The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1907-08-21
SAND SEAS.
Their Destructive Advances
and Means of Check
ing Them.

|
neers are the menacing oceans OF
sand which in different parts of the
world are converting fields into des-
erts. What terrific ravages can be
caused by vast sea of sand is per-
haps best seen in Africa, but in Eng
land to a small extent and in the
United States to a serious degree
may be found demonstrations of the
sand plague which are, to say the
least, disquieting.
grain of sand, torn away from the
granite rocks countless years ago by
the great glacial drift, seems such an
infinitesimal object that proverbially
1t is the least visible thing in the
world, yet when it is united with in
Vulnerable other grains, and the whole
propelled by t., winds, it becomes al
most impossible to stop the progress
of the shifting mass. 1t pours down
over a country, slowly, relentlessly,
laying waste everything. Buildings
are undermined, roads are obliterated,
and its gruesome work, once begun,
never ceases.
Egypt was not always the sandy
waste the modern tourist finds it. Yet
If the visitor to the Nile country
makes journey to the Sphinx he
will find that remarkable piece of
sculpture has been partly obscured by
the sand waves which now cover up
per Egypt,
The Sahara, the greatest desert in
the world, was, according to the best
scientific opinion once an immense in
land sea. In the time of that sea the
climate in upper Africa, indeed, the
! whole surface of the northern part of
the continent, was very different to
what it now is. At present the Sahara
makes the climate for the Mediterra-
( mean and Central Europe, and
! while this is agreeable enough, the
gradual expansion of the great ocean
of sand, which is by degrees tapping
| the valleys of Algeria, threatens to
| lay waste finally to the coast. The
Atlas Mountains alone appear to have
: held the monster in check.
| Various propositions have been
made concerning the African desert,
and one of them, a scheme of inunda-
| ton, is almost too chimerical, if in
! effect it would not be mischievous, to
| deGerve serious attention. To stem
the tide of sand in this vast ocean by
ordinary means is impossible, and
| probably nature will be left to repair
| her damage in her own way.
1t is the struggling vegetation ,on
| the edge of the desert which is respon-
sible for the tardy strides of the sand.
And it is from so casual hint that
successful experiments have been
made with brush and grass on the
North Carolina coast, where the sand
enemy has grown to be as terrible as
| nightmare, only far more potent OF
destruction.
While parts CT the English coast
are being washed away and eaten up
| by the sea, other parts are being add
ed to with rapidity. Although the in
roads of sand may be natures way of
| making compensation for what she has
elsewhere deprived the country, the
inhabitants of Southport for instance,
do not view the situation with any
satisfaction.
Within the last few years some mil
ions of tons of sand have accumulated
on the shores at Southport. The wind
is mainly responsible for the over
whelming character of the sand. At
a recent meeting of the Southport
Chamber of Commerce it was stated
that unless a new channel was cut al
most Immediately the town would in
very few years be four miles from
deep water. So far as the filling up
of the channel is concerned, the blame
must be put upon the sea- However,
it will cost 100000 to dredge this
new channel, and the necessity for
the work is apparent. The pier at
Southport is nearly mile in length,
but with deep water receding at the
present rate, the pier will soon become
useless.
But this is matter of commerce.
With the overwhelming of the espla-
made, or sea-walk, at the same place,
which has been accomplished by the
sand and wind in very thorough
manner, an equally serious problem is
encountered. This cannot be got rid
of by such simple means as dredging
channel. The sand must be remov-
ed, and a very pretty problem it pre-
sents. In some places the magnificent
rallied esplanade lies under five or six
feet of sand. Not only has the way
ward sand covered the walk. but has
accumulated in dunes between the es-
planade and the sea, effectively shut
ting out the view.
Some imaginative geographeis have
affected to believe it girdle of des-
erts around the world. By means 9.
specially drawn map this phenome-
non in apparent. Following a curved
line it is seen that the great deserts
of Asia, Africa, and the lesser sandy
wastes of North America seem to bear
geographical relations to one another.
Like Levator's great circle of fire
around tho Pacific Ocean the Semicir-