April 14, 1893.] 



SCIENCE. 



199 



they suddenly rose far above the average. This is shown by the 

 following brief statement of the original homestead entries: 



Comparison of Original Homestead Entries. 



1888 6,676,616 acres, a decrease of 917,7.S4 



1889 6.039,230 '• ■' •• "647,386 



18ti0 5,531.679 ■' " '• "497,551 



1891 5,040 394 " " " "491,285 



1893 7,716,063 " an increase of 2,675,668 



Taking the average annual disposal of the public lands at 

 13,000,000 acres, and assuming all the vacant land susceptible 

 to entry, it would be entirely talten up in less than 50 years. As 

 a matter of fact, however, only a small portion of this vast area 

 can be acquired under the operations of the present laws or is 

 suitable for homestead purposes. A great part consists of high 

 mountains or deeply-eroded plateaus, of sterile lava-covered 

 plains, or is too rough to be valuable for agricultural purposes. 

 What may be considered as the choicest portions of this vacant 

 public land, where the soil is deep and rich and can be readily 

 tilled, are at present almost valueless on account of the aridity 

 of the climate. While on the one hand mountains, canyons and 

 lava plains cannot be removed, yet on the other the aridity, or 

 at least its effects, can be modiSed to a certain extent, and lands 

 with fertile soil now useless can be added to the producing farm 

 areas of the country. This aggregate area, however, is rela- 

 tively small, and at the present rate of disposal of public landsit is 

 a question of only a few years when every available acre will be 

 taken. 



Under the operation of existing laws, the rate of disposal of 

 vacant public lands must naturally be constantly diminishing, 

 and it follows, that the probable time of disposal of the lands 

 must be indefinitely prolonged. This decrease in sales or num- 

 ber of homestead entries is, of course, not due to diminution 

 of the demand, for each year this is growing greater and greater, 

 but is the result of scarcity of supply. As previously stated, the 

 more available lands have been taken, and each year the choice 

 is more limited, and men are compelled, by circumstances, to 

 enter upon lands which a few years ago they would not have 

 considered worth taking up. In this state of affairs public inter- 

 est is being turned to questions bearing upon the reclaiming of 

 portions of the remaining public lands, and greater eagerness is 

 shown in developing all the resources by which these may 

 become valuable. 



The results of the eleventh census of the United States, as they 

 have been published, cast light upon some points hitherto ob- 

 scure, bringing out the condition of development of the western 

 part of the United States, as well as of the whole country. 

 Among other facts, the enumeration has shown that the area ir- 

 rigated in 1889 was 3,631,381 acres. The scattered patches 

 which go to make up this amount were located from points west 

 of the lOOtb meridian to the Pacific coast, with the exception of 

 the western part of Oregon and Washington. The total land 

 surface of this area, deducting the 36 counties of western 

 Oregon and Washington, is 1.380,175 square miles, or 883,313,000' 

 acres. The area irrigated thus formed about four-tenths of one 

 per cent of this vast country, which contains nearly all possible 

 combinations of soil and climate, ranging from the smooth, 

 almost barren plains, with scanty vegetation to the high, rough 

 mountains, whose peaks are covered with snow throughout the 

 year, and whose slopes have been clothed with thick forests. 



Looking at this vast extent of arid and sub-humid land in a 

 broad way, it is possible to distinguish four great classes, ac- 

 cording to the amount of moisture received, or the water supply 

 available, as shown by the character of the vegetation, viz., 

 desert, pasture, fire-wood and timber lands. These may be de- 

 fined as follows: The desert land is that within which the water 

 supply is so scanty that cattle cannot obtain sufficient for drink- 

 ing purposes, and the vegetation so ephemeral that it has little 

 value for pasturage. The soil, however, is often rich, and 

 when watered, produces large crops. The^e desert areas of the 

 United States are, however, rarely without vegetation, and the 

 large amount and variety of plant life are often matters of aston- 

 ishment to the traveller. 



The second class, the pasture land, may be said to embrase all 

 of the Great Plain region which, on account of prevailmg aridity, 

 is useful mainly as pasturage. The localities at which agricul- 

 ture is possible are relatively of insignificant size, although of 

 great importance in a grazing country. It also includes the 

 valley lands within the Rocky Mountain region and the rolling 

 hills on which native grasses grow. 



The (ire-wood land may be defined as that fringing the tim- 

 bered areas, and intermediate in character between the pasture 

 land and the high, rough, forested slopes or plateaus. It includes 

 also precipitous hillsides found at an elevation too low to re- 

 ceive a large or constant supply of the moisture which falls upon 

 the more heavily timbered areas. 



The fourth class embraces the forested areas upon the high 

 mountains where the conditions are such that trees have been 

 able to attain a size suitable for timber. With this understanding, 

 the following table is given : 



Acres. 



Desert land 64,000,000 



Pasture land 630,912,000 



Fire-wood land 115,200,000 



Timber land 83,200,000 



Total 883,313.000 



Of this total, as above stated, less than 568,000,000 acres still 

 belong to the general government. 



The u'rigated and irrigable lands are mainly included within 

 those divisions which in their natural state have been considered 

 as desert or pasture land. In a general way, it may be stated that 

 fully nine-tenths of this area is covered with a fertile, arable 

 soil which only lacks sufficient moisture in order to be of value 

 for agriculture. If this proves to be the fact, then out of this 

 total of, in round numbers, 616,000,000 acres of arable lands less 

 than six-tenths of one per cent was irrigated in the census year. 

 As to the reclaimability of a large portion of this area, the ques- 

 tion of water supply obviously must first be discussed. 



CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE LABORATORY OF THE 

 YORK COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE. 



BY C. H. BHRENFELD, YORK, PA. 



Effect of Burning on the Volume of Limestone, 



In the York, Pa., courts recently, a case was tried which in- 

 volved the question whether limestone shrinks by being burned. 

 The matter was submitted to me to be tested. On consult- 

 ing authorities I found the statement given that no shrinkage 

 occurs; but no method was given for making the test. Hence I 

 devised methods as follows: Several pieces of limestone of va- 

 rying firmness of texture were taken, and permanent marks 

 made upon them. The distance between these marks was accu- 

 rately measured. The pieces were then burned in a gas furnace 

 at a high heat for about seven hours. After cooling, the distan- 

 ces were again measured, and were found to be unaltered. The 

 pieces were then slaked with water, to ascertain if the burning 

 was complete. Another te.-t was made in the following manner: 

 The pieces of stone were dipped into melted paraffin and quickly 

 removed in order to coat them with a very thin layer of paraffin, 

 sufficient to render them impervious to water, but not enough 

 to add materially to their volume. Their volumes were then de- 

 termined accurately by lowering them into a graduated vessel 

 partly filled with water. After being burned, the pieces of stone 

 were again dipped into melted paraffin and the volume deter- 

 mined as before. It was found that no change whatever had 

 taken place. 



Water in the Spheroidal State. 



While carrying on a piece of work recently which involved 

 the us? of a common Liebig condenser, it was noticed that where 

 the stream of waste water fell into the water-trough, the bottom 

 of which was rough, small globules of water were formed, which 

 darted out on all sides and ran on the surface of the water to the 

 sides of the trough, eight or ten inches distant. Frequently 



