160 fftatute'0 



In the region of glaciers in the mountains 

 of Alaska and Switzerland rivers are fed by 

 the melting ice. These rivers are usually of 

 a milky color occasioned by the pulveriza- 

 tion of rock caused by the grinding of the 

 great glaciers as they flow down the gulches 

 in the mountain side. In some regions these 

 glacial rivers have a diurnal variation. This 

 is caused by the fact that the glacier is so 

 situated that it freezes at night, which checks 

 the flow, and thaws in the daytime, which in- 

 creases it. 



Rivers are to the globe what the veins are 

 to the animal organization. They pick up the 

 surplus moisture not needed in the growth of 

 vegetation and for the sustenance of animal 

 life, and carry it on, together with the debris 

 that it gathers in its course, to the great reser- 

 voirs, the seas and oceans, where it is re- 

 distilled and purified by the action of the sun's 

 rays. From here it is carried back in the 

 form of invisible moisture and again precipi- 

 tated in the purified state, to help carry on the 

 great operations of growth animal and vege- 

 table. The vaporized moisture that is carried 

 back by the winds and redistributed corre- 

 sponds to the blood, after it has been purified 

 and is carried back through the arteries to the 

 extremities and capillary vessels which feed 

 and nourish the bodily organs. 



