OF the new
world there g. the desert of Atacama. on
the borders OF Peru and Chile Lastly,
the whole Of the interior of Australia IS
desert OF the most arid and typical de-
scriptiOn.
But among these there are deserts and
deserts Tracts of the typical barren
sandy type are. as already said, extern
sivelv developed in the Sahara. as they
E.hf nj no ef~s1 Ia Fae
erts Between such and the plains Of the
African weld there is an almost complete
transition. so that il is sometimes hard 20
say whether a given tract rightly comes
under the designation Of a desert at all.
A case in point is afforded by the South
African Kalahari. Although there are
endless rolling dunes Of trackless sand.
and rivers are unknown. yet IN many
places there IS extensive forest and after
rain large tracts could scarcely be call
ed a desert AT all II. a. Dryden. for
instance when describing the Kalahari.
writes as follows: And yet. during the
brief weeks Of rainfall no land can as
sumo a fairer or more tempting aspect.
The long grasses shoot up green. succu-
lent. and elbow deep: flowers spangle the
weld In every direction: the giraffe acacia
forests robed in a fresh dark green re-
mind one Of nothing so much as an Eng
lsh deer park; the bushes blossom and
flourish; the air IS full of fragrance and
pans Of water lie on every side. Another
month. and al IS drought: the pans are
dry again. and travel is full OF difficulty"
During the grassy season herds Of spring
bok used 20 migrate In the old DAYS TO
Kalahari. I'm the northern part OF which |
CRATES live the whole year. although |
they must exist without tasting water for |
months.-KnOwledee