Geographical Record

American Geographical Society

Geographical RecordSource: Geographical Review, Vol. 41, No. 3 (Jul., 1951), pp. 487-506Published by: American Geographical SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/210969 .

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GEOGRAPHICAL RECORD

NORTH AMERICA

AIR POLLUTION IN DONORA. Recognition of, and interest in, the problem presented by atmospheric pollution, made more acute by increasing industrialization, have become widespread in the United States during the past five years. Three factors have contributed largely toward this increased awareness. The potential threat from air-borne radioactive wastes from atomic-energy installations has called forth intensive studies of this problem, and safeguards are being devised where necessary. Growing industrialization of the Los Angeles area has produced a degree of pollution and a public reaction that have led to scientific investigations and a determined drive to reduce the contamination to tolerable levels. Finally, the disaster in Donora focused national attention on the dangers of atmospheric pollution. During and shortly after several days of severe smog late in October, I948, 20 persons died in this industrial city, and several thousand were ill.

Certain occurrences of major importance are so rare that sufficient data for a conclu- sive analysis are not available. Only once before, so far as is known, has a disaster on the Donora scale occurred. Early in December, 1930, a thick fog associated with stagnant anticyclonic conditions persisted over a large part of Belgium. In the Meuse River Valley, near the industrial city of Liege, several hundred people suffered from respiratory troubles, and on the fourth and fifth of the month 63 persons died. Neither the subsequent medical

investigations near Liege nor those at Donora succeeded in revealing the lethal agent or

agents. The immediate meteorological conditions that permitted lethal concentration of contaminants in the Monongahela Valley, in which Donora lies, are well established.

They are almost identical with those prevailing in the Meuse Valley early in December, 1930. The available weather records show that, since I920, on only two occasions-Oc- tober 5-I3, 1923, and October 7-18, I938-have similar meteorological conditions occurred in the Donora area. Such persistent stagnant anticyclonic conditions are so in-

frequent that it has not yet been possible to draw conclusions concerning them. The United States Public Health Service has issued a preliminary report on the

medical aspects of the Donora disaster, together with analyses of contaminants and

meteorological conditions in the area (H. H. Schrenk and others: Air Pollution in Donora, Pa.; Epidemiology of the Unusual Smog Episode of October 1948: Preliminary Report, Public Health Bull. No. 306, 1949). A few of these analyses are based on information available for the last week of October, but they are mainly the result of special investigations made during several months in the late winter and the early spring of 1949.

The first section of the report is introductory; the second describes the biological studies. An extensive community survey showed that 5910 persons, 42.7 per cent of the total population of the Donora area, were affected, to a degree ranging from slight to very severe. The incidence of affection increased with age: almost two-thirds of the population 65 years of age and over reported symptoms, and half of these had severe symptoms. About 90 per cent of those affected described upper and lower respiratory symptoms. A study of the hospital records of 32 of the 50 persons hospitalized pointed toward pre-existing disease of the heart or lungs as a significant factor in the occurrence of severe smog illness. Sufficient data were available to specify the cause of death in 15 out of the 20 fatalities: chronic heart disease, 9; bronchial asthma, 1; a combination of these



THE GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

two causes, 4; and pulmonary tuberculosis, I. Relatively fewer severe illnesses and deaths occurred where persons lived in good housing than where they lived in poor housing; associated conditions not discussed in the report may have contributed to this result.

Investigations of the teeth of school children, of the fluoride content of urine, and of the fluoride content of bones did not reveal any abnormal exposure to fluoride. A study of the domestic-animal population disclosed that an appreciable number had become ill and that some had died. Dogs were most susceptible; distemper was perhaps a contributing factor to sickness and death.

The third section of the report covers the studies of atmospheric contaminants and the meteorological investigations. The contaminants produced by near-by industrial

plants are indicated, and the recommendation is made that emission of such substances as

sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, and particulate matter be reduced in future. The contributions of domestic sources, steamboats, trains, and automobiles are also evaluated. Air samples were taken at 12 stations during several months early in I949, but there were relatively few high concentrations of any of the contaminants.

Eight major stations on the valley floor and sides were in operation early in I949

measuring wind speed and direction, temperature, relative humidity, and rainfall. It was found that on the seventeen smoky mornings that occurred there was on the average a marked temperature inversion in the valley air and above, with light northerly (upvalley -contrary to theory) winds near the valley floor and light southerly winds in the upper part of the valley. The marked stability of the air during inversions damps out the vertical

eddy diffusion of smoke and gases and permits them to accumulate in the valley. Ordi-

narily, solar heating breaks up the inversions and the associated accumulations by noon, but late in October, 1948, the inversion persisted for several days, until lethal accumulations occurred. The report emphasizes the role of the fog in preserving the inversion by

reflecting a large fraction of the incident solar radiation. Calm mornings without an in-

version during the test period were not smoky, further confirmation of the prime significance of an inversion in inhibiting eddy diffusion. During windy periods smoke did

not accumulate. Precautionary measures for the future are recommended: local industries

should curtail production when the stagnant anticyclonic conditions develop that lead to

persistent light winds, inversions, and fog. The report concludes by suggesting that the illnesses and deaths at Donora were due

to the toxic action of two or more contaminants-sulphur dioxide and particulate matter

are mentioned as possibilities-in high concentrations as a result of unusual weather con-

ditions characterized by marked and prolonged stability of the air.

It is unusual to see medical and meteorological treatises presented thus side by side.

The coincidence invites comparison of the two sciences. In both the number of variables

to be considered and evaluated is large, and the laboratory procedure of letting one

quantity vary while the others are kept constant cannot be applied except in limited areas and in a limited sense. Both the physician and the meteorologist must be able to relate a

large number of facts, past and present, and draw a correct conclusion from their syn- theses, even though the interconnection of these facts is not clearly known. The physician would often have as much difficulty in predicting accurately for a week in advance the

temperature of his fever patient as the weather forecaster has in similarly predicting atmospheric temperatures.

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GEOGRAPHICAL RECORD

Dr. Clarence A. Mills has criticized the medical aspects of the report, and Drs. Leslie Silverman and Philip Drinker have criticized his criticism (Science, Vol. III, 1950, pp. 67-68, and Vol. II2, I950, pp. 92-93). Dr. Mills contends that the concentrations of oxides of nitrogen prevailing at Donora late in October could have been calculated to show that

they exceeded tolerable limits. Such a calculation requires the dubious assumption that in an inversion all the contaminants are confined to a specified and fixed volume of air:

although atmospheric stability reduces eddy diffusion, it by no means eliminates it entirely, and a substantial loss from the hypothetical box would have occurred. Furthermore, the winds, although light, must have transported some of the contaminants away from Do- nora. Meteorologically, Dr. Mills does not make a convincing case against the report.

In an article entitled "Dying in the Smog" (The Land, Vol. 9, 1950, pp. 185-191) Alfred G. Etter expresses the hope that this preliminary report will be followed by a final one that will include as well consideration of the economic, sociologic, botanical, zoological, hydrologic, and political consequences. Mr. Etter deplores the devastation of

vegetation at Donora caused by atmospheric pollution and comments that "nowhere in the entire report is any mention made of the desolation that exists in the town, the desolate

aspect of the people that gaze on these shabby hills, the long term effect of living under such conditions." The destructive effect of certain contaminants on vegetation is well known, but one wonders whether an individual's outlook on life is as dominated by atmos-

pheric pollution and its direct effects as Mr. Etter suggests. Perhaps it is. But the evils of atmospheric pollution are becoming more widely recognized, and industry across the country has already done much to abate them. If the present trend continues, such a report as Mr. Etter proposes may not be necessary to convince those in positions of responsibility that it is in the interest of the whole community to take the necessary steps. -E. WENDELL HEWSON

ECOLOGICAL BASES FOR LAND-USE PLANNING IN GULF COASTAL MARSHLANDS. In a comprehensive and somewhat detailed article based on an intimate knowledge of field conditions Philip F. Allan discusses the "Ecological Bases for Land Use Planning in Gulf Coast Marshlands" (Journ. of Soil and Water Conservation, Vol. 5, I950, pp. 57-62 and 85). He notes that water is more important than climate as an equalizer of vegetation, and that the same species occupy the same relative positions throughout the region with respect to water table and salinity level. However, he recognizes two phases of the ecological succession: an eastern phase, which reaches its climax in a deciduous forest extending from the Atlantic coast almost to the 40-inch rainfall line; and a western phase, which reaches its climax in the coastal-prairie aspect of the true prairie. He describes the stages of succession in the salt and fresh marshes and considers in some detail the characteristic vegetation and potential economic land use of each stage. The latter description has considerable geographic significance.

In the first stage of salt-marsh succession the land is too wet for practical livestock grazing, and its great salinity makes it unsuited to cultivation; hence it has no economic value. This is also true of the second stage, though some restricted areas have been utilized. In the third stage, however, much of the land has been cultivated for rice and sugar cane. Crop yields, particularly of rice, are spectacular at first but decrease rapidly. Expensive levees and pumping systems have been installed, but the investments have not been profit-

489




able because soil fertility declines quickly. Other uses in the third stage are ranching and muskrat farming. The fourth stage of the salt marsh finds its utilization almost entirely for livestock, though some parts are used for rice or sugar cane in a definite rotation. This

stage is succeeded in the east by deciduous upland hardwoods, and in the west by the wet

prairie. In the first stage of the fresh marshes, because of depth of water, the region is unsuited

to sound livestock management, and drainage for cropland is not feasible; hence its chief use is for alligators, otters, the recently established nutria, and waterfowl. In the second

stage, which produces highly palatable grasses, overgrazing is common. However, with careful drainage and management these marshes may be developed into good tame pastures. This stage has little value for game preserves or as a habitat for fur-bearing animals.

In conclusion the author points out that of more than five million acres of western Gulf Coast marshland, 2.3 million acres are best suited to wildlife, nearly two million acres may be used safely and profitably for livestock range, and less than 800,000 acres

may be suitable for miscellaneous uses. Land suited to cultivation is relatively insignificant. About one-tenth of the area, or 517,989 acres, is publicly owned and is maintained as wildlife refuges.-EDWIN J. FoscUE

THE MATANUSKA COLONY. In I934 the Federal Relief Administrator of the United States and other federal authorities took up the idea of establishing government-assisted colonists in the most suitable area of Alaska. Such settlement would aid the growth of the

Territory, supply agricultural foodstuffs for it, serve as a step toward its possible defense, and, above all, give a new start to scores of families among the millions of farmers who were finding it almost impossible to make a living because of drought, continued low

prices for agricultural commodities, and other depression ills. The settlement was to be a

part of a nation-wide program to restore destitute families to self-sufficiency. The Matanuska Valley, in south-central Alaska, some 45 miles northeast of Anchorage,

was finally selected as the most suitable area. This valley, at the head of Knik Arm of Cook

Inlet, is cupped in by lofty mountains on three sides. Back toward Anchorage are the

Chugach Mountains, high enough to ward off some of the rain clouds that drench the Gulf of Alaska coastal lands, yet not too high to shut off the mild winds that blow from the Pacific. North of the valley lie the Talkeetna Mountains, and beyond them rise the

towering peaks of the Alaska Range. These rugged barriers protect the valley from the extreme cold and heat of the interior. The climate is a unique mixture of the maritime weather of southern Alaska and the decidedly continental climate of the interior, with coastal characteristics usually dominant. The soil consists almost entirely of materials

deposited by water, wind, or ice during and since the recession of the mighty glacier which formerly filled the entire valley, and of which Matanuska and Knik Glaciers are two of the best-known existing remnants. With a climate moderately mild, a rainfall

generous enough, and a soil considerably better for agriculture than in most of the rest of Alaska, the Matanuska region seemed without doubt the best spot in the huge Territory to plant the new colony.

In June, 1934, a hasty preliminary survey was made by a federal administrator, and when a report was received inJanuary, I935, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration and the Department of the Interior agreed jointly to undertake the project. It was supposed

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GEOGRAPHICAL RECORD

that people from the colder northern states would be most likely to survive and increase in the Far North; consequently, in March, 1935, branches of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration in Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin were notified to select 200 families to be sent to colonize the Matanuska Valley.

The story of the selection of 202 such families, their transportation to Alaska by train and ship, the creation of the colony in the Matanuska Valley, and its struggle to survive in face of unknown hardships has recently been retold by Kirk H. Stone of the Depart- ment of Geography, University of Wisconsin, in a monograph of about a hundred pages entitled "Alaskan Group Settlement: The Matanuska Valley Colony" (U. S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, I950). Mr. Stone has done a good piece of research-indeed, a more thorough and extensive job than any other of the many people, including myself, who have attempted to write accounts of the colony.

About five and a half million dollars was granted by the federal government for the colonization of the Matanuska Valley-nearly five times the planners' original estimate. Unwise expenses were great, a natural result of hurried and inadequate planning in an

emergency. In 1935 the Alaska Railroad was the only connection with the rest of the

Territory, and nearly a million dollars was spent on roads and other transportation facilities for the colony. Lack of information plagued administrators trying to correct settlement plans, and some of the early management was, necessarily, inefficient. By the first winter most of the dwellings were barely ready; housing for farm animals was inadequate. Children attended school held in boxcars or were visited at home by traveling teachers. The colonists were faced with the problem of growing crops in the unique climate of the valley, where there is little rain in spring and early summer and good amounts in August.

By 1948 the eastern half of the valley had become "a widely broken and accessible forested area." The valley population of 2500-3000 are "participating in a growing farm-

ing economy and . . . work at various non-agricultural occupations." In short, "the Matanuska Valley Colony has been an effective and generally successful experiment to increase permanent settlement in the Territory."

But the methods by which these changes were made can be greatly improved. Most of the mistakes and weaknesses resulted from the speed required in the planning. Mr. Stone suggests that the first need is "at least one year of objective appraisal and planning and at least two years of intensive scientific investigation"; the Matanuska experiences "underscore the necessity of careful and deliberate thinking about new Alaskan group settlement."

Mr. Stone's monograph is based on eight years of specialized research and work on problems of Alaskan settlement. He spent three summers in the Matanuska Valley and has seen all of it by foot, car, and plane. He has discussed the problems of the valley and the Territory with homesteaders, colonists, and territorial and federal officials. He has had access to the federal and territorial documents relating to the colony. He has gone through the records at Palmer in the offices of the Alaska Rural Rehabilitation Corporation and the Matanuska Valley Farmers Cooperative. He has had the advice of Mr. Don L. Irwin, who perhaps knows more about the colony's past and the agricultural problems of Alaska than anyone else in the northern territory. His maps and charts are good, but unfortunately a number of published and unpublished works on the colony have been omitted from his selective bibliography.

49I




"The settlement of Alaska is a desirable objective." Mr. Stone concludes, however, that the experiences of colonizing the Matanuska Valley "prove that to the old slogan, 'Let's settle Alaska' must be added the even older saying 'Haste makes waste.' "-CLARENCE

C. HULLEY

NEW ADVANTAGES OF UNITED STATES FOREIGN-TRADE ZONES. Con-

gressman Emanuel Celler has described a foreign-trade zone as "a neutral, stockaded area where a shipper can put down his load, catch his breath, and decide what to do next." It is a port area where foreign goods can be unloaded and, if necessary, stored for an unlimited period without payment of duty or posting of a bond. If the goods are eventually brought into the country, the regular duties and excise taxes are collected, but if they are sent on to some other country, they are entirely exempt from these charges. Such "free"

ports have existed for a long time in Europe, but they are relatively new in the United States. The New York Zone, our Foreign-Trade Zone No. I, was opened in 1937, and since the war we have added five others-New Orleans, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, and San Antonio, numbered in that order.

The original Foreign-Trade Zones Act, adopted in 1934, has now been modified by Public Law 566, signed by the President onJune 17, I950 (Milton M. Thompson: Role of

Foreign-Trade Zones in World Trade Significantly Enlarged, Foreign Commerce Weekly, Vol. 39, No. I3, June 26, 1950, pp. 3-4 and 38). Important changes, which it is thought will greatly increase the use and significance of the zones, include the following:

I. Authorization of manufacturing. Large-scale manufacturing will not, of course, be feasible, but the new law makes possible such advantages as minor processing of

foreign goods to be sold to other countries without payment of excise taxes and duties; the combination of domestic and foreign materials without "either the sending of the domestic materials abroad for manufacture or the duty-paid or bonded importation of the foreign materials into this country"; and shipment of foreign merchardise in a partly finished state, thus reducing shipping costs. The so-called "manipulation," permitted by the original law, will, of course, be continued. This includes sorting, grading, cleaning, repacking, re-marking, mixing or combining with other foreign or domestic goods, assembling, and minor processing. Besides their obvious advantages, these activities bring various savings to the shipper, such as the avoidance of penalties for improper markings when the merchandise finally passes the United States customs and the escape from paying duty on damaged material (which can be sorted out and destroyed) and on weight lost

by shrinkage or waste. The new law still prohibits certain manufactures, chiefly those

using materials subject to internal revenue taxation. 2. Authorization of exhibition of goods. Inspection and sampling have always been

permitted, but the new law makes possible the establishment of attractive permanent showrooms where orders can be taken. In general this will be limited to wholesale trade;

retailing is for the most part prohibited in the zones.

3. Provision for the fixing of duties and internal revenue taxes on goods while they are being stored or processed in the zones. The owner is not obligated to import the goods and pay the duties-he is free to sell abroad if that proves more advantageous. But in

seeking a market in the United States he is able to quote a fixed price, and no matter when the material is finally imported it will be subject to duties and taxes at the rate already fixed for it "rather than at the rate then applicable."

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4. Permission to consider goods (domestic or already imported) placed in the zone as exported. This makes possible the recovery of drawback (refund of 99 per cent of any duty paid on imported goods), cancellation of bonds, and avoidance or refund of internal revenue taxes. Such refunds can then be reinvested in the business immediately, even while the goods are in storage in the foreign-trade zone pending sale or delivery. "It is expected that this innovation will result in a substantial increase in zone business."

In addition to these new advantages, foreign-trade zones continue to aid the importer in numerous other ways (see Thomas E. Lyons: Foreign-Trade Zones Will Aid the Busi- ness Developed at Trade Fairs, Foreign Conmmerce Weekly, Vol. 40, No. 6, August 7, 1950,

pp. 5-6 and 14). For example, orders taken in the United States can be filled from the store held in the foreign-trade zone, thus eliminating the possibility of delayed delivery caused

by shipping difficulties. Goods can be held until the market conditions in the United States are favorable, and can be graded and packed to suit the needs of the buyer. Goods under

quota restrictions can be received in the zones in any amount, without regard to the

quota, and held until their entry is permissible. The new law, offering advantages to both importers and exporters, should "promote

participation of this country in the commerce of the world" and "facilitate the flow of trade in general. Foreign-Trade Zones have been given new potentialities and new re- sponsibilities and should play an increasingly significant role in the international trade of the future. "-ANASTASIA VAN BURKALOW

THE CLIMATE OF THE CENTRAL NORTH AMERICAN GRASSLAND. In a recent study under this title by John R. Borchert (Annals Assn. of Amer. Geogrs., Vol. 40, I950, pp. 1-39) a roughly triangular region with its apex in northwestern Indiana and its base along the Rocky Mountains from west-central Alberta to coastal Tamaulipas is regarded as the Grassland. Short-grass steppe forms a belt about 400 miles wide in the west; tall grass, park borderlands, and forest-surrounded prairies are included in the east. The region is wedged in between northeastern forests where snowfall is heavy and persistent as ground cover and southeastern forests where winter rainfall is abundant. Highlands limit it abruptly on the west.

The climatic characteristics are light snowfall and little winter rainfall, considerable risk of severe summer drought, large positive departures from normal summer temperatures, and frequent hot winds in dry summers. To the northeast there are more days of precipitation in July and August, cloudiness is greater, and relative humidity higher.

Severe drought occurs in a relatively small number of years, but it is widespread. The years I889, I890, I894, I90I, 19O1, I917, I930, 193I, I933, 1934, and I936 were severely dry nearly everywhere, particularly in July and August. Summers were unusually hot. The high variability in July-August rainfall disappears abruptly beyond the margin of the Grass- land, least so eastward toward New York. Forested areas to the east received more than normal precipitation during most severe-drought years.

Three types of air dominate eastern Anglo-America: (i) continental air, which moves east from the Rockies; (2) Arctic air, which swings south across Canada to join the westerly circulation of the northeastern United States; and (3) tropical Atlantic air, which arrives from the Gulf to swing into the westerly circulation of the Southeastern States. Belts of maximum cyclonic frequency extend from Alberta eastward across the Great Lakes and northeastward from Texas on both sides of the continental air that normally blankets the

493




Grassland. The continental air is dry because it has either passed over much varied topography or subsided over land. In January three times as much air leaves the east face of the Rockies as enters the continent across the Coast Ranges and the Cascades. The dry air mass dominates a triangular area roughly similar to the Gra sland but extending eastward into western New York. Arctic air to the north is cold enough to favor retention of snow cover. Tropical air to the south favors high rainfall values. In summer the air-mass pattern is altered by a great reduction in area of continental-air dominance, mainly to territory west of the Iooth meridian. In extremely dry summers, however, the pattern resembles that of winter.

Five distinct climates are recognized east of the Rockies: I, Northeastern, with snowy winters and drought-free summers, north of a line extending from southwestern Canada

through central Michigan to upper New England; II, Southeastern, with rainy winters and summers and mild temperatures that create problems of soil erosion and flood control, south of a line from eastern Texas to New York City; III, South Atlantic and Gulf, with

rainy tropical summers, south of a line from southeastern Texas to southern Georgia; IV, Prairies, with relatively dry winters and occasional summer drought, centering between northern Illinois and southwestern New York; and V, Western Great Plains, with all seasons

dry, west of central Texas, south-central Iowa, and southwestern Manitoba. Grasslands

occupy climates IV and V. Individual climates follow the patterns of the K6ppen system rather closely.

Tree growth is prevented over the Grassland, except near streams, by aridity. Winter-

killing occurs south of the region of persistent snow cover from desiccation in dry, cold air. Short grass of the steppes has dense, shallow root systems, which utilize moisture from

scanty summer rains. Prairies form a transitional "borderline" area that juts as a peninsula toward western New York. This interesting region is peculiarly sensitive to climatic varia-

bility. Tall grass and trees have invaded it during recent centuries, but the drought of I910

killed many oaks in Illinois, and in the early 1930's trees were generally killed in eastern Nebraska and in Iowa. Tall grass moved into former tree-covered areas, and short grass invaded much of Nebraska, Kansas, and Iowa, only to retreat under wetter conditions of the late I930's.

Prehistoric Grassland extended as far as the Mohawk Valley. Bog pollens indicate a

postglacial sequence of taiga forest, followed by oak dominance, and later by grassland in

marginal areas where early white settlers found forest. Degraded soils indicate recent in-

vasion of forest into grassland territory; outlying prairies in southern Michigan and western New York are remnants of these earlier grasslands. A similarity in reptilian faunas outlines

the same region. During the maximum Grassland development of the West, New England's typical birch-beech-hemlock association gave way to a drier oak-pine forest.

Maximum eastward spread of the Grassland occurred during the "climatic optimum" of

5000-IOOO1 B.C. and of 400-IOOO1 A.D. Stronger westerly circulation, possibly related to

changes in solar output, increased climatic continentality. Fire is regarded as a factor influ-

encing vegetation in the Grassland rather than a cause of forest retreat.-RICHARD J. RUSSELL

EUROPE

POSTWAR YUGOSLAVIA. The Balkans are today one of the critical areas of the world.

They need much study, particularly because there is a scarcity of published materials.

As a direct result of World War II, there have been major changes in the political condi-

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GEOGRAPHICAL RECORD

tions, social and economic structures, boundaries, and territorial demands. This is especially true of Yugoslavia, on which world attention has been focused for some time. The several recent publications here discussed contain information not previously available and throw considerable light on postwar conditions in Yugoslavia.

In 1946, Yugoslavia was reorganized into the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia. The best available geographical description of the new republic is given in Anton Melik's

"Jugoslavija" (Ljubljanska Tiskarna, Ljubljana, 1949; in Slovenian). Postwar additions from Italy of Istria, Zara, the Cherso-Lussino island group, and the island of Lagosta increased the area of Yugoslavia from 96,320 square miles (249,468 square kilometers) to

99,170 square miles (256,850 square kilometers). The population rose from 13,934,038

(March 31, I931) to 15,751,935 (March 15, 1948), though there was an estimated direct

loss of 1,700,000 in World War II, comparatively one of the higher losses among the nations.

Before World War II, Yugoslavia was organized into nine banovinas, or administrative

districts; it now comprises six political divisions known as the People's Republics. The autonomous areas of the Vojvodina and Kosmet are included in the Republic of Serbia. The area and population of the republics are as follows:

AREA PERCENTAGE PERCENTAGE REPUBLIC (In sq. km.) OF TOTAL POPULATION OF TOTAL

I. Slovenia 20,25I 7.8 I,389,084 8.8 2. Croatia 56,284 2I.9 3,749,039 23.8

3. Bosnia and Hercegovina 51,348 20.0 2,56I,96I I6.3 4. Montenegro 13,967 5.4 376,573 2.4

5. Macedonia 26,234 IO.2 I,I52,054 7-3 6. Serbia 88,766 34.6 6,523,224 4I.4

Serbia proper 55,903 21.8 4,I39,416 26.2

Vojvodina 22,302 8.7 1,661,632 io.6 Kosmet I0,56I 4.I 727,176 4.6

The greatest population losses during World War II were in Croatia, Bosnia and

Hercegovina, Montenegro, and Slovenia; they are attributable to the military action of the Germans, Italians, Hungarians, and Bulgarians, and also to the civil war among the Tito and Mihailovich factions and the puppet states of Serbia and Croatia.

During the war German and Hungarian settlers were moved into occupied territories, and the minority groups in Yugoslavia were thus increased. But after the Axis defeat these settlers fled, and with them went most of the previous minority settlers-a movement of more than 500,000 people. The Germans were expelled from the Vojvodina, northern Croatia, and Slovenia, the Hungarians from the Vojvodina, and the Italians from Istria. Some 60,000 Yugoslavs migrated to the Vojvodina, the most fertile area of

Yugoslavia, from the food deficit areas of Lika, Bosnia and Hercegovina, and Montenegro. There has been a marked population movement to the cities. In 1948, 2,740,127, or

I7.4 per cent, lived in cities of more than Io,ooo population. Five cities now contain more than Ioo,ooo people: Belgrade (including Zemun), 388,246; Zagreb, 290,417; Ljubljana, 120,944; Sarajevo, II8,I58; and Subotica, I12,55I.

An important economic feature of the new Yugoslavia is the Five Year Plan (I947- 1951), by which over-all production is to be increased 516 per cent, and mineral and in-

495




dustrial production 494 per cent. The plan calls for concentration on heavy industry, such as the manufacture of transportation equipment, but expansion is to take place in all branches of production and trade, particularly in the less productive areas of Bosnia and

Hercegovina, Montenegro, and Macedonia. Much excellent background information on Yugoslavia is available in a recent study

in the United Nations Series edited by Robert J. Kerner ("Yugoslavia," University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1949). This represents the work of 15 authors. The historical background, political and cultural development, and economic and social conditions are reviewed in detail, but unfortunately the geographical section, Chapter I, is somewhat sketchy and general in content, as is Chapter 2, on racial history. Of particular interest to the geographer is the chapter on postwar economics, Chapter 2I, in which is

posed the fundamental problem of an increasing agrarian overpopulation in the face of a

definitely limited amount of arable land and severe wartime devastation in agriculture, industry, and transportation.

The question of Trieste and Istria remains the most important territorial problem of

Yugoslavia. The creation of the Free Territory of Trieste by the United Nations and the

boundary settlement under the Treaty of Peace with Italy in 1947, by which most of

Istria was awarded to Yugoslavia, have not been satisfactory to either Yugoslavia or Italy. Both desire Trieste as an economic outlet. The population of Trieste is predominantly Italian, but the Slavs form the majority in the rural areas, with Slovenes in the north and

Croats in the south. The classic study of the background of the controversy is A. E.

Moodie's "The Italo-Yugoslav Boundary" (George Philip & Son, London, 1945). The

official Yugoslav position is given in a "Memorandum of the Government of the Demo-

cratic Federative Yugoslavia Concerning the Question of the Julian March and Other

Yugoslav Territories under Italy" (Belgrade, 1946). The memorandum is also included in

"Trieste" (Yugoslav Embassy, Washington, D. C., 1946), which contains, in addition, the Yugoslav statements to the Council of Foreign Ministers in London in 1945. According to Melik's "Jugoslavija," the Yugoslavs still claim an additional 727.9 square miles (I849 square kilometers), with a population of I99,900, and the Free Territory of Trieste, with a

population of 350,000. The Italian view that the greater part of Gorizia and Trieste should

be awarded to Italy is presented with supporting statistics and maps in Ferdinando Milone's

"II confine orientale" (Mario Fiorentino, Naples, 1945). Yugoslavia has also presented postwar claims to portions of Carinthia and Styria,

now parts of Austria, and has asked that autonomy be given by Austria to the Croat

minority in Burgenland. The Yugoslavs assert that there is a Slovene minority of 180,000 in Carinthia and I0,000 in three border areas of Styria. The official claims are set forth in

"Memorandum du gouvernement de la Republique Federative Populaire de Yougoslavie concernant la Carinthie slovene, les regions frontalieres slovenes de Styrie et les croates

du Burgenland" (Belgrade, 1947). Postwar Yugoslavia, like all the other Balkan countries, is confronted with many

serious problems. Salient among them are internal political upheavals, reorganization of

administrative divisions, economic reconstruction, population displacement, and disputes with neighboring nations over territory and minority groups. Because Yugoslavia is a

leading Balkan nation, and because Yugoslavia's Communist-controlled government has

severed relations with Russia and her Eastern European satellites and has sought economic

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GEOGRAPHICAL RECORD

aid from the United States and Great Britain, the success of Yugoslavia's solution of her

problems will be a crucial element in the future not only of the Balkans but also of the world.-H. Louis KOSTANICK

LAKE NEUCHATEL. Since the regulation of Jurastreams by canalization and diversion

(begun in I869 and completed in I888), fluctuations in the level of Lake Neuchatel have been more frequent, more erratic, and greater in range than formerly. In "Le lac de Neu- chatel" (Mbnoires Soc. Neuchateloise de Geogr., Vol. I, I948) Archibald Quartier analyzes the

hydrography of the lake and the meteorological and hydrological conditions influencing it, in an effort to determine the causes of these capricious variations. Formerly the meteorological conditions of its Jura supply basin and the rate of flow of its direct tributaries determined the

regime of the lake. The highest levels were reached in winter and spring, when precipitation is greatest and evaporation least; the lowest levels came in summer or fall, when these conditions are reversed. Now the regime is influenced chiefly by the Aar River, diverted, as

part of the program of drainage regulation, into neighboring Lake Bienne and now its

principal Alpine tributary. As a result, high level comes oftenest in summer, when the Aar

brings its greatest inflow of glacial meltwater to Lake Bienne. The level of Bienne then rises above that of Neuchatel (they are at about the same altitude), and the Thielle River, which

normally flows out of Lake Neuchatel and into Lake Bienne, is reversed. Lake Neuchatel then rises rapidly, not only because of the abrupt inflow of water from Lake Bienne but also because it has lost its outlet. In winter, when the Aar has least volume, the level of Lake Bienne is low. The Thielle, draining into it, reduces Lake Neuchatel to its lowest level. Thus, instead of being a Jura lake, Neuchatel now behaves like an Alpine lake fed by glaciers. The regulation of the streams has increased rather than decreased the fluctuations of the lake and has also, incidentally, lowered its average level by 2.73 meters. The Thielle was formerly reversed only during dry periods at fairly predictable times; it is now reversed much more frequently and irregularly.

The study also reveals an interrelationship between the amount of precipitation and

fishing conditions. During a dry year the lake level is low, the Thielle is reversed often, the water in the lake is clear, and fishing is poor. During a year of abundant precipitation the lake level is high, the Thielle is reversed less often, the water in the lake is muddy, and fishing is good.-A. T.

SOME RECENT DENDROLOGICAL WORK IN EUROPE. Three papers on tree-ring analysis have recently come to hand that throw new light on some aspects of interest to geographers.

Professor Buli (Ugi Buli: Ricerche climatiche sulle pinete di Ravenna, Centro di Studi per la Geografia fisica, Bologna, I949, p. 77) gives a detailed analysis of tree rings in pines (Pinus pinea) cut in the historic Ravenna pine forest. Some 30 trees were studied. Where it was possible to cut off about eight feet of timber, a new diagonal method of sectioning was adopted. This method gave an elliptical section instead of the usual circular one, which increased the width of each ring considerably and made detailed analysis much easier. Buli points out, however, that the method could not be used on trunks subjected to any torsional effect through asymmetrical exposure to radiation or weather, as often happens near the edge of the forest. The analysis, carried out according to the periodical machine method invented

497




by Francisco Vercelli (Analisi periodale dei diagrammi, Centro di Studi del Mare, Venice,

1947), enables the research worker to dissect the tree-ring record into a number of periodical curves of various lengths, by means of a system of adjustable screws.

Buli's greatest contribution is perhaps his insistence that limiting factors should receive careful consideration, more careful than workers have given them in the past. The retarding effect of exceptionally adverse conditions-an extremely cold winter or an extremely dry period-may reduce the growth in the succeeding few years. The analysis of Ravenna pines yields curves with periods of 5-6, 8-9, I, 16-I8, and 20-22 years. The 20-22-year curve is broken into isolated sections; the II-year curve is interrupted only where exceptional climatic conditions have overshadowed the solar-radiation control that is usually characteristic. Analysis of other European records shows the same curves, generally uninterrupted-a fact ascribed by Buli to a greater sensibility of northern conifers to solar radiation, as opposed to the greater sensibility of Mediterranean conifers to low temperatures. It should be noted that periodic analysis of sunspot records has failed to reveal any 20-22-year curve, whereas

temperature records show it clearly, and tree rings outstandingly so in cold climates. Professor Vercelli (Francesco Vercelli: Periodicita dendrologiche e cicli solari, Ann. di

Geofisica, Vol. 2, 1949, pp. 477-485) applies his method of analysis to the Sequoia gigantea analyzed by Douglass and reputed to have lived from 274 B.c. to A.D. I914. The result shows

that a curve characterized by an II.i-year phase occurs regularly throughout the life of the

tree, with the exception of periods where some gaps developed, without, however, affecting the characteristics of the curve. Professor Vercelli remarks that all other curves found, with the same characteristics as those found by Buli for the shorter-lived European conifers, fail to reveal any cyclical regularity. Several of them may be harmonics of the i I.I-year curve, but they are far from attaining its constancy and regularity.

Max Schneider (Periodische Schwankungen in der Vegetationszeit der Laubbaume, Meteorol. Rundschau, Vol. 2, 1949, pp. I46-I5I) points out that there is a vegetative cycle of i I-year period affecting deciduous trees. The amplitude of this cycle reaches 7 to 8 days, namely 5 per cent of the average vegetative period. The agreement of solar and vegetative cycles is very close, maximum sunspot activity coinciding with longer vegetative periods. The study of horse-chestnut trees also reveals an 8-year cycle with an amplitude of about

3.4 days in the period from the appearance of foliage to the maturity of the fruit, but the

puzzling fact is that this cycle seems to vanish during other phases of the vegetative period, and no explanation can be found. It might be added here that both Vercelli and Buli found

evidence of an 8-year cycle in their analyses of coniferous growth.-J. GENTILLI

WARTIME AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES IN SCOTLAND. Agricultural conditions in Scotland are of special interest, because of the great variety of opportunity within

small space and also because of the small amount of available land in relation to the size of the country. Farmland other than rough grazing amounts to less than one-quarter of Scot-

land, and, since the urban population is relatively large, there are about 660 people for every square mile of crops and grass. This is the result of the geological history, including glaciation, and a climate that keeps the upper limit of cultivation generally below 700 feet above sea

level. As for variety, the southeast can show farming that is unsurpassed in the normal yield of crops, including winter wheat and sugar beet grown under a rainfall of some 25 inches, whereas the northwest coast lies at about the wet limit of economic agriculture in Europe.

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GEOGRAPHICAL RECORD

However, it was on the best and driest parts alone that crop growing resisted the tendency to decline in favor of permanent grass, except during war economy. The British government, mindful of the effort needed during World War I, made its plans well and, fortunately, in time to meet the difficulty of food supply in World War II. But this time the measures taken have had to be continued far beyond the end of hostilities, on account of world shortages and the financial situation. These measures and their results are described conveniently in the official report "Agriculture in Scotland" ([Command Paper] Cmd. 7717, 1949).

With a view to intensive production of food, the tillage area of Scotland was increased in four years by 42 per cent, at the expense, chiefly, of land that had reverted to permanent grass after World War I, but also by the reduction of sown grass and clover by 13 per cent. About half of the total area was given to oats, always the main crop, and the acreage of wheat, barley, and potatoes was greatly extended. When it is remembered that skilled farm labor was reduced, it is perhaps the more remarkable that the yield of all these crops during the period was higher than in the prewar decade. Fortunately, in Scotland about one-sixth of the workers are women, and to help these came the Women's Land Army; supplementary labor was increasingly supplied by prisoners of war and by Irishmen. The high productivity is notable also in view of the shortage of imported fertilizers, needed of course in greater amount for the intensive cultivation. Nitrogenous fertilizers sufficed, but not phosphates, though production of these rose rapidly, especially after the Allied landing in North Africa; potash had to be rationed severely after the fall of France. The increased need for lime did much to restore the lime industry in Scotland to supplement the larger supply from England, but great difficulties of transport had to be overcome. A table in the report provides an interesting measure of the intensity of farming. The general absorption of fertilizers and lime has doubled in the past decade, and the total quantity used in 1947-I948 represented one ton for 3 acres of crops and grass or 21 acres of arable land. Another table seems to indicate that one tractor was available per 150 acres, a significant fact when the relief, even of the lowlands, is recalled.

During the war the balance between food crops and stock had of course to be adjusted carefully. The lack of imported feeding stuffs caused reduction in numbers of pigs and poultry. Poultry had been restored by the end of the war, but pigs are still down by 27 per cent of the prewar total. Sheep suffered from severe winters on the hills as well as from reduction of lowland grass, and the decrease of 15 per cent has not been made good. On the other hand, the record for cattle is remarkable. Reduction by I94I was less than 3 per cent, and this had been restored by I943. Moreover, not only have the numbers increased substantially but the quality has improved steadily. The greatest triumph perhaps relates to dairy cattle and to the campaign, begun in 1942, for increased production of milk as part of the plan of rationing that has meant so much to the health of the nation, particularly of the children. After a sharp reduction in supply, the amount in I948 was greater by 9 per cent than the prewar yield. Furthermore, there was a substantial improvement in quality, the proportion of certified grades rising from a quarter to more than half.

While the intensive work went on in the lowland farms, special attention was being given to the holdings that were barely profitable, usually those near the upper margin of cultivation or those with poor drainage; here technical and financial help was provided. Furthermore, the problem of the hill pastures was tackled seriously by scientific study and by subventions for hill sheep and hill cattle. This attention to cattle keeping in the Highlands is important, because the rough grazing has deteriorated since the practice was abandoned in

499




favor of sheep on the one hand and (wild) deer for sporting purposes on the other. Arrange- ments were made for shooting the deer regularly and marketing the meat, and it was possible to treble the numbers of hardy sheep and cattle previously grazing the deer "forests" (i.e. preserves). It is more than doubtful whether Scotland can afford the luxury of large "sporting" estates, and the question of capacity for domestic animals is now one of the three main considerations relating to development of the Highlands; the others are afforestation and the creation of hydroelectric power, both of which are proceeding with all possible speed.

One aspect of the notable work accomplished by the Department of Agriculture may be

specially mentioned. During the period it was able to complete or carry out drainage schemes

along the flood plains of a dozen rivers of various sizes, to the benefit of 33,000 acres of farmland. At the end of the period (August 12-I3, 1948) a phenomenal flood in the southeast

brought its engineers into action for restoration, to the amount of at least ?325,000, exclusive of the expense incurred by railway and other authorities. Such is the occasional power of small rivers in a deforested plateau like the Lammermuir.

Although it was possible to expand Scotland's agricultural land in wartime, the sources of fish were vastly reduced in extent. The story is told in the official "Report on the Fisheries of Scotland I939-I948" (Cmd. 7726, I949). The fishing fleets were hemmed in by mine fields and excluded from much of the sea for naval reasons, but even so they often suffered from enemy attack. Nevertheless, the supply of fish, vital to Britain, continued to arrive, though landed at a smaller number of ports; and as a result of wise schemes of distribution and control of prices, the food generally reached the consumer in good condition. In 1938, British vessels landed 265,000 tons of fish in Scottish ports, rather more than a half of which was herring. By 1941 the amount of demersal ("bottom") fish had fallen by nearly one-half and that of herring by nearly two-thirds. Increases followed, gradually during the war and

rapidly thereafter, until the catch of I948 exceeded that of I939, though only two-thirds of the prewar fleet was available-a highly creditable performance, in which the fishes themselves took a part, having multiplied in unfished waters. The restriction of fishing areas and

ports was only one of the difficulties of the war. Equally important were the losses of fishermen and their vessels. About 10,000 of the I7,000 fishermen served in the fighting forces or

in the merchant navy, so that the fishing crews were composed of elderly men and boys. The best boats were requisitioned for war purposes-5 5 per cent of the steam trawlers and liners, 77 per cent of the steam drifters (i.e. herring boats), and 27 per cent of the motorboats, especially the larger ones. It is evident that the fishermen of Scotland served the Allied cause well.

Scottish fisheries have always been largely concerned with the herring, a popular food and more palatable than the variety usually taken in American waters. It is a fickle fish, and

despite much research its habits are not yet fully understood. The herring fishery has to face both temporary disappearance of shoals from accustomed areas and also excess of fish, resulting in a glutted market and great waste. Hence the Herring Industry Board is interested in methods of preserving this perishable fish, especially at the outlying island ports. The old method of pickle curing has declined as a result of two wars, though the export, amounting to 2I4,000 barrels in I939, mainly to Germany and Poland, was partly revived after the war to help relieve the food shortage in Germany. Barrels for the fish, normally made of Swedish

spruce, were unsatisfactory during the war, since Canadian wood proved less suitable. The

promotion of various methods of freezing has shown that this is commercially practicable

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GEOGRAPHICAL RECORD

where supplies are regular, and it will certainly help the outlying ports. Quick-freezing plants are now operating at various ports, notably several at Aberdeen, which deal with white fish. But the only way to deal with gluts seems to be to reduce the herring to oil and meal for animal fodder, and factories for this have been opened at Wick and Stornoway.

Despite restrictions, the North Sea remained the chief source of demersal fish, though its share of the catch dropped from 75 to 52 per cent, with the inshore waters naturally increasing in importance. The North Sea as a whole is thought to have trebled its stock of fish during the war, yet by 1946 it was necessary to draw up an international convention to reduce

fishing power in various ways; however, by 1948 only six of the twelve countries concerned had ratified the agreement. Scientific research on fisheries was virtually suspended in wartime, except the interesting experiments at Loch Sween in the culture of sea fishes with chemical rations applied to semi-enclosed water; but research was soon started again, with full international cooperation. Extensive survey by a ship of the Scottish Home Department during 1947 and 1948 disclosed physical conditions that differed widely in the two years. In

1947 a southerly extension of boreal water seems to have prevented the influx of Atlantic water from the Faroe-Shetland Channel to the North Sea until October; in I948 there was an abnormally large amount of warm oceanic water in the same area. It seems that in the future the presence of certain kinds of plankton will give reliable indication of distinctive masses of water, and hence of fluctuations. It was probably some widespread marine variation that greatly reduced the catch of salmon on the coasts and in the rivers in 1945, since a scarcity was reported from America also. On the other hand, the stocks of salmon in Scottish rivers are being depleted annually from a very different cause-killing by illegal means, including the use of explosives. This poaching by lawless gangs is one of the evil consequences of the war, and the economic sequel.-A. G. OGILVIE

AFRICA

TRANSPORTATION IN THE ANGLO-EGYPTIAN SUDAN. One of the out- standing handicaps to the development of Africa is its inadequate transportation. Schemes for improvement are not new. Many, such as the French trans-Saharan railroad or the British Cape to Cairo route, have been impressive. The popular reaction to such schemes is inevitably admiration for the courage displayed in their conception and disappointment at the almost complete lack of fulfillment. Since the last war these grandiose schemes have tended to be replaced by more carefully formulated plans, not for vast stretches of the continent but for individual political units. Such a plan for the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan is outlined by H. A. Morrice in "The Development of Sudan Communications" (Sludan Notes and Records, Vol. 30, 1949, pp. 1-38 and I4I-I78).

The rail system of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan is self-contained. Extension into ad- joining countries is made difficult by the several gauges in use in Africa (R. J. Harrison Church, in "Geographical Factors in the Development of Transport in Africa," Transport and Communications Rev., Vol. 2, No. 3, I949, pp. 3-II, reports six main gauges on the

continent). Morrice carefully considers each of the possible outside links for the Sudan. That with Egypt would require as many transshipments as the present rail and water link. That with Eritrea would require expensive enlargements of tunnels in addition to a change of gauge if Sudan rolling stock were used. Steep slopes and the consequent large outlay of capital necessary rule out a link with the Ethiopian capital. Connection with Uganda is

501




possible, but the economic advantages are uncertain. The length and difficulty of an extension to the Atlantic either through the Belgian Congo or through French Equatorial Africa make construction justifiable only for strategic reasons.

The outlook for roads is somewhat brighter. Morrice points out what every traveler to the Sudan soon learns-there are virtually no highways. What appears on the map as a "road generally suitable for motor traffic" proves to be an unimproved dirt road or "track." The limitations of the tracks are most apparent in the extensive eastern plain. Here seasonal rainfall together with heavy clay soil closes the tracks to traffic for about half of the year. At the end of the wet period the roads are overgrown with tall savanna grass and must be cleared, the khor crossings reconstructed, and the roadway smoothed and

graded. Grading is still often done by dragging a freshly cut tree along the roadway. Morrice discusses types of road construction for each of four basic regions into which

he divides the country and with the aid of several maps indicates which tracks should be

improved to the status of highways. Roads should converge on the economic and political center of Khartoum and connect it with the principal towns and districts. But the roads should supplement rather than duplicate existing rail and water routes.

The development of a water route, the Nile, would probably be the most costly of all the proposed improvements for Sudan transportation. The problem centers about the stretch of the river between Khartoum and Wadi Halfa. Besides the five conventionally recognized cataracts in this stretch, there are at least three other serious obstructions to

navigation. All will have to be drowned with dams and weirs or bypassed with navigation canals if the river is to be navigable for even half the year. If charged against navigation alone, the costs would be prohibitive. But Morrice believes such improvements might be feasible if, in the manner of the Tennessee Valley Authority, only part of the expense were

charged against navigation and the remainder against irrigation, flood control, and hydroelectric power.

This entire plan for improving transportation in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan is a

preliminary one. It is to be hoped, however, that some official group, such as the newly created Development Committee of the Sudan Executive Council, will recognize its value and authorize the surveys that will permit a careful evaluation of its proposals.

In the successful execution of this or any similar plan two major handicaps, one economic and the other political, must be overcome. Measured by Western standards, the Sudan is a poor country, with an annual budget smaller than that of most large Ameri- can cities. But it has been demonstrated that a rail line (Sennar to Port Sudan) in con-

junction with an irrigation development (the Gezira Scheme) can increase the national income. It is possible that by careful planning and slow development the economic

handicap could be overcome. The political handicap is probably more serious. Among the numerous facets of the

uncertain political future of the Sudan are the claims of Egypt to sovereignty, the un- fortunate racial division of the country between a Moslem and politically vocal North and a Negroid South, and the official British policy of fostering democratic rule faster

perhaps than the Negroid majority can learn to function under it. Such an uncertain political climate is usually not favorable to internal improvements, for private capital is not attracted and long-term government planning and spending often become impossible. Water transport would be especially liable to this handicap. But that its existence does not

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GEOGRAPHICAL RECORD

preclude internal development is evidenced by the recent and apparently successful

negotiations between the government of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan and that of Egypt regarding the construction of a new dam at the fourth cataract.-H. THOMPSON STRAW

GENERAL CIRCULATION IN THE ANGLO-EGYPTIAN SUDAN. During the war many pilot balloon and radiosonde ascents were made in Central Africa, a region where little had previously been known concerning upper-air conditions. From the data thus accumulated "annual migration of the intertropical convergence zone is found to be the most

important controlling climatic factor" (Samuel B. Solot: General Circulation over the

Anglo-Egyptian Sudan and Adjacent Regions, Bull. Amer. Meteorol. Soc., Vol. 31, I950, pp. 85-94). The seasonal circulation patterns revealed by these studies are worth noting briefly in view of the tendency in recent geography textbooks to minimize the importance of the

planetary wind and pressure belts over land areas and to attribute the alternation of rainy and

dry seasons in parts of the tropics to monsoon winds, controlled by seasonal contrasts between the temperatures of land and sea.

During the winter dry season large anticyclones are centered over the Sahara and Arabia (the subtropical highs), with winds blowing from them in a general equatorward direction (the trades). The intertropical convergence (ITC) is somewhere south of the equator. By April and May the ITC, associated with a warm low-pressure trough (the equatorial low), has shifted to about o1? N., and Southern Hemisphere air (trade winds) blows across the equator toward it. Temperatures in the central Sudan reach their maximum at this season, coinciding with the sun's first appearance at the zenith (May 4 at Khartoum). In July and

August the ITC reaches its northernmost position, sometimes as much as 20? N. Along it the lighter Northern Hemisphere air from the Sahara rises over the Southern Hemisphere air, producing the unusual condition of dry air rising over moist air. Because of its dryness, ascent of this air cannot cause precipitation, and cumulonimbus clouds forming in the

underlying moist air are quickly evaporated as they rise. As a result, the zone of precipitation begins not at the front itself but about 200 miles to the south, where the moist layer is

deep enough for large cumulonimbus clouds to develop. During the rainy season the sun is again at the zenith in the Sudan (August Io at Khartoum), but the cloudiness and rain keep the temperature from rising. The secondary temperature maximum does not occur until October, when the ITC has retreated to 5?-Io? N. and the dry trade winds again prevail over the Sudan.

These observations indicate also that in the tropics land areas are comparable to oceans in the great seasonal lag of general circulation behind the annual march of the sun. The "most 'tropical'" conditions occur from August to October, the season of maximum hurricane development over the tropical oceans, while opposite conditions occur in February and March.-ANASTASIA VAN BURKALOW

THE TROPICS

POTENTIALITIES OF TROPICAL SOILS. Not long ago interest in the wet tropics centered chiefly on the few plantation crops that are climatically restricted to the equatorial regions. Today, a growing array of synthetics and substitutes, together with the contagious new economics of nationalism and self-sufficiency, more and more incline us

503




to look first at the capacity of the tropics to support a larger number of the world's

rapidly swelling population. In the human ecology of these regions soils seem to play a

peculiarly important role. Of the few scientists who have traveled widely in the tropics of both hemispheres, none is more competent to pass judgment on soils that Dr. Robert L.

Pendleton, whose tireless enthusiasm for problems relating to the origin and utilization of laterized tropical soils is almost legendary. In a brief paper, originally presented before the American Society of Agronomy, he has summarized the present status of our knowl-

edge and experience on the subject of tropical soil potentialities (Agricultural and Forestry Potentialities of the Tropics, Agronomy Joturn., Vol. 42, I950, pp. II5-I23). The picture is not one to arouse optimism.

The generally held notion of the unlimited fertility of tropical soils is, of course, quite wrong. "Only the very small areas (much less than 5%) of soils developed from certain volcanic products, being better drained and supplied with plant nutrients, measure up to the popular conceptions as to the potential fertility of the soils of the humid low latitudes." Recent alluvium, although of nearly comparable fertility, is of even more limited extent and is commonly subject to extremely deep flooding. In Southeast Asia it is already largely occupied.

The difficulties of permanently cropping upland tropical soils with annuals is illus- trated by the unsuccessful Brazilian efforts to establish new agricultural colonies of sertao

drought refugees in the once heavily forested Braganga region east of Belem and the mouth of the Amazon River and almost under the equator. There is also a hope, born of despair, in the downslope movement of peoples, often government-subsidized, from the crowded

highlands of Latin America to the unhealthful and still sparsely settled humid lowlands-

incidentally, a neglected theme in contemporary settlement geography that badly needs

attention by field researchers. Here, as in the Belgian Congo, the application of modern

agricultural methods has seldom brought the desired increases in productivity and indeed

has often led eventually to serious impoverishment of the soil. Even intensive fertilization

and the growing of legumes and other improvement crops has by no means always proved efficacious. Commercial fertilizers in any event do not belong in the scheme of a sub-

sistence agricultural economy. It seems well demonstrated that, where short-rooted crops have replaced forest trees, the cycle of growth and decay, which operates at an accelerated

pace in the humid tropics, is irreparably broken. According to Pendleton, the nutrients

of the forest cover, liberated with the burning of slash, are in considerable measure

leached into the subsoil before the newly planted annual or biennial crop plants can de-

velop root systems sufficient to absorb them. In the establishment of rubber and banana

plantations one solution seems to have been found in the planting of sets in the midst of

the felled forest trash without burning. Curiously, Pendleton omits reference to the

competition from weeds, often a factor of real importance in forcing the early abandon-

ment of the subsistence farmer's clearing. Any estimate of fertility based on the luxuriance of the virgin forest is not applicable

to most cultivated crops because of "the serious and rapid deterioration suffered by all

tropical forest soils where they are cleared and utilized by man." Where a part of the

original forest is preserved through understory clearing and partial thinning, certain

forest crops such as cacao, abacai, and coffee may be grown successfully. Other tree crops, such as rubber, coconut, and African oil palms and chicle, are ideal for the humid tropics.

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GEOGRAPHICAL RECORD

In Brazil, where coffee is grown without shade trees, physical and chemical deterioration of the soils has been shown by Rawitscher and Setzer to be pronounced, at least in part because of the clean culture, which exposes the friable red coffee soils to direct sun and rain. In Colombia and Central America, on the other hand, where coffee is grown under a canopy of high forest trees, there seems to be little evidence of such deterioration.

Shifting-field agriculture, for which Pendleton favors the Filipino term kaingiinig, can be defended in most instances as the best, perhaps the only, means by which permanent production of annuals can be maintained on upland soils of the tropics. A forest fallow of some 20 years is often the most effective means of restoring productivity, though in Southeast Asia nmperata grass and fire frequently combine to prevent regeneration of the forest. The soils of the extensive tropical grasslands of the New World, Pendleton ob- serves, are probably quite useless for other cultivated crops than lowland rice if, as appears probable, they too are fire-climax savannas. "It seems certain that as the population of the world increases a continually greater proportion of the population will come to live mainly upon rice produced on the soils of the humid tropical lowlands"; for, where adequate irrigation water is available, "a crop of padi (lowland rice) can be grown annually or oftener, even on soils very low in plant nutrients."-JAMES J. PARSONS

GEOGRAPHICAL NEWS

MEETING OF THE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN GEOGRAPHERS. The

forty-seventh annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers was held at the Palmer House in Chicago from March 19 to 22, I95I. Northwestern University, cur-

rently celebrating its centennial, was host to the 6oo-odd members attending. Three full

days were given over to papers and discussions, and one evening session was devoted to the annual business meeting. At the banquet, held on Wednesday evening, March 21, with Raymond E. Murphy, retiring vice-president, presiding, Professor G. Donald Hud- son delivered his presidential address on "Professional Training of the Membership, Association of American Geographers." The first of what are to be annual honors awards was presented at the banquet-a scroll honoring Gladys M. Wrigley for her service to

geography during 30 years as editor of the Geographical Review. Several special sessions had been scheduled by the Program Committee under the

chairmanship of Arch Gerlach. On Monday afternoon, after a stimulating keynote address by Paul Porter on "Southeast Asia in a Free World," six papers were presented in a symposium on "geographical research in northern lands"-two dealing with Alaska, two with Scandinavia, and two with Canada. The symposium was arranged by Trevor Lloyd; Walter A. Wood, director of the New York Office of the Arctic Institute of North Amer- ica, presided; and the session was brought to a close with the showing by Mr. Wood of a color film of "Operation Snow Cornice." Tuesday afternoon was devoted to a symposium and discussion panel on urban-regional relationships, arranged by Victor Roterus, and Wednesday afternoon to a symposium on Indonesia, arranged by J. 0. M. Broek. A panel discussion on the teaching of cartography, arranged by Erwin Raisz, was held on Thursday morning.

In addition, 37 papers were presented in concurrent sessions. Seven dealt with physical geography; six with European geography; five each with regional economic geography,

505




urban geography, historical geography, and population; and four with general economic

geography. Time was allowed for discussion, and the helpful procedure initiated last year of publishing abstracts of the papers in the program was again followed.

The following officers were elected for 1951: Preston E. James, president; Loyal Durand, Jr., vice-president; Louis 0. Quam, secretary; and Lloyd D. Black, treasurer.

Henry M. Kendall continues as editor of the Annals, and Arch Gerlach replaces Shannon McCune as editor of the Professional Geographer. The forty-eighth annual meeting of the association will be held in Washington on August 6 and 7, I952, in conjunction with the

meetings of the International Geographical Union.-W. B. F.

A NEW PERIODICAL FOR GEOMORPHOLOGISTS. For a number of years there were three periodicals specifically devoted to the science of geomorphology: the Revue

de Geographie Physique et de Geologie Dynatnique, the Zeitschriftfiir Geomorphologie, and the

Journal of Geomorphology. These journals were all, in one way or another, victims of World

War II, and geomorphology was left unrepresented in the periodical field until I950. In

that year the French began publication of the Revue de Geomlorphologie Dynlamiqle, under

the direction of Andre Cailleux (Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris) andJean Tricart

(University of Strasbourg). A committee of 12 patrons, French specialists in the various

branches of the science, is headed by Emmanuel de Margerie and Emmanuel de Martonne

as honorary presidents and Andre Cholley as president. There will be six numbers a year, each 48 pages in length. The contents will comprise: (I) original articles; (2) annotated

bibliographies, covering the literature of France and other countries, printed in small

squares that can be cut out and filed in a card catalogue; (3) critical reviews; (4) practical advice to students, on such matters as travel arrangements, development of special tech-

niques, and possible fields of research; (5) announcements of meetings, excursions, and

other events of interest to geomorphologists. The original articles will be discussions of

problems of general interest or regional studies that have broad significance because they illustrate general problems. In addition, the directors promise to stress, whenever possible,

practical applications of geomorphology, such as those in the field of public works.

In order to keep the price moderate, the format of the Revue is a photolithograph

reproduction of typescript, with numerous black-and-white illustrations-maps, cross

sections, graphs, and sketches drawn from photographs. The last are the least satisfactory, and it is to be hoped that in at least some cases the photographs themselves can be repro- duced in half tone on separate pages of glossy paper.

Although the text of the new journal is in French, the international character of its

predecessors is maintained in part by English summaries of the original articles, written

by the authors themselves, and by illustration captions in both French and English. -ANASTASIA VAN BURKALOW

506



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