240 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



The presence of this glacier would cause rainfalls 

 throughout the year in that section of the country, which 

 is now discouragingly arid on account of the upper strata 

 of atmosphere being too hot to permit of a sufficient fall 

 of rain to water the lands. 



Dr. Woolridge explains his theory very clearly and 

 points out its usefulness and practicability. 



"My theory of creating a glacier has only grown 

 from a close observation of the laws of nature/' he said 

 during a recent interview. "When warm air from the 

 ocean's surface is carried in large volumes to great 

 heights, clouds are formed and after an interval of time, 

 because of pressure, rain falls. This has been known 

 since the dawning intelligence of man first began to 

 note and understand the operations of nature. If, how- 

 ever, as has long since been discovered, the air from the 

 ocean's surface rises slowly and is diffused and warmed 

 as it rises the precipitation docs not occur. 



day in the operation of the ammonia manufacturing 

 apparatus. 



"If then, with the temperature at 80 degrees in the 

 shade and the barometer at 30 inches, a great volume 

 of air were carried directly from the ocean's surface off 

 Southern California to the height of 10,000 feet, where 

 the barometric pressure is about 20 inches, its tempera- 

 ture would register two-thirds of what it was at the sea 

 level, and the moisture it contained would be pre- 

 cipitated either on the mountain tops or before reaching 

 that height. 



"But the true zero temperature for air is the va- 

 porizing point, or point of no pressure, which the ex- 

 periments with liquid air have proved to be at 312 de- 

 grees below zero. Hence the true and scientific state- 

 ment of the temperature at the sea level which we 

 call 80 in the shade is 80 plus 312, or 392 degrees, as 

 registered by the liquid air system. 



Courtesy U. S. Dept. Agriculture. (Mead.) 



IRRIGATION INVESTIGATIONS IRRIGATED ORCHARDS IN THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA. 



"This is exactly what happens in the lands I pro- 

 pose to irrigate by means of the glacier. And to wage 

 a successful war against this law of nature, it will be 

 necessary to devise some scientific means of carrying 

 the air which is now diffused straight up to a great 

 height in a vast volume. 



"Within the range of temperature and pressure to 

 which life is limited the volume of the air varies, it being 

 guided by the pressure. For instance, one cubic foot 

 of ait at the sea level with the barometer at thirty 

 inches, will, at such a height that the barometric pres- 

 sure is only fifteen inches, occupy two cubic feet. 



"At the same time without any heat being added to 

 or taken from this air, its temperature is being reduced 

 as its volume increases, or decreases as its volume is 

 diminished by pressure, varying inversely, directly the 

 pressure changes. This is practically illustrated every 



"The apparent loss of temperature that would occur 

 by carrying this air to the height proposed would be one- 

 third of the temperature, or 130 2-3 degrees, which 

 subtracted from its original temperature of 80 would 

 leave 50 2-3 degrees below zero, as the temperature of 

 this air at the height of 10,000 feet is changed from 80 

 degrees at the sea level by expansion only. This is a 

 degree of cold much greater than is usually found on 

 mountain Heights under twenty inches barometric pres- 

 sure corresponding to 80 in the shade at the sea level 

 with 30 inches pressure. 



"This demonstrates that the commonly accepted 

 teaching that the effect of the sun on the upper strata 

 of the atmosphere is slight and that its heating power 

 is mostly exerted close to the earth's surface is a mis- 

 take. The sun's rays act on the ocean of atmosphere 

 exactly as they do on the ocean of water. In proportion 



