. The Encyclopaedia Britannica; ... A dictionary of arts, sciences and general literature. s, fell easy and helplessvictims to the forces whichEuropean civilization broughtinto play. Chief among theseforces was fire. In all coun-tries and at all times it hasbeen the habit of colonists toburn the woods surroundingtheir settlements — partly toclear the ground for futurecrops, and partly (in tropicalclimates especially) to promotethe salubrity of their stations.\Vhen fire was set to thaforest and bush of a smallisland, the whole of whichcould be burnt at once, thedisastrous effect on its fauna ca
. The Encyclopaedia Britannica; ... A dictionary of arts, sciences and general literature. s, fell easy and helplessvictims to the forces whichEuropean civilization broughtinto play. Chief among theseforces was fire. In all coun-tries and at all times it hasbeen the habit of colonists toburn the woods surroundingtheir settlements — partly toclear the ground for futurecrops, and partly (in tropicalclimates especially) to promotethe salubrity of their stations.\Vhen fire was set to thaforest and bush of a smallisland, the whole of whichcould be burnt at once, thedisastrous effect on its fauna can easily be conceived. Eventhe animals which happened to escape the conflagrationitself would speedily starve, owing to the at least tem-porary destruction of the native flora whence, either directlyor indirectly, they derived their wonted sustenance. Thusin certain of the Virgin Islands the dead shells of manyspecies of terrestrial Gasteropods are everywhere found inastounding numbers, while not a living individual of sevenlof the species has ever been met with by the conchologist^i.
Size: 977px × 2556px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookidencyclopaedi, bookyear1902
