IS THE WORLD DRYING UP?

Marlborough Express, Volume L, Issue 224, 2 October 1916, Page 6

IS THE WORLD DRYING UP?

EVIDENCE FIIOM AFRICA. .

Concerning a specific instance of ! the continuous decrease of surface | crater from the earth, especially in j Asia and Africa, the "dry continents," .xdvocate ICiigtsiie N. Marais, T?.J.P., writes from Rietfontein, "Waterbecg, South Africa, an astonish- ; ins article, recently published in a import of the Smithsonian Institute. ; After mentioning some of tho I frpn**ral 'acts j'elfll-irjf to tf-o. rlrvir.'^ ; .ip of the whole earth, which, accord-

ing to the ..'.French Astronomer, * F!ammarion, will ultimately cause the end of tho world,, the nufchor citee a number <»f aippalling instances of the increasing drynesa 61 Africa. N'gami, a real lalce less fchaai 50 ytrars ago, is now no more than a marsh threateneol ivith speedy extinction; and Lake Rudolph, is rapidly shi'inkihg, which faofc is alarming when it is realised, that -.this body of water feeds Iho Nile and. waters Egypt. Maxais believes the old doctrine regarding thv> perfect -cycle of moisture-evapora-tion «.nd precipitation to be false, and" that the earth, is sucking up moisture iiko a gigantic aiponge. confining it apparently beyond the reach of man's ingenuity. Tho name of "Waterberg; was given originally when the country was very fertile, watered by lakes, streams, springy, «md dotted with' marshes. According to the writer, its name,was synonymous with a sort of lotus laxtd of fertilitiy; it literally overflowed with milk, honey, and fruits. It was aJso the las* .stronghold of the big game of the northern.Transvaal. Today, after the oulinitiating drought of 1913j it is practically a desert, with djiea-up water-coui-'ses and springs, doad orange groves—some of them over 50 yeare old—trees three centuries old aiow lifeless, desolate pasture iands devoid of cattle and other life. There is no game, either birds; or nnimab, and the fields where,fine crops>onoe grew are now parched and c'.eaa.

It is hard to believe, but true, that in the entire district of Waterberg. which is larger than the Free State, there was last year no running water, and m §he north of the district there is a .tract of over 4000 square miles in extent whero there is no single drop of water, running, or'stagnant, above the surface, of the ground. The great Limpopo' itself is dry for all the distance thab its course covers in this district, and only by digging deep in its sandy bed can drinking water; be found. Even aftea* a very heavy rain in the neighborhood of its source, •yhich flooded its tributaries at the time, fche stream readied ' but a little way down the Limpopo, and not one drop of the \rater which feE in the upper regions reached the sea—all Jost iii the burning sands of the river's bed.i Only the? fairly numerous ■thermal springs of the district remain uiiaffeoted by the- drought, and on them the dwellers depend for drinking and ifriovfcioh. The famous sweets 1 grass oC,this region is nearly gone, 1 though in its■ pliaoe, has come a coarser-i "sour" grass >vith peculiar, drought-, resisting qualities'!-' ■-.-'.■• , ! ' The Jife history of, this '.'sous'.' grass is truly a fairy tale of botany. Its seeds are highly specialised, having a body shaped ,like a y torpedo v/ith a long tapering tail. They have attained in' their perfection the .tadpole; shape affected by Nature m thousands of forms. Magnified, these deeds are seeu to be studded «11 over with sha-rp, itiff bristles set backward, whiio in the :iead is set an intensely hard horny spike, sharp as a needle, with m, orown of .harpoon points at its base. The seeds aiot only cling to the coats of ajiimals, and drift about in the wind, but, penetrate" into the -internal issues ->f. .inimal and. man, passing through : . coat, ''-muscle, and ilesh, where they; cause much diis--fomfort and igreafc danger: An opportunity of seeing a startling-'.wonder.-'of plant life is offered when one oomes :-> :toss a mass of these seeds drifted j together by .the wind: 1 If a little v\^atea- is |tprinkied on .them,, a tremor j of awa&iiing, jife ds seen to stir them;, movements m/«ll directions follow, so'j aiumadrlike as ito leave one in doubt j whether they; are really, seeds or., insects. First each seed disentangles. itself, then; the seed-head is lifted, clear of the ground, folio wing which a bend of the supporting tan turns the torpedo heaxl earthward, and the ;needle point with its bristles is thrust :nto the damp soil by a continuous pressure of the tail. 'FKis latter piovemeht is continued until the seed is. embedded ?n t-he'soil, the whole operation occupying 15 minutes. If the soil is. only slightly damp tlie seed penetrates -just ; beyond the Hne of moisture and remains without germinating until enough rain ensures the cafe sprouting of tho' hiture-seedling. Thus equipped, the sour ffrass exists despite, the severe drpuglit against, which the si\veetv grass is helpless. ;

A DEHSIMANISED COUNTRY

far-rewh?ng oh the iinixnal !world that those animals, capable of escape fled early i wn ■ the stricken area—man with Ms" livo stock among the first— a^d now the" entire middle ve!dt is •without- human .inhabitant ■ .-and ' the north pvacticalLy a desert. Over everything lies the silence of absolute lifelessness. It seems, ns if the desert -had reached out an arm- and taken unto itself for all unie this great extent of 6nce> fertile country, where ier four and a-hia.li hours daily in no spot is the temp!©i'<itura less than 100 degrees Ealir. The tei'rible heat and the absence of all moistui-© cau&o •singular effects; the hair is so electrified that when utroked lightly a crnickling shower of sparks >s evolved, aud the finger-nails become so brittle that they break constantly; both hair raid nailsr seem, to have lost all power, of growth. All celluloid substances break up, and rubber becomes a useless spongy mass. The hoi'ses' swishing, tails crackle incessantly, and stand out in dishevelled bushes, eacfh 'nidividual.hair.as if wired, and in the night thedr flaJiks soem to be surrounded by • miniature auroras of electric discharges.

TERRIBLE EFFECT OF HExVT.

The big game have nearly all disappeared, niotib of them having trekked ■to more fertile country. Some of the remaining animals have had to change fcheir natural habits; [ cho nocturnal anty-bear if? forced to search for its food ;n broad daylight, on account of the fact that the ants in the hard ground cannot be dug out during- v night. Most nocturnal beasts of prey also hunt during tho day as well as by night. A crocodile .was utsoarthed by tho author's party when digging for water in the bed of a stream, a disnnce of four and a-balf. feot bene.ath the surface. This specimen was limp anol fresh, nlthoug.li apparently lifeiess, and, i-ogethei- with some fish ; which .vere found ne>.r by, was ( revived ■■in a short time by the appli- | <'ntion of water.; Aninvnls not Avell | equipped to dig . t0.... tho water follow, j thosw more fortunate. a ttd use their i "vater-hdles'. Some of the wart-hogs * are followed all day long by a retinue ; of other animals, awaiting an oppn'r- } tunity to slake their .thirsts. Tho \ wild dogs of the district, known as j tho- terrible hunting dogs, drive day | and night, attacking n>.s animals, and: are credited with hfi-rinjj: caught and . Killed vn" ozU'luL', previously an. unheard-of r,hin,g. Curiously eno'u-r.rl 1. ilio groat heat . seems not to affect Artuin of tho local.; «vhito arits; vast viimbers came out of their holes at mul-day. formed a • compact ball, o-nd '; iy ;^ +«>vsun all fl-y, HlUji>i?gli-'.t-h«? was so hot

that the bare hand could not stand contact for more than two or three seconds.