The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-09-18
DESERT PLANT LIFE.
Mystery of its Appearance When L0ns
 Drought ia Broken.

Mystery of its Appearance When Long
 Drought is Broken. Chicago Record Herald.
 The study of the castus is recent fad. Many scientific men are now en- gagged in making investigations into It's habits, with view to promoting its usefulness. The Federal Govern ment, the civic authorities, the faculties of the universities of the arid States and Territories and several private in- divfduals are engaged in the work. The Carnegie Institution has established & botanical laboratory at Tucson, Arizo- ma, in charge of Dr. ". A. Canon, of Columbia University, New York city. He and his assistants are experimenting with all kinds of desert plants within their reach to discover their utility, de- termine their habits and ascertain the precise biological and physical condi- tions under which plants grow in the desert, in the hope and expectation that they can be made to grow more freely and become useful to man. If the desert plants can be used as forage for cattle 1t will be a great achievement. Some important discoveries have already been made. and during the winter the results will be given to the world.
 Just now Dr. Cannon and his assis- tants are trying to determine how the cactus and other desert plants extract water from the soil and the atmosphere. All desert plants contain large quan- titles of moisture. The "barreP cactus for example, is so per cent water and fiuorishes best In barren deserts, where there is not a spring or river within hundred miles, and no rain ever falls. Other varieties of cacti contain from 50 to 75 per cent of water, and the pIa ie aHfVtollN rAQ0PUnfT This Is so well understood that Indians and frontiersmen often rely upon it to s1ake their thirst when crossing a desert. How these plants get water is the problem Professor Cannon is now trying to solve.
 A phenomenon even more remarkable and inexplicable Is the presence in the sands of the desert of an infinite num- Der and great variety of seeds of plants and flowers, which germinate at long intervals, when there happens to be rainfall or when water is introduced by the construction of irrigation ditches Such phenomenon was observed last spring in several parts of Arizona. where rain fell for the first time in the memory of man. Immediately after, as if by magic, the sands were covered by a blanket of flowers and tiny plants, which were entirely un- hHoWu lo tHe peOple tHeNes AHSy sur vlved but few days. The burning sun soon dried the desert and this un- natural vegetation vanished.
 A similar phenomenon occurred in 1899 on the Desert of Peru, which lies between the Andes and the ocean. Heavy rains fell there for the first time in centuries There were no records of pervious rains. but for two weeks or more a succession of daily showers
 
 lowed by the appearance of luxurious vegetation upon shifting sands-plants and flowers that no one had ever seen before. The miracle was brief They lived but few days and then withered. Where the seeds came from nobody can explain. It has been a popular i'm pression that no rain has ever fallen upon the Peruvian deserts since the making of the world. Hence there has never been any plant life there. Six thousand miles of ocean lie on one the mighty Andes, whose western slopes are of rock and sand almost des- titute of vegetation. On the eastern slopes of the Andes are immense for ests and iungles and vegetation Of the rankest character But the plants and flowers which appeared so miraculously during those few days on the desert are not found anywhere on that continent.
 When the Missouri. Kansas and Texas Railway was built through Indian Ter rltory, wild verbena sprang up where ever the soil was turned each summer. and for two or three years the right of way was one continuous bed of flowers of varities which had never bloomed there before. The construction of new irrigation systems In arid countries is often followed by the appearance of vegetation, which indicates that the soil is full of latent life and seeds that have been lying dormant for ages. When new soil is cultivated on the prairies and deserts weeds and plants appear immediately. and no one has ever yet been able to determine where the seeds come from.
 COrouersH Verdict.