The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-09-08

ND MECHANIC.
earth where borax is found in large
quantities The most important X
these lakes. Next In size are some
mines on the plateau OF Tibet i,
ASA. and last are the deposits found
IN Death Valley. California The
chilean lakes seem TO bc covered with
snow. and the snow is the borax that
RISES to the surface and forms q
pianket or crust on the water 50 firm
mat men can walk on it. Ii looks
Ike ice. and You feel like stopping
lhe train for a skate. In some places
Ihe crust has been broken up into
1oatlnS k and in others il Is be
ing taken out to be refine and ship
PED 10 the markets. Some Of the
p"F2N Is as clean as the whitest OF
spun SILK, other pieces are dirty and
TOOK IKE snow that has lain for some
tlile. On the shores OF the lake are
iron-roofed rehneries. in
when the stuff is prepared for the
market We We're over an hour go
ing by the largest of the lakes. 1t IS
rlSht near the railroad. 1t is twenty
FOUR miles long and is the greatest
reservoir of boraX in the world. IN
oeed, 1t Is the chief source of the
worlds boraN supply.
shortly after leaving this lake we
came 10 highest pass on The railroad.
ms pass crosses the coast range al
e!'"Ct half a mile below the highes
ldu1e OF the road from Lima To
Cefro de PascO. and 1900 feet less in
ehlght than that of the Peruvian
southern on its way to Lake Titicaca-
nevertheless the height is $4,000
feet above the sea, n we found i,
Di112rtL cold NJ fha TN
mountains on each side were busted
with snow, and beyond them were
several great peaks covered with
SfaclerS. On the way We passed the
TWO mighty volcanoes of San Pedro
ana San Paulo. or, as we should call
them in English. st. Peter and St
laI. 81. Peter is now active. and
IRON t goes up a constant column of
smoke, Willie along it's sides .uns a
a great bed of lava that looks As fresh.
as though 1T had not long since come
INTO millions Of fragments. 1t ex-
tends several miles along the slope of
the mountains il plain view OF the
railroad.
st. Peter is one of the most SYM
metrlcal of the worlds great noun
ta1ns. 1t is as beautifully shaped as
uJlyam in Japan, Mount Cook IN
New Zealand, or Mount Moyon in
Luzon. The mountain rises directly
up from the plain. The plain is
level, with only here and there a few
pebbles or powders in sight. 1t is
perfectly smooth except for these
hundreds upon hundreds of millions
OF tons. The rock looks. as though i
had been broken into pieces by th>
MANNERS OF giants and piled np II;
some intelligent force. It is a Won.
derful sight.
l have seen all of the great noun
tain ranges that wall the western
side Of this continent. The Andes arr
said to be the last of the great noun.
tain masses showed up out of the sea
and Of all the highlands they ar,
in many respects the most wonderful
From Panama to Patagonia they form
a mighty geological garden such a:
can be seer in no other part of thu
world. The combinations of deser
and rocks and sky give scenic effects
beyond description. Parts Of tn
Andes are more desertlike thar tn,
wilds of Arabia or the Sahara. The,
show you how the earth was made
and the terrible thrOes involved in it
making. At times you seem to b.
travelling upon the very bedrock of tn
world, and again as though old motke.
earth, in her original nakedneSS o
bare rock, were laid out before yol
upon the d1SSectlng table. Inc wall
Of broken lava of which l have beef
writing are perhaps 800 feet high
The stones are dark red and they ar
piled up in regular masses, formin'
altogether a whole an hundred time
the volume Of our excavation
at Panama. In other place
the volcanoes have Vomite'
sand. Again they have throw
out deposits of rock the siz
of a walnut, and still again mikht
powders Of a semi-metallic nature.
All about these volcanoes of 81
Peter and ST. Paul the scenery i
magnificent, and right betwe en- then
: is a low crater as Symmetrically snap
ed as though cut out by a sculptor
This is of a dark red color. $
5 Close to the volcanoes are the res
Z ervOirs that give AntOfa9asta its waite
supply. The water comes from tn
roof of the continent, n the pipes
l carrying it down are 1913 miles Ions
= The reservoirs are at an altitude high