MAKING DESERTS HABITABLE.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue LXVIII, 22 June 1912, Page 10

MAKING DESERTS HABITABLE.

The scientific expedition sent out to the Sudanese and Egyptian deserts to study the conditions there on behalf of the Carnegie Institution, of Washington, returned to London recently . Dr. D. T. MacDougal and his companion, Mr Godfrey Sykes, first conducted their investigations in the Red Sea Province of tho Sudan, and afterwards seven weeks in the Libyan Desert.

seven weeks on the Libyan Desert. "The ultimate object of our preliminary investigations," said Dr. MacDougai to Reuters representative, "is to discover if, and by what means, the desert spaces of the world can be rendered habitable. This is a problem of pressing importance, as can be seen when we realise the position of Germany in South West Africa, France in North Africa, and Great Britain in Australia and East Africa. Our next expedition is to be the deserts of Australia. Half our time was spent in the exploration of the region between Port Sudan and the Atbara, a desert which in its climatic and physical condition resembles the deserts of North America. It seems capable of immense development, and I think, in fact, we may look for great developments in the Sudan generally. From the Sudan we went to the Libyan Desert, where the work was much harder. The conditions are very different from those in the Sudan Desert, as the Libyan Desert is not characterised by any high relief or by regular rainfall. All developments here, therefore, must be in the nature of improving the oases by means of engineering. Our investigations lead to the belief that in the unexplored parts of the Libyan Desert we may discover new and fresh supplies of water. In the Libyan Desert we and our caravan of 12 camels and seven drivers trekked from oasis to oasis over a region so barren that we had to carry food both for ourselves and our camels sufficient for the whole journey. The differences of temperature were tremendous—intensely hot days and very cold nights— and we suffered much from sand storms, being compelled to stop and shelter in our blankets." DESERT PHENOMENA. "Some of the natural phenomena of the desert were- very interesting. For instance, in one place we passed along a narrow 'sogag'—a road made entirely by the wind—varying from a quarter and half a mile in width and extending tor 50 miles. It was juat like one long street flanked by dunes of 50ft tc 60ft' m height, and it took us two and a-half days to cover it. Continually we came acrosfc skeletons of camels and little heaps of stones indicating the last rest-ing-place of a desert wanderer. t)ur m°?* westerly point was Darafra, which I do not suppose has been visited by a dozen white men. The people were not unfriendly, but they were suspicious and retiring. We were not permitted in any house or even in the date orchards. The principal feature of the place is a Senussi monastery, whose buildings cover an extended area. We could learn nothing about them. Although so near no signs of the smuggling of arms or ammunition to the lurks and the people did not seem to ne unduly ©xcited about the war "