Greater Land Research Articles

The Great Northern's Land Grant

The Great Northern's Land Grant

The Land Problem of China

China has an area of three and onethird million square miles-more than 300,000 square miles larger than the continental United States of America. This great land mass of China is very rugged, making transportation extremely difficult and livelihood very hard to earn. Limited by topography and also by conditions of precipitation and climate, the extent of arable land in China has been variously estimated from the minimum of 357 million acres, or 16.7 per cent of the area of the country, to the maximum of 810 million acres, or 37.5 per cent of the area of the country.1 Most probably the former bears more substantial relation to the truth than the latter. Even optimistically considered, however, 37.5 per cent com-

Folkehøjskolerne og folket. Roar Skovmand: Folkehøjskolen i Danmark 1841-1892

Review of Roar Skovmand’s ”Folkehøjskolen i Danmark, 1841— 1892“. By Fridlev Skrubbeltrang. Skovmand claims that the development of the Danish people in the second half of the 19th century can only be understood in connection with the Folk High-School movement. This is true, but only if we are speaking of rural, peasant Denmark, for it is not until the 20th century that the Folk High-Schools gained any considerable ground in the towns and among the workers. Historically there is nothing surprising in this development. The idea of educating the country youth sprang from the fruitful soil of the great land reforms ; and Grundtvig as a young man dreamt of “ sacrificing everything for the enlightenment of the peasants” . But in the 1840’s it was chiefly R. Sørensen’s plans for agricultural schools for the peasants that were being discussed, and only after 1864 did it become clear that it was Grundtvig’s Folk High-School idea that would triumph. Most of those who have previously written the history of the High-Schools have done so on the basis of their own personal experiences in the High-School movement. Skovmand has done it from a more scientific standpoint. He is less interested in the Folk High-School idea than in the way in which ideas and plans were carried into effect, and modified in the light of practical realities. He gives full place to the influence of the leading High-School personalities, and much of his book is based on their private papers, to which he has had access, as well as on the records of government departments. We learn much about the work of the High-Schools and its guiding tendencies, but comparatively little about its effect upon the students. The High-School’s fruits cannot be weighed or measured; but it opened new horizons and new worlds of thought and feeling to the young people of the country districts. From the rationalist point of view it was criticised as too fantastically idealistic, and likely to pervert the sound practical sense of the peasants. But the history of the rise of the Danish co-operative movement proved that the former students of the High- Schools by no means lacked realism and practical sense, and the High-Schools reaped much of the credit for its material success. Jakob Knudsen, friend and most exacting critic of the Folk High-School, demanded that it should be truly “ folkelig” and should develop the best characteristics of the peasants themselves, at a time when they were taking an increasingly prominent part in public life. But most of the leading High-School teachers came from other social classes; and it was hard for them to develop a genuine “ peasant culture” . The High-Schools gave many of their students a new joy in life, and a new desire to achieve something of value in co-operation with their fellows; but in some cases the enthusiasm they aroused was only transitory. It is not easy to measure the influence of the Folk High-School apart from that of the revival in the Church, with which it was closely connected. Many clergymen and teachers in children’s schools throughout the country shared with the High-School teachers in the work of enlightenment. Skovmand obviously knows the High-School from within, but he is less familiar with the life of the peasants in general. Much of the material which Skovmand uses to illustrate the attitude of the Government and Parliament to the High-Schoools is new, and throws fresh light on the position of the High-Schools in the political life of the country and on government policy with regard to grants, inspection, etc. Skovmand describes the attitude of the High-School to contemporary tendencies of thought (religious, political and national) as being “ as open as it could be if it were not to be wholly carried away by them” . In another little book (“Højskolen gennem 100 Aar” ) Skovmand brings the history of the High-School up to date. Denmark might have had good “ higher schools for peasants” and a co-operative movement even if Grundtvig had never lived, but there is no doubt that from him came the central driving force of the Folk High-School movement, which has won world fame. Skovmand strongly opposes Vilhelm la Cour’s suggestion that in the period after 1870 the High-School movement abandoned many of its original ideas, and lost much of its power. “The power was not lost, but had found a broader channel”, is his verdict. His book is the product of conscientious research combined with a real love for his subject.

Distribuição geográfica da fauna e flora da Baía de Guanabara

Distribuição geográfica da fauna e flora da Baía de Guanabara

Work of Cultural Missions

WHETHER as regards its origin, its immediate significance, or its promise for the future, Bulletin 1945, No. 11, of the Federal Security Agency (U.S. Office of Education) entitled “Report on the Cultural Missions.of Mexico” is a noteworthy report. Its subjects of the mission work done by a band of enthusiastic and patient Mexicans among the Indians in theil remote villages. A preface written by Mr. J. W. Studebaker, U.S. Commissioner of Education, reveals that in September 1943 he had the opportunity of meeting the writer of the report and of visiting with him a group of Indian villages in which one of the missions was functioning. The report was thereupon written by the chief of the missions department, and here is the English translation. The work being done, says Mr. Studebaker, was an inspiration to him as an educator and as a citizen of a neighbouring country. The broad educational objectives, he proceeds, and the methods employed in this project for teaching Indian people a better way of life give confidence and inspire one with the belief that an isolated and somewhat estranged people of a great land will, through these means, be prepared for modern life and brought into the fold of genuine citizenship. Mr. Studebaker's closing words strike one as most remarkable. It is hoped, he says, that this report, will contribute to a greater understanding of the important educational accomplishments “of our nearest southern neighbour, and that it will constitute an inspiration and a challenge to the educators of the United States”. Following the report itself, a number of interesting and informative photographs, supplied by the author of the report, are added. Further, in order that the reader may secure more information concerning cultural missions in Mexico, either from English or from Spanish sources, a list of related readings, prepared in the Division of International Educational Relations, is included.

Regional Organization for the Indian Ocean Area

THE INDIAN OCEAN AREA presents certain special problems which can only be understood in terms of its history. From the beginning of the 19th century to 1942 the Indian Ocean was a British lake even more than the Mediterranean or the North Seas. From every side access to the waters of the Indian Ocean was controlled by Britain. Singapore in the east and Aden in the west controlled the side entrances. The predominance of British power in the Atlantic made any entry from that side impossible. In fact, till the Japanese by their conquest of Singapore opened the door from the Pacific, the Indian Ocean was free from all threat from any great power. Lying midway between the Pacific and the Atlantic it is one of the great highways of commerce. The countries of the Mediterranean reach out to the great markets of the East through the Arabian sea. For the great colonizing powers, Britain and France, its shipping routes are of the utmost importance for communication with their overseas Dominions and Colonies. The geographical configuration of the Indian Ocean gives it very special importance in global strategy. Unlike the other oceans which are like highways from the Arctic to the Antarctic, the Indian Ocean is roofed on the top by the southern coast of the Asiatic continent and flanked on either side by equally important land areas. From the roof the great land mass of India juts out like a colossal tongue. Burma, Malaya and the great islands of Indonesia, which constitute a storehouse of much of the raw materials necessary for modern industry, are washed by its waters. In short, European nations can have access to the markets of India and to the raw materials of the tropical East only through the sea lanes of this ocean. It is the central position of India that has at all times dominated this strategic area. Since the beginning of the 16th century when the Indian

Estudos higiênicos sôbre os crustáceos e moluscos da Baía de Guanabara (Rio de Janeiro)

Revisão da literatura médica sôbre higiene de crustáceos e moluscos marinhos. Intoxicações por elementos extranhos às carnes de crustáceos e moluscos: por sais de cobre, vegetais tóxicos; estranho e chumbo nas conservas de crustáceos; botulismo. Putrefação de ostras e doenças de ostras provocadas por cogumelos; crustáceos e moluscos guardados em geladeiras bolorentas. Lista das espécies de moluscos comestíveis da Bahia de Guanabara. Lista das espécies de crustáceos comestíveis da Bahia de Guanabara. Veiculação de micro-organismos patogênicos ao homem por intermédio das carnes de crustáceos e de moluscos: veiculação do vibrião colérico, dos bacilos tíficos e paratíficos e de germes do grupo coli e do gênero Proteus. Vitalidade dos bacilos tíficos nas ostras. Listas dos moluscos veiculadores dos agentes causadores das febres tíficas e paratíficas. Conceitos antigos e modernos sõbre intoxicações por crustáceos; partidas de crustáceos salubres ou não conforme o local de venda. Estudos experimentais sôbre a "talassina" princípio tóxico existente em alguns crustáceos. "Mitilotoxina", intoxicações por mexilhões e outros acidentes incriminados aos moluscos. Enterotoxina estavfilocócica em ostras. Métodos de determinação da salubridade dos moluscos; verificações nas ostras brasileiras. Depuração dos crustáceos pelas soluções cloradas. Estabulação de caranguejos denominados vulgarmente de "guaiamus" e "ussás".

The Reserved Attitude of the Early German Romanticists toward America

Thus the German Romantic writer WTackenroder confided to his friend Tieck in 1792. The great land to the west, beyond the great Atlantic, was to this Romanticist, as to practically all Early German Romanticists, a land tremendously far removed, both geographically and spiritually. The nature-philosophical theory conceived by the Romantic mind, that life is a fluctuation between two distant, opposite poles, did find its application geographically, but it was to Italy and the Orient that longing and yearning usually turned the Early German Romanticist. He sought Italy and the Orient, which to him were the symbol of tradition and sensual enjoyment, and yet nostalgia for his northern home tormented him. These Early German Romanticists yearned to encompass both, though both would be eternally antipodal. North America, the land of freedom, was to them generally a symbol of Philistine sobriety, untinged by tradition andi the sensuous, which they were seeking. The eternal longing of the Early German Romanticists for harmony did not lead them to seek out this new, unexplored land across the sea, since it was their conviction that out of the spiritual chaos existing in Europe there must come forth the new harmonious spiritual world. It was the Later Romanticists who wanted to find peace and harmony in a virgin untouched land, in a new world. The new world beyond the Atlantic could not touch spiritually the poetic soul of a Romanticist such as Wackenroder. To such a poet facts have no meaning until they are brought into relation to the human soul. The only psychological reaction to be expected when considering a land and people to whom these Early Romantio poets were not sympathetically attuned, was that of reserve, since this was something 1Briefe an Ludwig Tieck (Herausgegeben von Karl von Holtei; Breslau: Eduard Trewendt, 1864), IV, 210.

Archaeology in Palestine

1. The Stone Age of Mount Carmel; Excavations at the Wady-el-Mughara. Vol. I. By D. A. E. Garrod and D. M. A. Bate. Clarendon Press, 1937. pp. 240, 55 plates, 8 text figures. 42s.2. Lachish I: The Lachish Letters. By Harry Torczyner, Lankester Harding, Alkin Lewis and J. L. Starkey. Published for the Trustees of the late Sir Henry Wellcome by the Oxford University Press, 1938. pp. 221 (including plates, not numbered separately). 25s.3. The Quarterly of the Department of Antiquities in Palestine vol. vii, Sela-Petra the Rock, of Edom and Nabatene. By G. and A. Horsfield. Published for the Government of Palestine by the Oxford University Press, 1938. pp. 42,74 plates, 10 text-figures. 5s.4. The Annual of the American schools of Oriental Research vol. xv, Excavations in Eastern Palestine II. By Nelson Glueck. pp. 161, 38 plates, 45 text-figures.5. Preliminary report of the University of Michigan Excavations at Sepphoris Palestine in 1931. By Leroy Waterman. University of Michigan Press, 1937. 2 dollars.The group of books here under review is so varied in subject, that connected discussion is difficult. Apart from the importance of the subjects, however, there is a general interest and connexion in the illustrations they give of the comparatively new approach now being made to Palestinian Archaeology. The inevitably preponderant importance to most people of the association of Palestine with Biblical history has had two effects on the study of its archaeology. In the first place, periods outside that of the Bible have not received much attention, and in the second, it has rather often been the case that distinguished Biblical scholars have undertaken excavations without the supplementary training in field-work which modern archaeological technique now requires. Among the books under review are examples of how this tendency has in recent years been corrected. We see Palestine taking its place as an important connecting link between the great lands of the Near East, and we see how modern methods are now applied to all aspects of field archaeology. There is also unfortunately one example of how modern excavations should not be done.

Mauritius Plants

THE flora of Mauritius is of great interest on account of the geographical position of the Mascarenes, their relation to the great land masses of the Old World and the high endemism of the species. Unfortunately, the remnants of the original vegetation are fast disappearing. It is therefore very necessary to obtain adequate and critical herbarium material upon which must depend the advancement of knowledge of the flora. A complete list of the flowering plants in the herbarium of the Mauritius Institute, compiled by R. E. Vaughan, forms the subject of the first part of a new publication (Mauritius Institute Bulletin) dealing with the taxonomy and ecology of the flora and fauna of the Mascarenes. About eight hundred species are listed, many of which are introduced weeds. Attention is directed to the urgency of acquiring additional material in many of the more interesting genera such as Eugenia, Diospyros (ebony) and Tambourissa, at present inadequately represented in the collection. Further material is also required of the native orchids, of which there were probably more than eighty species in the island, though many have already become extinct owing to the destruction of the large trees on which they were epiphytic.

Conditions of Exceptional Visibility within High Latitudes, Particularly as a Result of Superior Mirage

The occasional very exceptional visibility within the polar regions, while in a general way familiar to most men with experience of the higher latitudes, is little known to others; and the magnitude and importance of these phenomena are but little appreciated even by those who have spent much of their lifetime within these less hospitable regions. A rather general expansion of the range of vision within the polar areas is of course in part to be explained by the submergence of most polar lands under ice and snow, and the consequent small amount of dust or other minute solid particles which are suspended in the air. It is of great importance, also, that over and about the great land masses of Greenland and the Antarctic, the prevailing winds are outward and the air which rises from them is low in moisture content, which also favors visibility. Wherever range of vision is not limited by earth rotundity, as when flying high in aircraft, objects at quite astounding distances have been clearly seen, as a few examples will suffice to show. Admiral Byrd when flying on the depot-laying trip in 1929, and again on his flight to the South Pole, clearly saw from over the Liv Glacier the mountains which lie to the west of the Beardmore Glacier at a distance of about 185 geographical miles, and his pictures showed objects as much as 200 miles away. Watkins, flying off the East Greenland Coast with Lieutenant D'Aeth at an elevation of about 4000 feet, saw Cape Dan at a distance of 200 miles, and so clearly that had it not pushed out so far, other headlands much more remote must have been seen. Sir Hubert Wilkins from his plane when flying in the polar regions has, he believes, several times seen objects distant as much as 200 miles. The Dutch flyer, Van Giesen, reports that in 1932, when he flew much over and about Iceland, he saw objects at a distance of 200 miles as clearly as objects are usually seen in Europe at distances of only 20 miles. Captain Riisar Larsen has supplied me with another instance from a flight made off the Antarctic coast. If the observer is on or but little elevated above the surface of the earth, as when on a ship at sea, the earth's rotundity usually sets quite definite 229

The Fine Arts Exposition

QUITE a number of years ago when I was an art student ambulating through Europe from museum to museum, I used to notice in the Louvre or Prado, in fact wherever I went, painters in the act of painstakingly copying the works of the great masters. I asked myself as I watched them reproduce paintings line by line, “Who on earth will ever buy these white elephants?” The answer came one day from one of the copyists in the Louvre, working on the “Mona Lisa,” who replied to my inquiry, “All this art goes to America.” What a picture of the great land beyond the big pool this remark evoked in my imagination may easily be surmised. I was all the more surprised, therefore, on my arrival in this country, in 1911 to find no copies and after a circular tour through the East and Middle West, I concluded that the “artist” in the Louvre had been pulling my leg.

Distribution of Marine Animals and the History of the Continents

HOW the past history of the great land and water masses of the earth's crust is reflected in the distribution of many marine animals was the subject of an important paper read by Prof. J. Versluys on September 7 before Section D (Zoology) 1 of the British Association meeting in Aberdeen.

The Australian Aborigine

Australia is a land of survivals. Its geological antiquity and its isolation from other great land areas account for this fact. The Australian aborigine is a race apart. He has no near relationship to any of the other groups of mankind. The settled opinion is that he comes of a very early offshoot of the human race, representing, except for his development in response to local conditions, a more generalized type of man than is to be found in any other part of the world. His isolation, with its attendant lack of normal stimulus, has resulted in the emphasis of two characteristics which are very important in considering his nature. The first of these is that he remains in a very state. It is not necessary to interpret the word primitive as indicating a low grade of being. From the point of view of adaptability to environment it is probable that the Australian has reached a higher level of adjustment than many other native races. But he has not developed those qualities of intelligence or organization which are the outcome of interracial conflict and competition. The long isolation of the Australian has had the further effect of so ingraining his characteristic nature as to make him particularly resistant to change. Western civilization has no meaning for him; once separated from his native haunts he usually languishes-he has not the capacity for adaptation. This is, of course, not necessarily true of the half-caste, and may not be true of every full-blooded aborigine. But of the race as a whole it is true to an unusual degree. The Tasmanian race, now unhappily extinct, was not akin to the Australian. It is generally agreed that the Tasmanians are the descendants of a Negroid race which entered Australia from the North, and at one time was spread over the whole continent, including Tasmania, which was at that time connected with the mainland by a land bridge. At a later stage came the present Australians, who are preDravidian in origin, and they occupied in their turn the whole continent, absorbing or annihilating the earlier inhabitants. Tasmania, being by that time separated from the mainland, became a sanctuary for the earlier race, who retained to the last their Negroid characteristics. Physically the Australian is striking.

The Great American Land Bubble: The Amazing Story of Land-Grabbing, Speculations, and Booms from Colonial Days to the Present Time

The Great American Land Bubble: The Amazing Story of Land-Grabbing, Speculations, and Booms from Colonial Days to the Present Time

The Great American Land Bubble

The Great American Land Bubble

The future development of the metropolitan area surrounding San Francisco Bay1

Author's Abstract The purpose of this paper is to picture the essential facts and problems relating to the present and future metropolitan area of San Francisco Bay, and to outline what might be done to reduce future hazards to life and property from earthquake and earthquake fires. The conclusion is reached that the future metropolitan area will include the region immediately tributary to San Francisco, within an average radius of forty miles from the Ferry Building at San Francisco, and embracing fifty-four per cent of the nine Bay counties. The included land which will be capable of intensive development covers 876,300 acres. The ultimate population of this area will be between 5,000,000 and 6,000,000, and the true value of all taxable property at least $12,000,000,000, of which fifty per cent will be more or less destructible. The future metropolitan area will include an eleven-fold greater land area than at present, a fourfold increase in population, and a sixfold growth in value of all property. A limiting feature in the attainment of this population will be water supply. The future demand will be at least 1,075 million gallons daily, of which 250 million gallons may be developed from local sources. Of the latter quantity, 100 million gallons daily have already been developed. To meet future demands, outside sources must be brought in equivalent to the full development proposed for the Hetch Hetchy, Mokelumne, and Eel River Projects. The Sacramento-San Joaquin River at the head of the Bay may also be drawn upon. Systematic establishment of open spaces in the form of broad thoroughfares, highways, parks, public grounds, etc., to act as fire-breaks and places of refuge for the inhabitants. Preservation of an adequate and efficient ferry system in conjunction with trans-Bay bridges or tubes when built. Revision or adoption of building codes designed to promote earthquake-proof construction and use of fire-resistant building materials. Adoption of a definite program to be followed by electric and gas utilities at the occurrence of an earthquake, to reduce fire hazard from these sources. Increasing the amount of local storage capacity in the water distribution systems of different communities so as to provide a reserve for domestic and fire use in case of serious interruption in supply mains. Utilizing all feasible reservoir sites in the Bay region for reserve storage, and as far as possible interconnecting all reservoirs and distribution systems, with the ultimate aim of completely circling the Bay with transmission pipe line or conduit capable of drawing water from any major reservoirs in case of emergency. Establishment of a plan of organization, both local and general, for handling the water problems of the future metropolitan area.

<italic>History of the Great American Fortunes</italic>. By <sc>Gustavus Myers</sc>. Volume I., Part 1. <italic>Conditions in Settlement and Colonial Times</italic>; Part II. <italic>The Great Land Fortunes</italic>. Volume II. <italic>Great Fortunes from Railroads</italic>. (Chicago: Charles H. Kerr and Company. 1910. Pp. 296; 368.)

Journal Article History of the Great American Fortunes. By Gustavus Myers. Volume I., Part 1. Conditions in Settlement and Colonial Times; Part II. The Great Land Fortunes. Volume II. Great Fortunes from Railroads. (Chicago: Charles H. Kerr and Company. 1910. Pp. 296; 368.) Get access History of the Great American Fortunes. By Myers Gustavus. Volume I., Part 1. Conditions in Settlement and Colonial Times; Part II. The Great Land Fortunes. Volume II. Great Fortunes from Railroads. (Chicago: Charles H. Kerr and Company. 1910. Pp. 296; 368.) Emerson David Fite Emerson David Fite Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The American Historical Review, Volume 15, Issue 4, July 1910, Pages 894–895, https://doi.org/10.1086/ahr/15.4.894 Published: 01 July 1910

The Egyptian Land Survey

THIS interesting volume forms a worthy termination to a piece of work of considerable interest and of immediate practical importance, the construction of the great land map of Egypt.

A Discussion of Australian Meteorology 1

THE meteorology of the southern hemisphere presents a specially attractive field of study. The large area of water surface conduces to much simpler conditions than are to be found to the north of the Equator, and here, if anywhere, the meteorologist may hope to discover the fundamental principles underlying the general movements of the atmosphere. On the other hand, he has to face the relative paucity of data. The meteorological organisations of the three great land areas are still young, and our knowledge of what is happening over the sea is woefully small as compared with the completeness with which we are able to track down changes occurring over the great trade routes of the North Atlantic. The present discussion forms a recapitulation and a completion of work published from time to time from the Solar Physics Observatory, of which abstracts have appeared in previous numbers of NATURE (lxx., p. 177; lxxiv., p. 352). At the outset we congratulate Dr. Lockyer on his success in bringing together a vast amount of information and on the skill with which he has marshalled the facts deduced therefrom.