512 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XL. No. 1032 



to cover the rocks and stones and thus destroy 

 all opportunity for anchorage for kelps. When 

 we lifted the anchor (from a depth of 8 

 fathoms) at Eussian Anchorage it was well 

 covered with volcanic ash. 



Fry states that glass predominates in the 

 three samples of ash from Kodiak examined 

 by him. He found also feldspars, muscovite, 

 apatite, hornblende, biotite and " undetermina- 

 ble particles of what appear to be a ferro- 

 magnesium mineral." These three samples 

 represented the three falls of ash that occurred 

 in the few days following the first eruption on 

 June 6, 1912. He says that there " glasses 

 would probably react with the soil water " and 

 that " no substances deleterious to plant 

 growth were revealed by the examination." 



The injury to marine plants by gas was 

 probably less than from the causes cited above. 

 The presence of sulphurous fumes in the 

 ■atmosphere was not confined to the time of the 

 •eruption but was noted as late as August 16 

 at a distance of 350 miles north of the volcano. 

 On August 15 at the mouth of Katmai Eiver 

 Martin notes that during a rain " the drops of 

 water striking the eyes produced sharp pain, 

 and brass and silver were tarnished by the 

 drops." On July 27 sulphurous fumes were 

 evident on board the U. S. revenue cutter 

 Manning 193 km. east of the volcano. Vege- 

 tation on the volcano itself was annihilated. 

 Martin says that the death line " came prac- 

 tically down to the sea 24 km. from the crater " 

 and suggests a hot blast as the cause of the 

 death of vegetation. It seems improbable that 

 a hot blast or poisonous gases caused any great 

 damage to marine plants. 



Human interest in the effect of this volcanic 

 eruption on marine vegetation centers chiefly 

 around the two large kelps — Nereocystis luei- 

 Iceana and Alaria fistulosa. These kelps, as 

 Martin has noted, are an important aid to 

 navigation. They are a warning to navigators 

 of shallow water, and in a region where there 

 are practically no aids to navigation except 

 such as nature has provided, these kelps are 

 really important. These two kelps (principally 

 Alaria) are universally used by the natives of 

 Kodiak Island and the neighboring islands as 



fertilizer for their potato gardens, and are in 

 this way of considerable economic importance. 

 The 1912 crop of beach grass and other grasses 

 which are ordinarily used as pasturage and 

 hay for the cows kept in this region was prac- 

 tically all destroyed by the volcano. During 

 the winter that followed the few cattle that 

 were still kept in the region are reported to 

 have lived largely on what kelp was to be had 

 on the beach. To these reasons for local inter- 

 est in these kelps must also be added the fact 

 that they are now to be considered as a pos- 

 sible source of potash fertilizer.'' 



Information obtained by personal inter- 

 views with residents of the region indicates 

 that there was large injury to the 1912 crop 

 of kelp, and that even the 1913 crop was far 

 short of that of the years preceding 1912. It 

 seems that the beds became much thicker later 

 in the season than they were at the time of 

 our visit. A reliable informant reports that 

 in December, 1913, the kelp was practically 

 continuous from Afognak village to Little 

 Afognak village. There were only scattering 

 beds at that place when we visited it in June 

 and July. 



The fact that there was, previous to 1913, 

 practically no information as to the relative 

 amount of Nereocystis and Alaria in the region 

 makes it impossible to say which of these 

 suffered more damage as a result of the erup- 

 tion. It seems probable that both of these 

 species mature from spores in a single year,* 

 so that where there were enough individuals 

 left for " seed " the crop would soon become 



7 Cameron, F. K., et al., Sen. Doe. 190, Sixty- 

 seeond Cong., second session, 1911; "Possible 

 Sources of Potash in the United States," Year- 

 book U. S. Dept. Agr., 523-536, 1912; "Kelp and 

 Other Sources of Potash, ' ' Jour. Frank. Inst., 176 : 

 347-383, 1913. 



s On the duration of Nereocystis luetJceana, see 

 Prye, T. C, "Nereocystis luetlceana," Bot. Gaz., 

 42: 143, 1906; Setchell, W. A., "Nereocystis and 

 Pelagophycus," Bot. Gaz., 45: 125, 1908; Eigg, 

 G. B., ' ' Ecological and Economic Notes on Puget 

 Sound Kelps," Sen. Doc. 190, Sixty-second Cong., 

 second session, 179-193, 1911; "Notes on the 

 Ecology and Economic Importance of Nereocystis 

 luetkeana," Plant World, 15: 83-92, 1912. 



