The Wichita daily eagle., 1904-04-03
ISLANDS THAT FLOAT
Those in Mythology Have Ri
walls Today.
HOW THEY ARE USED
Formation of Them as Scien-
tihc Problem.

| In the center of the Cyclades rises a
rugged mass of granite, formerly known
as Delos. but now bearing the name OF
Micra Dill The names of Astoria ana
Ortygia, which it bore in remoter past
are relics of its legendary history AS
| terra, so runs the ancient story. tnre"
| herself into the sea to escape the at
tentions of Jupiter. The modern stud
ent of meteors will, perhaps, ask him.
self if there is not here chronlcied In
the language of the time an account OF
| greater meteor which fell into the Medi-
| terranean A star falls from heaven, ano
comes personided in a maiden, Asteria.
| The legend adds that Astoria took the
| form of an ArtyX, or quail, and hehce
| the alternative name of Ortygia. Meta
morphosed on reaching the sea, Asteria
becomes an island. When Leto, in her
wanderings. came to Delos, il was float
ing island drifting about in the Egean
Sea. and to make it a secure dwelling
place for her, so runs the story. Jupiter
chained it to the seaboard with adaman-
tine chains Apparently. however, Delos
! Il
lates how Apollo rebound it. Guam Plus
| Architenens revinxit." Homer descripes
the dwelling-place of Eolus as floating
island: Then we came 70 the Eolian ISL
land and there dwelt Eolus >Hippotades.
dear to the deathless gods; there he dweit
! in a floating island, and round II was d
wall Of brass that could not be broken.
| and the smooth rock OF il ran up sheer.
! The floating islands of fact are NOT less
! interesting than those of fiction. spe-
! cial charm attaches to those OF the Mexi-
can lakes. They are. in fact floating gar
dens. with crops of beans, peas, potatoes
etc. and gay with varied flowers. Ihere
are two sorts of them" says Humboldt
the one in movement and driven about
/ by the winds and the other fixed ana at
| tached to the shore" The origin OF these
| chinampas, as they are called, has been
tracked back to the fourteenth century
They are partly natural and partly arti-
fetal Masses of tangled vegetation col
| lect together in the water. and when
these natural RATS become strong enough
soil is placed upon them Thus they be-
come floating gardens. The movable ones
are towed or pushed with strong poles
| from place 10 pldCe.
On the group Of such islands may be
seen the cottage of the guard. In Hum
boldt's time it was one of the sights to
see the boats laden with vegetables and
! flowers grown on the Chinampas coming
down the canals to the cities of Istacalco
and Chalco. The promenade round the
| lakes among the floating islands was one
| of the finest to be had in the environs of
Mexico.
A more recent traveller Brocklehurst.
! also describes these floating gardens OF
Mexico. The lakes were covered in parts
by tangled masses Of reeds, water plants,
and bushes. AS soon as one of these
masses was strong enough, strips of turf
We're laid upon it. This was done several
times. and then some soil laid on the sur
face. 1t was now garden. and yielded
crops of vegetables and flowers. At the
! time Of the Spanish conquest they were TO
| be seen in thousands on the lakes A
/ large part of the revenues of the Aztec
kings came from the cultivation of these
| floating gardens. They were from 100 to
| 200 feet long and from 20 to 100 feet broad
| Long willow poles were driven through
| them into the bottom of the lake. there
1 to take root and keep the island an
| chored. Thus unconsciously did the Az
tees adopt Jupitorls treatment of Delos
1 for their own islands. the willow poles
playing the part OF the adamantine
! chains. In Brocklehursts time they were
all thus fixed. none were free to float
about with 'high-born damsels. under jas
mine bowers" 1t was a more prosaic
age.
The floating islands Of the Chinese flsh-
ermen are also interesting. These are
/ towed after the boats as they sail or row
| over the lakes and rivers The intense
economy of the Chinese mind makes every
! square yard of soil profitable, and here is
/ a striking illustration. Making a raft Of
| bamboos and Intervening it with reeds
! and long grass. the fisherman then COW
ers it with soil. On this floating island
| he grows his onions and other vegetables
/ towing his garden after him as he follows
his vocation up and down the river or
! lake. The Nile has its islands OF float
/ ing vegetation Sometimes the White
Nile is entirely blocked by an enormous
/ number of floating islands. They are
/ largely made up Of the famed papyrus.
/ Sometimes a hut is to be seen esconced
! in 4 corner OF one OF them. Navigation is
/ often inpeded by their accumulation. The
River Angara, which runs out Of Lake
/ BaikaI has many islands floating on the
bosom of its rapid current. Some are
wooded others low and treeless like
/ green blotches on the surface ~ 1ns
/ stream On Lake Dal in the Vale OF
/ Kashmir are floating islands moored to
! the bottom BY stakes. Other lakes also
+ have their floating islands. Humboldt. in
| deed remarks that they are 20 be met
with in all zones. Darwin saw them in
! Chile during the memorable voyage Of the
Beagle. Lake Tsgua-Tagus. for example
/ is noted for its floating islands. They are
/ formed Of the entwined stalks ~ dead
/ plants. among which living vegetation
/ takes root They are circular in form
and from four TO six feet thick As the
4 wind blows them about these islands fire.
quently pass from one side Of the lake 20
another Horses and cattle are thus
{ sometimes carried across the Isk~-z
unique kind OF ferryboat is seen in ac-
( tion.
On the broad waters Of the Gsnges.
Amazon. Congo and Orinoco. Islands OF
matted trees Gcat down and III; forth or
NissisSipri Father ot Waters" bears
such green isIe;s or its bosom On one o,
Them rerchance. youuE trees take root
and the pistis nd nu2hsr sdOrn It with
their Fellow flowers AIIigators. serperts.
4-d birds seex the shelter - its sscll5sio1
py,- .hev have embarked from a voyage