58 



THE DESERT 



Changing 

 the climate. 



Dry air. 



money, at any rate. And economically these 

 acres will produce large supplies of food. That 

 is commendable, too, even if those for whom it 

 is produced waste a good half of what they 

 already possess. And yet the food that is pro- 

 duced there may prove expensive to people 

 other than the producers. This old sea-bed is, 

 for its area, probably the greatest dry-heat 

 generator in the world because of its depression 

 and its barren, sandy surface. It is a furnace 

 that whirls heat up and out of the Bowl, over 

 the peaks of the Coast Range into Southern 

 California, and eastward across the plains to 

 Arizona and Sonora. In what measure it is re- 

 sponsible for the general climate of those States 

 cannot be accurately summarized ; but it cer- 

 tainly has a great influence, especially in the 

 matter of producing dry air. To turn this 

 desert into an agricultural tract would be to 

 increase humidity, and that would be practi- 

 cally to nullify the finest air on the continent. 



And why are not good air and climate as es- 

 sential to human well-being as good beef and 

 good bread ? Just now, when it is a world too 

 late, our Government and the forestry societies 

 of the country are awakening to the necessity 

 of preserving the forests. National parks are 



