Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1910-08-24
The ARCTIC CROP.
Frigid Yield From GreenIand's
Icy Mountains.
THE MAKING OF AN ICEBERG.


as the Ends Become Too Heavy
They Break Of and Form 6ersa
At any time Of the year ice may be
encountered in the Atlantic north 0f
The fortieth parallel Of latitude, ap-
Ultimately that OF New York, and
'weeu ~ and % degrees west longi-
'.cr. but It is in spring. when the IN
crraSinG warmth Of the sun loosens
the arctic foes and causes the bergs TO
melt and float from the places where
they have been stranded. that there Is
the greatest danger to the mariner.
The bergs have their origin almost
exclusively In western Greenland. al
though few may come around Cape
Farewell from the Spitzbergen sea and
some from Hudson bay.
A huge sheet OF ice a mile thick In
places covers the whole OF Greenland.
This gradually slides down the valley
toward the sea. into which II Is thrust
In great sheets City miles wide. AS
these ends become too heavy they
break of and become bergs. The proc
cSs. Is known as ''calving" The pieces
set adrift thus may be thousand feet
out OF the water and n mile square.
but as they drift about they become
broken and continue 10 diminish In
size until they finally disappear com
pletely. The process sometimes takes
several years.
Once set adrift icebergs End their
way into the Labrador current and be-
gin their journey. But OF all bergs so
cnf Hrff
ever Snd their way into the path Of the
transatlantic steamships
Nor do all bergs take the same
course. Some so south: others lodge
against the shore or against islands.
Two years may separate the time that
two bergs reach low latitude. though
they were "calved' ut the same mo-
ment-
Field ice also offers an obstruction 10
the icebergs. though by their great
size and bulk they often act as plows
and aid materially in breaking up the
fee ields which obstruct the arctic ba-
sin.
Ice fields are more affected by the
wind than are icebergs. Bergs gener-
ally drift with the current. so that one
sometimes is seen moving into the
wind.
Advantage is taken OF this by the
sealing and fishing boats when caught
In an fee field. They often moor 10 an
iceberg and are towed miles through
the ice, through which otherwise they
could make no Roadway. This is ac-
complished by sinking an anchor into
hn nd r1fv
AS the berg advances open water. with
small floating ice. il left astern-
But this is indeed a dangerous thing
10 do. All ice is brittle, but especially
icebergs. A blow of an AK has been
known 10 split one. while tie report
Of gun at times will accomplish the
same end In July and August. when
the bergs are breaking up along the
coast Of Labrador. the noise at times
is deafening, and the noise of one Of
ten causes another to break I'D.
From their very nature icebergs as
sumo an endless variety Of shapes.
Some resemble geometrical figures.
while Others carry fantastic domes.
spires and minarets. Sometimes they
appear to be veritable Ice bridges.
with two separate supports. In many
there are great caves and indenta-
tons. AS they drift south and begin
melting cascades of water pour down
their sides or run from the tips OF the
hundreds OF icicles which depend from
every ledge.
Frequently there are outlying spurs
in the water. as dangerous to ships n.
crraA
sells should always give them a wild,
berth, half mile being considered thu
nearest that one may be approached
with safety.
Several years ago the British steam
ship Nessmore ran into an iceberg an,
stove in her bows. When she wa
locked a scratch was found next tn
keel the full length OF the ship, tn
plates being almost cut through. Th
ship evidently struck a submerge
spur. The government report says:
1T Is generally best for ships to 6
to wiDdward OF them. because disir
tegrated fragments have a tendency {
drift to leeward. while open water wi
be found to windward."
So nicely are icebergs balanced 1
the water that the slightest meltin
sometimes will cause the center O
gravity to shift, and the entire Der
Will capsize or founder. Thus man
ships have been wrecked.
Field ice is formed throughout III
waters within the arctic circle sout
as far as Newfoundland. and eac-
year vast foes leave the shores an
drift south into the paths of con
MERGE. The arctic ice often has live
through several seasons In the IA
north and occasionally is ten to tiftee
and sometimes twenty feet thick q,
cause OF its continual motion. due {
currents. wind. etc. gradually II b'
comes broken mp. Swells from storm
IN the open seas cause II TO raft G
pile one pan on another-in the arcti
every piece OF field ice is a pan-unt
1t Is covered with hummocks.
Ice also becomes RATED by the grint
ing OF a free field against anotht
frozen TO the shore or by the grindin
Of two fields against each other whe
one is given turning motion by col
trary wind and tide. This rotary 10
ton. 1t Is said. Is particularly DANCE
Gus to ships that get caught betwec
felds.-Chicago Inter Ocean