The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1913-06-17
POLAR CONTRASTS
The Arctic Is Deep Cup, the
Antarctic a Huge Bulb.
FORMS OF LIFE DIFFER ALSO.
In the North Are the Eskimos, and
Plants and Animals Are Relatively
Abundant, While the South Has No
Human Beings and Little Vegetation.

Plants and Animals are relatively
Abundant, While the South Has No
Human Beings and Little Vegetation.
The earth whirls around an invisible
axle, one end of which turns the deep
cup of the Arctic ocean. while the 9th |
er spins the huge white button of the
antarctic continent
In the north the ice floats on the sea
like a moving floor. In the south 1t
rests like a bossy shield on vast
dome Of uplifted rock.
Close around the edges Of the ice
world, both north and south and even
within it, animals and plants are found
living. But In their species these in
habitants Of the opposite poles are as
different as the poles themselves.
On and around the antarctic CONT
nent there are several species Of birds.
notably albatrosses. petrels and the
strange, upright walking penguins,
with their black coats. white waist
coats and ludicrously polite bearing
There are also whales and seals. but
the human form Is absent, except so
far as 1t Is mimicked to the eye Of
fancy by the stately penguins. The
plants are scanty in number. although
some bear flowers.
Within tile arctic circle the scene Is
more animated There are many arc
tic plants. some bearing brilliant tow-
ers Yellow buttercups and arctic pop
pies warm the heart of the explorer.
The saxlfrage puts out its starry
blossoms within ~ degrees of the pole.
There are so many other species that
very attractive bouquet of arctic
flowers may be formed The animal
life OF the arctic Is also relatively abun-
dant. In the sen Is the world circling
whale. the walrus with his curious
lu.sks and the various species Of seals
On the land and snow and sometimes
ON the cepacks are large and remarka-
| bic aulnals often In abundance. The
great polar bear alone would suffice to
make the lands that he tenants famous.
! Then there are reindeer. musk oxen
| foxes. wolves. hares and jennings
| sAAnOt@SS OtA 10. ~ 6AO0oCs ploiiht6u
snow bnntings, falcons, pufins and
auks But man is there. too, in the
person of the hut dwelling. fur clothed
feb 5, caring Eskimo
rhe reason why the life around the
t@o l3oies is 50 Giiie.ent and so con-
trastel in its forms Is probably to be
round In the climatic differences.
which. in turn are governed by the
| elevation The sea life Is similar In
both cases-w whales aud seals are the
charani eis.iss animals that inhahit the
polar waters But the great elevation
of the antarctic continent. with its
eternal burden of snow and ice, thou
sending down Unreasonable glaciers
thai form vast platforms OF thick ice
| all around the borders of the CONT
nent. keeps the mean temperature at
a low level and drives life away from
the snow buried land The atmosphere
over the south pole manufactures snow
and ice without limit As the burden
piles higher at the center 1t pushes out
ward on all sides down the slopes OF
the continent until it reaches the Dor
dering sea.
But things have not always been
thus. The recent explorers of the ant
arctic have found remains Of ancient
life. recalling the life of the temperate
zones and the tropics. The coal de
posits of the antarctic continent are
believed to be OF vast extent They
could not have been formed under pres
ent conditions They consist of the
fossilized remains of immense forests
They could not have been transported
to their present location either by land
or water They must have been form
ed where they are Consequently the
antarctic regions must once have en-
joyed a mild climate and atmospheric
conditions very favorable TO an abun
dant vegetation.
But If there was an abundance OF
vegetation there is every reason to be
lieve that there was an abundance OF
animal life also. AT that time the south
pole. Instead Of being elevated many
thousands Of feet above the sea, maj
have lain at low level That. in 1t
self. wonld raise the mean tempera
ture. but ii would not be sufficient t.
produce ali the difference hetweel
present and past conditions Of antarc
tic life
Either the sun was hotter in tina
distant time, or the composition Of tn
atmosphere was such az to retaiI
more heat. or The inclination of tn
earth's axis was different from wha
it is today. or, as some have imagined
the solar system was then passin'
through warmer region of space
Whatever the cause may have been
there is no doubt that there was
time when the lands arnnnd both tn
poles were habitable by animals AM
plants. most of which have since bee
driven toward the equator
As the antarctic continent rose an
assumed its burden Of ice. the relics o
its former splendid life we're burie'
almost beyond recovery, while in tn
far north, where there has been n
corresponding elevation Int possibly
depression. more Of the ancient If
forms have remained while the trace
Of what they onre were are more eas
ily recovered Garrett = Serviss j
Spokane Spokesman Review.