Arizona republican., 1900-11-27
TOO SALT FOR SEA ANIMALS
Why They Cannot Live in the Waters
 Of Salt Lake.

Some time ago the United States fish cries commission thou3t it would be a good idea to stock Great Salt lake with useful sea animals if it was found that they could live in ] 8 waters. There was considerable doubt that the project was practicable. for it was believed that the excessive salinfty of the lake might be unfavorable for sea life. However that might be, it was thought to be worth while. at any rate, to investigate the matter.
 So MT. H. r. Moore was senI. to Utah to seq if .lhe lake would make a good home for sea animals. If his report were favorable there was certainly an opportunity for an important immigra- tion of the dsnizens of the ocean to these inland waters. The lake is about one hundred miles long, With an aver age width Of twenty-seven miles. and so large a body of water would give plenty of leeway for a good many thousands of animals.
 MT. MOore's report has be5 submit ted to the commission and it Is so unfa- Vorable To the proposed project that no attempt will be made to introduce sea life into this supersaltcd d water. Mir Mo5re found that in those parts of the lake which received the main supplies of fresh water and were consequently less saline than the other waters some sea crabs and insects may live and some of the lower forms of vegetation flourish; but the proportion of sat- in the larger part of the lake is too great to be favorable for any form of sea "a ha laly water from the m1untain streams. but numerous salt or brakish springs also contribute an unusually large quantity of mineral ma':er; So that while the specific gravity of ocean water, on an average is only 1.G25. that of Gr5at Salt lake is 1.16S The lake waters are un- favorable for sea life, not because of their quality, which does not differ in chemical constituents from the waters of the ocean, but because of the enor- nous amount of salt held in solution.
 Commercial enterprises are now talk ing from the lake about 42.OO0 tons of salt every year. Go might be thought that this enormous withdrawal of salt from the lake would. before a very great while. reduce the waters to tfs specific gravity of Sea water When this point is rt cached, conditions may be attained that will probably be favora- bie for sea life in Utah's great lake. Mir Moore. however, does not encourage the idea that this transformation can be reached for a grSat many genera lions to come.
 It is estimated that the amount of salt added to the lake every year by the waters which pour into it is Is 900 lions; in other words, half the quantity of salt now withdrawn from, the lake every year is made good to the lake by the fresh supplies received. Computa- tions based on the present specific gravity of the lake lead 10 the conclu- sion that it now contains about 400,- 100000 tons of salt. which is far less than the estimates of the salt wealth of the lake that have come from other sources. According to these figures, and at the present rate of extracting salt for comercial uses from the lake waters. 14.00O years will eiapse before the specific gravity of the water has been reduced to that of the ocean. So the prospect of introducing sea animals is, at present, scarcely worth consider ing. The people of Utah must continue to import their oysters fl om the sea board
 When q man is socially ambitious it !