Cl2—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 25,1981
When the thirsty earth takes a
giant gulp, it can swallow up trees,
highways, businesses, houses, and
automobiles leaving a yawning
sinkhole behind. But nature is not
totally to blame for sinkholes;
often man has a hand in digging
them
Like tornadoes and hurricanes,
sinkholes can appear without
warning and destroy lives and
property. Not an uncommon oc
currence in limestone-based
regions, sinkholes have been in
creasing as man’s thirst for water
depletes the vase underground
store.
Tremendous quantities of
ground water are being pumped to
meet the demands of a growing
population and the expansion of
irrigated farming, mining, and
industry Further aggravated by
the drought affecting more than 40
states, the underground water
table in some regions is reaching
precariously low levels
Sinkholes occur in regions un
derlain with water-soluble rock
formations such as limestone and
dolomite, where water percolating
down through the porous rock over
the centuries has carved away
subterranean tunnels and caverns.
It the rock is covered with a
vulnerable material such as clay
or sand and the water table falls
below the top of bedrock, the earth
can collapse into the cavities.
Feed your foal correctly
A foal receives its basic physical
characteristics trom its sire and
dam, but it is only through proper
nutrition and education that it can
develop to the lull extent ot its
inherited potential.
Growth is the basic foundation of
horse production. Horses can’t
perform properly or possess the
necessary speed and endurance if
their growth has been stunted or
their anatomy injured by improper
nutrition m early life.
The feeding program tor the first
18 months of a foal’s life is the most
important of its lifetime, says Dr.
C. M. Reitnour, equine specialist at
the University of Delaware. After
a horst has reached maturity, its
proper ration could be neglected
inadvertently tor short periods,
then corrected later with no
serious after-effects. But this is not
true if the neglect occurs during
the maximum growing phase.
Milk from the dam gives the toal
a good start in life. For rapid
growth, greatest skeletal
development, most desirable
weight for age, and external ap
pearance, foals should be placed
on supplemental feed two or tour
weeks after birth.
Early supplemental teeding is
important because the mare’s milk
declines in quantity and in the
percentage ot certain nutrients
tollowmg foaling. However, in
dividual mares differ in the
quantity and quality of their milk.
A supplemental feed mix should
contain ample protein, energy,
vitamins and minerals. When a
foal is consuming about two to
three pounds of concentrate per
day, it’s taking a nutritional load
off its dam. With this system ot
care management, the foal
becomes less dependent on its
dam, which makes weaning easier.
Spectacular sinkholes ere
“The buoyant support that water
provides to the land above is lost,”
said John Newton, hydrologist with
the U.S. Geological Survey in
Tuscaloosa, Ala. “Suppose we
were floating in a swimming pool
and the water was removed sud
denly. We’d fall and injure our
selves ”
Numerous states are plagued
with sinkholes, including Georgia,
South Carolina, Tennessee,
Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri,
and Minnesota. Pennsylvania was
the site of a large number in the
19505, but Florida and Alabama
have experienced the most sudden
and devastating of the recent
“sinks ”
The giant sinkhole that began
forming May 8 in Winter Park,
Fla , left a gaping hole larger than
a football field and more than eight
stories deep. It collapsed gradually
during the night and the following
day and created more than $2
million of property damage.
Other sinkholes have formed in
central Florida since the big one at
Winter Park. Scientists believe
several of these are along the same
geological formation indicating
that a fracture zone in the sub
surface limestone may be
widening.
Enlargement of fracture zones is
caused by pumping, when a
conical depression is created in the
water table where the pipes are
by weaning tune, the toal’s
ration should be increased to about
3/4 lb. or more per 100 lbs. ot live
weight per day. The exact amount
may vary with the individual, the
type ot teed, and the desired
development.
Properly cared tor, a toal will
normally attain about 60 percent ot
its mature weight during the tirst
year. A good foal ration should
include rolled oats, cracked corn,
soybean meal, brewer’s yeast,
molasses, dicalcium phosphate,
salt, and vitamins.
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A HEAVY MANE ONUS Neck.
LIONS ARE MEAT EATERS
FEEDING ON ZEBRAS AND
ANTELOPES. TNEyDOTHE/R
HUNTING MOSTLY AT NIGHT.
drilled. Water surrounding this
“cone of depression” accelerates
as it descends, and the increased
velocity permits the water to pick
up more soil and other material.
This underground erosion in
bedrock leaves cavities that can
grow and eventually collapse.
One of the most spectacular
subsidences of this type was the
collapse of the “December Giant”
in 1972 in Shelby County, Ala The
earth caved in with a terrifying
roar and mature trees crashed
behind The void 350 feet in
diameter and 125 feed deep is
now one-third full of water.
Fortunately, the collapse took
place in the countryside, but
houses in nearby settlements were
shaken and residents said it
sounded like a tornado But the
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earthmoring experience
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noise ended abruptly and they
looked outside to clear skies
Known locally as the "Golly
Hole,” the sinkhole swallowed a
quarter of a million square yards
of earth and broken trees, Newton
said. He thinks the entire amount
of lost earth may have funneled
through a large opening in a fault
or fracture.
The Golly Hole was one of 13
sinkholes that formed along the
same fracture in the subsurface
limestone as the water flowed
toward a cone of depression,
Newton said.
Anticipating where these sinks
may occur is one objective of a
year-long assessment of sinkhole
activity by the US. Geological
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Survey. Newton, who has con
ducted a detailed inventory of
sinkholes for Alabama, is in
charge of the survey for the
eastern half of the country.
“Our ultimate goal,” he said, “is
to define what happened and is
happening the specific forces
involved with sinkholes in different
areas. Then we’ll be able to
provide reports to the people who
have to deal with sinkholes
lawmakers, engineers, water
works superintendents and
prescribe ways to prevent them,
minimize their damage, or repair
them more successfully. ’ ’
Meanwhile, those who live in
active sinkhole regions accept
them as part of nature’s un
predictability.
m
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