The Washington herald., 1912-03-31

progress" says Prof W MCGEE, the
eminent government scientist. will be
the conquest OF the Amazon Valley.
1T will be peaceful conquest. result
| ing in the occupancy by white people Of
| the richest and most fruitful region on
| the face OF the earth-a region which
up to the present time has been regarded
as practically unInhabitable. uncultivable
and. to all intents and purposes useless
to civilization, save In so far as Its wild
products can be turnea TO marketable
account.
"Yet the time is destined 10 arrive
when this basin will be occupied by a
number OF human inhabitants equal to
| the entire population Of the globe to-
day. It Is the future garden OF the world
the most wonderfully fertile area In
existence. A veritable tropic paradise,
extending from the Atlantic Ocean 20 the
| foothills of the Andes. II is to great
extent unexplored. and is now inhabited
by tribes Of the most primitive savages
| In the world. some Of whom are saio
| to live in trees like apes. being the most
| distinctly arboreal of human beings.
III the question be asked. what Is the
greatest result gained by the digging OF
the Panama Canal, almost anybody will
reply that IL is the development OF new
possibilities of commerce through the
joining OF the two great oceans. But that
is not SO. The cutting of the isthmus
will have proved most useful to man.
kind through the object lesson II has
afforded In the practicabi;Iiy Of tropical
conquest. II has taught US that white
men can make the hot belt OF the earth
safe and comfortable to live In.
THE Canal Zone was considered as
unhealthful 4 region as could be found
anywhere in the world. II was not the
engineering difficulties involved. but the
climate that defeated the French in their
efforts to dig the ditch. They made the
mistake OF trying TO dig II before clean
ing UP the strip. When we tackled the
job we took IT Up from the other end.
beginning with sanitation. We started
in with a complete hygienic reconstruc-
ton Of the Zone, the most important fea-
ture Of the work being the elimination
of deadly fevers by draining swamps
and stopping the breeding OF mosquitoes
The problem confronting the white
men in the valley of the Amazon is ex-
actly the same problem on a larger scale
II will be undertaken not all at once. Of
course, but piecemeal. and in this way,
cleaning up one region after another. the
entire area will eventually be subtu-
gated. To-day the redundant vitality OF
the tropics keeps the white man out. but
a change is about to arrive.
Amazon Soil Fruitful.
1T is a curious and paradoxiesl situa-
ton. The soil Of a region like the ANA
zon Valley IS so excessively fruitful that
the farmer finds 1t difficult, II not impos-
sible to get a living out OF it. He cannot
keep down the luxuriant natural vegeta-
ton in order TO replace It with cultivated
and useful plants. Grasses OF Brobdingna-
gian growth spring UP faster than he can
cut them down or pull them up. while
vines rivalIng in rapidIty OF development
Jonahs famous gourd overwhelm his
crops. and weeds of all sorts array
themselves in competition with whatever
he tries to raise. But this difficulty will
be solved by progressive Improvement in
agricultural methods and appliances.
In the valley OF the Amazon there is
a redundance Of vitality such as exists
nowhere else on the face OF the globe
over an area OF corresponding magni-
tude The rainfall is about sixty inches
year, which Is just what Is needed TO
make the largest possible amount of
plant growth from ordinary soils. With
more water. plant growth is reduced,
because the soil Is drowned. with less
water there is an insufficient supply. In
the Eastern United States the rainfall
is about forty-five inches per annum. in
the Great Plains region it averages from
twenty-five to thirty inches.
with dollhouse temperatures all the
year round and so abundant a supply
of water. il is natural that the plant
life OF the Amazon Valley should exhibit
an astonishing luNuriance. Vast forests
and almost impenetrable jungles extend
over hundreds of thousands OF square
miles OF the interior. Life of all kinds
Is redundant-even that Of fishes. and
especially OF insects. The whols vast
area literally throbs with vitality. and
the minute organisms which are causes
of disease attain a corresponding abun-
dance.
The conquest Of this wonderful do
main is the burden which the white man
is now ready. for the first time, to take
up. He will turn to profitable accounts
the enormous vital energy which,
hitherto has assumed the character OF an
foe. In the valley Of the
Amazon such energy is available for use
e. nowhere else. II affords opportunity
for a human population more dense and
more numerous than can be found any
where else. because II is capable OF pro-
ducing more food-of growing more
plants and feeding more domestic ami
mails
One Person to Acre.
In our own country each acre OF cult
vable land Is capable OF sustaining one
person. An acre in the Amazon Valley
will support a family of five. There are IN
that region at east 10000 square miles,
or l.6c0, 10000 acres, available for human
At the present time the pop
ulatlon of the entire globe is certainly
not more than 1,5oO.0oo.O 600 Thus Il is |
safe to say that the region in question |
would AFFORD a maintenance for n num- |
ter OF people equal to the worlds popu- |
lation to-day. |
''As the conquest goes forward. the |
genius Of the white man will not only |
eliminate the disease-causing organisms.
but will reconstruct the fora OF the re- |
gion, creating new kinds of plants and |
new foods. This is no mere imaginative |
Plants are the most plastic |
Of living things Take corn for example. |
There Is In nature no such vegetable as |
corn. The American aborigines made II |
from a little mountain plant bearing a /
Few seeds. each in a separate capsule"
The first descent OF the Amazon was |
made by the Spanish explorer Orellana, |
IN 151. His party had a battle with the
Tapuya tribe. whose women always help |
10 do the fighting. and from personal
OF this circumstance came
the name which he gave to the stream.
The Mississippi, giant of waters though /