Show THE HISTORY OF GREAT SALT LAKE tiie THE following letter from the geologist of the powell expedition contains particulars iu in relation to the inland sea of utah which will be read with great interest by many persons in and out of this territory we shall be pleased to receive and publish any definite information that can be afforded aff corded in regard to the dead sea bea of america s and we invite responses to the request of mr gilbert who has haa made personal investigations of this matter and who in a private letter speaks highly of the assistance rendered him by mr jacob miller Farmington of mr joseph barton of kaysville Kays ville and dr park surveyor fox and professor barfoot of this city brother miller has hag undertaken to erect a wooden pillar near farmington for future lake observations and a stone monument for permanent reference any ally assistance rendered in this direction will be in the interests of science and for the benefit of the territory editors deseret news it is a fact familiar to your jour readers that great balt bait lake has no outlet the jordan the weber and the bear besides many minor streams continually contin nally pour their waters into it and the winds that sweep its surface just aa as steadily absorb its water carrying it away in the form of invisible vapor inthe in the spring of the year years while the snows are melting the swollen streams contribute more water than the air eon can carry off and the surface of the lake rises in the summer while the lessening streams taxed by the work of irrigation and while evaporation is greatly accelerated grat arat edby by the warmth of the air the lake loses more than it gains and its surface is lowered thus every year there is a sort eort of tide from early summer to late autumn the water falls fails from the shore from autumn till the following bummer summer it rises again but the rising and the falling are not always of the same amount in a year of great snowfall or great ja the lake on the whole gains in volume in a dry year it lose loses and in an average year it neither gains nor loses A succession eion elon t ion sion of wet years causes a progressive rise of the water and a series serles of d ears a ve fal fall 1 thus of the lake from year to year serve to register the fluctuations of the climate of the region round about and for this thia reason the history of the changes of the level of the lake is of great interest to those who make a study of climates A few years ago the subject was opened by professor joseph henry secretary of the smithsonian institution for the Di diffusion of useful knowledge who addressed an inquiry to dr park president of uie the deseret university and about the same time a similar inquiry was made by myself of mr air barfoot curator of the salt bait lake museum these those gentlemen aided especially by mr jacob miller of farmington elicited a number of important facts in regard to the past history of the lake and arid at the instance of professor henry erected at black rock a granite pillar upon which they marked a scale of feet and inches to serve for the definite record of that history in the future more recently the facilities for observing the changes have been increased and we may feel assured that in the future a full lull record will be kept in the past summer I 1 have taken advantage of a sojourn in utah to carry still farther the investigation of the past history of the lake from the rett Bett settlement lement of the territory in 1847 to the placing of the pillar at black boek kock in 1875 no measurement was waa under undertaken taken so far as I 1 am aware of the changes of level nor was an any r record ecord made in writing of such cz changes an g es as were noticed in investigating the matter I 1 have had to depend entirely upon the recollections of those persons whose interests or pur pursuits suits were affected by the advance and recession of the waters fortunate ly for my purpose they were somewhat numerous and I 1 have already met and conversed with enough to have established the nature and order of the principal changes of the past thirty years there is one locality that has proved especially prolific itic of information antelope island otherwise known as church island or garr island has been used for the whole period as a herd ground and cormany for many years it was inhabited sometimes it has been possible to ride from it to the main land by following a bar of sand which joins it on the southeast but at other times the bar has been so deeply submerged that boats were vere necessary for the passage by enquiry of persons persona who have crossed upon this bar at different times I 1 have gleaned the following approximate history from 1847 to 1850 the water on the ford was one or two feet deep in the summer of each year but each winter it fell so low that the bar was entirely dry then the water rose until about abou 1856 un til 1854 or 1855 1555 the ford was wag passable all the year round but afterward it became impossible to ford in the summer and a ferry was required the low water of winter however barely permitted fording on horseback the depth being then four and a half or five feet then began a subsidence which continued from year to year until in 1861 aud and 1186 1862 the bar was laid bare in winter just as it had been in 1847 in 1863 the ake rose rapidly and in the following years it continued to rise so that by about 1865 the ford became permanently impassable tile the advance did not cease for several years and the stage still continues high A few days higo ago mr miller and I 1 found founds by sounding that the lowest polut of the bar was covered by nine and a half feet of water in this thia sketch many points are indefinite and some are perhaps peril tips in error it is presented here in its imperfect condition in the hope that its publication will call out the necessary to complete it it will be in the interest of know ladge lodge and general information if every person who possesses any definite knowledge in regard to the height of the lake at any definite time in the past will make himself known facts pacts that confirm or that oppose e any of the above statements are equally welcome aa as well as facts that fill up the gaps of the his tory there are a few points of inquiry that have haye especial interest in what year was wag the antelope island ford last used 2nd in what year did the water first lise iise to the roots of woody bushes such as sage rabbit brush or greasewood grease greaso wood so as to kill them did this occur in the first period of rising 1850 1830 to 1856 or not until the second 1862 to 1868 responses ses may be addressed to dr john ii park or ti mr J L barfoot both of lake city or to the writer when the evidence is Js jall 11 in a fuller faller account will be sent you very respectfully your obedient servant G K GILBERT geologist of the powell hurvey survey Washing washington tonIC DC FALL PLOWING now is an excellent time for farmers to prepare for good crops in the year of grace e i hundred and seventy eight fall plowing Is of very great value to utah agriculturalists particularly ticul arly of land designed for small grain weeds and stubble are turned under helping to enrich instead of cumber the soil the ground has an opportunity of receiving the ohe ac action tion of the atmosphere and incorporating corp orating elements necessary for that vigor required to bring forth in abundance the land by exposure through the winter becomes friable in the spring and falls into pieces easily under the harrow spring sowing can be ll 11 done much earlier than after spring ng plowing the soil becomes warm much sooner in the spring in consequence of open furrows and in the fall it is generally in better condition for good plowing than in the spring spring it is not necessary that th the 1 land d be wet for fall plowing it does not matter much bow dry it is eo so that it is capable of bt being ing turned up the lumps will imbibe essential nutriment ami and will breakup break up by the action of the weather now is the time before the frost sets in to do the work effectually the hurry of spring causes careless cultivation ti and is thie the forerunner of scanty crops fall pall plowing and spring sowing and harrowing have been proven by our most experienced farmers to be the best agricultural policy and we wo advise our country friends throughout the territory to carry it out as extensively as time and circumstances will permit |