Evening star., 1924-08-31
FLOATING ISLANDS
WONDER OF THE SEA
Phenomenon of Pacific 0c-
casionaIIy Reported by Ships
Stir to Imagination.

Steamers threading the lanes of
the allurins Pacific occasionally re-
port the appearance OF mysterious
floating islands, a phenomenon which
since the ancients woye the roma ntic
story about the chairing down of
the floating island of Delos. says IA
bulletin from the headquarters here
of the National Geographic Society.
Within our own times a floating
island 100 feet square, upon which
trees 50 feet high were growing
drifted 1000 miles out into the At
lantic, probably from the coast of
the United States.
During July, 1892. this island. the
tall trees Of which made II visible
for miles. was first seen about go
miles southeast from Nantucket. BY
September il had drifted about 8 de-
grees farther north and - degrees
farther east with the Gulf Stream,
and il may have eventually landed
on the coast of Europe.
Cited ms Clues of Geography.
Scientists feel the lure of the Sc
cretS these drifting islands hold. and
cudgel their wits over the part they
might have played at various times
in the history of the earth. Some
believe these tangled masses Of
u -
when they hoated away and finally
landed upon the shores of some other
land, have been instrumental at va
rious times in transmitting squirrels.
field mice. insects and land shells to
other parts OF the earth's surface
where certain species did not origi-,
nally exist.
The formation of these ''jack-o'-
lanterns" of the oceans and rivers
comes M vN1s
The grasses and. rushes which grow
along the edges of the water begin
pushing their way farther and
farther out from shore, and in time
moss grows over this decaying vege-
table matter. Soon Water-loving
plants, such as alder, sheep laurel and
sweet gale, grow with the moss, and
then cranberries and pitcher plants
push their way out on the shelf until
the mat becomes about 3 feet thick
When it has become firm, black
spruces and larches begin anchor
ing it firmly together with their
roots.
"FIOats" Found in Tropics.
When the water rises the floating
mass rises also. but the surrounding
shore cannot, and when the wrench
is great enough the mat breaks off
and floats about. These floats" are
often met with in tropical waters,
particularly in the Amazon, among
the Moluccas and the Philippines.
On the Mississippi and its tributa-
ries these islands are called 'rafts"
Along the seashore they are often
broken off by the action of the
waves. In ponds where the mats
have surrounded the edges, this
vegetation sometimes breaks OFF and
forms an atoll or ring-shaped island.
One of the most remarkable Of the
Mississippi RATS began forming in
river, in 1878. By 1916 it had become
10 miles long, more than 500 feet in
width. about s feet deep, and had
become solid enough to support
growth of trees. some of which were
SO feet in height. Finally the state
of Louisiana had to remove the OBJ
structlon at great expense, the work
occupying four years.
Uncle Sam Removes Raft.
The United States Government has
since that time removed a raft which
blocked the channel Of the Red River
for 45 miles.
The mysterious bits of fiotsam were
known in the days of Pliny, who
wrote that there was a dark wood
in the lake of Vadimonis which was
never seen in the same place for a
day and a night together. He also
described some islands made Of reeds
in Lydia, which were driven about
by the wind and which could be
pushed about from place to place
by poles.
There are thousands of floating
islands in Klamath Lake, Oreg., upon
which the tules grow 10 feet high,
but which will seldom bear the
weight of man.
Shores Changed By Island.
In Sadawga Lake, VT, large
floating island broke OFF from the
west shore. drifted across the lake
and now has become attached to the
eastern side.
Floating gardens, which are the
cultivated variety of floating islands.
have been known in various parts of
the world from carly times, particu-
larly in regions where gardens
planted on terra frma would he
flooded such for instance az the
floating gardens Of kashmir and OF
hochmilco. The latter supplying Mex-
,co CITY with practically all it's vegeta-
bles and flowers.
sometimes these mats are SO
firmly anchored to the shore that
they do not break off with high water
but become submerged For them to
appear above the surface the water
must subSide or some agency must
push the vegetation upward. Marsh
sas. which has . light specific grav-
ity, occasionally does this, when IL
Is present In large quantities and can
escape only at the surface. After
the gas has escaped the island again
becomes submerged.
One of the best known islands of
this type is the floating island in
DerWentwater, one of the loveliest
OF the English lakes. 1t appears and
disappears at the upper end of the
lake at intervals with the accumu.
lation of gas beneath it.