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FIRST BOOK

OF

NATURE,

BY

JAMES E. TALMAGE.

PUBLISHED BY

THE CONTRIBUTOR COMPANY,

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH.
1888.

Copyright 1888:— by J. E. Talmage.

FROM THE PRKSS OF

THE DESERET NEWS COMPANY.

PREFACE.

g||N PREPARING this little volume, the author
aS* has made no greater pretension than is implied
£iS> in its title. The matter here presented is
designed to assist in the elementary study of
the simplest objects of Nature; such as ail people
have more or less necessity of dealing with.

The order in which the topics have been treated,
is the one that appeared most natural, and easiest to
follow — animals, plants, and minerals of earth, and
the most conspicuous objects of the heavens. No
detailed classification has been attempted; nor have
technical definitions or terms been employed; but it
is hoped that the plan here adopted, will serve the
reader as an introduction to a more thorough and
systematic study of natural science, if to pursue
such should be his desire.

The writer has sought in a sincere though humble
way to demonstrate the meaning of "Nature" as
defined in the introductory chapter; that Nature is
but another name for the will of God as expressed in

iv PREFACE.

His works. Many of the ideas presented are of
necessity far from new — such facts have long been
common property of the reading public; but wherever
cullings have been made from standard works, credit
has been given in the body of the book.

All the illustrations in Parts I, III and IV have
been taken from "Steele's Zoology," "Geology," and
"Astronomy," by the kind permission of the publish-
ers, A. S. Barnes & Co. of New York and Chicago.

J. E. T.

Salt Lake City, Nov., 1888.

"And this our life, exempt from public haunt,
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in everything."

CONTENTS.

Chapter I.— Introduction - - 1

PART I. — The Animal Kingdom.
Chapter II. — Animals, ... 5

Chapter III. — Apes and Monkeys, - - 7

Chapter IV. — Insectivorous Animals: Bats, Moles, 12
Chapter V. — Carnivorous Animals: Cat Family; Dog

Family; Weasel Family, - - -16

Chapter VI. — Herbivorous Animals: Horse Family;

Ox Family; Hog, - 24

Chapter VII. — Rodents or Gnawing Animals: Mice;

Rats: Gophers, Squirrels; - - -31

Chapter VIII.— The Birds, - - 36

Chapter IX. — Birds at Home, - 43

ChapterX. — Birds of Prey: Condor; Eagles; Hawks;

Owls, - - - 51

Chapter XI. — Climbing Birds: Woodpeckers; Par-
rots; Toucans, - - - - 58
Chapter XII. — Scratching Birds: Pigeons; Domestic

Fowls; Running Birds, - - - 64

Chapter XIII. — Perching Birds; Water Birds, 69

Chapter XIV.— Reptiles; Turtles, - - 74

Chapter XV. — Snakes and Lizards, - - 78

Chapter XVI.— Frogs and Toads, - - 84

Chapter XVII.— Fishes, ... 89

Chapter XVIII.— Some Fishes, - - 95

Chapter XIX.— Insects, - - 99

Chapter XX.— Bees and Wasps, - - - 103

Chapter XXI.— Ants, Grasshoppers and Butterflies, 10!)
Chapter XXII.— Flies and Beetles, - - 114

Chapter XXIII.— Spiders, - - - 120

vi CONTENTS.

Page.

Chapter XXIV. — Worms and Snails, - 122

Chapter XXV.— Some Tiny Creatures, - - 128

PART II. — The Vegetable or Plant Kingdom.

Chapter XXVI.— Plants and How they Grow, 131

Chapter XXVII.— Plant Roots, - - 135

Chapter XXVIII.— Plant Stems, - - 140

Chapter XXIX. — Leaves, - - - 146

Chapter XXX. — Some Curious Leaves, - 150

Chapter XXXI — Flower-cups, - - - 155

Chapter XXXII— How Flowers are Fertilized, 159

Chapter XXXIII.— Fruits, - - 166

Chapter XXXIV.— Wandering Seeds, - 174

Chapter XXXV.— Parasitic Plants, - - 180

PART III.-— The Mineral or Stone Kingdom.

Chapter XXXVI.— Rocks and Stones, - 184

Chapter XXXVII.— Pebbles and What They Tell, 190

Chapter XXXVIII. — Sand and Sandstones, 195

Chapter XXXIX. - Mud and Mud-Stones, - 199

Chapter XL.— About Limestones, - - 203

Chapter XLI. — Limestone Made Over, - - 208

Chapter XL II.— Rocks Formed by Heat: Veins, 215

Chapter XL I II. —A Talk About Coal, - - 221

Chapter XLIV. — Pictures in the Rocks, - 226

Chapter XLV.— Crystals, - - 234

PART IV.— The Heavens.

Chapter XL VI.— A Glance at the Sky, - - 239

Chapter XL VII.— The Sun, - - 245

Chapter XL VIII.— The Moon; Eclipses, - 251

Chapter XL IX.— The Stars. - - - 258

Chapter L. — Conclusion, - - - 264

ILLUSTRATIONS

Page.

Fig. 1.— Bony Skeleton of a Cow, - - 6

Fig. 2.— Gorilla, .... 8

Fig. 3.— Skeleton of Bat, - - - 13

Fig. 4.— Plan of Mole's Dwelling, - - 15

Fig. 5. — Weasel in its Winter Dress, - - 21

Fig. 6.— Grizzly Bear, ... 23

Fig. 7.— Stomach of Sheep, - - - 27

Fig. 8.— Asiatic Elephant, 28

Fig. 9. — Weaver Bird's Home, - - - 46

Fig. 10.— White-headed Eagle, - - 53

Fig. 11.— Box Tortoise— With Closed Shell. - 75

Fig. 12. — River Tortoise or "Snapping Turtle," 77

Fig. 13.— Rattlesnake's Skull Showing Fangs, - 79

Fig. 14.— Rattlesnake, ... 80

Fig. 15. — Tadpole Changes, - - - 85

Fig. 16.— Skeleton of Frog, ... 85

Fig. 17.— Skeleton of Fish, - - - 90

Fig. 18.— Humble Bee and Honey Cells, - 105

Fig. 19.— Tent Caterpillar Moth, - - - 113

Fig. 20.— Mosquito, 116

Fig. 21.— Stag-horn Beetle, - - 119

Fig. 22.— Trichina in Flesh of Swine, - 126

Fig. 23.— Chalk under the Microscope, - - 128

Fig. 24.— Amoeba, .... 129

Fig. 25. — Structure of Exogenous Stem, - - 143

Fig. 26. — Structure of Endogenous Stem, 144

Fig. 27.— Leaf, - ... . - 147

Fig. 28.— Parts of a Typical Flower, - - 156

Fig. 29.— Morning-glory Flower, - - 158

Fig. 30.— Pollen Grain from Rose Mallow, - 159

vm ILLUSTRATIONS.

P»ge.

Fig. 31.— Fossil Fern in Coal Slate, - - 222

Fig. 32.— Ammonites, 227

Fig. 33.— Crinoid or "Stone Lily," - - 228

Fig. 34.— Encrinital Marble, 229

Fig. 35.— Rain Drop Marks in Mud and Stone, - 232

Fig. 36.— Ripple Marks in Stone, - - 233

Fig. 37.— Cluster of Quartz Crystals, - - 237

Fig. 38.— Diagram of Earth's Orbit, - - 248

Fig. 39.— Diagram of Moon's Orbit, - - 253

Fig. 40.— Star Cluster in Toucan, - - 262

Fig. 41.— Annular Nebula, - - .263

FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTION.

|§&N THE course of a single day, such a great
^JJ variety of things conies before our view, that

? their names and definitions alone would fill a
larger volume than this. Yet, they may all
be classed in two clearly defined groups. Every
object is either a natural or an artificial production;
the former division including all those things that
have not been in any way changed or operated upon
by man; whereas, artificial things, are those that are
made from natural materials, through human instru-
mentality. Wood, iron and stone are natural
products of the earth; but a house made of such
materials is an artificial thing. The horses that
draw our vehicles are animals, and animals constitute
one of the largest divisions of natural objects; but
the wagon, which they pull, and the harness, by

which they are attached, are artificial products,
2

2 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

having been manufactured through the agency of

man.

In the course of this little book, we hope to devote

some attention to the first class of things, or natural
objects — those that are produced without human

intervention, through the operation of the laws of
Nature. Nature, in our present sense, means that
system and order of things about us which is inde-
pendent of, and, indeed, superior to human action.

Before man was placed on earth, there was day
and night, summer and winter; the sun shone, and
the rains fell; seeds sprouted, and flowers and fruits
appeared in their proper season — these things are not
controlled by man; they operate under the laws of
Nature. Such laws have been in force since the far
distant days of creation, when Jehovah spake, and as
a result of His Almighty word, land and water were
formed, the grass, and the herb and the fruit tree
grew, and each yielded seed after its kind; the sun
became visible in the heavens by day, and the moon
and stars shed their inspiring rays over the sleeping
earth; the fowl, the fish, creeping things and beasts
came forth to enjoy the life allotted to them, and
to accomplish the object of their existence. Such
mighty deeds were done through the word of God,
in accordance with His righteous will; yet man says
these things were natural occurrences, — taking place
in obedience to the laws of Nature. Nature then is
but another name for the will of God; that which
He decrees is done; His will is the law of existence.
Look around the world and behold the uncounted

INTRODUCTION. 3

results of His omnipotent labors; — the things of
Nature have been called the thoughts of God — they
are indeed an embodiment and a realization of His
all-wise designs. By learning the use and purposes
of things, to a small degree, at least, we grasp the
idea of their Creator; and to do this is to become
truly wise. From the simplest objects, oftentimes
the deepest lessons may be learned:

"The waves that moan along the shore,

The winds that sigh in blowing,

Are sent to teach a mystic lore

Which men are wise in knowing."

The broad pages of Nature's book are open for us
all to read; but, like the schoolboy, poring over his
simple lesson, we can study best with the assistance
of a skillful teacher; and the wisest instructor is the
Author of that great volume. Careful thought and
prayerful study, are the mystic raps, before which
the doors of Wisdom's temple swing, and by which
that sacred edifice is opened for our use. Let us
knock and gladly enter, remembering ever the
sanctity of the place, and the holiness of our sur-
roundings.

Confining our attention now to the class of natural
things, as distinguished from others which are the
products of human art, the objects of interest that
present themselves for our study, are so numerous,
that they bewilder us by their variety. It is best,
therefore, that we follow some system or method of
classification in our dealing with such a multitude of
things.

We are all familiar with the sight of horses and

4 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

cattle, of dogs, butterflies and bees, and many other
creatures which resemble, to some degree, one or the
other of these; all such are called Animals. Besides
these, we see trees and shrubs, grasses, flowers and
weeds, all springing from the soil, and these we know
under the name of Plants. And again, there are
pebbles, and boulders, sand, gravel, and clay, all of
which are called Stones.

Every natural object belongs to one of these three
groups, which, indeed, have been called the Three
Kingdoms of Nature:

1. The Animal Kingdom.

2. The Vegetable or Plant Kingdom.

3. The Mineral or &tone Kingdom.

Animals all live, grow, and move, though some
much more freely than others, and all feed on plants,
or other animals. Plants live and grow also, deriving
their nourishment from the soil, water, and air.
Minerals, however, do not live or grow at all, as
do animals and plants; they need no food; the sum-
mer's heat does not cause them to fade or faint; the
frosts of winter do not kill them, for they are dead.
A stone can be cut or broken in any shape, but the
nature of the rock itself, is apparently unchanged
thereby; while any such violence executed on a liviug
thing would result in its death.

Part I.

Thie Animal Kingdom.

"He prayeth best who loveth best
All things both great and small:

For the dear God who loveth us,
He made and loveth all."

CHAPTER II.

ANIMALS.

rSjHE Animal Kingdom comprises so many differ-
ent forms and kinds, that we could not hope
to learn even the names of all of them,
though we should study for a very long time.
For convenience, those who have considered the sub-
ject before us, have classified animals according to
their likeness or difference; all those that most closely
resemble each other being said to belong to the same
class.

Some animals have hard, solid bones within their

bodies, upon which the softer parts, such as the flesh,

blood vessels, etc., are supported, as is the case with

the cow, rat, snake, frog and fish; while others, like

nsects, worms, and the like, have no bones at all.

6 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

All the bones of an animal's body form what is called
the skeleton.

Fig. 1. — Bony Skeleton of a Cow.

Figure 1 represents the skeleton of a cow; all the
flesh having been removed from the body of the
animal before the drawing was made. Examine it
carefully, and compare it with the skeletons of other
animals such as frogs and fishes,shown in figures 16 and
17. If we look closely at such a bony skeleton, it will
be seen that all the bones seem to be connected with
the back bone or spine, which is in fact a long chain
of bones extending from the head throughout the
whole length of the animal's neck and back. Such
animals are called Vertebrates, a word meaning
"back-boned;" other animals are called Invertebrates
or "non-back- boned."

It is remarkable, too, that all. vertebrates have red
blood in their bodies, while the invertebrates have
none. Think for a moment of this difference as it
exists between a cat and a butterfly; the body of the
former bleeds even if the skin be but just cut
through; but if the latter be accidentally crushed,
only a colorless watery juice is found within its body.

APES AND MONKEYS. 7

Vertebrates, then, are animals with bones and red
blood in their bodies; and invertebrates are animals
having no bones within, and no true blood.

But vertebrates are not alike in all particulars.
Some of them, as cats or fowls always seem warm
to us when we touch them; and such, in consequence,
are called warm-blooded animals; while others, as
the snake, the lizard and the toad are almost repul-
sively cold to the touch, and may be appropriately
named cold-blooded animals.

CHAPTER III.

APES AND MONKEYS.

gSSjfj^OST of us are somewhat acquainted with
these peculiar and interesting creatures, from
having watched them in their playful gam-
bols and funny tricks in the menageries. A
common variety living in Western Africa is the
Chimpanzee, a monkey measuring about four feet
high when standing erect. Another monkey, with
a very peculiar name, and really the largest of the
whole tribe is the Orang-outang, some specimens
reaching a height of six feet if measured while
standing on the hind legs.

But the strongest and fiercest of the whole monkey
tribe is the terrible Gorilla, also an African animal.
A good representation of this creature is given in
figure 2. The gorilla is of a savage, cruel disposi-

3

FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

tion; and travelers are anxious not to disturb it in its
haunts, unless they are well prepared for fight. Its
strength is so great that the creature can break off,

rsx

Fig. 2.— Gorilla,
with apparent ease, large branches from trees; and it
is recorded, by good authority, that a gorilla has

APES AND MONKEYS. 9

been known to kill a hunter with a single blow from
its powerful paw; and then to twist and flatten the
rifle barrel of its fallen victim as if the weapon were
made of wax. Note in the picture (figure 2) the
savage expression; the low, retreating forehead, and
the large protruding mouth with its sharp teeth.
Look carefully at the animal's feet; the inner toe on
each is apart from the rest, very much like a thumb.
This feature is of great service to the beast in
climbing, as it can grasp the boughs of trees more
firmly.

The monkeys already named, are among the most
remarkable of this peculiar tribe of animals. Those
mentioned, are all tail-less; and are sometimes called
by the general name of apes. They usually live
together in small families, each little company
appearing very selfish and unsociable, in permitting
visits from others, upon its own domain. They live
mostly on nuts, fruits, and various kinds of vegetable
food, which their native forests produce in abundance.

Many other varieties of monkeys, smaller than the
apes, are to be found in the warm parts of both
hemispheres, living mostly in trees, and feeding upon
fruits, nuts, and insects. Unlike the apes, these
smaller monkeys usually congregate in large herds.
They seem to be of a jolly disposition — leaping and
playing among the branches, and all the time chatter-
ing in a truly ludicrous and noisy manner. In
some species, as for instance, the spider monkey of
South America — named from its long, sprawling legs
and slender body — the tail is so long that it can be

10 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

twisted round the tree, and thus serve as an aid to
the animal in climbing. The end of the tail is
destitute of hair, and so sensitive, that it is used to
hold small objects, such as fruit and eggs.

On each of the monkey's feet, the inside toe, which
we may call the great toe, is spread apart from the
others, somewhat like our own thumbs, for which
reason, monkeys are sometimes called Quadruma-
nous, or four handed animals. They can grasp objects
with the toes of the hind foot almost as well as with
those of the front; but such motions are extremely
clumsy, when compared with the almost perfect,
action of the truly wonderful and graceful human
hand. Some people claim that monkeys resemble
men in many respects, and have even gone so far as
to say that monkeys and men belong to the same
family. Such extravagant statements as these are
without doubt entirely unfounded. It is true that
some monkeys stand on their hind feet at times, but
none do so as a natural and common thing; and
when they try to walk in that position, their move-
ments are very awkward and unsteady. The gorilla
stands erect when striking at an enemy; but this is
no characteristic resemblance to human habit, for
bears frequently assume a somewhat similar position
when fighting. An ape's natural walk is on all fours,
the front paws being clenched, so that the knuckles
rest on the ground, and the soles of the hind feet
in most cases, partly turned toward each other.
No comparison of close resemblance, therefore, is
admissible between such positions and the stately

APES AND MONKEYS. 11

posture and graceful bearing of a human being.
Man alone naturally and uniformly walks erect — his
head nearest heaven, and his eyes, embracing within
their vision, the sky with its countless glittering
worlds, as well as the ground, with its soil and
flowers. The bones of the monkey's body — especially
the hip bones — are of such a shape that an upright
position would be positively painful to the animal, if
prolonged. The skull is so different in each case,
that no one could mistake a human head for that of
an ape.

What connection is there between the clear intel-
ligence of the human countenance, and the dog-like
face of the baboon; between man with his heavenly
gifts of speech and song, his buildings, railways and
ships, and the chattering gambols of the monkey, or
the savage strength of the gorilla! We are the
children of God, and bear no relationship with the
animals, except in the common features of mortality.
Our bodies, while in this earthly state, need food,
and air, and water, as do theirs, and we are subject
to disease and death as are they; but the soul of
man is the direct offspring of Deity; our Father
has told us so; but sacred writ does not record such
parentage of the ape. Words of inspired truth
declare that in the eyes of the Lord, a righteous
man, though mortal, is but little below the angels.
Then let us not assert that our Father's children are
scarcely above the monkeys; for such is not true.

12 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

CHAPTER IV.

INSECTIVOROUS ANIMALS.

©r&T is common to classify animals according to the
&J food of which they seem to be most fond.
WS Among quadrupeds, such as feed largely on
Y insects are called Insectivorous Animals; those
whose principal diet consists of the flesh of other
animals are said to be Carnivorous; while plant
eaters are called Herbivorous Animals. We shall
speak of some members of each of these classes.

A common insectivorous animal with which we are
familiarly acquainted is the Bat, often erroneously
called bat-mouse or flitter-mouse. Because this
peculiar little creature flies only at night, and loves
to live in quiet, dark places, such as old and deserted
houses and the like, and moreover, because according
to our sense of beauty it is not particularly hand-
some, we are very apt to look upon it as an ill-
omened creature, and to shudder at its mere presence.
Let us put aside such prejudices for a time, and
watch the little fellow with care and interest, and
without doubt we shall learn something of value.
Although the bat flies in the air, it has no real con-
nection with the birds; it is not produced from an
egg like birds; its body is covered with a kind of
hair or fur, not feathers; and its so-called wings are
very different from the true wings of birds.

Here is a skeleton of a bat (Fig. 3), which I
prepared by placing the body of a dead bat near a

INSECTIVOROUS ANIMALS. 13

Fig. 3.— Skeleton of a Bat.

nest of large ants; those little insects very soon
removed the flesh and left the bones clean and white.
Look at the bones of the front limb, they are very
much elongated; and in a living specimen a thin skin
or membrane* passes from one to the other, and is
attached to the side of the body between the front
and hind legs forming a kind of web. By expanding
and flitting this the creature is able to move quite
rapidly through the air. The bat has no beak like a
bird, and in its mouth is a full set of teeth, while
birds have none.

It loves to feed on insects that fly at twilight;
and to catch these it curves that part of the wing-
membrane between the hind feet and the tail into a

* If this membrane be spread out and carefully examined
with the microscope while the bat is alive, a truly wonder-
ful sight is revealed. Countless little blood vessels are
seen filled with blood flowing steadily along like red wine
through a pipe.

14 FJRST BOOK OF NATURE.

kind of net, which in the course of the animal's rapid
flight collects the insects that come in its way.
During the day-time, when the light would be alto-
gether too bright for its eyes, the bat remains in its
dark haunts, suspended by its hooked claws head
downward As the cold weather approaches, it seeks
some sheltered nook, hangs itself up by its claws, and
falls into a deep sleep, remaining dormant till the
return of spring. Animals which thus sleep away
the winter are said to hibernate.

Bats are very attentive to their young; a baby bat
is often seen clinging by its claws to its mother's
body while she is flitting through the air catching
insects for supper.

Wherever insects are so numerous as to be trouble-
some, bats must be regarded as true friends to man;
and as such they should be protected, rather than
ruthlessly murdered by cruel boys, as is often the
case, while elder ones look on with indifference,
believing the animals to be but worthless pests.

A very large variety of bat called the vampire is
found in the tropical parts of America, often attain-
ing a spread of wings from three to four feet. This
animal delights to dine on fresh blood drawn from
the bodies of living animals; to obtain which it
usually approaches its victims while they sleep; and
after making a very small puncture in the skin,
leisurely sucks the blood therefrom. Though the
wound can scarcely be seen, the amount of blood
drawn is often considerable. Without doubt, how-
ever, the stories so often told of vampires sucking the

INSECTIVOROUS ANIMALS.

15

blood from men and large animals until their victims
expire are wild exaggerations.

A large bat called the Kalong is found in Java.
Its wings when extended often measure five feet from
tip to tip. Its head is shaped very much like that
of a fox; and from this characteristic it is often
spoken of as the fox-bat. Thi^ peculiar animal is
not insectivorous in its habits; it feeds mostly on
fruits, and makes its presence unpleasantly known
among the people by plundering their winter stores
of fruits and vegetables, if not carefully protected.

The Mole is also mostly insectivorous in its diet,
though it feeds also on worms. By the aid of its
broad snout and wide spreading feet it readily digs
long underground passages leading from its dwelling
place in different directions. It constructs its home
in the most ingenious manner, there being three
passages leading from the nest proper to the main
run; so that the animal has several avenues of escape
if attacked in its stronghold.

Fig. 4.— Plan of Mole's Dwelling.

In figure 4 the plan of a mole's home is sketched,
showing the central castle and the passages connected
therewith.

Mole-skins are prized on account of their soft, tine

16 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

fur, and in consequence these little creatures are
killed in great numbers. This is to be regretted; for
without doubt the mole is of far greater benefit than
detriment to farmers, feeding voraciously as it does
on the larvae or grubs which would eventually de-
velop into destructive insects. The skillful manner
in which the animal burrows through the ground,
has probably furnished man with valuable hints
regarding the shape of his shovels and plows.

Pope says:

"Learn of the mole to plow, the worm to weave."

Many of the smallest among the so-called field-
mice are in reality shrews — useful little insect
hunters, frequenting our meadows and fields. The
true field-mice are, however, destructive animals and
very injurious to the farmer, devouring, as they do,
grain and roots in large quantities. Of these some-
thing will be said in another chapter.

CHAPTER V.

CARNIVOROUS ANIMALS.

aJjNIMALS that devour others are called Car-
nivorous or Flesh-eating Animals. The class
is a very large one, including some of our
domestic pets as well as many of the most
ferocious of the whole animal kingdom.

THE CAT FAMILY.

The common house cat is the domestic representa-

CARNIVOROUS ANIMALS. 17

tive of a very distinguished family. Most of pussy's
kindred, however, are larger and more to be feared
than herself; such as the wild cat, jaguar, leopard,
panther, tiger, and lion. All of these have their
paws soft and cushioned, so that they can steal,
with noiseless step, upon their victims. Their claws
are sharp and curved, well adapted both for holding
and tearing their prey; and when not in use, these
weapons are kept carefully enclosed in sheaths within
the foot, by which means their sharpness is preserved.
The tongue is covered with many rough points,
almost as hard as horn, by the aid of which some of
the family, such as the lion and tiger, are able to lick
clean the flesh from the bones of the animals upon
which they feed. They use their rough tongues also
as curry-combs for smoothing and cleaning their skins.
Let us observe, carefully, the sly and silent manner
in which a cat steals upon a mouse or a bird, the
patient way in which she watches for hours beside a
mouse-hole — then notice the swift leap — meaning in
nearly every case death to the unfortunate victim —
and we will have a fair idea of the manner in which
the fierce lion, and the dreaded tiger, the savage
leopard and the cruel panther hunt and kill their
prey.

The Lion, though usually measuring less than ten
feet in length, is so powerful as to be able to treat a
cow or a man, as a cat does a rat. A heavy, shaggy
mane covers the neck of the male, giving the animal
a most dignified and stately appearance, from which
circumstance he has been named "King of Beasts."

18 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

The lioness is smaller than her mate, and is destitute
of a mane.

The Tiger is found only in Asia, and chiefly in
India. It grows usually about three feet in height,
and eight feet in length, and its body is beautifully
striped in dark-yellow and black. When disturbed
in its native haunts, it is a ferocious beast. In one
year nine hundred and seventeen men are said to have
been killed by tigers in British India alone.

THE DOG FAMILY.

The ordinary dog owns many relatives among wild
animals, such as wolves, foxes, hyenas, and others.
The teeth of these animals resemble to a certain
extent those of the cat tribe; but the so-called eye
teeth are very long and sharp, so much so that some
people call the corresponding teeth in other animals,
especially if long — "canines" or "dog teeth." The
claws in all of them are much thicker and less sharp
than among the felines, and cannot be retracted or
drawn into the foot.

Even among tame dogsthere are many and widely
different kinds. Compare, for instance, the majestic
Newfoundland, with the frisking little terrier; or the
thick-set bulldog, with the slender and swift-footed
greyhound; look upon the broad face and rounded
head of the mastiff, and then upon the long cranium
and pointed nose of the fox-hound. The dog is in
truth a companion to man. Wherever man has
gone — to the frozen regions round the poles, as well
as through the burning wastes and tangled forests of
the tropics, the dog has followed and served his mas-

CARNIVOROUS ANIMALS. 19

ter. The attachment of the dog to man amounts to
a true passion. Many a noble hound has lost his life
rather than suffer injury to come to his charge. He
considers a kind word and a friendly caress full reward
for almost any sacrifice or exertion.

The Wolf is in size about equal to a large dog; and
of a savage and ravenous disposition. Wolves generally
hunt in packs or companies, and so frequently kill
and devour larger animals than a single wolf would
dare attack. They wage great destruction among
sheep, calves and other farm animals. The Grey
Wolf is widely distributed over the thinly settled
parts of Asia, Europe and America. The Prairie
Wolf or Coyote is much smaller and less ferocious,
and is found on the plains and prairies west of the
Mississippi.

The Fox is readily distinguished from the other
members of the dog tribe by its long bushy tail and
pointed nose. It is a typical farm-yard thief, seem-
ing to look upon all chickens, turkeys, ducks and the
like as if created for its own special use. Though
decidedly carnivorous in habit, it seems to enjoy a
meal of ripe fruit occasionally. For craftiness and
cunning it is proverbial. In many parts of Europe
fox hunting is regarded as a fine sport, in spite of its
cruelty. Dogs are trained to hunt the fox — mostly
by scent; and in eluding its pursuers the crafty crea-
ture resorts to many pretty tricks. When closely
followed it will often double on its track, so as to
baffle the hounds by throwing them off the course;
it has been seen to leap to the top of a fence or hedge

20 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

and run along for a considerable distance, thereby
leaving no track which can be followed by the dogs
along the ground; it will sometimes run through a
flock of sheep, apparently thinking the dogs will fail
to follow the track among so many. When the
hounds are close upon it, the fox will often drop flat
behind some fallen tree or large rock while the dogs,
unable to check their headlong flight, rush past.
Some observers say that if caught alive the sly crea-
ture will lie as if dead, and even allow itself to be
severely treated without betraying the trick; but as
soon as a chance of escape offers itself, it scampers
away. The cunning of the fox is a gift to it from
the Creator, whereby it may escape from its cruel
and bloodthirsty foes.

Jackals and Hyenas are met with in the warmer
parts of the Old World; and are of great good as
scavengers, devouring large quantities of offal and
other decaying and offensive matter. They seem to
possess a little of the fox's cunning, with much of
the wolf's savageness, and the lion's daring.

THE WEASEL FAMILY.

The Weasel family, including weasels, pine-martens,
otters, skunks, minks and sables, are all small slender
animals, and mostly nocturnal, or night-roving, in
their habits. Some of the most valuable furs, as the
Siberian sable and ermine are obtained from these
graceful little creatures. Weasels furnish the ermine
— long used in England to decorate the official robes
of judges. The fur of these animals undergoes remark-
able variations in color at different seasons- beino-

J to

CARNIVOROUS ANIMALS.

21

brownish on the upper parts and white below during
the summer months, but turning uniformly white as
winter approaches, and resuming its dull hue again
in the spring. The hair is not shed to produce these

:t>Mlift,

v. ^ k

Fig. 5. — The Weasel in its winter dress.

alterations, but actually changes color. In warm
countries, where winter cold is scarcely known the
weasel retains one color throughout the year.

Figure 5 represents this slender and beautiful
creature, bedecked in its snowy winter costume.

The sleep of the weasel is so deep that the animal
may be readily caught if surprised in slumber, ,and
hence the comparison so often used when speaking of
an easy task — "like catching a weasel asleep."

Otters feed mostly on fish and as we would natur-
ally expect, they live generally near the water. They
are attractive little animals, though but rarely met

22 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

with in these parts. It is amusing to watch them
engaging in their favorite sport of coasting, — down a
steep snow bank in the winter, or a slide of slippery
clay in the warmer seasons; seemingly with all the
gusto of a crowd of merry boys with sleds. Animals
appreciate fun as well as we.

The otter's eyes are tolerably close together,
and are located low on the head so that with a
very slight movement it can see in any direction.
This wise provision assists the animal greatly while
fishing.

The Skunk is found only in North America. Its
skin is singularly striped lengthwise in white and
black or dark-brown; but the creature is most re-
markable for its power of emitting, when disturbed
or angered, a most offensive odor, absolutely un-
endurable by other animals. It retires to its burrow
fat and sleek as the winter approaches, and remains
there till spring, when it reappears in a pitifully
gaunt and hungry state.

THE BEAR FAMILY.

There are many varieties of bears of which the
Grizzly Bear of the Rocky Mountains is the most
powerful and ferocious. Its stout and non-retractable
claws often measure six inches in length, and its
strength is so great, that the animal has been known
to carry off the carcass of a buffalo weighing over a
thousand pounds. When hungry or attacked, the
grizzly bear is regarded as the most formidable of
North American wild beasts. The Indians consider
it a great feat to kill a grizzly; and the successful

CARNIVOROUS ANIMALS. 23

hunter usually wears the claws around his neck as a
mark of honor.

Fig. 6.— Grizzly Bear.

Fig. 6 shows the general appearance of this beast.
It has derived its name from the peculiar color of its
hair, which is a mixture of black and grizzly gray.
As seen in the picture, the animal walks on the flat
part of its foot, leaving the impression of its broad
sole, together with that of its long claws in soft
ground, the imprint looking not unlike that of a very
large human hand.

The American Black Bear is a much smaller
animal than its fiercer brother already described; but
if compelled to defend itself or to protect its young
it will fight desperately. Though classed among
carnivorous or flesh-eating animals, it feeds largely
on fruit if such be obtainable. It is especially fond
of honey, and will frequently venture to assail the
nests of wild bees to satisfy its taste for sweets.

24 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

The grizzly bear shows these same traits to some
extent.

The Polar Bear of the frigid regions is the largest
of the bear tribe. The soles of its broad feet are
covered with long coarse hair, by which the animal
gains a firmer footing on the ice fields and plains of
frozen snow of its arctic home.

The Raccoon or "coon" as it is sometimes called,
is an American animal, about the size of an ordinary
dog, and in general appearance suggestive of a small
bear, if its long tail be not taken into account. It
is not wholly carnivorous, feeding on roots and
fruits as well as birds, eggs, small quadrupeds and
fish.

CHAPTER VI.

HERBIVOROUS ANIMALS OR PLANT-EATERS.

Sfs^HE perfect manner in which every part of the
jj§2/(y body of these animals is adapted to their

¥ habits of life, is another proof of the infinite
wisdom of the Creator. Instead of long,
pointed teeth, like those of the dog and the lion,
suitable only for holding their struggling prey while
writhing in death agony, the plant-eating animals
have wide chisel-like teeth in front, and broad, flat
grinders behind, fitted admirably for cropping the
herbage, and grinding the grass and seeds which form
their food. Their feet are clad in hard, tough hoofs,
either solid as in the case of the horse, or divided

HERBIVOROUS ANIMALS. 25

evenly into two toes, as with oxen, sheep, goats, deer
and camels, or formed in a greater number of toes as
in the case if the gigantic elephant, rhinoceros and
hippopotamus.

THE HORSE FAMILY.

The Horse is thought by some to be the most
graceful of all quadrupeds. It has become indis-
pensable in the service of man. Wonderfully
sagacious, and closely attached in its feelings to those
who care for it, it is at once a companion and a ser-
vant. For such a trusty follower, man may well be
thankful; and he should show such thanks by treat-
ing the animal with due kindness and consideration.
A properly trained horse can always be governed
more easily by a gentle word than by the lash.
There are many kinds of horses, with very different
appearance, as will readily be believed by comparing
the large, heavy-set cart horse with the slender racer
and the pretty little Shetland pony. The digestive
organs of the horse are arranged so as to allow the
process of digestion to go on in an uninterrupted
manner, thus fitting the animal for more continuous
movement.

The Ass or Donkey is in general form and habit
related to the horse, though smaller and more hardy.
It feeds upon the coarse forms of herbage, and is of
an extremely patient disposition, fitting it for long
continued work. As a pack animal it is of great
service, and can carry with apparent ease a surpris-
ingly heavy burden; but drivers are too apt to over-
load the poor beast, and cause it suffering.

26 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

The Zebra runs wild in Southern Africa, and
though greatly resembling the horse is readily dis-
tinguished by the beautiful stripes of white and black
with which its body is covered and by its wild and
fractious disposition. It is said that no zebra has
ever yet been tamed.

THE OX FAMILY.

The animals included here are the ox, sheep, goat
deer, camel and their relatives, and among the whole
range of the animal creation, these are of the great-
est value and service to man. From them he obtains
milk and meat for his food, leather for his shoes and
hair and wool for his clothing; besides tallow, horn
and bones. Many of them, too, are his willing and
efficient beasts of burden. All of them subsist
exclusively on vegetable food and have cloven hoofs.

They are frequently called Ruminants or Cud-
chewers, from a peculiarity which they show in
eating. To understand this more readily, let us
examine the stomach of an ox or a sheep, as an
illustration of the strange digestive organs of the
whole family.

The appearance is well represented in figure 7, the
upper picture showing an external view, and the
lower one the appearance after partial dissection As
is there shown, the stomach consists of several
cavities, looking, in fact, like separate stomachs.
When the animal swallows, the half chewed food
passes through the gullet, or oesophagus (o), into the
first stomach or paunch (/?); and after becoming-
moist and soft it passes to the second cavity (b),

HERBIVOROUS ANIMALS.

27

Fig. 7.— Stomach of a Sheep.

called from its complicated structure the "honey-comb

stomach." Here, by the
movements of the stom-
ach the food is rolled in-
to balls, which are then
passed one by one again
into the mouth after the
animal has ceased feed-
ing and is at rest. The food
is now thoroughly mas-
\p ticatedand then swallow-
ed again, passing this
time through a valve near
the end of the oesophagus
tube, directly into the
third stomach (/*), called by some the "manyplies,"
because the inner surface is roughened by numerous
folds of the lining membrane; and thence after a
short interval into the fourth cavity (c), each process
more completely effecting the digestion of the food.
The ability to eat rapidly, depending for com-
plete mastication upon subsequent chewing is of great
practical use especially to the wild animals of this
order. Nearly all plant-eating animals are eagerly
hunted for food by the bloodthirsty, carnivorous
creatures already spoken of; most are also of a shy
and timid disposition, unfitted to defend themselves
against their savage foes at close quarters, and there-
fore relying mostly in flight for safety. Beside this,
they are certainly more exposed to attacks while
feeding in open glades and pastures, than while hid-

^8 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

den in their coverts and retreats. It is well, there-
fore, that they can eat rapidly and hasten back to
places of comparative safety. And yet, the food
upon which they live requires thorough mastication
before digestion can go properly on — and this is
secured by the ruminating process.

The interesting habits of the many species of deer,
including the moose, reindeer, elk, red-deer and
antelope, as well as the musk ox, bison, hump-backed
camel and dromedary, and the longnecked giraffe,
will form very interesting subjects for further read-
ing and study.

Beside those already named there are many other
well known herbivorous animals worthy of our notice.

The Elephant is represented in figure 8, and a good
idea of the animal's size is to be gained by a compari-
son with the picture of the man standing alongside.

Fig. 8.— The Asiatic Elephant,

HERBIVOROUS ANIMALS. 29

This creature is the largest of all living quadrupeds,
sometimes attaining a height of ten feet, and a
weight of twelve thousand pounds. The head is
extremely large and heavy, and to support it the
neck is of necessity short and stout. When in a
standing position, therefore, the animal is unable to
reach the ground with its head; but to make up for
this apparent inconvenience, it has a peculiar organ
called the trunk, looking much like a long and
very flexible nose. It serves in fact as a nose, as well
as for numerous other purposes. By its means the
elephant picks up food and conveys the same to his
mouth; by suction he fills the trunk with water, and
pours it down his throat. This simple organ is said
to be composed of over forty thousand separate and
distinct muscles, by the action of which the trunk
can be placed in almost every conceivable position.
It is so strong that by its aid the animal can root up
large trees; and so sensitive at the point as to easily
pick up a single grain of wheat or rice. The elephant
is very intelligent and can be trained to be of great
service to man. He can be taught to carry logs and
stack them in order; or to lay stone or bricks in a
wall as orderly as a mason could. Two large over-
grown teeth called tusks, project from the upper jaw;
these are the ivory so highly prized for ornaments.
A pair of tusks often weigh two hundred pounds.
The Rhinoceros, the Hippopotamus and the Tapir
are large animals inhabiting only tropical regions
and extremely interesting and instructive in their
habits.

30 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

THE HOG.

Our common pig has a peculiarly shaped skull,
adapting it for rooting in the ground. The skin is
covered with long bristles, so stout as to be useful to
the shoe and harness maker in sewing leather. The
uncleanly habits of the animal are proverbial; and
these are made the worse by the filthy surroundings
among which pigs are usually confined. The flesh of
the hog is used as an article of human food; though
observation, experience and revelation unite to
declare it unwholesome. Learned physicians and
scientists of the day say that swine's flesh causes
many disorders, and much sickness among those who
use it. The food upon which the creature lives is
very varied, and much of it is of a most unhealthful
kind. It would seem that one object for which the
hog was created, was to fill the office of a scavenger;
devouring, as it does, large quantities of decaying
matter, which otherwise would taint the air, water
and soil, and thus favor the spread of disease.

The wild boar, an untamed species of hog, is still
found in the forests of Europe. Its chase and cap-
ture have always been considered as agreeable sport.
Another of the hog tribe, and a truly remarkable
one at that, is the Babirusa Hog, or Hog Deer, a
native of Java and Borneo. Its upper canine teeth
are greatly prolonged, and curved backward, so as to
form a protection to the eyes when the creature is
running through the bushes.

RODENTS OR GNAWING ANIMALS. 31

CHAPTER VII.

RODENTS OR GNAWING ANIMALS.

33E9SS their name indicates, these animals are noted
§jfc& for their biting or gnawing propensities; and

¥they may easily be recognized by the peculiarity
of their teeth. In all of them, such as mice,
rats, squirrels, etc., the two front teeth of each jaw are
very long; the outer part of each tooth consists mainly
of the hard white substance called enamel — the hardest
substance to be found in the animal body in fact,
while the inner or back portion is of a much softer
material. The result of such an arrangement is that
the teeth, though worn by constant use, always pre-
sent a sharp edge, the hard enamel forming the cut-
ting part. Unlike the case of most animals, a rodent's
teeth grow as fast as they are worn away, and they are
therefore in constant working order, unless an accident
befall the animal and one or more of the teeth be
broken out. In such a case the opposing tooth grows
uninterruptedly, causing the animal serious incon-
venience.

The writer has in his possession a rabbit's skull in
which the lower front teeth have attained a length
of nearly two inches, through the corresponding
upper teeth having been broken out by an accident,
so that there was no check to the growth of the lower
gnawers. The body from which the specimen was
obtained, bore every evidence that the rabbit had

32 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

died of starvation — most likely as a result of such
unfortunate accident.

Mice and Rats exist in greater variety than any
other class of quadrupeds, and include some of
the smallest. House-mice, field-mice, harvest-
mice, and jumping-mice are familiar acquaint-
ances at home and on the farm. The last named,
though less frequently seen than most of the others,
is an exceedingly interesting and active little creature.
Its body is not more than from two and a half to
three inches in length, while its tail is more than
twice as long. It moves by long and rapid leaps,
and is so agile in many of its movements that the
observer's eye is scarcely able to follow it.

Our domestic friend, the House-Mouse is a graceful
and indeed a pretty animal, and could we but put
aside our inborn prejudices for a time, we would
indeed consider it such. Its slender build, smooth
glossy skin, beautiful lustrous eyes, and engaging
ways would commend it to favorable notice. It has
been in many cases trained as a pet, coming at the
call of its master, taking food from his hand and
playfully submitting to his caresses. Contrary to
common thought, mice are extremely cleanly in their
habits; but as they indulge so unreservedly in attacks
upon our pantry stores, we prefer them outside the
house. With their chisel-edged teeth they can
readily cut an entrance through the sides of cup-
boards and cases, and then they feast upon the con-
tents at leisure.

Among rats the brown rat and the muskrat are

RODENTS OR GNAWING ANIMALS. 33

common with us in these regions; and occasionally
the black rat is met with. This last was formerly
the most common of all, infesting alike houses,
barns and stores; but it seems now fast becom-
ing extinct through the cruel and persistent attacks
of the brown rat. It is an interesting creature,
exhibiting great sagacity, a deep attachment for its
young and a warm affection for others of its kind.
It has been asserted by Dr. Franklin, whose trust-
worthiness as an observer will pass without question,
that he once watched a company of rats migrating in
search of a new home; and that among the party he
saw a rat carefully leading a blind comrade by a
twig held between its teeth. The muskrat is a
common inhabitant of our brooks and ponds. It
grows usually about a foot in length, exclusive of the
tail, which is usually as long as the body. The
animals very frequently prove annoying and injurious
to the farmer by burrowing into the banks of his
irrigating canals. They build their winter homes of
rushes and sticks, oftentimes from three to four feet
high, the entrance being below water and leading to
a dry and warm apartment in the upper story. The
skins of muskrats are valuable, the fur being used in
trimming winter clothing, under the name of River
Sable Fur.

The Pouched Bat, often called the Pocket Gopher,
makes its presence known by its extensive under-
ground burrows. On the outside of its face are large
cheek pouches — not connected with the mouth, but
in reality pockets in the skin; which in some cases

34 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

extend back as far as the shoulders. These are use-
ful in collecting and carrying food.

The Beaver is among the largest of the gnawing,
or rodent family; and was once to be found in almost
all North American streams; but it has been hunted
and trapped for the sake of its skin, so persistently,
that it is fast becoming extinct. The fur is reddish
brown in color, and of a very fine, soft texture. The
tail is flat and scaly, and of great service to the
animal while swimming. By means of their sharp
and very powerful teeth, beavers can readily and
rapidly cut down large trees, which they have the
ingenuity to fell in such a way as to cause them to
fall directly into the water so as to be borne by the
current to the spot desired. Of these trees, together
with rushes, sticks and earth, the animals build large
and substantial dams across the streams; thereby
forming deep water places, around which they build
their dwellings — one story always being above water,
with the entrance below.

Squirrels are extremely active and pretty creatures,
with their long ears, bright eyes, glossy skins and
superb bushy tails. They live mostly on trees,
feeding on fruits and nuts, of which they are careful
to lay up an ample store for winter use. It is an
interesting sight to watch a squirrel perched on its
haunches holding an acorn or a nut between its front
paws, and all the while nibbling at the hard shell.
After a time a clean-cut hole is made through the
shell and the little fellow falls to work upon the
kernel with evident relish. It is said that in collect-

RODENTS OR GNAWING ANIMALS. 35

ing winter supplies the squirrel takes each nut singly
in its paws and judges from the weight whether the
shell encloses a good kernel or is but empty;
in the one case it is stored away; in the other it
is rejected. If alarmed, a squirrel will run with
wondrous agility up the nearest tree, and then leap
from branch to branch, or even from one tree to
another with surprising speed.

Flying Squirrels have a thin skin extending along
the side of the body from the front to the hind legs.
By expanding this while in the act of jumping they
are able to make greater leaps than would otherwise
be possible. Perhaps their large bushy tails are also of
assistance in jumping.

The charming little Striped Squirrel or chipmunk
of our hills, fields and bench lands is provided with
cheek pouches connected with its mouth, in which it
carries its food to its nest, either for immediate or
future consumption.

The Prairie Dog is perhaps the quaintest little
animal of the whole squirrel kind, and is to be found
on our western plains and dry deserts, living in
underground burrows. Usually large numbers con-
gregate in the same locality, constituting what is
called a Prairie Dog Village. They seem to be very
inquisitive little creatures, frequently to be seen sitting
on their haunches outside their burrows and watching
with apparent concern the passers-by; but at the
least sign of danger, with a rapid motion each little
fellow dives into his hole, at the same time uttering
a short, sharp bark or yelp, from which circumstance

36 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

the name of prairie dog has been bestowed. The
members of a Dog Village seem to act in such perfect
order and system as to lead many people to think
that they are a regularly organized community.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE BIRDS.

^fSMONG the most pleasing and interesting sub-
(tjttJ> jects of the whole animal kingdom are the
birds. Their beautiful plumage, graceful
actions, and, above all, their inspiring songs,
combine to charm even the least susceptible among
us. And then, what an infinite diversity in form
and habit, they present to our view! Look upon the
majestic eagle, soaring in dreamy state through the
medium of the "upper deep," or standing in grave
supremacy on a rugged mountain cliff; then con-
template, in contrast, the flitting, flashing, darting
humming-bird, scarce larger than your thumb; yet
presenting a wider variety of colors, and finer com-
binations and contrasts in tint, than could be
brought together by the hand of a master artist, on
a canvass many times its size. Does not Nature
delight in true beauty and wide variety?

Watch for a moment, the wood-thrush, or the
robin, mounted high, and greeting with joyous soug,
the sun's return. See its little breast throb as if
about to burst with melody; its whole body intoxi-

THE BIRDS. 87

cated with the harmony of its hymn. Is it not to
us a fair example of thankful prayer for all the
blessings of light and warmth, of happiness and of
life?

Who taught these birds to sing? Surely one who
rejoices in the musical mysteries of those happy
songs, who knows the deep import of every note, and
takes delight therein. What unbounded trust and
implicit faith that little bird possesses, relying with
full confidence, upon the providing care of its Maker;
as if knowing well that without His knowledge, not
one of its family falls to the ground. Surely this
world is a much better and more cheerful place for the
presence of birds. Then, let the happy songsters be
protected among us. Boys, check your reckless love for
the slaughter of such innocents as these; never set
your target-gun or catapult against one of them; it
is a barbarous nature that can be satisfied only by
blood. Life is a mysterious and God given power —
a power,

"Which all can take, but none can give,"
and everything possessed of life, should be sacred to
us all.

Observe the great care and the provident concern
with which the Creator has fashioned the bird's body
in all its parts. Being intended primarily for flight,
the structure combines muscular strength with small
bulk and great lightness. The air taken into the
bird's lungs spreads itself throughout the body, and
even enters the bones, which are made hollow for
this purpose; so that when a bird takes a full breath

38 FIRST BOOK OP' NATURE.

its whole body is inflated and thus well prepared for
aerial travel. The muscles operating the wings are
comparatively large and remarkably strong; and this
is especially true of birds that fly much. Compare
for instance the pectoral muscles on the breast of the
wild duck with those of a domestic fowl — in the
former case the flesh is dark colored and well sup-
plied with blood to nourish those much used parts,
whereas the chicken's breast is white and compara-
tively bloodless through disuse.

Look now at the feathers covering the bird's body;
a moment's careful study of these simple appendages
will not prove to be entirely without value. A large
quill feather from the wing, for instance, is seen to
consist of a central tube or shaft, attached to which
on either side is a blade-like expansion called the
vane. If we provide a small magnifying glass and
by its assistance look steadily at the feathery vane,
we will find it to be composed of a great many
separate branches, each of which consists of still
smaller ones; and the edges of the finest are covered
with little barbs, which hook themselves together so
as to form a continuous blade. As the bird flies, the
feather strikes the air with its broad surface as a
boat-oar does the water, but in the return stroke
only the sharp edge is presented. Beside such large
and compact feathers, there are many smaller plumes
to be seen; these have not the barbed edges, and
consequently the fibres are loose and separate,
seemingly designed as a protection against cold.

In comparison with the size of its body, a bird's

THE BIRDS. 39

head is extremely small, and very light — an admir-
able adaptation to easy flight. Instead of a large
mouth rilled with teeth, birds have beaks, some short
and stout as the robin's and sparrow's, others hooked
and sharp-pointed, like those of the hawk and eagle,
and still others like the duck's, flat and spreading.
Birds swallow their food whole; it passes first into a
small sack called the crop, thence into a second
receptacle, becoming continually softened by the
action of the digestive fluids, and then into the
gizzard — a very thick walled stomach, usually con-
taining sand, gravel, and other hard substances which
the bird has swallowed. By the movements of the
gizzard, and the grinding of the hard bodies therein
contained,, the food soon becomes reduced to a finer
condition, and is ultimately absorbed.

The young of birds are produced from eggs, previ-
ously laid by the hen, and each covered with a hard
shell. Reptiles, such as the tortoise, and serpent,
also produce eggs which in shape and size greatly
resemble birds' eggs, but these have a tough leathery
skin instead of a hard brittle shell. Inside the shell,
each egg is seen to consist of a white portion and a
yellow part or yelk (sometimes called the yolk). If
we examine the uninjured yelk of a freshly laid egg,
there will be noticed a small whitish speck floating
on the surface; this is called the germ, and under the
influence of warmth it undergoes a strange develop-
ment, and eventually appears as a living bird. The
warmth of the parent bird's body is naturally em-
ployed in the hatching; but artificial heat may be

40 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

used with success. The ostrich, a large bird inhab-
iting the sandy deserts of Africa, frequently leaves
its eggs uncovered during the warm parts of the day,
knowing that the heat of the sun will be sufficient to
continue the incubation. A peculiarly ingenious
habit is practised by the Mound Birds of Australia.
Instead of sitting upon the eggs, they place them in
large heaps of decaying vegetable matter, which they
have previously collected and prepared for the pur-
pose; the heat generated by the decay proves to be
all that is requisite in the process.

The period of incubation varies with different
species of birds. The eggs of the humming-bird
hatch in twelve days; canaries, from fifteen to eighteen
days; fowls, twenty-one; ducks, twenty-five and swans,
about forty-five. When the young bird is developed,
and ready to escape from the shell, it makes a hole
in the latter by means of a hardened appendage on
its beak, which Nature seems to have provided
especially for this purpose; for soon after the bird
leaves the shell, the hardened point, being of no
further use, falls off, furnishing another and strong
illustration of Nature's tendency to do away with all
superfluities.

The size of the eggs produced is in general pro-
portionate to the size of the birds. The largest eggs
are those of the ostrich and the emu, a single one
weighing as much as do three dozen eggs of the barn-
yard fowl. They are used as food, and the shells
being very stout and strong make admirable water
vessels. In contrast, the eggs of the fairy-like

THE BIRDS. 41

humming-bird may be named, in size about that
of a pea and of a pure white color. Generally the
larger birds lay but few eggs; the eagle for instance
lays two, while the little wren occasionally deposits
twelve in a nest.* To this also there are exceptions,
which, however, cannot fail to do as much to
strengthen our belief in the divine foresight which
has planned all, as the rule itself. The ostrich,
already referred to, frequently lays ten eggs, some of
which are not produced until after incubation has
progressed and perhaps not until the young birds
from the eggs first laid are hatched. The extra eggs
are destined to serve as food for the young ostriches,
until they become sufficiently vigorous to digest the
hard and uninviting fare of the desert, upon which
their parents feed. The incubation process is one
of surpassing wonder: man is powerless to explain,
far less to imitate, the mystic changes in silent pro-
gress within -the shell of a fowl's egg.

The great attachment of birds for their mates, and
the unusually strong parental instincts, implanted
for a wise purpose within their feathered bosoms,
find fullest expression during the breeding season.

* The most prolific egg-producers among birds are the
domesticated varieties which have been bred and cared for
by man for long periods. Tame ducks sometimes produce
over a hundred eggs within four or five months; while the
barn-yard fowl lays frequently 120 eggs during the year.
The rearing of such birds for their eggs is now a profitable
and an important industry. In 1870 there were imported
into Great Britain alone 753 millions of eggs, valued at
$13,100,000.

42 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

After the nest is built and the eggs are laid, the
long and tedious labor of incubation is begun by the
female; while the male usually remains perched in
some neighboring bush or tree, ready to defend his
household charge against any foe; and, in the mean-
time, he enlivens the heart of his patient mate by
giving voice to a joyous song, occasionally taking
her place on the nest for a short time, while she
enjoys her daily exercise and her meals. When the
little ones appear, the duties of both parents are of a
different, though very laborious nature, nearly all
their time and attention being demanded to supply
food to their eager offspring; and no amount of hard-
ship and self-denial seems too great to be borne, if
the babies can be protected and fed.

In defense of their eggs or young, even small birds
fight most desperately, not hesitating to attack larger
birds, animals, reptiles or men, who attempt to
desecrate their homes. Some of our smallest and
sweetest of singing birds, ordinarily of so tender and
timid a nature that we would scarcely think them
capable of a daring deed, have been known to fear-
lessly dart on large snakes or even cats that seek to
rob their nests; and many a man has been driven out
of his own barn loft by a pair of owls who had estab-
lished their home iu that place. Yet the courage of
birds seeking to protect their homes, is not of the
blind, rash kind, so often seen among men who are
terrorized and excited. No; they seldom lose their
presence of mind; but often display at such times most
cunning and ingenious devices to draw the enemy

THE BIRDS. 43

away. A dove or a partridge on being disturbed on
its nest by the approach of man or dog, will often
flutter along only a short distance ahead of the pur-
suer, and sometimes under his very feet, acting as if
lamed or injured, and thus tempting a chase — always
leading the enemy farther away from the nest with
its precious inmates.

Among the many foes which the sitting birds have
cause to fear, we may mention reptiles, carnivorous
quadrupeds, and birds of prey, and perhaps crudest
of all, children with uncurbed passions for destruc-
tion. It is disgraceful and wicked to molest an in-
nocent bird; and in addition, cowardly and cruel to
injure its nest or steal its offspring. The grief man-
ifested by the parent birds on being deprived of their
young, is pitiful to witness; and their cries of distress
are not unheard by the kind Creator "who made and
loveth all." As we hope to receive kind treatment
and mercy from our Father, let us be willing to show
the same toward His humbler creatures, wTho are far
more innocent in His sight than the man or boy with
barbarous and wanton instincts of slaughter.

CHAPTER IX.

BIRDS AT HOME.

(||s£j?HE great solicitude of birds for their young is
(H/3 beautifully shown in the care bestowed upon

¥the nest. Nests are built solely for the pur-
pose of rearing the progeny, and not to form a
home for the old birds at all; for in the winter-time

44 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

when shelter is most needed the nests are entirely
discarded.

Many of the larger birds, such as the eagle family,
content themselves with a somewhat rude nest lodged
on a projecting crag, or between the branches of a
tall tree, and consisting of such coarse materials as
sticks and twigs, lined, however, very comfortably
with hair, wool or feathers. But many smaller
species of our feathered friends display wonderful
skill and unbounded care in the construction of their
children's homes.

Look at the pretty cradle-nest of the humming
bird; it is a masterpiece of skill — in size not
larger than a small blue plum, but shaped with all
the care that an expert weaver could bestow. The
materials of which it consists are soft mosses and
delicate lichens, generally collected by the male, and
artistically arranged by his mate; the crevices are
closed by a kind of glue formed from the saliva of the
bird; and the inside is lined and padded with the
richest and softest of vegetable silk. Not less won-
derful, though entirely different, are the nests of the
wren, the hedge-sparrow, the finches, the blue jay and
the magpie; all of them show the effects of a Master's
teaching.

In the autumn, after the leaves have fallen and the
trees and bushes are bare, much may be learned by
a close examination of the empty and forsaken nests
of the past summer's songsters. See with what care
these little creatures have selected the locality and
position best calculated to ensure the safety of their

BIRDS AT HOME. 45

homes — perhaps a forked bough deeply hidden in the
heart of a leafy bush, or a crevice in some dried
tree trunk, or a sheltered ledge of rock. Peep within
one of these cozy cots, and see the provisions made
for the comfort of the birdlings; here they were
hatched and reared, learning from the solicitous care
of their parents, their own future duty. Look speci-
ally at the nest of the tiny wren: from the outside
it seems little more than a ball of straw, but within
it is lined as soft as a lady's muff of costly fur and
finest silk; there is an entrance on the side thus pro-
viding a roofed top to keep out the rain.

The Bottle-Tit is a small bird, found at the Cape
of Good Hope, and remarkable for the ingenuity
displayed in the forming of its nest. This is woven of
cotton, somewhat in the shape of a bottle, and of such
careful workmanship that a single loose fibre is rarely
to be seen. While the hen bird is sitting within, the
male keeps careful watch from his seat in a little
pouch, built for the purpose, on the neck of the
curiously shaped abode. When the old birds leave
the nest, even for a short time, the opening is securely
closed. But in elegance of construction, even this
nest is surpassed by that of the Pendulum Titmouse,
a bird no larger than a sparrow, and found chiefly in
Africa and India. Its nest is in shape like a long-
necked retort, such as is used by chemists, and is
hung from a branch of a tree, with the opening
downward. Nothing is employed in its construction
but the finest moss and down, woven so compactly
that it forms a kind of felt which is an admirable non-

46

FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

conductor of heat, thus insuring the eggs and young
good protection from the extremes of temperature.

The Tailor Bird is a well deserved title bestowed
on a peculiar variety native in India. The nest is
built in a large leaf, the edges of which have been
sewn together to form a kind of sack. In this labor,
the ingenious little seamstress employs a fine kind of
flexible grass as thread, and her own sharp bill is an
admirable needle. If a single leaf sufficiently large
cannot be found, two smaller ones are sewn together.
This forms but the casing or holder for the nest,
which is then built within, of grass and fibre, and
thoroughly lined. In this pendulous cradle, the
young are reared, gaily rocked by every breath of
air. What child can boast of so ingenious a bed?

'-n.

Fig. 9.— The Weaver Birds' Home. •
Another feathered resident of the Cape of Good
Hope claims our attention by reason of the peculi-
arity of its nest, viz. the Sociable Weaver Bird, or
as some people name it, the Republican Bird. A
picture of its strange dwelling is shown in figure 9.

BIRDS AT HOME. 47

A great number of these birds live together as a
colony: sometimes as many as six hundred building
in a single tree. They first construct a huge frame
work about the trunk of a tree, resembling some-
what an expanded umbrella in form, and beneath
this great dome, each has its own apartment. An
idea of the size and weight of such a nest may be
gained from the statement of Levaillant, that in
moving one of them, he was compelled to employ a
wagon and several men.

A peculiar kind of swallow is found on the coasts
of China, Java and Sumatra, which forms a nest
unlike that of any other bird. The little builder col-
lects a soft, slimy sea weed, abundant in the neigh-
borhood, and cements the same by the aid of its own
glutinous saliva into a kind of isinglass. These are
the edible bird's nests, considered by epicures as a
great delicacy for the table. Soup made from these
nests is among the most expensive of such luxuries,
yet it is in such high favor with the wealthy, that
the collection and exportation of edible nests forms
a profitable avocation in the parts where they are
found.*

The noisy magpie, so common about our copses
and hills, is a phenomenal thief; and apparently

* This peculiar kind of food is more widely consumed
than is generally known. Figuier states that from the
coast of Cochin China alone, over four millions of nests
are exported annually: the proprietors of one cavern in
Java, which is frequented by the Esculent Swallow, re-
ceive twenty-five thousand dollars per year rent for the
place.

48 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

thinking that its own dishonest tricks may be imitated
by others, it takes the precaution to surround its
nest with a thorny hedge.

Some varieties of East Indian birds exhibit a most
remarkable domestic arrangement during the hatch-
ing season. As soon as the eggs are laid, the male
imprisons the female upon her nest by building a
stout wall of mud about the same, leaving only a
small opening for the supply of air and food. The
latter commodity he supplies with assiduous care
during the whole period, and as soon as the birdlings
are hatched he joyously breaks down the barriers and
liberates his patient spouse.

Many birds habitually hang their nests, as the
golden-crested wren, orioles and humming-birds, and
such find at times that their cradles are liable to be
overthrown through the increasing weight of the
thriving brood. In these cases they promptly provide
an equipoise by loading the opposite side of the nest
with small stones or mud. Is not this a mark of a
high intelligence, looking, indeed, very much like
reason? They do not weight the nests until the
necessity for such a precaution is plain.

Not all birds exhibit the same degree of care and
skill either in the nest building or any other duty of
life. There are to be found good and bad, kind and
cruel, skillful and careless, obedient and rebellious
among birds as among men. Many birds are known
to use the discarded nests of others rather than build
themselves, and some have been known to forcibly
dispossessthe rightfuloccupants and appropriate their

BIRDS AT HOME. 49

homes. Such is not an infrequent trick of the pug-
nacious little house-sparrow, which easily drives the
inoffensive swallow from its cozy nest of mud beneath
the eaves. The Cuckoos of the Eastern Hemisphere
and the Cow-Birds of the Western habitually deposit
their eggs in the nests of other birds, and leave them
there to be hatched by the owner of the nursery.
The young cuckoo seems to know that its foster
parents will never be able to keep its hungry mouth
well fed, and care for their own legitimate offspring
at the same time, so, being larger than the others, he
manages to get them one by one on his back and
soon pitches them out of the nest. As the cuckoo
builds no nest, neither sits on her eggs nor nourishes
her young she has been often referred to as the type
of a careless mother and a truant wife. But she has
a maternal instinct within her breast as have others,
and a little study of cuckoo life will perhaps aid us in
understanding such recreant tricks. Cuckoos do not
pair like most other birds in the breeding season;
and the hen bird does not lay all her eggs at one
time. She produces eight or ten eggs during the
course of a few weeks; in consequence of this, even if
she did undertake to construct a nest, she would of
necessity have to build it alone, without the assist-
ance of a mate; but if the nest were completed and
the first eggs hatched, she would have to provide
food for her young while still trying to cover the eggs
produced later. Apparently knowing that such a
labor could not be performed with satisfaction and
success, she declines to make the attempt. As soon

50 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

as an egg is laid, she takes it in her beak and flies to
the nest of some small inoffensive warbler such as the
lark, red-throat, robin-redbreast, hedge-sparrow or
nightingale, and leaves it there. She seems to watch
for the absence of the proprietor of the nest in making
the addition. One observer tells of a red-throat
coming home unexpectedly and finding a cuckoo at
her nest; the little house-keeper at once began an
assault and soon compelled the stranger to retire with
her burden. If not interrupted, however, the cuckoo
will safely deposit her egg; but it is said she is never
known to bring a second one to the same nest. She
visits the nests, in which her eggs have been placed,
several times before leaving the neighborhood, appar-
ently to satisfy herself that her progeny have been
left in tender care. She is therefore not entirely free
from parental anxiety regarding her offspring; but I
do not seek to fully justify the creature in her truant
and unsteady life, especially if the following be true.
Louis Figuier, the French naturalist, states that the
cuckoo, after depositing her own egg in a stranger's
nest, frequently takes one of the other eggs from the
nest, breaks it and scatters the shell; so that when
the lady of the house returns she finds only the usual
number of eggs and apparently is slow to discover
the deception. Such an act would seemingly indicate
a degree of careful thought and reason; but the
intelligence so shown is used to assist the bird in its
knavery. And such a condition of things is not
without its parallel among the unfeathered bipeds of
the world; too frequently men use their knowledge

BIRDS OF PREY. 51

and skill whereby to bring imposition upon their
trustful and non-suspecting fellows.

CHAPTER X.

BIRDS OF PREY.

^jg^HE birds of prey, include some of the largest
among the whole order of birds. Many of
them are well known; though the links which
bind them to the memory, are not associated
with the grace and beauty of form and voice, so
characteristic of the smaller and less pretentious birds.
As their name implies, these birds feed habitually
upon flesh; the bodies of other birds and small
quadrupeds usually supplying their larders. They
are, indeed, the scourge and terror of all the rest of
the feathered tribes; and for the pursuit, capture,
and killing of their prey, they seem to be specially
adapted. The beak of a bird of prey is usually very
strong and sharp, and of a hooked shape, with a
characteristic naked membrane or skin, called the
cere, at the base. The toes are very flexible, ter-
minated by hooked talons, and operated by powerful
muscles; even a hasty glance convinces an observer
that such are terrible weapons, when vigorously used.
Of this large class, we find in nearly all parts of the
country, eagles, hawks and owls; and on the Pacific
Coast, and in South America, several species of
vultures in addition.

Among the last named division is the Condor of

52 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

the Andes, a vulture of the largest kind. It often
shows a spread of wings of from eight to twelve feet,
and the length of the bird from beak to tail, averages
four feet. Its plumage is of a blue-black tint, con-
trasting strongly with which is a collar on the back
and sides of the neck, of dazzling whiteness. The
upper part of the neck and the crest, as with all
vultures, is devoid of feathers; being covered with
a tough, semi-cartilaginous coat. Like others of
the vulture kind, the condor seldom kills its own
prey, unless it be some animal rendered weak and
helpless, from age or disease; usually the creature
prefers to feed upon the dead and decaying bodies of
animals, which, through the agency of wonderfully
keen senses of sight and smell, it is enabled to
recognize from a great distance.* It is extremely
gluttonous in its habits, so much so, that after a full
meal, it is so gorged as to be unable to fly. Taking
advantage of this propensity, the inhabitants of the
regions frequented by condors, often destroy great
numbers of the birds, by setting out for them carrion
flesh in abundance; after their meal is over, the
capture of the greedy creatures is an easy matter.

* The extravagant stories, related of the condors daring,
seem, generally, to lack foundation. Those who have
studied the habits of the bird most closely say that it will
never attack large animals, except they be helpless, or
unless it is compelled to tight in self-defence. Even men
have been known to be attacked by these rapacious
monsters, when famished and overcome from hunger, or
fatigue; but, an observer, who has had good opportunity
of judging, writes, that a boy of ten years, armed with a
stick, can easily put a condor to flight.

BIRDS OF PREY.

53

Fig. 10.

-White-headed
Eagle.

Among Eagles we find in the United States, the
bald eagle, more properly called the white-headed
eagle and the rarer golden eagle.

The white-headed eagle is
i widely distributed'over North
America. This bird is the
chosen symbol of our na-
tion.* It feeds principally on
hares, chickens, young lambs
and even larger animals such
as sheep, calves and pigs, and
at times it betrays a special
fondness for fish, though rare-
ly taking the trouble to
catch them for itself. The
osprey is a smaller species of eagle, with a great
propensity for fishing, and it is usually successful in
its sport. Of this fact the white-headed eagle seems
well aware, and is ever on the alert to rob the
osprey of its booty.

In the eagle the sense of vision is very keenly
developed. When soaring in conscious majesty far
above the highest mountain crags, so high in, fact, as
to be almost imperceptible to the human eye from
below, he sees a wild fowl or a hare on the plain, and,

* Dr. Steele has made the somewhat humorous remark:
"Equally indifferent to the extremes of heat and cold, as
well as to a maritime or an inland life; now honestly pur-
suing an independent vocation, and anon acting the part
of a freebooter, and robbing the fish-hawk of its well-
earned food, it is not an altogether unsuitable emblem of
the nation."

54 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

folding his wings, drops like a weight to within a
short distance of the earth, then preparing his talons
he seizes his prey and bears it away to a place of
security. The swiftness of the eagle's flight is pro-
verbially known; one naturalist claims that the bird
is able to sustain a speed of forty miles an hour.
Certain it is that its speed is wonderful, and its
muscular power and strength still more so. Eagles
carry off even sheep and young deer to their aeries;
and the sight of an eagle's nest, from the bones and
other remains of their victims, might well suggest a
charnel house.* The eaglets have an almost insatiable
appetite; nevertheless they are able to exist many
days without food. The great naturalist, BufFon,
states that a young eagle was once caught in a trap
and kept five weeks without food, but showed no
signs of feebleness till the last few days.

Illustrative of the great physical power of eagles
in their flight, instances of children being carried off
by these birds have often been cited, and accounts
of such cases have been recorded by some of the most
trustworthy observers. The following are vouched

for by the best authority:

"In the canton of Vaud two little girls, one three years

* The following is recorded by Figuier: "A peasant in
Ireland kept himself and the whole of his family for an
entire season by robbing the eaglets in a neighboring aerie
of the stores of food which were brought to them by the
parent birds. In order to prolong this singular means of
livelihood, report says, he endeavored to delay the moment
when the loved ones would be driven forth, adopting the
artifice of cutting their wings to render them incapable of
flight."

BIRDS OF PREY. 55

old and the other five, were playing together in a meadow.
An eagle swooped down upon the eldest and carried her
0f£ * * * Two months having elapsed, a shepherd dis-
covered the remains of the little victim horribly mutilated
and lying upon a rock half a league from the meadow in
which she was taken."

"In the Isle of Skye, Scotland, a woman left her child
in a field. An eagle carried off the little one in its talons,
and passing over a broad lake, laid it upon a rock. For-
tunately the robber was perceived by some shepherds, who
came up in time to succor the infant."

Another authentic case showing still greater mus-
cular strength is the following:

"In the canton of Geneva a boy ten years old, who was
robbing an eagle's nest, was seized by one of the birds and
borne to a point six hundred yards from the spot. He was
rescued by his companion, however, without having suffered
further injury than some severe wounds inflicted by the
bird's talons."

Hawks, are smaller members of the falcon family,
and exist in several varieties. The American Spar-
row Hawk is among the smallest of all — scarce larger
than a robin. Hawks are powerful, for their size;
though they do not approach the strength of the
eagle family. Their flight, when in pursuit of prey,
is very swift.

Closely allied to them, is the whole family of
Falcons proper, perhaps the most rapacious, and
certainly the most powerful of all birds of prey, in
proportion to their size. In the Middle Ages, these
birds, when tamed, were largely used in the art of
jalconry or hawking, which consisted in loosing
trained falcons or hawks, to pursue and capture other
birds. It was customary to keep the falcon hooded

56 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

or covered, while hunting, until the game was seen;
then, being freed, the bird would immediately start
in swift pursuit, very rarely failing to secure the
prize. Falcons could be taught to capture herons,
kites, crows, quails and pheasants; besides hares, and
even gazelles. In Egypt, India, China and Japan,
the sport is still practised.

All birds of prey seem possessed of wonderful
tenacity of life; and if uninjured live to a great age;
but such is specially true of the falcons. It is a
matter of record that a falcon was captured at the
Cape of Good Hope in 1797, apparently in full vigor,
bearing upon its neck a golden collar, on which was
an inscription dated 1 G 10 and stating that the bird
belonged to King James I of England. It must
therefore have been over one hundred and eighty-
seven years old.

Owls are nocturnal or night-roving in their habits,
and in consequence have been always regarded with
a sort of dread. In America there are upwards of
forty separate kinds, varying from the size of a
dove to that of a turkey. The plumage of owls is
exceedingly soft and full; and their flight is so
noiseless that they seem really to be borne upon the
air itself without effort of their own. The eyes of
the whole owl tribe are exceedingly large, and are
directed forward, instead of sideways as is the case
with most other birds, so that the owl must needs
turn its head even to glance on one side; and this it
does with such comical, quizzical movements, as to
appear really ludicrous. The eyes are surrounded by

BIRDS OF PREY. 57

a large facial disc of slender and stiff feathers. But
a more important characteristic of the eye is the
excessive dilation of which the pupil is capable.
This enables the bird to see more clearly in dim
light; though of course the idea that the owl, or in
fact any othe*r animal, can physically see in absolute
darkness is absurd. The brilliancy of day, however,
seems to be almost insupportable to owls, and con-
sequently they remain safely and snugly hidden in
their dark abodes till twilight comes. If an owl be
disturbed during the day and driven into the light,
it is almost helpless. Many small birds, such as the
saucy black-bird, and the mischievous sparrow delight
to catch their common enemy in such a plight; they
join forces and usually pick and annoy him without
mercy, all the time chirping and chattering as if
every one of them were giving the broad-faced gentle-
man a special lecture, with practical demonstrations
on the evils of his ways.

Owls wage great destruction among mice, rats and
other farm vermin, and in consideration of this alone
they are entitled to protection and respect. Mr.
Waterton, a very reliable observer, expresses as his
opinion, that a pair of Barn Owls while rearing their
young, bring to the nest four or five mice every hour
during the night. He domesticated a colony of owls,
and was rewarded for his pains by the disappearance
of rats and mice about his premises.

These birds are far more effectual than cats as
vermin destroyers on a farm. As is the case with all
birds which subsist on living or freshly-killed prey,

58 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

the owl devours its food entire, swallowing alike the
flesh, bones and hair — usually rejecting the feathers,
however, if birds have been captured. The digestive
organs are so constructed as to readily separate the
digestible from the non-digestible portions, which
latter are formed into a ball within the stomach and
then ejected by vomiting.

An observer has thus described the barn owl's style
of dining: "The mouse is first bitten smartly across
the back so as to destroy all life, and when it hangs
motionless from the bird's beak it is tossed into the
air very adroitly so as to fall with its head down-
ward. The owl then catches the head in his mouth
and holds it for a few seconds; then a sharp toss
sends it down his throat, leaving the tail hanging out
usually at the left side of the bird's beak. The bird
rolls this about for a bit, as a boy would a stick of
candy, and then another jerk puts all out of sight."

CHAPTER XL

CLIMBING BIRDS.

§&8$LL climbing birds have their toes equally
Skw divided, two in front, and two behind; and so
^o^? arranged as to firmly grasp the branches and
tgf trunks of trees. Among our common birds of
this sort are woodpeckers and cuckoos ; but in
warmer parts, many other varieties are found com-
prising the parrots and all their kindred.

CLIMBING BIRDS. 59

The Woodpecker is finely adapted to the habits of
its allotted life, which are in many respects peculiar.
The busy little bird may readily be observed about
our woods and orchards, plying its avocation with
enthusiastic ardor. Its principal food consists of
insects and their larvae, in search of which it goes
from tree to tree, examining every crevice in wood
or bark, and occasionally sounding the tree by re-
peated blows from its stout bill to ascertain if the
trunk be in any part unsound; in which case, it
would most probably secrete insects. The bird easily
cuts holes in tree and post to reach its prey; its
tongue is very long and barbed at the tip, and by
its aid the bird readily secures any insect within
reach. This interesting little creature also bores in
wood to form secure places for its nest. In many
places, the woodpecker has been cruelly treated,
under the mistaken notion that it is injurious to
trees. On the contrary it is of very great benefit in
the orchard and the forest, by ridding the trees of
destructive insects in great numbers. The wood-
pecker never bores a sound limb; insects do not hide
in any but dead wood, and stories about the bird's
injurious carpentry are unconfirmed. As already
stated, the cuckoo belongs also to the class of climb-
ing birds ; many of the peculiar habits of the
European cuckoo have been already dwelt upon at
some length.

Parrots are to be found native only in the warmer
parts of the earth, where they live amid the sur-
roundings of a perpetual summer; but they are com-

60 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

mon in a state of captivity nearly all over the world.
Only one species, the Carolina Parrot of the South-
ern states, not larger than a dove, is to be met with
in our country.

All parrots are characterized by a stout, thick bill,
the upper mandible of which far overlaps the lower
so as to form a hooked beak, which proves of as
much use in climbing and grasping small objects as
the claws. The colors of some species are most
gaudy and gay; all the tints of the heavenly bow
seem to have been appropriated to adorn their
dress. They are proud, too, of their flashy
apparel, and take great pains to preserve their finery
in an unsullied state. Bathing is a delight, aud in
the warm weather, they splash about in the water,
with keen enjoyment. Then they smooth and stroke
their plumage, till every fibre is laid aright.

Parrots are especially remarkable, on account of
their varied powers of voice. They readily learn to
pronounce distinctly, any word or sentence they may
hear; and frequently, they imitate familiar voices, so
perfectly, as to deceive even intimate acquaintances.
They may be taught to speak in any ordinary voice,
to shout, to sing, and to laugh, with all the per-
fection of a trained actor In consequence of such
extraordiuarypDwers, parrots have been widely adopted
as pets, and many an I strange are the stories told of
their loquacity. It is not to be supposed, however,
that these birds partake of the spirit of true
lauguage, so as to form new and independent sen-
tences themselves, from the words they have heard.

CLIMBING BIRDS. 61

They learn to imitate known sounds and to repeat
what they hear; frequently, also, gaining an idea of
the meaning, from the actions that accompany the
speech; but this is only a highly developed act of
imitation. Articulate speech, that is, language con-
sisting of separate sentences and definite words,
seems to be a gift to the human family alone. All
birds and beasts, it is true, possess some system of
communication between themselves, which, indeed,
we may call their language; but this consists usually
of disconnected sounds, and inarticulate cries, often
associated with expressive gestures, serving, however,
the purposes of their sphere of thought and action,
as fully and as well as does the heaven-born speech
of man fit him for his mode of being. The language
of man differs from that of the animal creation, over
which he rules, in kind, as well as in mere degree of
perfection; and his speech is as far above theirs, as
are his spirit and his mind superior to them. Parrots,
however, and some few other birds, learn to repro-
duce the words .of man, oftentimes with strange
effect.

The author knew a fine gray parrot once, which
had been taught to stretch out her foot when told so
to do, and each time she did this her master rewarded
her with a piece of sugar. She heard him say, "Polly,
hold out your claw," so often that at length she
learned to repeat the words in a very perfect imita-
tion of his voice and manner. Frequently she would
call out herself, "Polly, hold out your claw;" and at
such times she would invariably stretch out her foot,

62 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

as if someone else had told her to, and then she would
appear extremely disappointed because the sugar was
not forthcoming. The bird seemed not to recognize
the difference between her own voice and that of a
person by her. Her performance then was purely an
act of imitation.

I remember making the acquaintance of another
parrot under somewhat peculiar circumstances.
Calling once at a gentleman's house on business, I
was left alone for a time in the sitting-room — at
least I thought I was alone; but soon I was very
much surprised to hear in a pleasing time the words,
"Please scratch my head." Looking around with
no common interest to discover the person asking
such an unusual accommodation at the hands of a
stranger, I saw, in a corner of the room, a large cage
containing a magnificent green parrot. As I ap-
proached the cage, the pretty prisoner repeated the
request and in exactly the same tones of voice, at
the same time bending her poll forward so that I
could reach it easily through the bars. I complied,
of course, rubbing her head for some time; in which
process she seemed to take considerable delight, and
at the conclusion, in a very distinct and pleasant
manner she said, "Thank you, sir." I was inquisitive
enough to ask the owner of the bird how she had
acquired such an education. He told me, that finding
the parrot enjoyed having her head rubbed, he made
it a rule to do this for her every day, invariably
repeating before beginning the process, "Please
scratch my head," and at the" conclusion always

CLIMBING BIRDS. 63

saying "Thank you, sir," till the bird picked up the
words and used them for herself.*

The many truly interesting species of macaws,
parrakeets, love-birds and cockatoos, which we are
always sure to find in any traveling menagerie, are
all varieties of the parrot tribe.

Before forsaking our present subject of climbing
birds, we must mention the truly wonderful Toucan
of the South American forests. It has an enormous
bill, almost as large as a boy's wrist, while the body
of the bird is but little bigger than that of a tame
pigeon. Though apparently clumsy, this wonderful
beak is in reality very light, being of a spongy or
honey-combed structure, and the bird seems to take
great care of it — carefully hiding it in the feathers
of its wing and breast when at roost, at the same
time also curving its long tail over the back, and
thus disposing of the two lengthened appendages, so
that its whole body appears compact and inconspicu-

* Goldsmith tells a story about a parrot owned by King
Henry VIII of England. This bird was usually confined
in a room overlooking the river Thames, in which abode it
had learned many phrases from the boatmen and others
passing on the river. One day it fell from the window
into the river, when it cried with a powerful voice; "A
boat! a boat! twenty pounds to save me." A man on the
bank, hearing the cry, and thinking some one was drown-
ing, sprang into the water without delay, and was con-
siderably surprised to find it was only a bird. Recognizing
the king's pet, he carried it to the royal palace and claimed
the reward promised by the bird when in distress. We
are assured by the narrator that when the circumstance
was related to the king, he laughed heartily and paid the
money with a good grace.

64 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

ous. The tongue of this bird is long, straight and
barbed on each side like a stiff feather. From this
peculiarity the people of Brazil, where the bird is
often found, gave it the name it bears. In their
language toucan means "feather."

The toucan feeds mostly on insects and soft fruits,
in eating which it tosses its head back so that the
food falls of itself into the throat, appearing at first
sight as if the bird really threw the morsel into the
air and caught it again.

%

CHAPTER XII.

SCRATCHING BIRDS.

,*ANY birds seem to be adapted mostly for a
(yj® life on the ground. Such are the doves,
pigeons, farm -yard fowls, turkeys, prairie-
chicken, etc. ; all of them feeding mostly on
seeds and grains. From their habits when searching
for food they are called scratching birds. These are
to man among the most useful of birds, furnishing
him with some of his daintiest foods.

But few of this class are adapted for long continued
flight; but to this a notable exception is found in the
Wild Pigeons, which are really among the strongest
and swiftest of flyers. Audubon, the great Ornith-
ologist (one who studies birds) states that he has
killed pigeons in the vicinity of New York City,
having their crops still full of rice which must have

SCRATCHING BIRDS. 65

been gathered on the fields of Georgia and South
Carolina — places from six hundred to seven hundred
miles away. As it has been proved that the digestive
organs of a pigeon will decompose a grain of rice in
less than twelve hours, these birds must have
traveled that distance with the speed of a fast
express train. A mile a minute is said to be common
flight for such birds. Wild pigeons live together in
large numbers, and frequently migrate in a body
when the supply of food runs short. A flock of such
travelers on the wing is an imposing sight. The
light of the sun at such times is obscured, as if a
solar eclipse were in progress, and the sound of their
wings can be compared only to the rush of a tornado.
When they alight, they frequently pile upon each
other to a considrable height, and the whole region
is speedily cleared of everything edible to them;
while their weight frequently breaks down the trees
upon which they seek to rest. The same authority
already referred to, Audubon, estimated that a single
flock of these birds which he viewed in flight, com-
prised about eleven hundred and fifteen millions;
and that the food required for such a host would be
nearly nine millions of bushels per day.

Pigeons have been domesticated by man for many
years; and at present a very great number of varie-
ties are known. The Carrier Pigeon has proved
itself of great service in bearing messages from place
to place; and especially was this benefit felt before
the invention of the electric telegraph. Knowing
that these birds would always go straight to their

66 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

homes when liberated at a distance, travelers used to
take several with them on their journeys; and after
having fastened a small note to a carrier's wing or
foot, would set the bird free. It would be seen im-
mediately to rise in the air, and, having made several
circular sweeps as if to ascertain the direction of its
home, it would dart off on a straight line for its des-
tination almost with an arrow's flight. Carrier
pigeons have been known to make an exceptional
speed of over one hundred miles in an hour, such,
however, could not be continued for any considerable
length of time.

The Domestic Fowl, another familiar example
among the scratchers, and fully deserving of the class
title, becomes readily attached to its home. These
birds are poorly fitted for flight, and seldom attempt
to rise in the air, except as a recourse of safety in
time of danger, or to reach some elevated place to
crow or to roost. At such times they seem so
awkward in their attempts, and accompany the effort
with such a noisy cackling and fuss, that one must
think them engaged in an unusual undertaking. The
male fowl, called the cock or rooster, is a magnifi-
cent bird, carryiug himself with a dignity scarcely to
be surpassed; but he is an aristocratic ruler, if not
indeed a tyrant at times, in his dominion, and so
jealous is he of his authority and rights, that the in-
troduction of another rooster within his kingdom is
a signal for battle: this will be continued between
the rivals until one is vanquished. After the victory
is decided, the defeated hero scarcely ever ventures

RUNNING BIRDS. 67

to meet the victor in combat again, usually fleeing
even upon his approach. The fighting propensities
of these birds used to be taken cruel advantage
of to furnish barbarous sport for depraved people.
The trained birds, pitted against each other, would
usually fight to the death, in a determined manner,
with both beak and spur. The spur can be seen on
the back of the rooster's leg, just above the toes; it
is a stout and sharp projection of a horny nature,
and the owner knows how to use it to good advan-
tage.

The flesh and the eggs of tame fowl are highly
prized as food, and man bestows great care and makes
ample profit in their breeding. As w7ith all other
domestic animals, chickens must be kept among clean
surroundings if they are to be healthy in body and
wholesome for food. Too often, however, their coops
are allowed to become filthy, and in consequence the
birds sicken and die.

RUNNING BIRDS.

There are some birds that live naturally upon the
ground, being entirely devoid of the power of flight.
Such is the case with the ostrich and its relatives,
in all of which the wings are so small that they are
entirely useless as organs of flight, whereas the legs
are extremely stout. These have been called by
naturalists, Running Birds.

The true Ostrich is found native in Africa, and
occasionally on the plains of Arabia. It is the
tallest of all birds, frequently attaining a height of
six feet, and sometimes even eight feet; and weighing

68 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

upwards of a hundred pounds. It is the swiftest of
all animals. A hunter mounted on the fleetest horse
could not overtake the bird in a line of direct pur-
suit; but the ostrich always runs in a curve, and the
pursuer follows along a straight line in the same
main direction so as to intercept the creature along
its course. Dr. Livingstone says: "The legs of an
ostrich running at full speed can no more be seen
than the spokes in the wheel of a vehicle drawn at a
gallop."

Various artifices are resorted to in hunting the
ostrich. Beside the method of chase and capture
already described, the hunter sometimes hides himself
in a hole in the sand, near the bird's nest. He takes
his position while the owners of the nest are away in
search of food, and usually succeeds in killing both
the male and female birds when they return. Among
the negroes, some hunters dress themselves in ostrich
skins and in this disguise are able to approach the
birds within bow shot. The ostrich is hunted mainly
for its plumage. If taken young it may be tamed
and even trained to carry burden. The negroes in
Africa ride this bird as we do the horse.

The ostrich has a voracious appetite, though
capable of enduring hunger and thirst for long
periods. It swallows at times, gravel, and even
large pebbles, and other hard substances probably to
aid in grinding its food, as fowls swallow sand. Its
senses of taste and smell seem extremely imperfect,
and this renders the creature less particular than it
would otherwise be, as to the things it swallows.

PERCHING BIRDS. 69

The Rhea is a running bird of South America,
and from its general form, is frequently called the
"American ostrich." It is usually not more than half
the size of its African brother.

Besides the peculiarities of structure before
noted, as fitting these birds for life on the ground,
instead of in the air, the plumage of the Runners
must be mentioned. The blades of the feathers are
not joined compactly, by means of barbs, as in the
case of flying birds. The wings are not used in
beating the air, and there is no need of a continuous
feather- vane ; in such feathers, therefore, barbs would
be useless, and consequently they are not provided.

CHAPTER XIII.

PERCHING BIRDS.

jjSKSJIRDS that habitually build and dwell in trees,
qgjjs^ and that do not belong to the other orders
n£$j? already named are called Perching Birds. The
~6L class is so large, presenting such great varia-
tions and wide extremes that it is difficult, if not
indeed impossible, to give any distinctive features of
the whole tribe. We find included here most of the
common birds of our orchards and fields, the happy
songsters whose pleasing. music imparts such a charm
to both hill and valley, as well as others whose voices
are by no means entrancing to the ordinary ear.

In this respect let it be noted that the gifts of
Nature, even among birds, are distributed upon a plan

70 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

of equity if not indeed of exact equality. Favorites
are difficult to find. The Father's preserving care
and kind concern is exercised over all alike. The
birds most famed for song are generally dressed in
the plainest garb. Look at the lark, the mocking-
bird, the nightingale and the thrush — they all are
clothed in simple unostentatious colors, though they
charm the hours of sunrise, and even rob midnight
of its dreariness by their songs; then glance at the
humming-bird bedecked in its robes of crimson and
of gold, but with no power of voice above a chirp;
and at the elegant bird of paradise — so proud of its
gaudy attire that it will not touch earth with its
feet unless of necessity — then listen to its compar-
atively inharmonious notes; think too of the gorgeous
peacock with the eyes of Argus upon its train, but
no nearer approach to a song than a discordant
scream. Thus it is among birds as among men, the
endowments of Nature are not all bestowed on one.
The eagle excels in majestic strength, the nightin-
gale in soul-inspiring notes; the pigeon and the
swallow tax our belief in their feats of endurance
and speed; the paradise bird has gained its name
out of our homage to its almost heavenly lustre. So
it is that each surpasses all in the special gift to
which he is the lawful heir, everyone superior and at
once inferior to all others, and —

"Thus all enjoy the power which suits them best."
Here also is a lesson for us.

Among the Perchers, belongs the Humming Bird,
the tiniest of all the feathered tribes — the flying

PERCHING BIRDS. 71

gem, as it is called. There are many species of these
remarkable little creatures, though all native to the
American Continent. The gayest in color are to be
found in the warmer countries. Their long beak
and flexible tongue, are admirably fitted for draining
the honey cups of flowers — and such dainty food
forms their chief support; though, indeed, they relish
a meal of insects, occasionally. But it is the sad
fate of these fairy-like creatures, to suffer for their
beauty. The humming birds are eagerly caught to
adorn the dress of those who aspire to a beauty not
their own. The sacrifice of such innocent lives, for
the cruel requirements of fashion, is both unnatural
and wicked. Who sees aught of true beauty in the
stuffed body of a bird, sewn on a head-gear? Are
not the observer's feelings of sympathy and pity
aroused to the exclusion of admiration; except,
indeed, for the dead glories of the tiny creature?
True beauty and proper taste are opposed to cruelty
in any form; and will never countenance such bar-
barous practices, as are here referred to, by any act
of encouragement.

The Mocking Bird, though common only in the
Southern States, is a bird whose praises every Amer-
ican is proud to spread. It is in reality a member of
the great family of thrushes. In size, it is about
that of the meadow lark, of a dull ashy color, with a
long tail; but in no manner remarkable either for
brilliancy of plumage or beauty of form. It is a
matter of surprise that such powers of song are
concentrated within its little throat. But its music

72 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

is beyond description; it will never be forgotten by
one who has once listened to those notes with all
their wealth of inexpressible melody. It has a won-
derful faculty too of imitating the voices of other birds
or even quadrupeds; and this feat it accomplishes
with such perfection as to deceive the animals them-
selves, who move about with evident coucern thinking,
they heard the call of their mates. The Indians call
the mocking-bird the "bird of four hundred tongues."
Many of its admirers declare its voice to be superior
even to that of the far-famed nightingale.

The class of birds known as the Perchers include
also the numerous varieties of night-hawks, king-
fishers, fly-catchers, warblers, thrushes, sparrows,
larks, black-birds, crows, jays and many others.

WATER BIRDS.

In our mention of the chief classes of birds, we
must not fail to speak of the Water Birds, both
Waders and Swimmers.

The former are provided with very long legs; so
long in fact, that some naturalists call them stilt-
walkers. Through this peculiarity of their shape,
they are able to wrade into the water in search of
food, consisting of worms, fish, or in fact any small
aquatic animals. Herons, cranes, bitterns, snipes
and plovers are common around our lakes and big
streams. The largest ones are very dignified and
imposing in their bearing. The snipes and plovers
(the latter sometimes called "pee-wits" from the
peculiar cry which they utter when disturbed) are
the only ones commonly used for food.

WATER BIRDS. 73

The swimmers, including our common ducks, geese,
swans, pelicans, divers and gulls are fitted for life in
the water. They all have webbed feet, and swim
and dive with skill. Their plumage is heavy and
thick, and is kept well oiled from certain glands of
the skin, so that their feathers are not saturated and
their bodies moistened by the water. Every thing
is arranged, it seems, to cause the water to slide
off the polished surface of the outer feathers, while
the thick undergrowth of down furnishes an admir-
able protection even from the severe cold of winter.
None of these birds build very complicated nests;
being usually content with a simple hollow among
the rushes, always lined and carpeted however with
the softest down, often obtained from their own
breasts. The celebrated eider-down, of which the
most expensive pillows and beds are made, is procured
from the nest of a northern species of duck called
the eider-duck.

Many swimming birds are able to remain under
water for a surprising length of time; while others,
as the tern and gull, do not dive at all. The family of
the last named, the Gulls, are of peculiar and
affecting interest to the inhabitants of this Terri-
tory; from the way in which they were brought by
Divine power, in vast hosts in answer to the prayers
of the people, to devour the ravenous locusts, which
were producing such terrible destruction among the
crops. Gulls have shown themselves to be veritable
scavengers; and the good they accomplish by this
propensity is extremely great.

74 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

CHAPTER XIV.

REPTILES.

s

i^HE word Reptile is derived from a Latin term
%2/Sl meaning "to creep," or "to crawl," and is
applied to a large class of cold-blooded animals
characterized by such actions. Some of them,
it is true, have limbs, but these are so short that part
of the body is drawn on the earth. Turtles, lizards
and serpents constitute our commonest classes of
reptiles, and to these should be added the crocodiles
and alligators, which though practically unknown in
a wild state among us are unpleasantly common in
the warm regions of both hemispheres.

Turtles or Tortoises are reptiles of a flat sprawling-
form, but particularly noted for their strange
covering. This consists of a shell of bony and horny
matter, made up of two parts, an arched roof- like
upper part called the carapace; and a flat plate
below called the plastron. The carapace, though
composed largely of bone, is covered on the outside
by a great many plates or scales of horn, fitted one
to the other as accurately as are the ornamental
tiles in a figured floor; and frequently of very varied
colors. It is from this that the highly prized tortoise-
shell ornaments are made. In most of the species,
the two parts of the shell are immovably fixed to
each other; the animal being able however to with-
draw the head and limbs completely within as a plan
of defense in case of threatened injury. But the

REPTILES. 75

Box Tortoise has a movable plastron or lower plate
fixed to its hard covering, by which it so effectually
closes its shell, that a knife-blade can scarcely be
forced into the joints.

Fig. 11. — Box Tortoise, with closed shell.

Figure 1 1 is a very good picture of the box
tortoise, with its shell closed, as has been described,
and lying upon its back. The tightly-fitting plas-
tron is well shown, and the curiously-marked sections
of which it consists, are very distinct. Dead and
empty shells of these reptiles, are often used as
boxes and trays. The senses of these creatures,
seem, as a rule, to be extremely dull; and many
injuries that usually prove fatal to the water-blooded
animals, are borne by them with but few signs of
discomfiture. They are said to live, under favorable
circumstances, more than two hundred years. Many
varieties of tortoises are known, of which, the land
tortoises, fresh -water tortoises (the last named more
precisely called turtles), are the chief.

From a hasty glance, it would seem impossible for
an animal so heavily laden as the tortoise, with its
cumbrous shell, to move at all readily, on land

76 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

or in water; but, contrary to such superficial appear-
ance, those tortoises that frequent the water, are
expert swimmers and divers; the whole internal
structure being an admirable adaptation to such
actions. The lungs are connected with numerous
air-cells, looking much like small bladders, and
situated in many parts of the body; so that when
the creature inhales, all these air-bags become in-
flated, and the whole body is made specifically light.

Land tortoises, though seldom larger than a
dinner-plate, and usually very much smaller in
temperate countries, grow to great size in warm
parts; some specimens weighing over two hundred
pounds each. They live almost exclusively on vege-
table food. The flesh of some kinds of land tortoises
is eaten and considered a luxury; the animals
being fattened for the purpose as we would feed a
fowl or a tame duck for the table. Fresh-water tor-
toises are to be found in the marshes and rivers of
heated regions. Their feet differ from those of
land tortoises in being webbed, thus enabling the
animals to swim easily. They are in general car-
nivorous in habit, feeding largely on fish, frogs and
toads, small birds and insects.

The Snapping Turtle of many American rivers is
represented in Figure 12 and deserves special men-
tion. It is larger than other fresh-water species,
measuring over three feet, and in exceptional cases
four feet from the tip of the nose to the end of the
tail. The head of this turtle is comparatively large
and is terminated by a pair of strong hooked jaws,

REPTILES. 77

which it can fasten with wonderful strength upon an
enemy in case of molestation.

Fig. 12.— The River Tortoise, or "Snapping Turtle."
Sea Turtles are in general very large. Their feet
are shaped like fins or flippers, which are admirable
organs of locomotion in the water, but give to the
animal a very awkward appearance when it tries to
make progress on land. These appendages, however,
are of great service in scooping holes in the sand on
the shore, in which to deposit its eggs. When laid,
these eggs are carefully covered with sand and then
abandoned, the heat of the sun being sufficient to
effect the incubation.

Although turtles are strong for their size, some of
the largest being indeed possessed of a muscular
vigor little less than marvelous, yet they are entirely
helpless when turned on their backs. Hunters take
advantage of this in capturing large sea turtles,
by rushing suddenly upon the creatures when on the
shore, and turning them over before they are able to
regain the water. After having disabled as many as
possible in this novel way, the captors return and
kill their game at leisure.

78 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

CHAPTER XV.

SNAKES.

jjjgajNAKES are characterized by very long bodies,
SSI covered with scales, but without external
limbs of any sort. Even a hasty examination,
however, shows their scales to be materially
different from those of fishes, being formed really as
wrinkles or folds in the skin, and covered with a thin
delicate membrane, which is sloughed or shed at in-
tervals, once a year, or oftener. Though devoid of
limbs, snakes are able to move over the ground with
great rapidity by a sliding or telescoping action of
the scaly rings around their bodies. Their teeth are
sharp and well fitted for holding their prey; for such
purpose, indeed, the teeth are intended to serve, rather
than as organs of mastication, as serpents swallow
their food whole. The mouth and throat are capable
of distension, in consequence of which, a snake is
often known to swallow animals many times larger
than itself. Some of the largest of snakes, such as
the boa constrictor and anaconda reach a length of
thirty or forty feet. As a proof of their great mus-
cular strength, it needs only be stated that either of
them can easily crush the bones of a sheep or a deer
by the embrace of its powerful coils.

The ordinary black, striped and water snakes of
America are harmless in their bite, though usually
held in great dread. Their chief food consists of
small animals such as mice and rats, frogs, toads,

SNAKES. 79

and birds, which seem to be overcome with fear at
the presence of a snake, and so become a ready prey
to the devourer.

The rattlesnake on the other hand is of so venom-
ous a character that its bite is commonly fatal to
large animals, and even to man.

An examination of figure 13 will aid in gaining a
clear idea as to the manner in which the poisonous
bite is inflicted.

Fig. 13.— Rattlesnake's skull, showing the fangs.

In the upper jaw are two fangs or curved teeth
which are hollow, and connected with a little sac or
pouch containing the deadly poison. This is injected
into the wound made by the two fangs whenever the
animal bites.

The rattlesnake derives its name from a series of
hard, horn-like rings on the tail, with which the rep-
tile produces a peculiar rattling noise whenever dis-
turbed. Were it not for this warning sound, the ani-
mal would be even more dreaded than it is. In
color it is usually two shades, of brown with points
of yellow. The arrangement of the rattles, as well as

80

FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

the general shape and appearance of the rattlesnake
may be fairly understood from figure 14.

The poison from any venomous serpent seems of
little effect unless introduced into the blood of the
body, which of course is the case whenever a bite

from such a snake
is received on the
flesh; and in these
emergencies, quick
and efficient meas-
ures should be tak-
en. If possible,let the
wound be promptly
and vigorously suck-
ed; there is no dan-
ger of injury from
drawing the venom
into the mouth, un-
less sores or abra-
sions exist on the

lips or within. The
; Fig. 14. — Rattlesnake. j i u i

wound should also

be enlarged by a cut from a sharp knife — unless, of
course, located where such surgery would be danger-
ous. If the bite be on a limb, a tight ligature should
be bound on the side of the wound toward the heart
so as to prevent as much as possible the spread of the
poison through the medium of the circulating blood.
The injured part may with great advantage be
washed with hartshorn, or ammonia, previously
diluted with twenty times its bulk of water; and

REPTILES. 81

with alcohol. Small quantities of alcoholic liquor
may very properly be taken inwardly at such time:
but the common belief that the injured person's
chances of recovery are in direct proportion to the
amount of liquor drunk by him, is erroneous.

Lizards are reptiles, usually possessing a long,
slender body and tail, and a comparatively large
mouth, well filled with teeth. Many pretty and
harmless creatures of this class are found in our Utah
valleys, but none of a venomous kind. In tropical
lands, lizards are met with, whose bite is dangerous

The Horned Toad, of the Western plains, is a
true lizard, the name toad, being a great misnomer;
though its broad and comparatively short boby, is
an exception to the ordinary shape of lizards. The
head is provided with spines and the body is covered
with tubercles, suggesting the character of a mail-
clad reptilian knight; this armor, however, is about
its only means of protection. It is a timid, harmless
little creature; and in the warm, Southwestern States,
is tamed as a house pet. A very slight degree of
cold causes it to become torpid and inactive.

Chameleons are peculiar and interesting lizards
found only in the warm portions of the Old World,
and possessing a number of strange distinctive
features. The tongue is really a long tube, with an
enlargement on the end, and can be darted out with
unlooked-for rapidity, if a small insect comes within
its reach. The chameleon's eyes can be moved inde-
pendently of each other— a strange feature, and one
that imparts to the animal a most remarkable appear-

82: FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

aace at times. Then its tail is prehensile, that is, it
can be used for grasping and holding branches of
trees — and this is an unusual power among reptiles.
The skin does not adhere to the body in all parts;
spaces are left into which air at times enters,
causing the skin to expand, and the whole body to
appear enormously inflated; perhaps in less than a
minute following one of such actions, the air cells
are emptied, and the animal appears curiously lean
and shrunken. In addition to these peculiarities,
the creature is able to modify the color of its skin by
expanding or contracting certain pigment cells situ-
ated just below the cuticle or outer layer of the skin,
by which means the chameleon assumes the tint of
the tree or ground upon which it happens to be, and
so is in far less danger of detection by its enemies

The largest members of the whole lizard tribe, often
reaching a length of thirty feet, are the dreaded Croco-
diles of Africa and India; then follow in order the
somewhat smaller Alligators of the Southern States
of America. The crocodile infests the rivers and sea
shores, and surpasses even the fiercest of carnivorous
mammalia in its powers of destruction. Its favorite
method of attack is to remain concealed on or near
the river shore till some animal or man draws near;
then by a swift movement of its powerful tail the
victim is stunned, and if not at once thrown into the
water by the force of the blow, is seized and dragged
beneath the surface, there drowned and devoured at
the pleasure of its captor.

The alligators of America, though smaller than

REPTILES. 83

their African relatives, are yet deservedly dreaded
in their native swamps. As winter approaches, the
alligators usually bury themselves in the mud, on
the margins of their summer homes, and there sleep
till the warmth of spring awakens them to a life of
cruel rapacity. Travelers relate the thrilling concern
with which they have sometimes viewed the heaving
and swelling of a baked mud patch in the early
part of the year; at such a sight they usually seek
a place of safety without idle delay, knowing well
that a hungry alligator is there throwing off the covers
of its winter bed and getting ready for breakfast.

The Indians of the south usually capture the
alligator by baiting a huge hook with meat, then
securing 'it to a long stout rope, and placing it in a
promising locality. When hooked, the huge game
is soon drawn ashore and despatched with clubs. A
method more ingenious and effective is practised oif
the banks of the Orinoco iu South America. A
bamboo, or some other elastic tree near the water is
selected, the top is then bent down to the butt, and
a baited hook is attached to the depressed top
by a stout line. The tree is so arranged that
its top is automatically released the instant a strain
is felt upon the line; and consequently as soon as
the alligator seizes the bait the tree forthwith
straightens itself with great velocity and the victim
is dragged from the water.

Alligators seem to hold dogs in high favor as food,
and it is said the voracious creatures may be enticed
from the water by the real or imitated bark of a dog.

84 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

CHAPTER XVI.

FROGS AND TOADS.

@j5jHESE strange creatures undergo such wonder-
ful changes in the course of their life, that
there is very little resemblance between the
young and the adult. Their eggs may be seen
during the early spring floating in the water of
ditches and ponds, and looking like numerous black
specks enclosed in a mass of jelly; those of the frog
existing in large clusters, while the toad eggs are
joined in long glutinous strings. Under the warm
rays of the sun, these soon develop into small living
structures, each looking much like a very little fish,
with a disproportionate head and a flattened tail.
These are called Tadpoles or Polly wogs. They live
wholly in the water, are entirely destitute of limbs,
and breathe by means of gills, as do fishes. These
gills are seen as little feathery appendages on the
sides of the head. In this stage of their existence
they are extremely active, and grow with great
rapidity; but soon, changes far more striking than
mere increase in size manifest themselves. The legs
are seen to grow, the hind ones appearing first. As
these appendages become larger, the tail diminishes
in size, and finally is entirely absorbed: the gills at
the same time disappear, and to supply their place
lungs are developed within the body. All traces of
the fish-like tadpole are soon obliterated, and the
mature toad or frog is the result. Originally a

FROGS AND TOADS.

85

thoroughly aquatic animal, it becomes in adult life
of an aerial or air-breathing nature, though it is
still able to remain for considerable time submerged
in water; it can only breathe, however, in the air.
In figure 15 are shown the principal stages in the
wonderful development of a frog or toad.

Fig. 15. — Tadpole changes.

Figure 1 6 represents the skeleton or bony frame-
work of the adult frog.

Frogs may be distin-
guished from toads by
their stronger hind legs,
their large horny ears
seen just behind the
eyes and the presence
of teeth in the upper
jaw. Both feed largely
Fig. 16.— Skeleton of a Frog. Up0n insects, and to
aid in capturing their winged prey the tongue is
made very long and supple, and fastened at the
front of the mouth, so .that the greater part
when inactive reaches down the throat. Yet the
animal can dart this forward with surprising quick-
ness and unerring accuracy upon any unlucky fly
that may venture within range. Unlike most cold-

86 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

blooded animals the frog and the toad are endowed
with powers of voice, and these too of no low order.
The croaking bull-frog of American waters may be
heard at the distance of a mile, in fact it has re-
ceived its impressive name from the low, bellowing
tone of its voice; while the gentle warbling chirp — it
can scarcely be called a croak — of the festive toads,
as they congregate in still ponds and quiet marshes
on a summer evening and indulge in their mutual
serenade, is known to all. Many people believe the
toad to be of a venomous nature, whereas it has no
means of wilfully injuring anything larger than a fly
or a moth. Of insects, however, it destroys great
numbers, and deserves therefore a more considerate
protection than is commonly awarded to it. The
toad's skin is frequently seen covered with drops of
moisture even though the creature be at a considera-
ble distance from water; this is a fluid which exudes
from the skin under certain conditions, very much as
does the perspiration of our own bodies. This fluid,
which appears in greatest quantity if the toad be an-
noyed or frightened, is really of an acrid irritating
nature and produces unpleasant and even severe
smarting if conveyed to one's hand through touch-
ing a toad, and thence to the eyes. A dog is often
seen to snap a toad in his mouth as if in a freak of
sport; but he usually drops his plaything with a yelp
of surprise, caused without doubt from the irritating
effect of this exudation, upon the delicate lining
membrane of the mouth.

During the winter frogs and toads hibernate in

FROGS AND TOADS. 87

large companies, having previously buried themselves
deep in the soft earth.

Frogs and toads, and several other animals that
pass through similar peculiar changes of growth are
called by naturalists amphibians, a word meaning
"with a double life," because they pass part of their
lives in water, breathing by means of gills as do the
fishes, and spend the other part of their existence on
land, breathing through lungs as do true reptiles or
any of the other animals of which we have thus far
spoken.*

Naturalists who have traveled and studied much,
tell us of many rare and peculiar forms of frogs and
toads to be found in various parts of the world
though not common with us here. There is a some-
what remarkable variety of the former called the
Tree Frog, common in many parts of the globe. It
is a smaller animal than the ordinary frog, and, as
its name indicates, lives mostly on trees. To properly
fit the animal for such a life, several wise provisions
have been made by the Creator. In the first place,
each toe of the tree frog is terminated by a small
pad, looking and operating much like the leathern

* In this class belong the different varieties of Newts of
which some are found hereabouts, and the curious Sal-
amanders regarding which so many strange and exagger-
ated stories are told. It is incorrectly said they can
remain in fire without injury; the only fact upon which
such a statement rests being that these animals are able
to cover themselves with a sort of milky fluid or perspira-
tion, which perhaps protects them in a small degree from
moderate heat.

88 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

suckers with which boys often amuse themselves.
These little cushions are covered with a sort of glue;
and by their action the animals cling tight to the
trunks or branches of trees. Then again these frogs
are of a singular color; — a sort of dull green, very
much resembling the hue of the leaves among which
they live and move. Such is an odd color for an
animal, but to the tree-frog such an oddity is a matter
of very great advantage, as by it the little creature
can lie among the leaves and branches with very
little danger of being discovered. But its sight is
just as keen as if it were of some bright and con-
trasting color. It can see therefore with little danger
of being seen, and is consequently able to lie safely
in wait for the insects which form its chief food.
Tree-frogs are capital trappers and hunters, and a
study of their ways is an interesting and deeply
instructive lesson. The voice of the tree-frog is
mellow and agreeable in comparison with that of
other species; it is heard chiefly in the cool of the
morning and evening.

Among toads there is a very strange individual
called the Pipa or Surinam Toad, found on this
continent only in some parts of Guiana and Brazil.
Unlike ordinary toads it has very small eyes, and no
tongue. But the distinguishing feature about this
queer creature is the manner in which its eggs are
hatched. Our common kinds of toads always deposit
their eggs in the water and then abandon them; but
not so with the Surinam Toad. The female takes
the eggs, as soon as laid, upon her back, where they

FISHES. 89

soon sink beneath the skin, forming each for itself a
little socket or hole. The heat of the body soon
hatches the eggs, and it is a funny sight to see the
young brood in their queer nests.

Ct

CHAPTER XVII.

FISHES.

8S?HE animals, about which we talked last, viz.,

19s the frogs and toads, and their kindred, were
seen to live part of the time in water and
part of the time on land. Fishes, however,
seem intended, by the Creator, to pass the whole of
their lives in water. Let us examine carefully, either
of our common stream fishes, such as a trout, a chub, or
a herring, and we will discover a great many valuable
facts about the curious lives these finny creatures
pass in their watery home.

In the first place, we cannot fail to observe the
slender form and regular shape of the fish. There
are no irregularities about it as are to be seen in
other animal bodies; not even a depression, where
the neck would seem to be. This spindle form
enables the fish to move more readily through the
water; any irregularity in shape, on the other hand,
would tend to retard the swimmer.

Men have learned this, among many other lessons,
from the animal world; they now build their marine
torpedoes, which are to be shot with great speed

90

FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

through the water — in a form very much like that of
an ordinary fish.

Now let us look at the sail-like appendages on the
back and sides of the body, the fins and the tail.
These serve the fish as means of propelling and
steering itself through the water; the tail operating
chiefly as a sculling-oar and the fins serving to
balance and direct the animal in its rapid course.
Then there are to be noticed the scales with which
most fishes are covered — so different from the hair,
fur, wool or feathers, which form the dress of most
land animals. These scales are inserted separately
in folds of the true skin beneath, and they are made
to overlap each other as do the shingles or slates on
a roof, the free edges all being directed backward.
The whole surface is covered with a slimy, oil-like
matter which is also effectual in aiding rapid motion
through the water.

Fig. 17.— Skeleton of a Fish. •

A fair idea of the plan after which the body of the
fish is shaped may be obtained from a careful study
of the skeleton as represented in figure 17.

From the fact that fishes naturally live in the

FISHES, 91

water throughout their whole existence, some people
think that they do not need air by which to breathe
as do other animals. But fishes offer no exception
to the rule; they, like other animals, must receive
air into their bodies, by which the blood is purified,
or they die. We all well know that if a land animal
such as a dog or a fowl, be closely confined in a box
or a small room, as soon as all the air contained
therein has been breathed and rendered impure,
the animal is suffocated to death. So with fishes; if
they be deprived of a free supply of fresh air, they
will suffer and die. Naturally, fishes breathe the air
contained in the water- in which they live. That
water does so contain air — entangled perhaps between
the liquid particles — may be readily proved by
watching an open vessel of water when placed over
the fire. In a very short time after heat is first
applied — long before the water has become heated so
as to produce steam, bubbles are seen to rise to the
surface and there break and escape. These bubbles
are portions of the air originally contained in the
water; and upon this supply the living inhabitants
of the liquid element subsist.

A very conclusive, though cruel experiment is
often performed to illustrate and prove this fact. If
a vessel of water be boiled so that all the air con-
tained in it is driven away and if then it be cooled
to the ordinary temperature, and a small fish intro-
duced into it, the little creature swims around as if in
agony for a short time, keeping its mouth close to
the surface seeking what little air it can reach, but

92 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

soon it becomes exhausted and dies. It has been
drowned in fact for want of air. It is true that fishes
do not need as much air as land animals do; the
water in which they live usually contains air suf-
ficient for their use. Instead of lungs, fishes have
peculiar organs called gills, so constructed as to
readily separate the air from the water; and this, the
lungs of animals are unable to do. These gills are
seen on the sides of the head, looking like small,
blood-red feathers, fixed to arches of bone; there are
usually four of them on each side, covered by a hard,
bony lid, called the gill-cover, or operculum. By
watching a fish quietly at rest in the water, we may
easily see how these peculiar organs are used. We
notice the little swimmer continually opening and
closing its mouth, and just as regularly, the gill-
covers are seen to rise and fall — in fact, water is
constantly being taken in through the mouth, and
driven out between the gills, from under the gill-
covers, thoroughly bathing the little feathery fringes
with a continuous supply of fresh water charged
with the life-giving air.

Through the filaments of the gills blood is con-
stantly flowing in very fine vessels or tubes; there
are so many of them that if looked at with a magni-
fying glass, the gills appear almost like bundles of
blood-vessels; it is the large quantity of blood in
these vessels that gives to the gills their bright red
color. While passing through the gills, the blood is
purified by the action of the air, and cleansed from
the many foul matters with which it had become

FISHES. 93

contaminated in its former courses through the body,
and is again started on its rounds to invigorate and
to strengthen. These fringe-like gills are kept apart
from each other by the action of the water passing
between them; but when a fish is taken from the
water the fringes fall together and become dry,
although supplied more plentifully than usual with
air. Some fishes can keep their gill-covers forcibly
closed for considerable time in the air, so that the
feathery gills beneath are kept moist; such fishes live
much longer than others out of water.

A fish weighs almost exactly the same as a quan-
tity of water equal in bulk to itself, consequently it
has no tendency through its weight alone either to
rise or fall in the wrater, and a very slight change is
sufficient to enable it to move easily up or down.
There is found inside the fish's body and near the
back bone a peculiar membranous sack called the
swimming-bladder, filled with air, and capable of
being contracted or enlarged at pleasure. When the
fish compresses this bladder by a muscular effort the
bulk is decreased, though the weight in reality
remains the same, and consequently the fish sinks.
On the other hand, if the fish removes the pressure
from the bladder of air so that it assumes a larger
size, the bulk of the fish is increased, whereas its
weight remains unchanged, and as a consequence the
animal rises toward the surface.

The eyes of fish are generally large and motion-
less and as they are kept constantly moist by the
water in which the animals live, there is no need

94 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

of protecting lids or lashes, nor of any apparatus to
produce tears, which are of such service in our own
eyes, by preventing the delicate coverings from
becoming dry. Only a thin transparent skin covers
the most delicate parts of the eye.

Most fishes are voracious feeders,* living mostly
upon the various kinds of aquatic animals inhabit-
ing the same water; indeed many of them feed on
fishes smaller than themselves, and do not always
hesitate to include their own young in their bill of
fare.

Most fishes have large mouths, containing several
rows of teeth; the tongue and palate are also very
frequently covered with teeth; while others, devoid
of teeth, habitually swallow their food whole.

Fishes are generally oviparous, that is to say they
are hatched from eggs previously deposited in the
water. Most of them are prolific to an astonishing
degree, a single salmon being known to lay some-
times twenty thousand eggs; a herring over sixty
thousand, and a cod-fish frequently deposits nine
millions of eggs. In contrast with this there are
some fishes that deposit but very few eggs; and here
is another illustration of Divine wisdom; the fishes

* "At a lecture delivered before the Zoological Society
of Dublin, Dr. Houston exhibited as 'a fair sample of a
fish's breakfast' a frog-fish two and a half feet long, in
the stomach of which was a codfish two feet in length.
The cod's stomach contained the bodies of two whitings
of ordinary size; and the whitings in their turn held the
half-digested remains of many smaller fishes, too much
broken up to be identified.

SOME PISHES. 95

most useful to man are of all the most abundantly
prolific, while the dangerous and injurious kinds
multiply but slowly.

CHAPTER XVIII.

SOME FISHES.

g£?0 ATTEMPT any sort of a description of the
different classes or kinds of fishes, is almost a
hopeless undertaking, from their wonderful and
surprising number. There are no less than
ten thousand kinds of fishes now known and in part
described. The ordinary fresh water fishes of our
rivers and lakes exhibit the features already pointed
out; but for species of almost incredible size and
strength, the finny denizens of the ocean must be
examined.

Many sea fishes, as for instance shad and salmon,
go up the rivers aud deposit their eggs in fresh water;
the young fry, however, soon seek the briny ele-
ment. Among salt water fishes, some are of migratory
or wandering habits, appearing off certain coasts
regularly at particular seasons. It is found to be a
fact also, that individual fishes frequently visit the
same place year after year. This interesting item
has been proved by fishermen taking fishes from the
uets, marking them and setting them at liberty again.
The same marked fishes have been re-caught year
after year.

96 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

Among ocean fishes, the Sharks are of great inter-
est. Sharks grow sometimes to a length of thirty
feet, and all varieties of them are extremely ferocious.
They are the tigers of the ocean, the dread and the
scourge of all other inhabitants of the deep. Their
covering is not scaly, but formed of a hard, tough,
leathery skin, and the bones are soft and gristle-like.
Such bones are said to be cartilaginous in structure.

The shark's mouth is comparatively large and filled
with numerous rows of sharp, lance-like teeth. These
readily attack men who may be swimming or diving
in the water, and are able to bite off a human leg
with ease at a single snap.

Though these savage monsters are doubtlessly in-
tended to be butchers and destroyers, the Creator
has wisely checked their facilities for unrestricted
slaughter. The shark's mouth is not at the end of
the nose as is the case with most fishes, but under-
neath the head — much as the mouth of a hog is situ-
ated. The shark therefore is unable to bite without
first turning over on its back; and while doing this,
its intended victims sometimes make good their
escape. *

* Many accounts of shark fishing have been given; and
the following is taken from one of our popular works on
zoology, the author of which quotes it from some unspeci-
fied source: — "I was holding the heavy hook and wire
rope over the side, when I felt that I had caught a big
fish, and pulling it cautiously, a shark came to the surface.
I called out, when the passengers ran to my help. He
struggled so violently, lashing the water with his tail and
trying to bite the hook asunder, that we were obliged to
keep dipping his head under the water and then haul him

SOME FISHES. 97

The Sword-fish often reaches a length of from
twelve to fifteen feet. It owes its celebrity and its
name to a peculiar elongation of its upper jaw into a
kind of dagger, called its sword, of surprising
strength. This it uses in transfixing its prey, and
some species have so powerful a sword, that they
have been known to drive it for a third of its length
through the copper-covered hull of a vessel. There
is preserved in the British Museum an interesting
specimen, it being a part of a ship's side with a sword
of a sword-fish thrust through.

The Saw-fish is appropriately named from the
notched or toothed prolongation of its jaw. This is
a formidable weapon, and the owner is not afraid to
attack with it any inhabitant of the sea; even the
gigantic whale not being exempt.

The Flying-fish, about which so many "fish
stories" have been told, is a brilliantly colored crea-

up two or three feet to let it run down his throat. At last
he was nearly drowned, when, sending a running bow-line
down the rope by which he was caught, and making it
taut under his back fin, we clapped it round the steam
winch, and turned the steam on. Some then hauled him
up while all available hands dragged at the other line,
which held his head. As soon as we got him on board he
broke off about three feet of the ship's bulwarks by a
single lash of his tremendous tail. This was then cut off
by the boatswain with a hatchet, while a dozen of us with
bowie-knives finished him. We found in his stomach six
large snakes, two empty quart bottles, two dozen lobsters,
and a sheep-skin with the horns and shank-bones, which
the cook had thrown overboard two days before. The
liver filled two large wash-deck tubs, and when tried out
gave us ten gallons of oil,"

98 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

ture with very broad pectoral or breast fins, so large
in fact, that when the animal swims with great
velocity to the surface of the water, these fins sus-
tain the impetus for a sufficient time to bear the fish
a considerable distance through the air. It cannot
flap the tins at all, neither change the direction of
its so-called "flight" when once in the air; and it
falls into the water again at the expiration of a short
time.

Then there is the so-called Fishing Frog, common
about the coasts of Europe and America. Its bead
is so large that the rest of the body looks much like
a mere appendage thereto. The wide mouth is lined
with long and sharp teeth. The front, or pectoral
fins are so large and spiny, that they support the
weight of the body when the creature rests upon
them; and this it often does, seeming really to walk,
or crawl along the bottom of the sea. All around
the head, and on some parts of its body are fringed
outgrowths, looking very much like the sea-weeds,
among which it usually lies concealed. Along the
top of the creature's head, in the median line, are
three long filaments, the first terminating in a kind
of drooping fringe. This is the fisher's bait; by
lying quiet in the weeds and causing its brightly-
colored filaments to wave back and forth, it readily
attracts the smaller fishes of the neighborhood, who
seem to be deceived by the bait, thinking it to be,
perhaps, a worm, or an insect; as soon as they are
within easy range, by a quick movement, they are
engulfed in the capacious gape.

INSECTS. 99

A very large fish family are knowu under the
name of Flat Fish. They usually lie while at rest
flat on one side at or near the bottom of the water;
but while swimming they take the usual vertical
position. The under side is light-colored, and the
upper surface dark — a provision of Nature shown also
in the case of other fish — by which they are difficult to
see from above or below, the dark upper side appear-
ing much of the same color as the bottom; and the
light under surface being scarcely visible from below.
In the case of the turbot — a common flat fish, the
eyes are both placed on the same side of the head.
When the fish rests upon its side, this is the position
of greatest service.

For the description of many interesting fishes, the
reader is recommended to any good work on Zoology.

CHAPTER XIX.

INSECTS.

[EXT to the joyous song of birds, there is per-
haps no sound more pleasing to the ear than
the merry buzz and cheerful hum of insects
abroad among the flowers, in the brilliant
summer time. They seem so happy in their darting
flight; stopping here to sip a tiny drop of nectar
from the lncern or clover flower; and yonder to pick
honey from the wild blossoms of the roadside: chas-
ing each other through the air with untrammeled

100 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

gaiety, and all the unconcern of romping schoolboys —
every day seems a holiday with them.

Yet oftentimes when we think that they are sport-
ing in the depths of fun they are in reality accom-
plishing the work of their lives; but they have
acquired the happy faculty of looking upon labor
with joy and of taking pleasure in their work. Here
is a lesson for us from the butterflies and the bees.

Most of these little' winged beauties seem deter-
mined to extract all the pleasure and joy that life
can lend, as if they realize that their time of exist-
ence is very brief.

Some of them live but a day in a full)'- developed
state; but before reaching that perfection they pass
through great and complicated changes, occupying
weeks and in the case of some insects even years.

A more wonderful series of changes than that
which is shown in the course of an insect's life, it is
difficult to imagine. There appears, for instance, but
little resemblance between the green caterpillar so
often seen crawling about the cabbages, amusing
itself by making sieves of the leaves, and the white
or yellow butterfly noticed a short time after; yet
the caterpillar is in truth the baby butterfly. It will
be worth the trouble to capture a few of these cater-
pillars, and keep them under observation during the
time of their growth, supplying them with plenty of
leaves upon which to feed.

The caterpillar is usually called the larva of the
insect — this word means literally a mask and is
applied in this way because the insect seems to be in

INSECTS. 101

a sort of disguise, the future appearance of the fully
developed insect not^being at all recognizable. Most
insects in the larval condition are prodigious feeders;
they seem to consider eating as the main object of
their existence; and in consequence many of them
prove pests and nuisances to man. Their growth
is so rapid that at very short intervals they find
themselves too big for their skin; whenever this
is the case, the skin is cast away, as one might discard
an outgrown coat, and another covering soon comes in
its place.

After several of such "moults" have occurred, the
larva seems to lose its appetite; it seeks some quiet
and sheltered place, under a leaf, or in a crevice of
a building or the bark of a tree, or perhaps it
buries itself in the earth, and there prepares for a long
sleep. This preparation consists in very carefully
constructing a sleeping apartment; it may be a woven
chamber of fine silk called the cocoon in which the
larva incloses itself — or perhaps the little creature
forms a cell in the earth or on a tree, and lines this
with its own fine-spim silk; in other cases it becomes
coated with a hard leathery shell, in which the out-
lines of the future insect, its wings, feet etc. can be
readily traced. In this case the little thing does not
look unlike a miniature baby trussed up in its swad-
ling clothes; and from such resemblance the insect
in this stage is called a pupa, from an ancient word
meaning an infant. Many of these pupae are to be
found in the spring lying on the newly plowed land
as they have been turned up by the plow from their

102 FIRST BOOK OF| NATURE.

underground sleeping quarters. But soon another
change follows; the pupa case, whether leathery shell
or silken cocoon, bursts open, and the winged insect
called the imago issues therefrom.

In figure nineteen are shown the larva and imago
of one of our common moths; and in figure twenty
may be seen the larva, pupa, and imago of the
mosquito.

Let us capture a butterfly or a moth, or in fact any
flying insect, and carefully look at its parts. A large
volume could well be written upon the wonderful
structure of an insect's body. Its head is seen to
bear two appendages looking something like horns;
these are smooth in the butterfly, jointed in the
beetle, and feathered or plume-like in the moth.
These peculiar organs are called antenna; and they
seem to serve important purposes in the insect's little
life. With them it feels, and perhaps also smells.
By their aid insects seem able to converse with one
another, and so perfect their understanding appears
to be that Huber, a great naturalist, has called this
system of communication antennal language. Watch
a couple oi ants from the same nest when they meet;
they approach and seem to tap each other with their
antennas in a very significant way, and apparently
with perfect success. It is not hard to imagine that
they are making a mutual report as tD the results of
the morning's hunt for food; or perhaps consulting as
to the best way home, or discussing the affairs of
their ant-world in general.

Look carefully now at the insect's eye — it is far

BEES AND WASPS. 103

different from the visual organs of most other ani-
mals. By the assistance of a magnifying glass we
shall doubtless discover a most remarkable arrange-
ment. Select for instance the large, prominent eye
of the dragon-fly for examination. It seems to
be made up of a great many brilliant little plates
placed edge to edge like the facets on the surface of
a cut diamond. Each of these facets or plates faces
in a different direction, so that although the insect's
eye is fixed and immovable in its place, yet by its
peculiar shape and setting the little creature is aWe
to see in nearly all directions. Such an eye is said
to be compound in distinction from the simple eye of
most other animals, which consists of but one ball
and face. In the ant's eye there are fifty such facets,
in the eye of the common house-fly over four thou-
sand, some butterflies possess upwards of seventeen
thousand, and many beetles show over twenty-five
thousand. We are not able to tell the range of in-
sect vision; some of the tiniest have to all appear-
ances powers of sight but poorly imitated by man
even with his wondrous microscopes.

CHAPTER XX.

BEES AND WASPS.

tfjsajEES and wasps, and all their relatives, are pro-

oSSi vided with thin, nearly transparent wings.

&£a Bees have a short body, covered with crisp,

3a) dark hair; the first joint of the hind legs is, in

comparison, very large, with grooves and channels

104 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

upon it, for collecting and carrying the pollen of
flowers. They are very industrious little creatures,
living generally in communities, in which, there
appears to be a most perfect system of organization.

A queen bee, is recognized in each colony; she is
the only perfectly developed female among them all;
and by her, all the eggs are produced. Beside the
queen, there are workers and drones, the latter,
being the male bees, and, for the most part, con-
summate idlers; they are stung to death by the
workers, without mercy, as soon as the pairing season
is over.

The honey-comb, which is manufactured by the
bees from the pollen of flowers, is built in the form
of numerous little rooms, or cells, each six-sided in
form, and all placed side by side, so that each divid-
ing partition is in fact a wall for two cells at once.
This is the shape by which all the waste room between
the cells is avoided, and at the same time the struct-
ure is the strongest imaginable, and the amount of
wax employed in the construction, is the smallest.

The division of labor within the hive, seems to be
most perfect; the workers laboring with such pre-
cision, that an ordinary swarm of bees can construct
upwards of four thousand comb-cells within twenty-
four hours. As soon as the cells are completed, the
working bees industriously gather the nectar and
sweet juices of flowers, and store the same as honey
within the comb. The value of this delicious
material, as one of our most wholesome sweets, is
known and appreciated by us all. It has always

BEES AND WASPS.

105

been held in high esteem; — Deseret, the honey-bee,
was carried by the Nephites of old, from place to place
in their wanderings, and gave the sweet fruits of its
industry for sustenance and enjoyment.

Humble Bees, or, as they are sometimes named,
Bumble Bees, are considerably larger than the
ordinary honey bees. They are of a wild nature,
preferring not to accept any of the provisions that
men may make for their residence, such as hives or
boxes; they usually build their nests under the
surface of tne ground, or beneath a large stone or
some such object.

Figure 18 shows the humble bee, natural size, and
its peculiarly-shaped honey cells.

The bees already
spoken of are some-
times called social
bees from their in-
stinctive association
in communities; but
beside such, there
are a number of bees
that lead a more se-
cluded life, each liv-
ing by itself; all such
are termed for dis-

Fig.18. — Humble Bee and its honey "

ceils. bees. Of these there

are some that build for themselves little cells, covered

with sand grains or small stones fastened together by

means of a sticky fluid formed in their mouths; these

106 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

are called Mason Bees. Then there are the truly
ingenious little Carpenter Bees, those that bore
holes in dry tree trunks and the like, in which they
deposit their eggs. In each of the cells so formed,
along with the eggs, they lay away a store of pollen
gathered from flowers, to serve as food for the larvae,
as soon as hatched from the eggs. And still another
kind are noted for their wonderful skill in shaping
cells from leaves; they cut and fashion these leaves
with all the precision of trained workers, and they
fully deserve their title of Upholsterer Bees.

Many kinds of Wasps show a remarkable dexterity
in the construction of their homes. They usually
build with a stout sort of paper which they produce
by first gnawing wood to a fine powder, and then
mixing it with the saliva to form a kind of pulp;
this dries and becomes very hard and tough in
the air. It is only during the last few years that
man has learned to follow the example so long set
by these humble insects — using of wood in paper-
making. From this tough material the "paper wasps"
build their cells, six-sided in form like the cells
of the honey-bee's comb. The wasps arrange their
cells within the nest in stories or floors of different
levels, each floor being suspended from the one
above it by stout rods of paper. Wasps build their
nests as homes for themselves and their young and
not for the storing of food. They do not gather or
eat honey as do bees, but feed on insects more
defenseless than themselves.

The Hornet is a large and fierce kind of wasp,

BEES AND WASPS. 107

which lives in a paper house constructed as before
described and usually hung from the branch of a
tree. Such nests frequently measure from one and
a half to two feet in diameter. The inmates are so
pugnacious in their dispositions, and so ready to
resent any intrusion on their domains, that one has
usually cause to regret his temerity in approaching
the paper mansion too closely.

The Mud Wasps construct with great skill and
precision small cylindrical cells of mud, the material
for which they temper and mix as carefully as a
brickmaker does his clay. These are used only as
depositories for the eggs and as nurseries for the
young. As soon as a cell is completed, the wasp
places an egg or two within, then fills the remaining
space with spiders or caterpillars or the like, and
seals up the opening. These imprisoned insects are
designed to serve as food for the larvae as soon as de-
veloped from the eggs; for these infantile wasps seem
to inherit and show from their birth the prodigious
appetites and ravenous dispositions of their parents.

The female insects of nearly all of the wasp and
bee families sting severely if angered. The sting of
the working bee is curved, so that when thrust into
the flesh of an animal it is held there; it is usually
therefore torn from the stinger's body and remains
in the wound. Such is not true of the stings be-
longing to the queen bee and the wasps, which are
straight and can be repeatedly used without serious
injury to the owner, but always with considerable
inconvenience to the unfortunate victim.

108 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

The sting is connected with a poison gland, from
which an irritating fluid issues and enters the
wound whenever the sting is used.

The effects are in all cases painful and in some
actually dangerous to health and life. In case of
such a sting, great relief may be gained from rub-
bing a little dilute ammonia (hartshorn as it is fre-
quently named) -over the affected part. If this be
not obtainable, a little soda dissolved in water may
be used. The poison from the sting is of an acid
character and any weak alkali will tend to neutralize
it and diminish the distressing effects.* Even mud,
if applied immediately after the injury, will afford
relief, owing to the action of the free alkali always
present, though in very small quantity, in the earth.

Most of us have perhaps observed at times a
number of small hard swellings on the leaves of such
plants as the oak, willow, or rose. These so-called
galls are produced through punctures in the leaves
made by insects very much like bees and wasps in
character, and known as Gall Flies. Let us cut
through some of these galls with a sharp knife;
within we[are apt to find either eggs or young gall-
flies; or perhaps a little hole through the side of the
gall, tells us that the tenant has already taken his
breakfast and left home. As soon as hatched the

♦Ordinary prudence will indicate the care to be used in
applying any remedy if the injury be near the eye or any
such delicate part of the body. In such a case, the appli-
cation may cause greater trouble than the original injury,
unless very feeble solutions are used.

ANTS, GRASSHOPPERS, BUTTERFLIES. 109

larva feeds vigorously on the soft, pulpy material of
the gall, which strange food seems to be of all kinds
best adapted to its nature. Nut-galls formed on oak
trees in tropical parts are used very extensively in
the manufacture of ink and other coloring matters,
and also in medicine.

CHAPTER XXI.

ANTS, GRASSHOPPERS AND BUTTERFLIES.

p^SSNTS are usually wingless for the greater part
of their lives; in fact they voluntarily tear
off their wings as soon as a place has been
selected for a permanent residence. Most of
them live underground, their houses being marked
by mounds of sand, or earth, or, even such loose
material as bits of sticks and the like. The
interior arrangement of the ant-dwelling shows
numerous chambers and halls, in which food is
stored, and the young are protected and reared.
These little creatures seem to live under a remark-
able system of organization and government. The
wise man of old gave good advice when he said:
"Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways
and be wise." Within the ant kingdom, labor is
divided, and each inhabitant follows the profession
for which it is best fitted; some of them are builders,
others hunters, and some do nothing else but fight;
these are soldiers by profession, and seemingly take
no part in ordinary labor and household duties.

110 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

Most ants are extremely fond of sweets; and we
may often find a score of red or black ants feasting on
a fallen pear or peach, if soft and ripe, provided there
is a crack in the rind. But they frequently seek to
satisfy their liking for sweet things in a more inter-
esting way. There is a remarkable little insect
called the Aphis or plant-louse, in size about that of
a large pin head, and usually of a greenish or black
color, often to be seen on the leaves of peach and
plum trees and many garden plants. These little
creatures have the power of forming within their
bodies a sweet fluid called honey-dew, and of this
the ants are extremely fond. Toward the plant-
lice they show the greatest respect, and the kindest
of treatment, often carrying them off bodily to their
nests, and there tending them with all the solicitous
care of a faithful herder watching his cattle. The
plant-lice have been called the ant's milch cows; and
these they keep in little pens or stables within their
nests, feeding and fattening them, and frequently
taking them out to pasture when the day is fine, and
returning them to their stalls at proper time. The
ants greedily devour the honey-dew as fast as pro-
duced; and frequently excite the flow of the juice by
stroking the aphides with their antennas, as a milker
presses the teats of the cow.

ABOUT GRASSHOPPERS AND LOCUSTS.

Grasshoppers and Locusts have many peculiarities
by which they are distinguished from other insects.
They do not pass through the complete changes
already spoken of, as common to insects generally,

ANTS, GRASSHOPPERS, BUTTERFLIES. HI

appearing first as larvae, then as pupae, and finally
as imagos or perfect insects.

As soon as hatched from the eggs, they exhibit a
ravenous appetite, and seem to retain it throughout
their lives. Ordinarily, we make little or no distinc-
tion in speaking of grasshoppers or locusts; but, for
the sake of precision, it should be known that the
insects we usually call grasshoppers, are, according to
the classification of entomologists, in reality, locusts.
The pretty little katy-did. with its delicate wings,
its pale green color, and its monotonous sound — from
which it gets its name — is a species of the true grass-
hopper. It is thought that the male katy-did, pro-
duces the characteristic sound, by rubbing together
a couple of stiff membranes, like drum -heads, situ-
ated at the base of the wings.

Locusts have larger bodies, shorter antenna}, and
much smaller limbs than grasshoppers. As is known
to us through the sad and painful experiences of our
early settlers in these parts, locusts prove a most
distressing scourge when present in great numbers.
They swarm at times so thick as to partially obscure
the sun's light in their flight. The land was "as the
Garden of Eden before them, and behind them as a
desolate wilderness." But terrible as their visitation
has proved itself in these mountain vales, they have
been miraculously removed through [the prayers of
the people and the mercy of a kind Protector

BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS.

These may be called the aristocrats of the insect-
world; with their delicate wings painted as if by fairy

112 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

fingers in heavenly tints, and their dainty tastes,
they offer truly a strange contrast with the worm-
like caterpillars from which they sprang. They are
usually called Scale- ivinged Insects, from the feathery
scales that form the gaily colored covering of their
wings. These brilliant scales are easily rubbed off if
the insect be at all roughly handled; and a little of
this dust looked at through a powerful microscope
shows itself to be made up of many little plates,
each as distinct and perfect as the coarse, heavy
cales on the body of a fish. Each is shaped some-
what like a blunt-tipped leaf, with a little stalk by
which it is inserted into the membranous frame-
work of the wing. They are so placed as to overlap
and by their symmetrical and truly artistic arrange-
ment to produce the wondrously beautiful effects of
color — too gorgeous in fact to admit of an adequate
description; but why should such be attempted in
words when the living wonder in all its glorious
beautjr can be observed by every one who has such a
desire. Upon the butterfly's wing the brightest hues of
nature seem to be assembled; there we behold the
flashing light of the diamond together with the
brilliancy of the sapphire the depth of the emerald,
and the lustre of burnished gold.

Let us glance now for a moment at the peculiar
form of the insect's head. The antennae are long
and club-shaped in the case of the butterfly, and
generally of a featherly form in the moth. On the
under side of the head of a butterfly is seen a long
slender trunk, usually coiled up as a rope when not

ANTS, GRASSHOPPERS, BUTTER ^LIES. 113

in use- This is a tube, which can be made to operate
as a perfect little suction pump and pipe. By this
ingeDious mechanism the insect readily pumps up
the juicy sweets from the flower cups which it honors
by its visits.

Butterflies feed and fly in the day-time and rest at
night, but most moths are night- fliers. Many
moths are of great use to man, by furnishing a
kind of silk in their cocoons. This is especially
true of the silk worm, which spins a large oval
cocoon in which it rests during its sleep as a pupa.
The silk is in fact a hardened kind of glue or gum,

Fig. 19.— Tent Caterpillar Moth, showing the eggs, larva,

and imago.

which the insect secretes in a cavity near the head;
and the cocoon consists of a single continuous
thread. In the processes of preparing this silk for

114 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

use, the pupae within the cocoons are killed by heat
or suffocation, else they would cut their way through
the silken house and thus destroy the continuity of
the thread. The silk is then unwound, reeled and
spun.

Fig. 19 shows the "Tent Caterpillar Moth," which
has several times destroyed the fruit crops in
different parts of Utah. The eggs are deposited
as a collar around some small twig. The caterpillar is
a pretty creature in spite of its destructive nature,
ornamented with brilliant tufts of colored bristles.
The name tent caterpillar is given to these insects
from the silken net which they spin upon the tree,
and which serves as a temporary house or tent.

CHAPTER XXII.

FLIES AND BEETLES.

HOUSE-FLIES, mosquitoes, and all their kindred
^ are characterized by having but two wings
instead of four, the latter being the usual
number with insects. In place of the hind
wings, they have a pair of thread-like appendages
with knobs at the extremities called balancers.

The ordinary house-fly is well worth our attentive
study. Watch it while it is quietly feeding, you
see it thrust out apparently from the head a short
club-shaped organ, usually of a brown color, and
commonly called the tongue, but more properly

FLIES AND BEETLES. 115

the trunk ^ or proboscis, for the appendage serves
many purposes foreign to the ordinary uses of a
tongue. It is in fact a very delicate though perfect
pump, by means of which liquids may be drawn
into the fly's mouth. A piece of dry sugar or
any such solid substance must first be moistened
by a fluid from the fly's mouth, so as to form a
syrup which is then drawn through the trunk into the
mouth. Each tiny foot of the fly has a sole con-
sisting of a couple of expanded plates or discs, acting
like suckers. By pressing these little discs firmly
against any smooth surface, the fly is enabled to
hold itself attached, though hanging back down-
ward. The flaps are lifted and the foot loosened by
means of a set of little hooks with which each foot is
provided.

Mosquitoes are on quite intimate terms of acquaint-
ance with most of us, and need no introduction. In
the early part of their existence, they live in the
water and are known among the boys as wigglers, or
wiggle-tails. They are extremely active in all their
movements, offering a strong contrast to the slow-
moving caterpillars and maggots, which are the lar-
va? of some other insects. Swarms of wigglers ma3^
be seen frequently, during the warm weather in
stagnant pools, each hanging head downward in the
water, the posterior part of the body being kept at
the surface. A small breathing tube is attached
near the extremity of the body.

The appearance of the larval mosquito, also the
pupa, the imago just escaping from the pupa- case,

116

FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

and the perfect insects, male and female are shown
enlarged in figure 20.

Fig. 20. — The Mosquito — male, female; imago, pupa
and larva.

The activity of the wiggler is not lost even when the
mosquito reaches its adult age. The lances with which
the little creature bores the skin of its victim are
very sharp, and when not in use the3T are kept care-
fully protected within a double sheath or covering.

We are very apt to think of mosquitoes as if they
were worthless pests, calculated only to cause annoy-
ance and pain to man and beast. Such an extreme
judgment is in a degree unjust. Earnest students of

FLIES AND BEETLES. 117

nature have not yet been able to declare any created
thing positively worthless : the Creator has a purpose in
all his works; and even flies and mosquitoes are of cer-
tain benefit to the rest of the animal world, and to
man who claims superiority over all. Flies devour
vast quantities of decaying matter about our houses
and premises, which, if left unconsumed, would
prove a most fertile soil for disease germs; and mos-
quitoes do similar work in the marshes and swamps,
which form their homes. They are found in great-
est numbers during the heated season, when their
services are most needed. They certainly do not
seem to have been created as ministers to man's
present comfort; but they do him good nevertheless,
and that too in spite of his enmity and disgust for
them.

Dragon Flies or Darning Needles, as some are
used to call them, have very large wings of a beauti-
ful gauzy character, looking finer than the finest
muslin. They possess very long bodies, and large
lustrous eyes, and cannot fail to attract one's notice
by their swift and graceful flight. Far from being
harmful, as many suppose them, they are incapable
of doing hurt to anything larger than a mosquito or
a gnat, but upon the hosts of these troublesome little
creatures they wage an incessant warfare. They are
indeed the hawks of the insect world; and whenever
we see them darting about over pools of water or
across the meadow lands, we may know that a whole-
sale destruction is going on among the smaller flies
hovering in those places.

118 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

Beetles are frequently called sheath-winged in-
sects from the fact that the first pair of wings
are hard and horny, forming an effectual sheath
for the more delicate wings beneath. Only the
hind wings are used for flight, and when not in
use these are safely packed away beneath the cases.
Watch a beetle just alighted from its flight; see
how skillfully it folds and lays aside its lace-like
wings by the help of its hind legs. The known
varieties of beetles are said to exceed thirty thousand
and these differ widely in size. There is the delicate
little Half-winged Beetle, smaller than a millet seed,
which flies mostly at night, and occasionally makes
its presence uncomfortably felt by getting inside our
eye-lids. There is also the gaudily-dressed Lady-
bird Beetle, so common about our gardens and flower
plats, which should be carefully protected for the
good it works by destroying such vast numbers of
plant lice. Then we meet frequently with the busy
little Tiger Beetle and a great many forms of Water
Beetles.

A very remarkable beetle is shown in figure 21.
It is called the Stag Beetle, or stag-horn beetle,
from the stout branched projections upon its head,
resembling, somewhat, the antlers of a deer. It
flies mostly at night, and is often attracted by the
light into our houses, where it usually is an innocent
cause of much alarm among the frightened inmates.
The stag-beetle, however, is harmless; though, ir
picked up and handled roughly, it may resent such
treatment by a sharp pinch from its powerful jaws.

FLIES AND BEETLES.

119

Figure 21. — Stag-horn Beetle.

The Grave-diggers are remarkable little beetles,
almost sure to be found near any small animal carcass
left upon the ground. They usually travel in pairs,
and seem to discover the existence of their prey
from very great distances. Several roving couples
soon congregate about the body of a mouse or a
small bird; and by shoving away the earth around and
beneath the same, soon lower it below the surface.
The females then deposit their eggs in the flesh —
where the maggots or larvae will be sure of finding
abundant food. By performing such offices for the
unburied dead, they not alone provide suitable places
for the growth of their offspring, but, in addition,
benefit us all by safely removing from the surface of

120 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

the ground decaying and offensive matters, and also
do much in fertilizing the soil. Thus the beetle,
by serving itself does good to all.

CHAPTER XXIII.

SPIDERS.

„ jpROM what has already been said we are fairly
k^S acquainted with the essential characteris-
¥^2> tics of true insects. Now, let us catch and

V5 examine some common spider. We would
better select for our study, a fairly small kind; the
bite of nearly all is severe, and of many, poisonous.
But we do not need to handle the specimen, so as to
be bitten at all. Our spider has eight legs — insects
have but six; its body is naturally divisible into two
parts, the front being head and chest, and the hind
part the abdomen; while, in insects, three divisions
are noticeable; the head, chest, and abdomen being
each distinct. The spiders are devoid of wings, and
do not pass through the changes of life, characteristic
of insects. In consequence of such facts, spiders are
usually considered apart from the true insects.

Most spiders have, connected with the abdomen, a
reservoir of sticky fluid, which hardens in the air;
and from this, the web is spun. The microscope
shows each delicate thread of the spider's web to be
composed of four thousand smaller ones; and each
of these comes from a separate opening in the
spider's spinneret.

SPIDERS. 121

These threads are so fine, that Leowenhoeck,
calculated that it would require four millions of
them to make a thread as large as a human hair.
The holes in the spider's body, through which these
threads issue, are so small that, according to Reamur,
a thousand of them occupy a space no larger than
the point of a pin. The four thousand strands, of
which each thread of the web consists, are united at
some little distance from the spinnerets, so that each
is dry before it is joined to the rest. By this arrange-
ment, greater strength is secured; for it is a well-
known fact, that a rope or cable, made of many
fine cords, is much stronger than one of the same
size consisting of a single cord.

Many spiders construct large and beautiful webs,
which are spread out in various forms to serve as nets
for the capture of insects.

Let us seek a freshly made web, and watch the
spider as it captures its prey. As soon as a fly or
other insect becomes ensnared in the meshes of the
web, the spider rushes from its place of concealment
near the centre of its silken net, and pounces upon
the body of its victim, holding it firmly by means of
its own powerful jaws; or if the captive be of large
size, the spider spins additional cords about its body,
so as to keep it as secure as possible during its death
struggles, and avoid all unnecessary injury to the
web. The body of the victim is sucked dry of its
juices at leisure, and the dessicated remains are dis-
carded.

Not all spiders spin webs however; some called

122 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

Mason Spiders make for themselves nests of clay in
the earth, lining the cavity with a stout silky tissue,
and fitting to the opening on the surface of the
ground, a door which works on a durable hinge.
When hiding within, the spider keeps the door
closed against intrusion by holding firmly to the
under side; and when the ingenious little builder
leaves its nest, it is careful to close the opening in
as perfect a manner as possible, so that it is almost
invisible. These interesting little creatures are not
common in these parts: occasionally specimens are
met with in the warm south, and in California.

The Tarantula is a hairy spider, common in all
parts of our Territory, sometimes attaining a spread
of feet of over three inches, and capable of inflicting
a dangerous bite. Several enormous spiders abound
in the tropical regions, characterized by powers of
quick movement and surprising strength. They
capture and kill the largest insects, and even small
lizards and birds.

CHAPTER XXIV.

WORMS AND SNAILS.

SJSi^ORMS and snails! Not a very elegant title

JSsStaia for a chapter, you say! Well, no; but an

H©^ interesting and instructive subject neverthe-

G§S less. Let us capture an ordinary Earth

Worm or Angle Worm; we can find them in numbers

WORMS AND SNAILS. 123

thrown up by the spade or plow in rich soil. Its
body seems to consist of a number of rings or
segments, each of which is provided on the under
surface with several little bristles or short hairs,
tolerably stout, and all directed backward. By
rubbing a worm lightly between the fingers, from
head to tail, the body seems perfectly smooth, but
on attempting to stroke the animal in an opposite
direction the bristles can be distinctly felt. By the
aid of these little appendages the worm holds itself
steady while boring its way through the soil,
and resists any effort made to draw it forcibly
from its burrow. Earth worms prove of very great
benefit to the farmer by boring and loosening the
ground below the reach of the plow. They eat by
swallowing large quantities of soil, and after the
vegetable matter has been extracted within their
bodies, the rest is rejected in the form of worm-casts,
which are composed of the richest and most produc-
tive mould. In some parts, especially in moist
climates, these little creatures are found in very
great numbers, and the labor that they accomplish
in rejuvenating the soil is surprising. These common
worms upon which we are inclined to bestow hardly
a single serious thought, will often convert a barren
patch into a most productive field.

We may often observe a number of dark colored
worms crawling on the bottoms of our ditches
and ponds, especially in low marshy places. These
are called Leeches; but the boys have given them the
title of blood-suckers, and with very good reason too,

124 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

as we shall see. Let us pick one of them from the
water and look at it closely. We see on each end of
the body a flat disc by means of which it can fasten
itself firmly to any solid object, such as an animal's
body. In its mouth we observe three sharp teeth;
which very readily bore through the skin of its
victims. The most active leeches are met with in
the running streams of southern Europe, and one
common variety is called the medicinal leech from
having been once so extensively used by the surgeon
in drawing blood from the body of his patient, for
the purpose of allaying fever or local inflammation.
When applied to the affected part, the leech soon
perforates the skin with its lance-like teeth and draws
the blood with vigor.*

But there are worms much smaller than these.
The little Hair-worm, or as we erroneously name it
the hair-snake, is a common inhabitant of our
ditches. Ordinarily it grows from four to six inches
long, and in thickness about equal to a hair. The
notion has gained a foundation in the minds of many
that this little creature is a transformed horse-hair.
The author has talked with many people who feel
absolutely certain that such an unnatural change as
the resurrection of a lifeless hair into a living worm

* This professional use of leeches is now very greatly
restricted; but a few years ago they were as common as
the lance is at present in medical practice. In 1846 it is
said that between twenty and thirty millions were used
in France, and in 1863 there were used in London alone
over seven millions, and in the hospitals of Paris from five
to six millions.

WORMS AND SNAILS. 125

is a matter of every day occurrence. A careless
experiment is always likely to suggest erroneous
conclusions. If you throw a handful of horse-hair
into a pool of standing water, very likely in a few
days several hair-worms will be found wriggling
among the hairs, but the little wrigglers have probably
come there from other portions of the pool. Such is
an improper way to make a trial. Now, count
several hairs, place them in water in a safe place,
then if you are lucky enough to find a hair-worm
among them, count again; and all the hairs will be
there. No such transformation can be effected; a
hair is a hair and a worm is a worm, and nothing
short of a Creator's power can form one from the
elements [of the other. The hair-worm during its
early life is a parasite in the intestines of many
insects and small aquatic animals. Lying coiled up
within the body of its host it attains a great length;
but at maturity it escapes and deposits its eggs in
the water.

There are many parasitic worms, that is to say
worms that live in the bodies of other animals. One
of these called the Trichina is found in diseased
flesh, especially that of hogs.

Figure 22 shows the appearance of a piece of in-
fected pork, as seen under the microscope, highly
magnified; 1 shows the worms migrating in the
fibres of the muscles; 2 represents a single worm
encysted in the flesh, and 3 is a picture of a worm
very much enlarged.

The trichinae usually lie coiled within a little cell,

126

FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

in the muscles of the animal. If such meat be eaten,
these dreaded parasites live and multiply within the

m*

1.1 1 J .

Fig. 22. — Trichina in flesh of Swine,
body, and terrible disease, or even death frequently
follows. *

SNAILS- AND THEIR KINDRED.

Now let us catch a common snail, and see what it
has to tell us. The most striking peculiarity is its
colored shell, in which the soft body is enclosed.
This snail is a member of a very large family of
animals, called Mollusks, from a word, meaning
"soft." It can withdraw its body completely within
the shell when alarmed, and even close the entrance,

* Only meat from clean and healthy animals should be
eaten; swine's flesh, never: and all meat should be thor-
oughly cooked, so as to kill the parasites if they are
present. Living worms are not good for food. Meat need
not be burned or scorched, but it should be cooked
through. Meat "done rare," may be a favorite article of
diet with some, but it is always liable to contain living
germs of troublesome parasites.

SNAILS AND THEIR KINDRED. 127

by means of a horny plate or disc. When extended,
however, the head and main part of the body are
outside the shell; and a couple of little pillars are
seen affixed to the head, on the top of which the
eyes are placed. Kather strange, isn't it, that the
little creature should carry its eyes on a couple of
poles, so that it can see farther?

Some mollusks live on land in damp parts, but by
far the greater number inhabit the water, either
fresh or salt. The beautiful sea shells with such an
infinite variety of color and form, and an indescribable
lustre are examples of the houses in which these
humble creatures dwell. The highly- prized "mother
of pearl" is obtained from the shells of such mollusks;
and the beautiful pearls so much used in jewelry
are derived from a species of oyster.

Returning to our snail once more, we seethat its
shell consists really of one continuous piece; the
snail and all such mollusks are called univalves in
consequence, while the oyster, clam and the like, the
shells of which consist of two parts, are called
bivalves.

Some mollusks are destitute of any shell, such is
the case for instance with the common garden slug,
a thick fleshy mollusk, usually covered with slime
and looking much like a snail that has escaped from
its shell. On the head are four little pillars, the
longer pair bearing the eyes. The head can be drawn
in somewhat as the finger of a glove is inverted.

128

FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

CHAPTER XXV.

SOME TINY CREATURES.

RESIDE the many forms of animal life at which

J5 we have already glanced, there are countless

^g)c others too small to be perceived by the un-

^> aided vision. A drop of stagnant water by the

magic power of the microscope is seen to be literally

a world of wonders: it is densely inhabited by crea-

Fig. 23. — Chalk from Gravesend.

tures, whose smallness alone would make them
remarkable, and yet as wonderfully formed and as

SOME TINY CREATURES. 129

admirably fitted for their prescribed course of life, as
is the kingly lion or the eagle in its sphere.

Figure 23 is a picture made from a drawing by
the celebrated microscopist, Ehrenberg, of a bit of
chalk dust seen under the microscope. Chalk then
is seen to be made up of the shells and calcareous
skeletons of these minute animals.

Who of us has an imagination sufficiently strong
to picture the myriads of separate shells in a moun-
tain of chalk? Much of the beautiful marble and
the solid limestone of our hills consisted once of
such hard shells and the stony skeletons of similar
minute animals.

Many of these smallest
f forms are so simple in
structure that they seem
to consist only of a little
fleshy sac, filled with

Fig. 24.-The Amoeba. flu '
Two pictures are given m figure 24 of a form fre-
quently found in the water of our ponds and streams,
invisible to the unaided eye, and looking, when mag-
nified, like a very small patch of jelly, with no regu-
lar shape. It is called the Amoeba; and though so
simple, it lives and moves in its allotted way with
perfect order. Some people have argued that from
such minute and simple structures as this one, all
the higher animals have been developed in course of
time through a process of growth or evolution. Such
an idea is without the least foundation in fact or

observation; no man has yet succeeded in producing
io

130 FIRST BOOK OFLNATURE.

from the amoeba any other kind of animal than itself.
Each animal produces others of its own kind, and its
own kind only. This seems to be a law of creation.
An animal may grow and develop till it becomes
perfect in its own sphere ; but one cannot transform
itself into others. The Creator has placed upon His
earth a vast variety of living forms, small and large,
simple and complicated, some to live in the air,
others in the water, and still others on the ground,
yet each with a special purpose to meet, and a par-
ticular place to fill in the great household of Nature;
and every one is contented to live and to move within
the sphere for which its Maker intended it.

Part II.

The Vegetable or Riant Kingdom,

"Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they
toil not, neither do they spin, and yet, I say unto you that
even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of
these."— Matthew vi, 28, 29.

CHAPTER XXVI.

PLANTS, AND HOW THEY GROW.

gtftN THIS great kingdom of Nature, we may find
^JJ a variety and diversity even greater than

fthat already seen to exist among animals.
Like animals, plants also live; they need food
and drink, which they absorb through their roots, and
they breathe through their leaves. Their nourish-
ment is derived from the soil, water and air; and in
turn they furnish food for animals. It appears to
be a universal law that plants should form the food
of animals. Carnivorous or flesh-eating animals
feed upon the bodies of other animals, which in
their turn lived upon plants; and thus even they
are indirectly sustained by the great vegetable king-
dom. The food of all animals is produced by plants.

132 FIRST BOOK OF NATUFE.

As a consequence of this alone the study of plants
should be of interest to us. Surely Solomon was
wise in his declaration: "The profit of the earth is
for all: the king himself is served by the field."

Plants exist under most extreme circumstances in
different parts of the globe. Wherever man has gone
on the surface of the earth, he has found vegetation
of some kind, even far beyond the limits of animal

life.

Among natural objects, there are none others that
do so much as plants to change and diversify the
general aspect of the landscape. Without flowers
and trees this would be to most of us a dreary world
indeed. But these fixed residents of the soil do
more for man than merely ministering to his sense of
beauty, they offer him shade and shelter from the
heat of summer, and bring him sweet perfumes, and
untold treasures for food and useful service. From
plants come the almost endless variety of fruits,
which furnish us with so many of the necessaries and
luxuries of diet: sugar and spices, the frankincense
and the myrrh; tonic herbs and wholesome medicines,
resins and waxes; starch and oil, cotton, linen and
paper, gums, rubber, cork and dyes, beside the many
varieties of truly beautiful woods, for his buildings,
furniture and fuel — woods, hard and soft, coarse and
fine — 0f almost every conceivable shade and condition,
and of universal adaptability to the needs of man.

Let us change our attention from the general
aspect of vegetation to the more intimate examina-
tion of a single plant. We may select a young fruit

PLANTS, AND HOW THEY GROW. 133

tree, for example. We perceive that it consists of
three distinct and separate parts. There is the root,
deeply inserted in the soil, and firmly holding the
growing tree in position; next, the stem rising above
the ground and oftentimes to a great height, and bear-
ing branches from which grow the leaves. It is through
these organs, root, stem and leaves, that the ordinary
processes of vegetation are performed, and hence
they are frequently termed the vegetative organs of
the plant: contrasting with the reproductive organs,
which comprise the flower, fruit and seed.

THE ROOT.

The roots of all plants show a natural tendency
to grow downward. They are usually colorless,
though occasionally of a reddish or brown tint, but
never green. Suppose we now continue our exam-
ination of the young fruit tree already selected, by
digging around it and removing the soil from its
roots. Without doubt, we will find the main roots
divided into many branches, as we follow them in
their winding courses through the ground, and these
branches again divide, to form still smaller ones, and
so on, till the final divisions are so small, that they
are to be seen only by means of the microscope.
The ordinary branches of the root are called rootlets,
and the finest divisions are termed root-hairs.

Of what use are these hair-like outgrowths? To
obtain an answer to this question let us transfer our
attention from the young fruit tree already examined
to some smaller plant; an ordinary "weed" will do.
If we pull it from the ground carefully, but little or

134 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

no injury will befall the roots; a gentle shake will
remove the bulk of soil which clung to the roots as we
pulled the plant and the general form and structure
of the underground parts will be easy to follow. There
is the main root, connecting with the stem at the
surface of the ground, and giving rise to numerous
rootlets. A careful scrutiny of the rootlets by the
help of a pocket glass will show the root -hairs in
great numbers; and it is these little structures that
entangle and hold the soil so firmly. The roots
striking into the soil and branching in so many
different directions give the plant a firm support in
the earth, insuring it against the danger of being
torn from its established home by any ordinary
force. And it may be noticed that the plants hav-
ing the longest main roots and the greatest number
of branches are the firmest in position. Try to pull
from the ground a thriving lucern or clover plant,
and see if you have cause to doubt the statement.

We may illustrate in a very pretty and instructive
way the growth of roots, and at the same time observe
the germination or sprouting of seeds, by performing
the following simple experiment: Take a piece of
muslin, — cheese cloth will be best, but a double
thickness of mosquito netting will answer; tie it over
the top of an ordinary tumbler, and fill the glass
with water. Press the muslin or netting lower in the
middle, so that it is kept moist, but not flooded;
then sprinkle over it a pinch of seed of any small
garden vegetable — the common garden cress seed
will answer admirably. Set the glass aside for a day

PLANT ROOTS. 135

or two, carefully supplying more water to replace
that lost by evaporation, so as to keep the seeds con-
stantly damp. In a few days the seeds begin to
sprout; each sends a tiny white root between the
fibres of the netting into the water below and at the
same time small leaves appear above. It would be
well to set the glass near a window, so that it may
have plenty of light; and if it be put in direct sun-
light for a short time each day, it will be all the
better, provided that the roots be kept below the
water. The roots will spread within the glass till
they appear to fill it, and a luxuriant crop of cress
flourishes above. The writer frequently keeps several
vessels of cress growing in this manner during the
winter, and raises enough of this pungent salad for
table use. And farther, a glass holding a growing
crop of cress is no less ornamental than useful, and
it is certainly as instructive as could be wished.

CHAPTER XXVII.

PLANT ROOTS.

|ITH a powerful magnifying glass the tiny root
hairs, already spoken of, appear to be perfect

W tubes, through which the moisture of the
soil is absorbed and conveyed to the main
parts of the plant. In this interesting way the plant
derives its food and drink — by absorbing the same
through the tubular hairs covering the rootlets,
thence passing it to the larger branches, and finally

136 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

through the main root, and the vessels of the stem
to the most distant twigs.

We are usually not aware of the great force exhib-
ited by the plant in absorbing water from the ground
and distributing the same throughout its structure.
Follow this simple experiment, first performed by
Dr. Hales over a hundred and fifty years ago, and
since that time repeated by many others. The
stem of a young grape vine in vigorous growth was
cut off a few inches above the surface of the ground
and a small pressure guage, similar to the kind used
on steam-boilers and the like, was attached. The
moisture absorbed by the roots and passed upward
through the stem, escaped where the stem was cut,
and exerted its force on the liquid within the pres-
sure guage; the pressure thus produced was sufficient
to force water to a height of over thirty- six feet in
the long arm of the guage tube.

Since all the material upon which plants feed has
to be absorbed in this way, it follows of necessity
that all such food must be in a state of solution, or
the plant cannot absorb and use it. The soil may
be rich in all the solid matters needed by the plant;
but such cannot be absorbed unless water be supplied.
The rain falling upon the soil, as well as the irrigat-
ing stream flowing over the surface, soaks into the
ground, and in so doing dissolves all that is soluble;
and when this water passes through the root hairs
into the plant, it carries with it the materials in
solution. During the growing season, when plants
require the largest amounts of food material, the

PLANT ROOTS. 137

roots are most active absorbents; but as soon as the
leaves fall and the plant prepares for its winter sleep,
the roots rest from their labors, most of the tiny
root-hairs shrivel and die, the soft parts become hard,
and the whole activity of the plant is suspended till
awakened once more to growth by the return of
spring warmth and moisture. During this period of
rest, the plant may be removed from the soil and reset,
with less danger of injury, as there are fewer active
rootlets to be broken and checked in their work.

The quantity of roots attached to an ordinary
plant is far greater than is ordinarily supposed. By
digging away the soil some distance from plants
selected for examination, and then washing the rest
till the roots are laid bare and clean, the roots of
beans, peas and rye have been found to form a
tangled mat beneath the ground to a depth of about
four feet from the surface. Roots of winter wheat
have been found seven feet in the soil in less than
seven weeks from the time of sowing.

Complete measurements of the roots of several
plants with all their branches have been made for
the purpose of determining the total extent of root
material. A barley plant was found in this way to
possess one hundred and twenty-eight feet of roots.
Remembering that the small rootlets are thickly
covered with root hairs as before described, the ab-
sorbing surface of the plant is seen at once to be very
great. And this explains also why the plants that
send their roots deepest into the soil are able to
endure the vicissitudes of dry weather with fewest ill

138 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

consequences, — the deep branches of their roots
reach the moist subsoil below, though the ground
near the surface may be parched and dry.

Through the uncounted multitudes of root hairs
with their eager thirst for moisture, the plant is fed.
These are its mouths, and their capacity is great.
In this perfect manner has the Creator provided for
the welfare of the herb and tree; they too are sub-
jects of His care. He made them, and in their
welfare -He takes delight.

Another great use served by the roots of plants,
is that of preserving and storing for future use the
materials taken from the soil. This is especially
true of plants that require two seasons of growth in
which to fully develop and produce their flowers and
seed; such as the carrot, turnip, beet and parsnip.
The roots of these plants are extremely large as
compared with the other parts and very fleshy at
the end of the first year's growth. If, however, we
carefully watch such a root during the second season,
while the plant is blossoming and maturing its seeds,
we will doubtless see that the root withers and
shrinks as if being gradually exhausted of its store.

By removing these roots from the soil at the close
of the first season, the farmer secures the rich sup-
plies of food material for the support of himself and
his animals; but if left to follow its natural course of
life uninterruptedly, the plant employs that food to
nourish its flowers and fruit. All plants that re-
quire two growing seasons in which to perfect their
growth are called biennial plants; such are the

PLANT ROOTS. 139

carrot, beet, parsnip and turnip already named, and
to this list the cabbage may be added. Distin-
guished from all such are the annual plants, which
ripen their seed during the first year, and then die
roots and all, re-appearing only through the growth
of the seed. Such is the nature of wheat and barley,
and in fact all our grains, beans and peas and all
crops that need to be re-sown each year. Other
plants are said to be perennial in nature; they live
several years before they bear flowers and seed, and
after that continue to bear for a great many seasons
in succession or at intervals. This we know to be
the nature of ordinary trees and shrubs, such as the
apple, peach, oak and the rest. In all of this class
the leaves, flowers and root-hairs die with the sum-
mer; but the roots and stem retain their vitality, and
annually renew the beauties of flower and richness
of fruit with the return of the sun in its power.

These fleshy roots, forming, as we have seen, rich
stores of plant food appear in a number of shapes.
They may be conical as is the case with the carrot
and parnsip, or more globular like the turnip, or
spindle-shaped — that is long and tapering, and thick-
est near the middle as are beets and long radishes.

We are apt to speak of some underground growths
as roots whereas in reality they are not roots at all.
A potato for instance, though growing beneath the
surface, is a thickened part of the stem. True roots
never produce buds; whereas a single potato tuber
often shows many buds; these are the "eyes" seen
upon its surface from which branches will rise and

140 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

true roots will sprout if it be planted. The onion
is another example of a plant stem being called
a root, because of it happening to grow under
ground. The large onion bulb is in reality but
a swollen part of the stem, the true roots, being
seen at the lower extremity in the form of a tuft.
Underground stems of the rose-bush, raspberry and
other shrubs greatly resemble roots in outward
appearance; but their true nature may be unmistak-
ably recognized by the buds upon their surfaces.
From these buds, branches are sent upward, each of
which may grow into a perfect stem, bearing branches
smaller than itself and these support leaves, flowers
and fruit. After having reached a fair size these
underground branches may be safely cut off from the
parent stem; the severed parts strike root for them-
selves and become independent plants. Gardners
frequently increase their stock of such plants in this
way; the process is called "multiplying by the root"
— really an incorrect term, because, as we have
already seen, the growth is from stems below ground
and not from roots at all.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

PLANT STEMS.

^AKE a sharp knife and cut straight across, a

&JM small branch or stem of a currant shrub, or

^W other small, woody plant; and now, look care-

X at the cut surface. Several distinct parts are

clearly seen; there is a rather dark-colored bark or

fa

PLANT STEMS. 141

skin on the outside; a light and hard part inside the
bark, which we call the wood, and a very soft, central
core, or pith. Jf such a stem be more closely looked
at, by the assistance of a microscope, a truly
beautiful arrangement of parts, of complicated
structure, is at once apparent. The woody part of
the stem, for instance, looks like a bundle of vessels
or tubes, which, during the growing season, are filled
with the sap of the plant, as it flows from the roots
to the farthest branches and twigs. Not all of these
tubes, however, are of exactly the same shape and
size; some appear plain and others beautifully marked
and ornamented with rings and spiral lines, and
orderly-arranged dots; all such markings seeming to
be really thickenings on the walls of the tubes, im-
parting thereto strength and stability.

Thus, even in the structure of these smallest of
small things, a principle of order and system, has
been followed. Not an ornamental dot is found,
without a purpose and a use.

The outside covering of the stem, if hard and
coarse, we are apt to call bark, but if softer and
finer in structure, we speak of it as the rind.
To this bark or rind also there are an outer and an
inner portion; the outer being in most cases hard,
and in some scaly and apparently lifeless, while the
inner part is of a fine fibrous nature. The bark of
the birch tree is so fine and smooth that it is useful
for wrapping and even for writing purposes in place of
paper. People who visit the great birch forests of
the Northern and Eastern States, frequently strip off

142 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

the smooth bark by the aid of their pocket knives, and
use the same in writing letters to their distant friends.
In former days, before paper was known, it was cus-
tomary to write all kinds of books and records on the
smooth inner bark of trees. In fact the Latin name
for book, liber, is the name given by botanists to the
inside layer of the bark of trees. The bark fibres of
some plants are of great use to us in the manufac-
ture of ropes and cordage. The well known linden
tree derives its peculiar name from the fact of its
bark being so valuable in making lines or ropes.

Let us now examine, attentively, the end of a large
tree or log that has been sawn squarely off. Here
we notice that the hard part of the stem or wood
proper, is marked by a series of rings, all of different
sizes, arranged concentrically , that is around the same
centre, the smallest, of course, being inside. These
concentric rings indicate the different periods of
growth through which the tree has passed. Some
people believe that each ring indicates one year of
the plant's development, and that the number of
the rings expresses the age of the plant in years.
This is not strictly true. In tropical lands, where
there is no clear division of the seasons, no summer
during which plants grow, and, no winter during
which they rest, rings in the stems of plants, are still
to be seen; and in our own parts, several rings are
frequently produced during a single year.

The soft, new wood found just below the bark is
called sap wood; this is comparatively useless as tim-
ber, and the lumber cutters strip it off from the

PLANT STEMS.

143

trunks of their trees and discard it. The hard, solid
wood within — that which we usually call wood, is
much harder and more solid; it is called heart wood.
This is the part of the tree so useful to the carpenter
and the builder, and occurs in a great many different
forms. In some plants it is white and soft, as in the
pine, grayish in the locust, dark brown and very
dense in the walnut tree, hard and dark-colored in
mahogany, black and almost of stony hardness in the
tropical ebony.

In all of these woody plants, the stem increases in
thickness through forming layers of new wood be-
tween the bark and the old wood, the sap wood
being the newest and youngest part of the stem.
Such a method of growth must appear to us to be
the most natural; it is almost impossible to imagine
very extensive growth and increase in size occurring
in the solid heart wood. Plants that grow in this

way are called Exo-
genous Plants or
outside growers.
The arrangement
of parts in such
plants is shown in
Fig. 25.— Structure of an Exogenous figure 25; the layers
Stem, of inner and outer

bark, of wood and of pith are clearly illustrated.

For comparison, let us now look at a stem of maize
or sorghum cane, or one of the many kinds of rushes
to be found so abundantly in marshy places. Here
we find no such arrangement of parts as we discovered

144

FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

while examining the woody stem. Take a sharp
knife and cut off the stem of one of these plants; it
will be seen to consist mostly of a porous, spongy
material inside a hard rind. There is no distinction
of parts into sap-wood and heart-wood; such plants
seem to increase in size uniformly throughout the
whole stem, and hence are called Endogenous Plants

or inside growers. Figure 26
represents such a stem; the
outer rind and the porous con-
tents are clearly shown; the
dark dots seen in the cross sec-
tion and appearing as dark-
colored streaks are the hard or
woody parts of the stem.

Nearly all the endogenous
plants of these regions are small
when compared with the larger
trees of the exogenous class, but
in warmer climates many of the
largest trees belong to the end-
ogenous kind. Such for in-
stance are the palmetto trees of

Fig. 26.-Structure of the Soutliem States and the
an Endogenous Stem, larger palms of the torrid zone.

The trunk or stem of these trees is of nearly the same

thickness from the ground upward. Then again, the

palm throws off no branches along the trunk, but

bears at the top a wide-spreading bunch of stout thick

leaves. In these stems, though large, there is no

distinction into bark, wood and pith, and no con-

PLANT STEMS. 145

centric rings of growth are to be found. There are to
be seen scattered throughout the whole thickness of
the stem, hard black spots or streaks of woody tissue.

The difference between these two great orders of
plants, does not lie wholly in their stems; the leaves
and the seeds of these two divisions differ materially
from one another as we shall subsequently see.

Let us now examine a stem of some smaller plant,
for instance a straw of wheat or barley, or the
vine from a pea or a bean. Cut this across in the
same way, and note the difference between it and
the others already examined. All of these smaller
stems are hollow and therefore extremely light and
yielding. Every mechanic knows that an iron tube
is much stronger than a solid iron bar of the same
weight; and the Master Workman who fashioned the
grass stalk and the wheaten straw, employed that
principle by which to give pliant strength to these
lowly objects of His care. In consequence, the
stalk of grain supports an ear of many times its own
weight, and bends and bows before every breeze, but
does not often break.

Most branches resemble the stems from which they
grow, in form and structure; they seem, in fact, to
be divisions of the stem; but in the case of many
plants, rather odd branches are produced. Look, for
instance, at a growing grape vine, a Virginia creeper,
a squash, or a cucumber vine; growing from the
stem of each of these, are several small, slender
branches, devoid of leaves and buds, and apparently
not intended for the offices that branches ordinarily

146 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

fill. These are called Tendrils, and are admirably
devised to assist the plant in climbing or spreading
over the ground as it grows. Observe, carefully, such
a tendril, at intervals, for several days in succession.
It grows comparatively straight, until it reaches
some support near by, such as a post, or an adjacent
stem; the point of the tendril then hooks around,
and the slender branch twists itself into a spiral coil,
like a cork-screw, thus drawing the growing plant
closer and closer to the support. When such plants
grow near a wall, or other flat object, around which,
the tendril cannot twine, the end of each tendril
flattens itself, forming a kind of sucker-like disc,
which adheres closely and firmly to the neighboring
surface, and thus supports the plant. Such a re-
markable adaptation to circumstances as this, is not
mere chance; it is a mark of infinite wisdom; the
creeping plant and the twining vine speak forth in
their very growth, the wisdom and care of their
Maker.

CHAPTER XXIX.

LEAVES.

I

^EAUTY and usefulness are frequently associ-
ated in Nature. The arrangement of the
vegetable kingdom offers an illustration and a
proof of this remark. The most attractive
and strikingly beautiful parts of plants are as a rule, the
most indispensable organs. Look for a moment upon
the tree in the fulness of its summer foliage; if each

LEAVES.

147

of the unnumbered host of leaves does but a trifle
toward the general good of the plant, the result must
be indeed stupendous.

To learn something regarding the structure and
use of leaves, let us pluck some from the tree and
look at them with thoughtful care. A leaf from a
fig tree is pictured in figure 27. There is to be
noticed a stalk (p) by which the leaf was attached to
the branch; this is called the petiole and the two
small appendages (st) seen at the base are the stipules.
The expanded portion of the leaf is called the blade
(b). Running through this blade we see a number
of* small lines of harder and denser material than the
thinner and smoother parts of the leaf. These lines

or veins branch again and
again till they form a per-
fect network of fibres over
which the true fabric or
membrane of the leaf is
stretched. In the case of
leaves belonging to the
K endogenous plants, already
described, the veins are
nearly parallel with one
another from base to tip,
and in consequence, such
leaves are said to be par-
allel-veined, while the
leaves from exogenous
plants are net-veined.

Fig. 27.— Leaf.

Figure 27 is a good 'picture of a leaf from an

148 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

exogenous plant. The frame or skeleton upon which
the green tissue is stretched can be readily observed.
If the thin membrane or skin from the under side
of a leaf be carefully stripped off by means of a small
pair of forceps or pliers, and then examined with the
microscope, it would be found to be full of little
holes which we call the stomata or breathing pores
of the plant. The number of these present in com-
mon leaves is indeed surprising; five thousand of
them are found in a single square inch of the rhu-
barb leaf; twelve thousand per square inch in the
garden iris or blue-flag, thirty-six thousand per
square inch in the leaf of the pink, and one hundred
and sixty thousand per square inch in the hydrangea.
Through these thousands of little pores the plant
breathes, as perfectly as animals do by means of
mouth, lungs and skin. We can very readily
prove that plants do breathe by proceeding as follows.
Secure a clean dry glass bottle having a large mouth
— a common fruit-bottle will answer admirably;
invert the bottle over any small growing plant, say a
house plant in its flower pot; now watch the bottle
carefully, and within a very short time the inside will
be seen to be clouded from the deposition of vapor;
and after a longer interval, so much moisture will be
condensed that it gathers in drops and trickles down
the sides of the bottle. A sunflower, standing three
feet and a half high, was found by experiment to
exhale between twenty and thirty ounces of water
every twelve hours. When tested in a similar way,
a cabbage breathed out between fifteen and twenty

LEAVES. 149

ounces of water in the same length of time. This
would be equal to the amount of moisture exhaled in
the breaths of half a dozen men.

But even more surprising than this is the almost
perfect manner by which the exhalation of moisture
is controlled and varied. Around each of these
tiny pores, is a thickened band which has the power
of automatically opening and closing the little
mouth, according to the amount of moisture present
in the atmosphere. Thus, when the air is drier than
usual, and there is danger that the plant would
lose too much moisture, these little pores close by
contraction of the rim or band around each, and so
any undue evaporation is checked; but whenever the
air is moist, the breathing pores are opened wide,
and free transpiration is encouraged.

The green color of leaves is an important feature.
Most leaves are of this characteristic tint when in a
state of vigorous growth, and they lose it wholly or
in part when they become affected in any way to
interfere with the proper discharge of their functions.
Loss of green color in a leaf is indicative of a check
of growth, usually resulting in the death of the leaf.

In general shape, we find almost an endless diver-
sity of leaves; some smooth and others rough on their
surface, some toothed like a saw, others gently
waved or deeply cut on their margins. Compare for
instance a leaf from an apple or a pear tree with that
of the common dandelion. Indeed, the name dan-
delion is but a changed form of a French expression
meaning "lion-toothed," having reference to the

150 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

tooth-like, jagged edges of the leaves. Look now
at a leaf from a peach tree; it consists of but a single
blade growing from the stalk; then compare with it a
locust leaf; — that is said to be compound — it con-
sists of a number of separate blades all joined, how-
ever, to a single stalk. We are liable to mistake
such compound leaves, and think of each as really a
small branch bearing several leaves; now let us
examine more closely and discover, if we can, how to
guard against such an error. We find at the bottom
or base of each leaf stalk a tiny bud from which the
leaf seems in reality to grow; but one such bud is
found in a compound leaf, and that is situated at the
junction of the main stalk with the branch. As an-
other method of proving the true nature of compound
leaves, notice that in the autumn, the whole leaf,
or what appears to be the branch of leaves, falls
from the tree entire; and such would not be the case
if the so-called leaf were really a branch with leaves
upon it, for branches do not fall as winter ap-
proaches.

CHAPTER XXX.

SOME CURIOUS LEAVES.

^fjjjgjHE general shapes and uses of leaves have been

already pointed out; but Nature presents us
with a great many variations from the com-
mon condition, or, as we may say, adaptations
to special purposes. In the case of peas and wild

SOME CURIOUS LEAYES. 151

vetches, for instance, the upper part of each leaf is
prolonged so as to serve as a tendril, very similar in
form and use to the tendrils already noticed on the
grape vine and other plants, which, it will be re-
membered are, in reality, modified branches. By the
aid of these tendrils, these plants climb in a very
perfect and well-adapted way.

But, perhaps, of all curious developments of leaves,
the strangest and most remarkable are shown in the
various forms of Pitcher-plants, which are so named,
from the peculiar jug-like shape of the leaf. In the
Nepenthes — an East India variety of pitcher-plant,
the blade of the leaf contracts into a tendril; but the
end of the tendril expands again to form a very
beautiful hollow pitcher, wonderfully regular and
symmetrical in form, and usually from five to six
inches in length. At the top of the pitcher is a lid,
which exactly fits the opening, and works auto-
matically upon an admirably-fitted hinge. Usually,
the pitchers contain a considerable quantity of
water — a half-pint in each, being a very ordinary
amount. Following are the words of a traveler,
Mr. Alfred R. Wallace, in reference to our subject.
He is describing an ascent of Mount Ophir, and
says: "The height was about two thousand eight
hundred feet. We had been told that we should
find water, * * * but we looked about for
it in vain, as we were exceedingly thirsty. At last
we turned to the pitcher-plants, but the pitchers were
full of insects, and otherwise uninviting. On tasting
it, however, we found it very palatable, though

152 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

rather warm, and we all quenched our thirst from
these natural jugs."

Another variety of this interesting class is called
by various names, such as side-saddle flower, hunts-
man's horn, Sarracennia, etc. Its leaf is curved and
the edges joined so as to form a slender cup, bulging
near the middle and bearing at the top a hood-like
expansion of the blade.

The California pitcher-plant or Darlingtonia is
found growing under favorable circumstances in
various parts of the Western and South-western
States, but principally in California. The pitcher
here seems to have been produced by an expansion
or flattening of the leaf stalk, the thin part of the
leaf or the blade as we call it, appearing as an
appendage or a hood. This is remarkable for the
fact that the opening to the pitcher is beneath the
curved or vaulted hood, and consequently the liquid
contained therein cannot be attributed to rain or dew,
but must have been secreted by the plant itself.
Inside the pitcher at different heights are fringes of
hairs, all directed downward. Many insects enter
the hood and explore the recesses of the pitcher,
though but very few of them escape to tell their
fellows what they saw. It is easy for an insect to
pass down the pitcher toward the bottom, but any
attempt to return is frustrated by the hairs within,
as they cannot be pushed upward, and so the insect
is held a prisoner. Its death is a matter of short
time only, and as its body decays within the cup, it
furnishes without doubt a rich nourishment for the

SOME CURIOUS LEAVES. 153

plant. All pitcher plants partake somewhat of the
nature of insect traps; their victims being most
likely allured into the treacherous cups by the spark-
ling liquid contained therein and a sweet exudation
to be found on most of the leaves.

But even more remarkable and strange in this
respect is the so called Venus Fly Trap, a small
though common plant in the bogs and marshes of the
south, as far north as South Carolina. Each leaf of
this truly wonderful growth is divided at its end,
forming a pair of thick, somewhat fleshy lobes, so
placed as to resemble in form a book with rounded
corners held partly open. The surfaces of the lobes
are covered with a set of stiff hairs or bristles, which
are as sensitive as the whiskers of a cat. Whenever
a small insect alights on one of the lobes, and brushes
against the bristles, the two portions of the leaf fly
together with the rapidity of a spring trap, usually
enclosing the intruder as a prisoner. The lobes press
closer and closer together till the little victim is
crushed and smothered to death. The bodies of the
captured insects undergo a kind of rapid decay or
rather digestion, to accomplish which a fluid oozes
out from the surfaces of the lobes, and rapidly
accomplishes the process, after which the softened
parts are absorbed or soaked up by the leaf.

The more common Sundew family of plants are
also professional insect catchers. Each member is
small; the leaves growing directly from the roots flat
upon the ground so as to form a kind of rosette.
The leaf is shaped somewhat like a tennis racquet or

154 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

an old-fashioned wooden spoon with a comparatively
large round bowl. On the upper surface of the
expanded or bowl-shaped part of the leaf a great
number of fine long filaments are to be found, each
of them terminated by a little ball or knob. These
filaments and glands are usually of some bright color,
and at first sight the leaf looks very like a small
flower. It may be that insects visit the leaves under
such a mistaken notion. To render these pretty
leaves more attractive and illusive, a viscid fluid is
secreted and poured out on the surface, each tiny
drop glistening like a diamond in the sunlight. This
sticky fluid disables any insect that may alight upon
the leaf; in its annoyance and efforts to escape, the
unfortunate little creature struggles violently, and in
so doing touches the sensitive little knobs or glands
already referred to; immediately the filaments bend
over toward the excited spot and hold the struggling
prisoner in a secure grasp. An acid fluid soon appears
on the surface of the leaf, and the body of the insect
is soon dissolved and absorbed. The extreme sensi-
tiveness of these glands and filaments is worthy of
our notice and admiration. An experimenter found
that a short piece of hair, weighing only one seventy-
eight thousandth part of a grain was sufficient to
cause a bending of the filaments with which it was
in contact. Any small object, whether living or dead,
— a fragment of dust for instance, if brought in
contact with the leaf surface will cause the filament
to bend and hold it secure, but the plant soon seems
to discover its error if an indigestible morsel be

FLOWER-GUI'S. 155

caught, for it soon releases its hold and resets its
trap. But whenever a nourishing substance is
secured, the plant loses its extreme sensitiveness for
some little time — its hunger appears to have been
satisfied and it is less eager and ravenous in its efforts
to capture additional prey.

Truly, the Creator has inscribed a record of His
power, even on the leaves of plants. Each bears
marks of the wisest adaptation. What man can
suggest, even, in his own mind, an improvement on
the purpose and effect of the leafy fabric, or, in fact,
any other item of Jehovah's hand-work? Each in
its sphere, every one after its kind, is the great law
in Nature.

CHAPTER XXXI.

FLOWER-CUPS.

fw|/Rr^ ARE now to talk for a short time about
Sal<o"» the flower, the most conspicuous and attrac-
ffl^d tive part of the plant. To aid us in this
i§S pleasant undertaking let us procure any
well-developed, bright, tolerably large blossoms, say
as the fuchsia, or "ladies' ear-drops," or of the
geranium, both so deservedly prized as ornamental
plants.

Here, on the outside of the colored part of our
blossom, borne upon the flower stalk, is a sort of cup,
formed of small, green leaves partly connected

156

FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

together; this is ealled the calyx, a word meaning
really "a cup," and separate leaflets of which it con-
sists called the sepals. Within this outer cup grows
the brightly colored portion of the blossom, and
this is called the corolla, or the ''crown," and is
seen to consist of several leaf-like parts which are
called petals. Still other parts are visible within
this colored cluster; there we may readily discern a
number of small thread-like organs, each bearing at
its top a sort of little box; these have been called the
stamens. Another "and stouter kind of a thread
is found in the centre — perhaps more than one, how-
ever; it is usually curved or expanded at the top and
considerably thickened in its lower part near the
part at which it is attached to the flower stalk; this
is called the pistil.

An illustration of these parts in their relative
positions, though dissected each from the others is
shown in figure 28.

Petal.

Stamen. Pistil.

Pislil. Siamcn.

Peuil.

Sepal. Sepal.

Fig. 28.— Parts of a Typical Flower.
The number of each of these organs or parts
present is usually constant for any one kind of flower

FLOWER-CUPS. 157

though great diversity exists amongst the vast
variety of flowers. By cultivation also, what appears
to be the normal or regular arrangement may be
changed, and any one of these organs may disappear
wholly or partly and be replaced by an extra number
of another kind. For example let us pluck a blossom
from the modest little wild rose, or the scented
sweet brier; by carefully examining it we notice five
distinct sepals, and within are five petals, enclosing
a multitude of stamens and pistils. By a proper
cultivation and a careful arrangement of all the
conditions of growth, the many queenly roses
of the green -house and garden have been pro-
duced from this simple flower; yet see the difference
existing between the wild blossom, and the cultivated
offspring! Look at the richly tinted fragrant moss-
rose; the flower seems little else than an orderly
cluster of large petals, the stamens and pistils are
not to be found at all, or at least but very lew of
them; while the beautiful petals may be counted by
the score.

The pistil of nearly all flowers, toward its lower
extremity, is considerably enlarged, forming a swollen
case, which has been named the ovary, or seed box,
and within which the ovules or seeds are to be
found.

Flowers consisting of all of these separate parts,
calyx, corolla, stamens and pistils are said to be
complete; but sometimes one or more of these parts
are missing, in which case the blossom is termed
incomplete. But only the stamens and pistils are in

158

FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

reality essential for the growth and perfecting of the
seed. If either of these be missing, however, the plant
is unable to perpetuate its kind by producing seed.
In many blossoms the sepals and petals are connected
together so that their separate parts can scarcely be
seen. Look for an example of this at the open cup
of a morning-glory flower (figure 29.) The corolla

here seems to consist of
but one part, the separate
/ petals being joined togeth-
er into a trumpet- shaped
blossom, the fine edge how-
ever is waving or undu-
late in outline showing five
notches or indentations.
Such a corolla is said to be
"monopetalous," i. e. con-
sisting apparently of but
one petal. In the figure,

Fig. 29.— Morning Glory the calyx or outer cup is
Flower. Monopetalous , ,

Corolla. seen below.

The arrangement of the blossoms is as varied as

are their forms and colors. In many plants, each

flower-cup stands separate and alone upon its stalk,

while others are seen each to be composed of many

distinct blossoms. Here, for example, in the pretty

daisy, each of the little blade-like white or pinkish

organs, shows itself, when magnified, to be in reality

a perfect flower, consisting of five little petals formed

in a tube — on the same plan as the morning-glory,

already examined — within which are five tiny stamens

HOW FLOWERS ARE FERTILIZED. 159

and a pistil, with a little seed in its ovary. This is
also the case with the more conspicuous sunflower,
and the familiar dandelion, the marigold, and many
of the commonest of our floral friends.* There is
an infinite variety in the flowers and leaves, but
each form proves itself to be the best for the condi-
tions under which the plant has been designed to
grow.

CHAPTER XXXII.

HOW FLOWERS ARE FERTILIZED.

|OW let us select some large, conspicuous blos-
som— a stately tiger lily is a superb illustra-
tion, and look carefully at the little sack or
box borne at the tip of each stamen. When
thoroughly ripened, this is covered with a kind or
powder of a yellowish, reddish or brownish tint.
This powdery substance has been called the pollen,
and each grain when magnified proves to be a little
hollow ball or box filled with fluid. A
single pollen grain taken from the modest
little rose mallow flower is shown in
Figure 30, very highly magnified.

Pollen grain ^ven among pollen grains there is a
from rose variety wide enough to occupy our atten-
(very highly tion for a long time; so many different
magnified). snapes, and each so beautiful. Some
look like golden balls, chased and ornamented on the

* From this peculiarity of their structure, the whole
family of such flowers — and it is a large one is called the
Composite Family.

160 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

surface in the most elaborate way, others are more
angular in outline, and many are elongated or flat-
tened; but all are exceedingly compact in form and
light in weight.

According to the wise plan of Nature, it is neces-
sary that the fluid contained in the polleo
grains of any flower shall mingle with the material
in the ovary from which the ovules or seeds are sub-
sequently to be produced; and unless such a mixture
takes place, the plant does not produce fertile seeds.
The pollen then must in some way be carried from
flower to flower, in order that the seeds may be fer-
tile; for the pollen from any flower is not able to well
and thoroughly fertilize its own seeds; it is best for
the development of the plant and the production of
strong and healthy seeds, that the pollen come from
some other flower of the same kind. And the meth-
ods that Nature adopts to bring about this transfer of
the life-giving pollen are as wonderful as they are
efficient. As plants are rooted to their places of
growth, they cannot individually visit their neighbors
and relatives, to mutually exchange their pollen
grains, so they employ trusty and long-tried mail
and express messengers to do the work for them.
Some plants yield their pollen to the insects that
visit their cups and entrust them with the mission of
bearing it to others of their kin; while others commit
it to the wind and hopefully rely that the tiny grains
will reach the stigmse of other plants. These two
agents, insects and the wind, are indeed the chief of
Queen Flora's messengers, and well they do their

HOW FLOWERS ARE FERTILIZED. 161

work; but other means are sometimes employed.
Thus, aquatic plants discharge their pollen into the
water, each granule securely wrapped in a water-
proof covering, and so the transfer is made.

Look for a moment at a bee just emerging from
some sweet-scented flower cup, at which he has
been making a flying visit to enquire if he could
obtain a little honey or nectar for himself and
family — see he is covered with powder like a dusty
miller just fresh from the sacks, and this powder is
the pollen about which we have been talking.
Then, flying to another blossom, and rubbing against
the stigma or pistil tip, as he needs must do while
making his way to the honey cup, he leaves some
of the pollen dust adhering thereto. At the proper
season too, the stigma becomes moist and sticky
from a kind of mucilage produced upon the surface;
by wnich simple but admirable device a grain of
pollen once falling upon the stigma is securely held.

It is a well known fact, that in seeking nectar or

honey, insects show decided preferences for flowers of

one kind at one time, rather than for several kinds in

rapid succession. Thus even the tastes of bees and

butterflies are to the advantage of the flowers. A

grain of pollen from a violet cannot fertilize a lily,

and would be but wasted if left upon its stigma; but

an insect that starts out to collect nectar from the

lily would not be likely to visit violets upon that

trip. In many of our common plants the devices to

secure the safe transfer and interchange of pollen

through the visits of hungry insects are of the most
12

162 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

surprising and striking kind. Examine the small and
humble blossom of the lucern or the clover. The
flower is somewhat irregular in form it is true, but
this very irregularity is of the greatest importance in
the fertilizing of its flowers. Take a stiff bristle or
horse hair, or a fine grass stalk, or something of
the kind and thrust it carefully into the opening
of the corolla as a bee would insert its trunk in
quest of honey. Look carefully into the flower cup as
you do this, and you will be rewarded by a strange
sight. Before the insertion has been carried far, the
curiously shaped stamen, which before this time has
been hidden, is liberated forcibly as by a spring, and
immediately it flies forward, striking the hair or
bristle and leaving pollen upon it. Now thrust this
hair into another blossom of the same kind, and you
will doubtlessly see that the pollen is rubbed off and
left upon the stigma of the second flower. Such an
occurrence is common when an insect inserts its long
hair-like trunk into the cup, and in this way the
exchange, so indispensable for the production of
good seed is accomplished.

A more beautifully perfect arrangement and adap-
tation than is shown in the plan for the fertilization
of different flowers, can scarcely be seen or con-
ceived. Many flowers are of so peculiar a shape,
that not all classes of insects are able to pollenate
them. Such, for instance, is the case with the clover
blossom, which is best fertilized through the visits of
bees. In this connection, it is recorded, that shortly
after the English people began to colonize Australia,

HOW FLOWERS ARE FERTILIZED. 163

they carried to that land, the seed of their much-
prized clover; and though the crops were heavy, and
the quality the best, yet no fertile seed was pro-
duced. All the seed had to be imported, though
appearances indicated that the plants grew perfectly,
stalk, leaf, and flower, all vigorous and strong. An
observing student of nature, pointed out the cause
of the difficulty — there were no bees in Australia,
and consequently no transfer of pollen could be
effected between the plants. Instead of bringing
fresh supplies of seed, the colonists began to import
a great number of bees; these throve so well on the
clover flowers, that their stock of honey was an ample
return for the labor and expense of importation; but
of far greater value was the fertilization of the clover
which these insects brought about. As they flew
from flower to flower, they bore the pollen with them,
and, in consequence, large crops of healthy seed
were produced. Thus the insects assist the flowers,
and the flowers support the insects; neither can
thrive without the other.

Between the two great classes of flowers, those
fertilized through the agency of insects and those
whose pollen is carried from one to the other by the
wind, many great differences exist. In the case of any
and all flowers fertilized by insects, the blossoms are
more or less conspicuously colored, apparently with
the design of attracting insects to them; and then
again, all such flowers secrete some kind of sweet
juice or nectar, to secure which the insects eagerly
enter the corollas.

164 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

Many flowers unfold their petals only at night, as
for instance the large evening primrose family; such
plants are fertilized through the visits of various
nocturnal moths, and their flowers are always white
or at least light-colored, apparently so as to be seen
the more readily by these insects. It would be a
decided disadvantage to such flowers to be open
during the day; their fragile blossoms would be
exposed to injury, and the nectar would perhaps be
stolen away by insects not of the proper size and
shape to effect the fertilization, or perchance the sweet
juices would be dried up by the heat of the sun, so
that by night they would have no alluring nectar
to tempt the nocturnal moths to visit them. In con-
sequence, the Mower cups are tightly closed during
the day; but as soon as the twilight comes, they
wake from their sleep, and spread out their brightly
colored petals like banners of light, offering a
tempting resting place to the passing moth, and
asking in return for such courtesy only the small
favor of bringing a tiny packet from another plant
and carrying a similar parcel to the next. By another
wise provision, those flowers that depend upon bees,
butterflies, and all kinds of diurnal fliers for then-
fertilization, close their petals with the sun, and
sleep in peace and quiet till the return of day, with
its warmth and light and merry insect hum.

On the other hand, wind-fertilized flowers are in
general small, and inconspicuously colored, and they
secrete no honey. Such plants as a rule grow in
large groups or bunches, as is the case with the

HOW FLOWERS ARE FERTILIZED. 165

grains arid grasses, so that a greater quantity of
pollen is borne by the wind over the region in which
they grow. But this beautiful adaptation is carried
even farther. It is a well known fact that insects
are usually attracted by brilliant colors. Remem-
bering this, let us examine any bright variegated
blossom, a light-tinted pansy or "heart's ease" for
instance: notice the arrangement of the streaks of
most striking colors upon the outspread petals, all
directed like the veins of a fairy's fan toward a centre;
this centre is the entrance to the nectary where also
the pollen-covered anther lies concealed. Watch
now an insect as it alights on the expanded lip of
the flower; it follows the direction of the brightly-
colored lines, and thrusts its proboscis into the nec-
tary, gaining the honey for its pains, and receiving
also with very little chance of failure, the pollen
from the well- stocked stamens. In many variegated
flowers bright-colored hairs are seen pointing toward
the cup of sweets so much desired by the flying visitors.

Observe also that many flowers hang with their
corollas opening downward, by which means the
nectar is protected in its cavity from rain; and see
also how nearly all honey-producing plants with
erect blossoms close their cups and bow their heads
at the approach of rain or storm.

Such, then, seems to have been the great Creator's
purpose, that not even the color of a flower or the tinted
streaks on the corolla tube, or the particles of dust
on the stamens, or the honey drop within the blossom
cup, is made without a purpose both great and wise.

166 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

FRUITS.

S$JS SOON as the fertilization of the flower has
been affected by any of the methods of
Nature, some of which have been briefly re-
ferred to already, the object for which the
corolla of the plant seems to have been created, is
accomplished; and thereupon the most brilliant part
of the flower begins to wither and very soon disap-
pears. If the corolla continued in its beauty after
the pollen had been given and received, as far as the
plant itself is concerned, it would be purely an object
of display; and to insects flying past it would be but
a delusive snare to visit the blossom when the
nectary was empty and the anthers devoid of pollen.
Such a visit would not be simply useless to the visit-
ing insect, but positively injurious to the flower; for
no insect can possibly enter a flower without causing
danger to the delicate parts: such dangers are cer-
tainly best avoided in the critical time at which the
seed is forming within the ovary. Beside, should a
large insect alight upon a blossom and find no nectar
within the cup to slake his thirst, nor honey to bear
away, after having been attracted thither through
the bright tints of the flower, he may show his disap-
pointment by undue haste to retire, with injurious
consequences to the flower.

As fast as the corolla withers away, the ovary con-
taining now the fertilized seeds, increases in size,

FRUITS. 167

forming the so-called fruit of the plant. There are
many varieties of fruit, differing in form and size;
though some of the soft and luscious parts of plants
which we esteem under the name of fruits, are in
fact no fruits at all.

A fruit, strictly speaking, is the ripened ovary of
a plant with its contents. The pod fruit is a com-
mon kind, familiar to us all through the typical form
of peas and beans. And of this one kind there are
many minor varieties differing in proportionate size
and shape; all of them, however, readily splitting
open at maturity so as to scatter the ripened ovules.
Examples of small pods are furnished by the fruit of
the mustard plant and the common pepper grass, and
also the sack-shaped vessel of the modest little shep-
herd's purse. Then there is the gourd fruit, such as
the melon, squash, cucumber and pumpkin, with its
hard rind on the outside, and the soft, pulpy interior
with its multitude of seeds. These monstrous fruits
are simply the swollen ovaries of the spring blossoms,
and it is instructive to watch the development of the
fruit from the flower through the various stages.
When the gourd is ripe, the dried and withered
corolla may be seen still attached at the end.

Now let us glance at another form of fruit, the
berry, in which the seed vessel has grown soft
and fleshy throughout, the seeds being contained in
the pulp. Examples of berries are furnished by the
currant, gooseberry and tomato. Then there is the
drupe or stone-fruit, in which one part of the ovary
has hardened into a shell like that of a nut, enclosing

168 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

the kernel or seed proper, while the outer portion is
soft and juicy. For this provision we have reason to
be thankful, since such fruits are so delicious as food.

The pome fruit, such as the apple, pear or quince,
is a peculiar kind. The core is in reality the true
seed vessel; the "pips" contained within are the
seeds, while the soft parts, forming so large a
proportion of the whole is produced by an abnormal
growth and thickening of the calyx or outer tube of
the original blossom.

To produce flowers that finally ripen into fruit
with perfect seeds, is apparently the great achieve-
ment for which all plants strive; and as soon as this
labor is accomplished the plant withers and dies,
either wholly as with all annual plants, or partially
as in the case of biennials and perennials.

THE SEED AND HOW IT SPROUTS.

A vegetable seed has always seemed to me to be
an object of great interest. It holds within its little
shell such wondrous possibilities. Who would even
dream, if he had never seen the actual occurrence,
that the tiny apple pip, concealed beneath its tough
little jacket the germ of so vigorous an existence,
a spark of vitality that may develop into a wide-
spreading tree, blazing in the spring-time with
beauteous blossoms and verdant leaves, and, in the
autumn months, laden with fruit, producing yearly
thousands of other seeds like itself. It would be
interesting to watch it as it grows, and instructive to
learn the lesson of its little life. But as the apple
seed is too small to be closely examined by our un-

FRUITS. 169

aided vision, let us select a more convenient, and an
easier form, showing, however, the same principle.
Take, for instance, a few plump beans, of almost any
kind — common white or black beans will answer
well. Soak them for a few hours in water, by which
treatment they will lose their hard and brittle char-
acter and become soft and yielding. Now, let us
tear off, carefully, the outside skin — look at it atten-
tively before throwing it aside; note its tough,
leathery nature — -well adapted, indeed, to protect
the still more wonderful structures within. We
see that our bean consists of two parts, readily
separated from each other; let us open them — laying
them back as one would the covers of a book — and
there, snugly packed between the lobes, is the baby
bean plant — a pair of little leaves, folded as Nature
is wont to fold her treasures when she lays them
away, and a tiny root.

The process of germination then is really one of
development only; the young plant is present in the
seed, formed there through the agency of the parent
plant, and only awaiting the influences of warmth
and nourishment to hasten its growth. But what are
these two large thick lobes already spoken of between
which the young bean was so snugly laid away?
Man values them as food for himself and animals,
but they were originally intended to serve as food to
the young plant when it would begin to grow, and
before it would have developed sufficiently to absorb
its own nutriment from the soil.

By the aid of the microscope we would soon (lis-

170 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

cover that this bean is composed mostly of starch —
the form in which the food of plants is commonly
stored up for future use. Starch is to plants what
fat is in the animal body. Now we have already
pointed out that no food is available to the plant
unless in a state of solution, and starch cannot be
dissolved in water. How then can the rich stock of
starch present in the bean be made use of? As soon
as the bean begins to sprout, a peculiar change is
effected in the material of which it is composed, the
starch being transformed into a kind of sugar, which
as all of us know full well, is readily soluble in water.
The sugar thus formed in the germinating seed has
not been created from any external source, but is
formed from the elements of the starch already
present. As fast as the sugar develops the starch
disappears. The moisture present within the plant
dissolves the sugar to a kind of syrup, which is
absorbed and assimilated within the tissues of the
infant plant. Some may ask, why it would not have
been better for the plant if its food had been formed
of sugar in the first place; no such complicated trans-
formation would in such case be required, and the
food would have been in a more available state.
The answer to this furnishes another proof of the
supreme wisdom exercised by the Creator over the
many objects of His care. If the bean and other
seeds contained sugar instead of starch, the first rain
storm would wash it away and leave the tiny plant
for whose benefit the food was designed, entirely
destitute of nourishment. It is better then that the

FRUITS. 171

food remain in an insoluble and unavailable form
until the time of sprouting. Again, many of these
rich and starch filled seeds are of great practical
use to man; and he could not feed himself and ani-
mals on sugar. Starch is very valuable as food to
animals and is constantly being eaten by man and
beast in great quantities, but sugar can only be
eaten sparingly.

By taking advantage of this strange change of
the starchy matter into sugar as the seed germinates,
the brewer obtains his malt. A quantity of grain
is taken (barley is found to be the best adapted to
the purpose) and kept for some time in a damp and
warm place — just the conditions which naturally pre-
vail in the spring time, and are so effectual in
awakening the sleeping germ. Under these artificial
conditions the barley forthwith sprouts, at the same
time, a quantity of sugar is developed from the
starchy material of each grain. This we may satis-
factorily prove by chewing a few of the sprouting
grains, or a kernel of the prepared malt — the sweet
taste is conclusive evidence of the presence of sugar.
The malster then increases the heat sufficiently to
kill the tiny plants and thus he prevents them absorb-
ing and using the food now ready; then by soaking
and fermenting the malt, the sugar is transformed
into the intoxicating alcohol which is present in all
liquors produced.

What has been said of the bean is true of all
plants of the kind. There are some seeds however,
like that of Indian corn, which consist of but one

172 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

lobe in place of two; and when such seeds sprout they
produce but one leaf at first, instead of a pair. These
are characteristic features of all endogenous or
"inside growing plants" while the exogenous or
"outside growers" possess double seeds and a pair
of first leaves like the bean. This is a distinctive
feature between the two classes of plants and
has been already referred to. We may readily
watch the seed through all the wonderful and inter-
esting stages of germination and growth at least
until the distinct parts of the plant, root and stem
and leaves, have been formed, by taking seeds of
various kind, peas, beans, Indian corn and the like —
and sowing them on moist cotton wool. By keeping
this damp and warm for a few days germination is
induced, and can be easily watched and studied. If
it be desirable to carry this method of culture farther,
the plants should be taken one by one, and each
loosely inserted into a vertical slit cut in a cork,
which has been previously fitted to a bottle contain-
ing water. By a careful arrangement the roots can
be kept immersed, while the seed itself and the stem
are out of the liquid. Let us observe how the thick
bulky seed shrivels and shrinks as it gets rid of its
load of food matter. The root of the growing plant
soon spreads within the bottle and fills the greater
part of the space while the stem and leaves develop
with equal vigor above the cork. In this experiment
ordinary hard water should be used, the solid matters
contained in the water are needed within the body of
the plant, and pure water could not sustain the

FRUITS. 173

growth. Unless the soluble matter which naturally
forms the food of the plant when growing in the soil
be added to the solution, the growth will be checked
long before maturity is reached. The process can be
assisted by adding water in which wood ashes have
been stirred and allowed to stand for some time;
the clear fluid being then poured off; but to
secure the best possible result with large and mature
plants, a chemically prepared solution is requisite.*

By this method of " water culture" we may easily
study the growth of seeds with all their wonders.
By these means plants can be developed to maturity;
maize plants have been grown from five to six feet
high; and buckwheat plants nearly seven feet high.

* For the information of those who would desire to
carry this truly interesting subject further, the following
directions are given for preparing a culture fluid. Great
care must be exercised in the mixing: Take 75 grains of
fine powder of well-burned bones (bone-ash can be pro-
cured at drug establishments); place in a large bowl or
vessel not of metal; pour on it a little boiling water,
and add cautiously while still hot a small quantity of
nitric acid. (This acid is sometimes called aqua fortis; it
is extremely corrosive and poisonous and must be used
with great care.) Enough acid should be added to nearly
dissolve the bone ash; do not use too much, however, not
enough to give the solution a permanently sour taste.
Then add 45 grains of nitre, 28 grains of Epsom salts, and
15 grains of potassium chloride— all of which can be
obtained at the druggists for a very few cents. When all
are dissolved, add enough water to make the solution up
to two gallons. This can be used to advantage in culti-
vating any ordinary plant by the method before explained.

174 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

WANDERING SEEDS.

@Jg»HE number of seeds produced by a single
£§!/<£ plant, is frequently surprising; and if this

¥ multitude of seeds were deposited when ripe,
in the neighborhood of the parent plant, the
space of ground would soon be impoverished, and
prove unable to furnish necessary nourishment to the
increasing numbers. As with mankind, when a family
increases so that the habitation is really too small
for their accommodation, the grown-up sons and
daughters, leave the parental roof and seek homes
for themselves. So with plants. Nature has pro-
vided many devices, by which the seeds are borne
away from the locality in which they grew, and are
scattered under circumstances best calculated for
their future development and well-being.

Some such wandering seeds travel to very great
distances. Look with care at the white plumes of
the dandelion — the flower of civilization. The button
or head of the ripe flower is seen to be studded with
small, hard bodies, each covered with little barbs
directed upward, and surmounted by a pretty little
tuft of shining hairs, called the pappus. These are
the seeds, each equipped for travel in the neatest and
most compact way; all its belongings packed in the
smallest possible space — packed as only Dame Nature
can pack — no unwieldy trunks, nor bulky carpet-
bags, and yet, containing within the little parcel,

WANDERING SEEDS. 175

the possibilities of future flowers, with honey and
hum of bee associated, of meadows carpeted with
golden blossoms, and fields ablaze with a fire that
speaks of Omnipotence. With the least stir of wind
the wide-spread pappus is borne away, the seed sus-
pended below. Watch it riding upon the air, poised
more beautifully than cumbrous parachute or swol-
len balloon. When it rests it is perhaps many miles
away from the place of its birth. As it floats, the
barbed seed being the heaviest part is always below,
and as it comes to the ground, the seed touches the
earth first. Then, by the waving to and fro, of the
downy pappus, the seed is worked deeper and deeper
into the soil; the little barbs or hooks upon its sur-
face effectually preventing its withdrawal. In this
wise and perfect way the seed is safely sown. Such
an admirable adaptation to travel, explains the wide
distribution of this humble flower, originally native
to Europe, but now scattered over the world. Neither
mountains nor plains, winds nor oceans have been
of sufficient power to intercept it in its wander-
ings. .

All that has been said as to the arrangement of
the dandelion seed may be repeated with truth
regarding the seed of the sowthistle, with its silken
tuft of hairs; and the lettuce seed, and the
sneezeweed, and the sun-flower with its short pappus
composed of but a single scale. For another striking
example let us seek the seed of our ordinary milk-
weed or silk grass. We may find the ovaries bursting
open in autumn and revealing the bundles of seeds

176 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

within each bearing a tuft of silvery hairs of almost
indescribable beauty. The seed itself is flattened,
and the surface roughened by numerous projecting
points. The seed is borne away by the breath of the
wiud, though it be but the gentlest zephyr, and when
deposited, it falls and is sown after the manner of
the dandelion already described. The seeds of some
plants are so minute that their very smallness insures
their transportation; of such a kind are the spores of
mosses, lichens and ferns; they seem to find their
way everywhere from the mountain top to the deep-
est caverns of the earth.*

The seeds of maple, elm, box-elder, ash and pine
are provided with wing-like expansions to aid in
transportation, while others are wrapped in a cottony!
or woolly covering, as is the case with the willow and
poplar families of plants, and by these means they
are borne from place to place.

In the case of plants whose seeds are not adapted
for long journeys, arrangements no less remarkable
and perfect are made to secure a proper distribution
and scattering of the seed over less extended areas.
The jewel- weed, sometimes also called snap-weed,
and by others very appropriately named touch-me-
not, is a common little plant in many parts of Europe;

* Mr. Swartz, a reliable traveler and observer, states
that he found in Jamaica many species of mosses and
ferns identical with those common to the northern part of
Europe, though all other plants were new and peculiar.

t The raw cotton of commerce, which is reckoned among
the most valuable productions of the vegetable kingdom,
is the downy covering of the seeds of the cotton plant.

WANDERING SEEDS. 177

and, though less common here, it is of so remarkable
and interesting a nature as to merit at least a men-
tion. Its seeds, five in number, are attached to a
carpel or seed case; at maturity the attachment
becomes very highly elastic, ready to break loose at
the slightest touch. When shaken or in any way
disturbed they coil themselves with a sudden jerk
and scatter the seeds to a considerable distance.
The seeds of the so-called lady's slipper and of the
sweet-pea are scattered when ripe in an analagous
way by the elasticity of their capsules.

The squirting cucumber is even more peculiar than
these in its method of scattering its seeds. As it
ripens, the fruit becomes filled and finally distended
with a watery juice; soon the pressure becomes so
great that the cucumber breaks loose from the stalk
at the point of attachment, the mingled water and
seeds being projected through the orifice with suf-
ficient force to carry them a great distance.

Nearly all wandering seeds manifest decided
preferences for fine, dry weather, the parent plants
seem willing to release their winged progeny only at
such times. There is consequently, less liability of
moisture being condensed upon the wings or the
downy attachments of the seed and thus impeding
its progress. A notable exception ought to be
recorded to this rule, so marked, in fact, that it tes-
tifies, as strongly as the general tendency from which
it differs, to an Omniscient design. The desert ice
plant, found on dry and sandy plains, opens its seed
capsules during the wet seasons, for only at such

13

178 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

times, in places naturally parched, would there be
sufficient moisture to promote germination.

But aerial travel is not the only mode of trans-
portation employed by vegetable seeds in their wan-
derings; they go also by water and by land. Most
seeds are snugly wrapped in impermeable coverings,
within which they can safely remain submerged for
a long time. Seeds of semi-tropical plants are fre-
quently cast ashore on the northern coasts, and
would doubtless grow there but for the severity of
the climatic conditions. The seeds of many aquatic
plants are known to be carried on the feathers of
water fowl to distant lakes and rivers.

Now let us look at the seed of a burdock plant —
the burdock button, as we call it, though it is doubt-
ful if buttons made after such a pattern would be
at all desirable. These prickly seeds are liter-
ally covered with sharp hooks and barbs, by which
they become attached, and firmly too, to the hair or
wool of animals that may come in contact with the
plant. See the condition of horses and cattle as
they come in from their winter range, their manes
and tails matted with burs — not a very pleasing
spectacle, it is true — they are at such times unwilling
agents in the employ of eager plants, seemingly
anxious to give their offspring a start in life. When
the wool or hair is shed, perhaps far from the mother
plant, the seed reaches the ground where it subse-
quently germinates and establishes a new home. Or
as it frequently happens, the animal may be killed,
and its hide sent to distant parts, even across the

WANDERING SEEDS. 179

ocean, where by cleaning, the seeds are set free to
grow afresh.

Many birds feed largely on seeds and small fruits;
which in some cases are so thoroughly protected by
hard and tough outer coats or shells, that they
resist for a long time the action of the digestive
fluids within the body of the bird, and may be
deposited aad grown in distant parts. Amateur
gardeners in southern Europe are in the habit of
shooting migratory birds that are just returning in
the early spring from more southern climes, for the
sake of obtaining the foreign seeds within their
stomachs.

Dr. Sumner states that the Hollanders, being
unable to retain their possession of the Spice Islands
determined to abandon them, but before doing so,
they jealously rooted out the nutmeg plants, which
formed in fact the most valuable production of the
islands. The birds, however, administered a striking-
rebuke to such cupidity, by soon disseminating
the nutmeg seeds over the land. Such a case shows
but the selfish ignorance of man; the Creator dis-
plays His wise power through the humblest instru-
ment, but accomplishes His purposes in all their
righteous fulness. The currents of the sea, the
breezes of the land, the birds and the beasts and
even men are unconsciously acting in the service of
an all-directing power, and do much to diversify and
beautify the earth by carrying the ovules of flowers
and fruits from place to place.

180 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

CHAPTER XXXV.

PARASITIC PLANTS.

3$SS PARASITE, whether among men, animals
&fo® or plants, is an individual who contrives to
j^5 live at the expense of another. And many
y such are to be met with in the vegetable
kingdom. As we have already seen, the root is the
organ by which the plant obtains its food from the
soil; but there are some plants, which, instead of
developing roots of their own and striking into the
earth, manage to become attached to larger plants
and rob them of their juices.

Such for instance is the case with the majestic
mistletoe, with which we are most familiar from the
interesting rites attending it at Christmastide. This
plant is a true parasite on the oak tree, striking a
kind of root into the branches or stem of its host,
and abstracting the juices and sap therefrom.

The common dodder — of tantalizing frequency in
many gardens and fields, is another of the kind. In
the early part of its existence it appears to be a per-
fectly natural and well-behaved plant, rising from a
seed within the soil as other respectable vegetables
do; but it is by nature a climbing plant, and to assist
itself in its ascent, it twines itself about the body of
any other plant that may be near at hand. It
tightens its hold upon the supporting plant from the
first, and finally becomes entirely parasitic, taking
the juices of its living prop, and ceasing to absorb

PARASITIC PLANTS. 181

food for itself from the soil. At such time it may be
severed near the ground from its root without detri-
ment, as it no longer supports itself.

A much smaller, and in fact a more unwelcome
form is the potato-blight, which frequently occurs in
such profusion as to destroy the entire potato crop
through very large districts. The spores (correspond-
ing to the seeds of larger plants) from which this
growth is developed, are extremely small, and may
be borne by the wind or through the medium of
water to the potato plant, upon which they immedi-
ately begin to grow. They attach themselves to the
leaves of the potato plants, by sending off little
threads corresponding to roots, which penetrate the
tissue of the leaves and stems by passing between
the fibres and the cells; and succeed in stealing away
the juices and the sap, resulting before long in the
ruin of the plant. The potato-blight has many
relatives, all extremely small, and all growing
with rank luxuriance under favorable conditions.
Some infest one particular kind of plant and others
are found on many. We are familiar with those that
grow on wheat, rye, barley, Indian corn and the like,
of which we speak as vast, smut, mildew, ergot, etc.
The black or brown dust to be seen in grain smuts is
composed of innumerable spores of these parasites,
each of which under proper conditions may develop
and thrive to infest future grain crops, though some
seasons seem much more favorable than others to
such growths.

There is an unknown number of microscopic plant^

182 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

all interesting and instructive in their structure and
growth. A very common form is the mildew or mould,
so common on damp leather, old shoes, bread and
vegetables that have attained a venerable age, fruits
and preserves and the like. There also are plants,
growing in much the same way as the potato-blight
by absorbing nourishment from the substances to
which they are attached. If we examine such, even
with an ordinary pocket lens, the patch of mildew
becomes transformed into a beautiful forest, like
those we read of as existing in fairy-land, wherever
that may be. There are the stems, looking like
trunks of trees, and bearing the spore cases, not
unlike the ripened seed capsules of the garden poppy,
each rilled with spores.

Moulds seem to grow almost everywhere, often
springing up without apparent cause, so that some
people have imagined that they originate spontan-
eously from the materials upon which they are found
growing. Such an idea is erroneous. Though but
simple in structure and with very few parts when
compared with the apple tree and the oak, that little
patch of mildew is still a colony of perfect living organ-
isms, and such can only originate from germs or seeds
of their own kind. But whence came the spores of these
musty moulds on our walls and books and every-
where. The microscope again comes to our aid and
shows us that the air in nearly all places is heavily
laden with the tiny spores of these fungi; which
indeed are so fine that they are borne about through
£he air without our knowledge, but as soon as they

PARASITIC PLANTS. 183

fall in any still damp place, affording proper nourish-
ment, at once they begin to grow.

Man is as utterly unable by his own knowledge
and instrumentality to originate a tiny patch of
green mould, as he is to raise an oak tree from the
soil without first planting the acorn. Every plant
and every animal increases after its kind, and only
so.

Part III.

The Mineral or Stone Kingdom.

"Aly heart is awed within me, when I think
Of the great miracle which still goes on
In silence round me — the perpetual work
Of Thy creation, finished, yet renewed
Forever."

CHAPTER XXXVI.

ROCKS AND STONES.

!HUS far in the course of this little book we
have directed our attention to the study and
observation of animals and plants, the two
great and natural divisions of living things.
It will be remembered that these were spoken of as
two of the three great kingdoms of Nature, the
Mineral Kingdom being the third, and about this
thus far we have said nothing. The mineral king-
dom includes all those natural objects that are with-
out life, such as stones, metals and their ores. These
do not grow and increase as do things that live; they
do not feed or feel; in short, they are dead. Com-
mon and unattractive things these stones seem to us

ROCKS AND STONES. 185

at most times, devoid of the beauteous form of leaf
and flower, and showing none of the winning traits
of our animal friends. Yet we may find the stones
capable of teaching most valuable lessons to those
who are willing to learn.

Stone or Bock is the material of which the earth's
crust is composed; in small masses this is called stone,
in larger ones, rock.*

Thus even layers of soil and loose bodies of sand
and clay would be termed rock in referring to the
structure of the earth's crust.

There seem to be so many different kinds of stone,
that one feels to despair of the hope of finding out
much about each; but we have already met a similar
difficulty in speaking of animals and vegetables —
their name was "legion" too; and yet we have been
able to classify them in companies, each comprising
such as resembled one another in most respects; and
by these means we have extended our understanding
over these subjects in a way which would have been
impossible under other conditions. And so also will
it prove with stones and rocks. Look for instance at
the cobble stones, such as lie scattered about the

* A very common application of the word "rock" to
stones of any size is peculiar to certain regions of the
United States. In other parts of the English speaking
world such a lack of all distinction would be regarded
with disfavor; and to speak of boys throwing "rocks" at
each other, one writer says, would be regarded as "a
supremely ridiculous expression." To be precise therefore
we should speak of "stone" when meaning a small mass
of rock, and of "rock" when we refer to very large stones.

186 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

streets; they are of many colors, and of a still greater
diversity of shape, so that any kind of a classification
based upon color or form would appear to be nearly
if not quite impossible, so we must try some other
means of distinction aud separation.

Take your pocket-knife — a stout, blunt blade will
be the best — and try to scratch with it several of
these stones. In some cases you will succeed in
scoring or furrowing the surface of the stone; in
others, nothing but a glistening streak appears
— no furrow, no indentation, because the stone
was too hard ; the shining line is caused by
particles of the steel having been rubbed off, through
the superior hardness of the stone. Now chip off a
small piece from one of the softer kind, and a piece
also from one of the hard sort. Provide, then, a
small vessel, such as a nappy or a wine-glass, half-
full of strong vinegar. Put the fragment of
hard stone into the vinegar; most likety, nothing
sufficiently striking to attract our attention will
occur, unless the stone be porous, in which case,
several bubbles of air will rise through the liquid as
they escape from the pores, but this will very soon
cease.

Now place the bit of soft stone into the vinegar
and watch again. In all probability there will appear
to be a very great disturbance within the glass;
bubbles of gas escaping from the stone throw the
vinegar into violent agitation, so that it appears at
first sight to be actually boiling; this, however, is a
delusion, the contents of the glass are far from being

ROCKS AND STONES. 187

warm enough to boil. This gas which is escaping
from the bit of stone is called "carbon dioxide"; it
used to be known under the name of "carbonic acid
gas"; and it formed in reality part of the stone. It
has been imprisoned within the hard material of the
rocky mass perhaps for centuries, but is set free at
once through the action of the vinegar. If the stone
had been ground to powder before being added to
the vinegar, the action would have been much more
violent, perhaps sufficiently so to throw the liquid
out of the vessel. The bubbling and agitation within
the vessel would be all the more striking if a stronger
acid were used instead of the vinegar. Muriatic
acid or sulphuric acid may be employed — the
former is better; a small quantity of either may be
obtained at any druggist's establishment at a low
price. Very great care must be exercised in the use
of these acids. They are both exceedingly poisonous
and corrosive, but this is especially the case with
sulphuric acid or "oil of vitriol" as it is sometimes
named. A single drop falling on the dress may
produce a hole in the cloth; if it comes in contact
with the flesh it will result in painful sores unless
washed off immediately; and if accidentally taken
into the mouth it would prove a rapid and fearful
poison. Strong vinegar, though less powerful in its
action, is safer for our present purpose, and would
better be used in testing rocks, except by those who
are somewhat used to handling chemicals.

Here, then, is a ready distinction between several
varieties of common stones. We have seen that

188 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

some are so hard that a knife does not scratch them,
and upon these, acids have no effect; these are termed
siliceous stones. Then we have spoken of others,
which, although quite hard, can yet be easily
scratched with a knife blade, and upon which acids
act vigorously; these are called calcareous stones.
All kinds of marble and limestone belong to this
second class; and from such lime is made by burning
(or more properly, by heating, since it is the fuel that
burns and not the rock itself). Heat will set free
and drive off the carbon dioxide gas contained in
the stone as the acid did in our little experiment
already described; and after this gas has gone from
this kind of stone, lime remains. The Romans called
lime calx; and from this word we have learned to
speak of all rocks that yield lime when heated, as
calcareous rocks.

We may find many stones, however, which are soft
enough to be readily scratched by a knife, and yet
are not affected by acids to any degree. Such for
instance would be the case with stones produced
from clay, such as slates and the like. These we
may call clay stones for the present. In some parts
of Utah and in many other regions we may find
stones so soft that they can easily be scratched by
the finger uail, and are not acted upon by acids at
all. This soft material is called gypsum or plaster
stone. The latter name is given from the fact that
if such stones be placed in a kiln and heated, steam
would escape instead of carbon dioxide gas; and in
place of lime the so-called plaster of Paris is formed

ROCKS AND STONES. 189

within the kiln. This substance is called "plaster
of Paris" because it was first produced a great many
years ago from a rock found near Paris, in France.
It is very highly prized for producing the fine and
smooth hard finish, so much admired on the inner
walls of houses; also for taking impressions and casts
of various objects. When mixed with water so as
to form a kind of paste or cream, it can be moulded
or poured, and soon afterward it "sets" or becomes
hard, preserving all the details of form of the object
by which it was shaped.

Gypsum exists in great quantities and in a wide
variety of forms in many parts of our mountain
regions. Beautiful specimens of transparent gypsum
(called from their lustre ''selenite," meaning like the
moon) may be found in many parts of Sanpete
County, in the hills around Manti and Gunnison,
also in Salina Canon, Sevier County; and immense
deposits of uncrystallized gypsum or plaster stone are
found near Nephi, Juab County, in Kane County,
and in many other parts.

We have learned, then, to recognize these four
classes of stones: siliceous, calcareous, clay and
plaster stones, whenever we meet with them; and
these are the commonest we will be likely to find on
the surface of the ground. These are simple stones,
so named from the fact that each one of them con-
sists of but one kind of material, but there are many
others more complicated in structure, each con-
sisting of several kinds. Examine a piece of
granite, for instance, it is a common kind of stone, and

190 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

will be recognized by most of our readers without
difficulty. It is of this beautiful and enduring
material our great temple in Salt Lake City is built.
Even a hasty glance shows this to consist of
several distinct constituents; there are some white
pieces scattered through the rock which prove to be
very hard; a knife does not scratch them, and acid
cannot affect them; these are pieces of siliceous stone
usually called quartz; then there is another kind of
material to be seen, usually flesh-colored or white,
and showing brilliant faces if held toward the light,
so as to reflect as a mirror would; this is called
feldspar; and then there are some darker specks, in
reality little scales, and are called mica. Granite,
then, consists of three simple rocks, mingled and
solidified together — quartz, feldspar and mica. We
shall, perhaps, find other stony mixtures of this kind,
if we look about us. With the aid of our little
pocket magnifying glasses we will be able to dis-
tinguish the ingredients of most of the common
ones.

CHAPTER XXXVli.

PEBBLES AND WHAT THEY HAVE TO TELL.

iNLY a pebble from the brook! Look at it with
% care — rounded and worn, it looks old, and
indeed it is. Without doubt it has existed in
that state for a very great time — longer than
any of us have lived on earth. If it had a tongue

PEBBLES. 191

and could 'talk to us, that rough-looking stone
would have strange stories to tell of its past
history. I would like very much to ask it how
it came here, what gave it that smooth surface and
rounded form, and how it is that there are so many
different sizes and shapes of pebbles, and so on.

It has certainly gone through a polishing process,
and the mill in which this was carried on, was in fact
the river itself. Look at the stones in the bed of a
running stream; as the water moves they are con-
stantly jostled against one another and rolled over
and over and knocked together, in consequence of
which they become smooth and round. Fast flowing
water is able to move much greater weights than
slow streams, and therefore only small pebbles reach
the lower parts of the stream, where the water has
become spread out and runs but slowly, while as we
follow the stream toward its head the stones in its
bed become larger and larger, until we reach the
canons in which the river has its source, and there
we find large boulders in the course of the stream.
These are constantly being torn loose by the stream
from the rocky sides, and sometimes they fall from
the overhanging cliffs and thus reach the river bed,
when they are carried along grinding and being
ground as they go. Here then is the source of our
pebbles; these boulders are the rocks from which the
smaller stones are made. This is an answer to
the first of the questions which we asked of the
pebbles — as to how they came to the place at which
we found them.

192 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

Not all stones wear away with the same rapidity
as they descend the stream; the harder kinds will
resist the grinding process much longer than their
softer companions. For instance; if two boulders,
say of equal size, but one of hard, siliceous rock, and
the other of the softer calcareous kind, should chance
to fall into the stream, together; after a short time,
the softer rock would most probably be so worn and
reduced in size, that we could scarcely recognize the
outlines of the original; whereas, the harder, siliceous
mass, would scarcely have changed its form at all.

And thus we obtain the answers to two of our
questions in one — as to why pebbles are of so many
sizes and shapes, and what gave them their polished
faces.

The author was very much interested and in-
structed on an occasion a few years ago by a short
visit to a large establishment in the East, in which
boys' marbles are made. The manner in which the
operation is carried on is illustrative of pebble-
making and polishing, under the best conditions.
These "marbles" are made of many different kinds
of stone, the best being of marble and agate and the
common ones of limestone and slate. But one kind
of material is used at any one time, however. The
stone is first broken into little blocks, all of about
equal size; these are then placed in a large cylinder
or drum, which is made to revolve by steam power,
and through which a stream of water is kept flowing.
As the revolution continues, the bits of stone within
the cylinder are thrown against one another in much

PEBBLES. 193

the same way as pebbles are on the bed of a running
river. There is, however, one great difference between
the two processes. The drum turns completely
round, and in consequence the blocks of stone are
jostled and rubbed on all sides equally, and thus they
become shaped into almost perfect spheres; whereas
in the corresponding operation on the bed of the
stream the grinding is far less uniform, the stones
being moved by the force of the stream alone. And
furthermore, as the river stones are of widely varying
size, and of different degrees of hardness, there is
little likelihood that perfect spheres will be produced.
If the stones be longer in one direction than another,
and especially if somewhat flattened, the running
stream will rather slide than roll them, and thus the
irregularity would be increased.

Pebbles are also formed in great numbers on the
sea-shore. Those readers who have visited the ocean
edge have, without doubt, noticed the long, sweeping-
waves rolling up the beach and receding, only to
return and again retreat. The stones upon the
beach are rolled and rubbed by this wave action with
truly wonderful force. It has been found, from
careful observation, that the beach moves to
the depth of over two feet, and the grinding
sound produced can be heard at a considerable dis-
tance from the shore. An interesting calculation
has been made by Prof. Shaler, on the distance
traveled in this to and fro style by an ordinary sea-
side stone during the day. He says "it travels in
time of calm a little distance every time the wave

14

194 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

strikes, and as this is, say, six times a minute, the stone
moves a few feet (we may average the distance at
ten feet) in all weathers, they would thus travel
between twelve and fifteen miles a day."

But, it may be asked, where are the large rocks
from which these sea-side pebbles are made? These
are really detached portions of the coast, broken off
by the action of the waves from the cliffs against
which they strike; and being driven by the force of
the water back and forth upon the beach, the grind-
ing process goes on with great rapidity, the debris
worn off in the process forming sand and mud.
Under certain conditions, large deposits of pebbles and
gravel are made with sand or mud, and the stones
are bound together so as to form a solid mass of rock.
Such a formation is called conglomerate, though, if
the pebbles be rounded and smooth, the somewhat
expressive name of "pudding-stone" is bestowed
upon it. The cement that binds the pebbles or
gravel together becomes as hard and durable as the
stones themselves. Many of our local canons show
extensive formations of conglomerate.

Such is a little of that which the pebbles can tell
us. Job, the great prophet of patience and of faith,
once said, "stones shall speak;" and indeed they have
done so, and are still ready to talk to those who are
willing to hear and to learn. But they do not use
our language any more than does the dog whining at
his master's feet, or the bird singing upon its perch.
We must learn to understand the tongue of the
rocks and stones if we would know their wondrous

SAND AND SANDSTONES. 1&5

secrets; we must question them through the medium
of steady and prayerful examination; they will
answer more by looks than sounds it is true, and the
mind must act as interpreter between their language
and ours.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

SAND AND SAND-STONES.

tE HAVE already discovered how sand is
formed ; it is by the breaking up and wear-
ing away of certain kinds of rocks through
the means of river currents and ocean
waves. Let us gather a few grains of sand, and see
if they differ in any other respect than that of size
from the larger pebbles about which we have already
spoken. Yes, there are many differences; these bits of
sand have sharp edges in spite of all the wearing and
bruising to which they have been subjected during
the long period of their preparation; in hardness
they compare favorably with the hardest of common
pebbles. These tiny grains are altogether too small
to allow scratching with a knife to ascertain their
relative hardness; but we may reach the same
result in another way. By rubbing a pinch of sand
on a piece of glass, the glass will be easily cut and
scratched, proving the hardness of the sand. Now,
place some sand in a little strong vinegar or other
acid, as we tested the bits of stone in a former

196 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

experiment; there will be no bubbles of escaping gas
to be seen. The liquid seems to have little or no
effect upon the sand. We are justified in conclud-
ing that sand grains are really broken and angular
fragments of siliceous stone. Being so very hard
these little grains do a great deal toward grinding
larger stones when driven along b)r water or wind.
This operation has been imitated by man to his own
advantage in grinding and polishing various objects
for ornament and use. The beautiful figures so much
admired on ornamental glassware, are usually pro-
duced by the cutting action of sand, which is driven
through a small pipe by a blast of air or steam with
very great force against the surface to be etched,
producing the roughened, frosted appearance, which
contrasts so strikingly with the smooth and unworn
parts. *

A similar operation on a stupendous scale may be
observed in the case of desert sand-storms; and the
remarkable effects of such action are visible in many
parts of our territory. A simple current of air, though
moving with the velocity of a hurricane, could have but
very little effect upon the face of a rocky cliff against
which it may strike; but if the wind bears sand

* Prof. Dana tells us that the glass in the windows of
houses at Cape Cod on the Atlantic coast is worn through
by the beating of the wind-driven sand. Not only is glass
ground and etched as described above, but also precious
stones and even granite. "In this way," says the author-
ity above quoted," the deep carvings of a granite frieze
have been made in six hours, that would have required
two months of work by hand."

SAND AND SANDSTONES. 197

upon its wings, each little grain strikes like a minia-
ture bullet against the obstruction and thereon
leaves its mark. All the softer parts of the rock will
soon be worn away and the cliff presents before long a
rough and weather-beaten appearance. In time the
hardest rock will yield to the incessant battering of
this wind-driven sand. Those of us who have ever
traveled through the truly beautiful Clear Creek
Canon, leading from Joseph City, Sevier Co., to
Beaver, Utah, cannot fail to have beheld and admired
the fantastic cliffs, which form the canon walls, and
which owe their curious forms mostly to the action of
sand-laden winds. This is but one instance among
many of local interest; the cliffs about Richfield,
Sevier Co. and indeed the hills throughout Iron,
Kane, and Washington Counties of this Territory,
all bear unmistakable evidence of their battle with
the sand.

In some places the sand is so fine that it is borne
to very great distances, and there perhaps deposited
in large bodies, called sand banks, or dunes. These
are common in the neighborhood of sandy ocean
beaches and in deserts. On the sea shore such dunes
frequently attain a height of a hundred feet and an
unbroken length of miles. On the coast of Norfolk,
England, the sand drifts have advanced inland so as
to completely bury farms and houses. The church
spire of the little town of Eccles is about all that is
left exposed to mark the spot of the buried burg.

Many beautiful sand dunes may be seen in the
desert regions of northern Arizona. In traveling

198 FIRST BOOK OF1 NATURE.

from the little town of Orderville, Utah, to Pipe
Springs Fort — the one oasis in the arid wilderness
beyond which lie the Buckskin Mountains — the ever
shifting sand dunes form an impressive spectacle.
The golden sand is piled up in a way no less beautiful
than wonderful. Whenever the wind blows, more
sand is brought to add to the enormous store, or
some is taken from the banks to increase the deposit
in other parts.

Where great quantities of sand have been deposited
by water, year after year, the pressure upon the
lower layers becomes so great, as to solidify the loose
material into a compact mass of rock. This is the
sandstone so common in most parts of the earth, and
so useful to man for building and other purposes..
Sandstones are of varying degrees of compactness,
depending upon the intensity of pressure to which
the sedimentary masses have been subjected, and to
the presence or absence of heat during the process.
Some are so friable as to be readily reduced to
powder between the fingers, and others are so hard
that they can be shaped only by saw and chisel. If
the grains are not alone pressed together, but also
cemented more or less perfectly through the aid of
heat, so that the separate bits from which it was
originally formed cannot be detected, even by the
aid of the magnifying glass, we call such rock
quart zite, and many siliceous stones of our streams
and mountains are of this kind.

MUD AND MUD-STONES. 199

CHAPTER XXXIX.

MUD AND MUD-STONES.

OW let us turn our attention for a short time
J&JJ to the state of ordinary mud, so common
everywhere. According to the definition
already given of the term "rock" in its
widest sense, mud is a variety of rock, and forming
as large a proportion of the surface foundation as it
does, it is certainly of sufficient importance, to claim
a few minutes of our study, during a life-time.
Mud is oftentimes in so fine a condition, that it
scarcely feels gritty, when rubbed between the
fingers. It is, in fact, the smallest subdivision of
rock, and is formed through the battering and wear-
ing operation to which stones are subjected in the
water-mill already described, and also by a rotting
or decaying process of the rocks, which is constantly
going on, upon and beneath the soil. Plants are
continually dying in the soil, and the remains of
their bodies, in undergoing decay, produce certain
kinds of vegetable acids of a corrosive nature,
which are easily dissolved by the water percolating
through the soil. This acid liquid comes then in
contact with rocks within the ground, and hastens
the process of disintegration.

By digging into the crust of the earth at any
place, a floor of solid rock will be found underlying
the more finely divided soil. The upper part of this
rock foundation is generally somewhat soft and

200 FIRST BOOK fOF NATURE.

friable; it is in fact, partly decomposed, and in this
coudition, has been named "rotten rock." Below
this, the hard, solid mass is encountered. In many
places the soil is found to be composed of the same
material as the rock upon which it rests, though in a
divided and an altered form; and we are safe in con-
cluding that such soil was once a continuous part of
the rock below. There is present in the atmosphere,
under ordinary conditions, a definite amount each of
watery vapor, and of carbon dioxide gas, which to-
gether, exert a most powerful effect in disintegrating
the rocky crust of the earth.

It is no less instructive than interesting to con-
template the stupendous labor that is often accom-
plished by what might seem to us the weakest of
Nature's forces. The action of frost for example, is
a powerful means of breaking up the rocks. We
have without doubt taken notice of the fact that in
the act of freezing, water swells considerably, so that
a piece of ice occupies more space than the water
from which it was formed. This principle is at times
rather unpleasantly demonstrated to us by the burst-
ing of pitchers and bottles that had been left with
water in them to freeze. As water percolates through
the soil it enters the pores and crevices of the stones
and rocks, and there by freezing expands with sur-
prising force, and accomplishes the bursting asunder
of the rocky masses on a mammoth scale.

Vegetation on the surface of the soil does much to
increase and assist this general disintegration. The
first roots that are sent off by the growing plant are

MUD AND MUD-STONES. 201

as thin as the finest hairs; they can therefore easily
make their way into the small cracks and crevices of
the rocks; they are, however, constantly growing
larger, and soon completely fill the spaces in the
rocks, finally bursting apart the rocky walls. Growing
roots have been known to separate in this way
immense masses of stone; they act like stout
wedges driven by giant hands. In cities, immense
paving stones have been lifted and the foundations
of colossal buildings have been disturbed through the
growth of the roots of some large tree, which perhaps
at first were no larger than hairs. By these means
the rocks are broken to pieces, and prepared for the
processes of finer division already described. And
in such simple though effectual ways the stony cover-
ing of the earth is reduced to the finest state, and
thus forms the soil, upon which depends all the
higher operations of life.

Ordinary mud, though fine throughout when com-
pared with sand or gravel, yet consists of particles
of many different sizes. Put a bit of mud in a glass
of water, then stir and set aside; the heavier and
coarser particles are seen immediately settling to the
bottom; but the finer bits remain suspended in the
liquid for hours or even for days. In a manner
similar to this the pebbles, sand, and mud gathered
by rivers in their flow are carried and distributed;
the heavier bits of stone being deposited first, while
the fine mud is borne in all probability low down
toward the mouth of the stream. Now let us take a
wee bit of this mud, spread it out carefully upon a

202 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

piece of glass, a saucer, a small dish or anything of
the sort, and look at it through a pocket lens; we will
then be able to discover clearly the bits of stone of
which the mud consists. It is a complicated mix-
ture however; there would be found almost all the
kinds of stone thus far spoken of. Such mud forms
a very large proportion of common soil, the rest
consisting mostly of sand and the decayed parts of
plants. A fertile soil is usually composed to the
extent of one half of the entire mass of clay and mud
grains. But much of the mud produced by the
wear and decay of the rocks is carried by the rain
water and by other means into the rivulets and rivers,
in whose capacious bosoms it is borne onward per-
haps for many miles, and is finally deposited as large
mud flats in the neighboorhood of the river mouths,
or on the bed of the ocean into which the larger
rivers flow. As such sediment increases in depth
year after year, the pressure upon the lower strata
from the weight of the overling layers, becomes so
great that their particles are forced together into a
close and compact mass. Beside these effects, that of
heat, which is so universally present in the deeper
parts of the earth, must be considered. By this
means the lowest layers of sediment may be partly
softened and thus be brought into a more compact
and solid state than ever. In this way are the mud-
rocks formed; and of these many varieties exist,
some of great practical value to man, such as the
beautiful slates and cleavable shales from which our
roofing plates and writing tablets are made.

ABOUT LIMESTONES. 203

The rain falling upon the land, then running off
in tiny rills into the flowing streams, and carrying
the finer parts of the soil along; and the rivers
moving ceaselessly onward, laden with sediment,
toward their destination in lake or sea, thus lay the
foundation of future quarries, from which will come
the material for architectural wonders in beautiful
residences, stately churches and holy temples.

CHAPTER XL.

ABOUT LIMESTONES.

JIMESTONE is a general name given to all those
rocks of the earth that contain lime; the lime
y$ is prepared by heating such rocks in a kiln by a
process already described. They all belong to
the calcareous family of rocks, and yield large quan-
tities of carbon-dioxide gas when acted upon by
acids or subjected to great heat. It is estimated that
not less than one-sixth part of the surface rocks of
the earth consists of limestone. This material exists
in almost all shades of color, the purest kinds being
nearly or quite white; but the largest deposits of
limestone, such as form in many places the bulk of
the mountain masses, are of a deep blue color; and
are called "blue limestone."

To the unaided vision, a piece of limestone appears
to be composed of fine particles pressed together
in the manner of the mud-rocks and sandstones

204 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

spoken of before; though sometimes the outlines of
mollusk shells and other animal remains may be
discerned. When highly magnified, however, a bit
of limestone is seen to have a wonderfully compli-
cated and interesting structure. There we see the
outlines of beautiful shells, some oval, others circu-
lar, and of many other symmetrical forms, with
curious markings like ornamental lines upon their
surfaces, others looking like radiating stars; in fact
there appears a never ending variety of shape, yet
all symmetrical and beautiful. Limestone really
consists of the consolidated remains of these minute
organisms, which existed in unnumbered variety in
bygone times. These wonderful little rock-builders are
still in active work in many parts of the world,
especially in the warm seas.

In the clear and salt waters of the tropical oceans,
corals are found in almost endless profusion. The
hard and solid substance which we ordinarily call
"coral," consists really of the shells in which the
coral animals lived. These tiny creatures have the
power of separating from the sea-water in which
they live, the hard materials contained therein, and
of using the same in the formation of their calcare-
ous homes. Perhaps this process is in great part
analogous to that taking place within the human
body, by which certain parts of the food are digested
to form hard bones and teeth. Coral animals belong
to the class of polyps— & word meaning "many-
footed," and given as a name to these little beings
because when in active life, each expands around the

ABOUT LIMESTONES. 205

entrance to its tiny home, a number of radiating arms
or tentacles, usually called feet.

These polyps live together in very great num-
bers, each building its little house or shell in contact
with others, and so in time vast masses of solid
coralline matter are formed. As the animals die,
year after year, others build upon the remains, and
thus the process continues uninterruptedly.

These little beings demonstrate by the results of
their ceaseless growth what may be accomplished
through concerted action of many, though each
individual performs but an inconsiderable part.

The greater part of the Florida peninsula con-
sists of the remains of coral polyps. A very care-
ful examination of that region has convinced scien-
tific men that at one time Florida was not more than
half its present length from north to south; and that
it has grown through the agency of corals, by
which in fact, it has extended over two hundred
miles toward the south; and the area of land thus
added to the continent is more than twenty thousand
square miles. Beside corals, there are many other
animals that form for themselves such calcareous
shells.

Chalk (see figure 23), if examined with the mi-
croscope, is found to consist almost entirely of the
skeletons of foraminifers — a word of Latin origin
meaning really porous, and given to these tiny
inhabitants of the water from the fact that the shells
of most of them are perforated by a great number of
passages or holes.

206 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

Many larger animals also employ this power of
extracting the calcareous matter from the water to
form- their coverings. To such a class belong the
oyster, clam and the snail, and all the beautiful
shells so much admired, belonging to the order of
mollusks. B}' the action of moving water these
calcareous formations are frequently broken to
pieces and ground to powder, by which the larger
shells of course lose their original form, though their
mutilated remains may frequently be recognized in
the rocks formed from such material; but the small-
est of shells above described are protected from de-
struction by their very fineness.

In the dust that may be scraped from a glazed
card, and in the chalk mark left upon the blackboard
may be seen such tiny monuments of past life. Some
limestones are much more solid and compact than
others, having been subjected to greater degrees of
pressure and of heat in the process of formation.
These conditions may so affect the rock that it
becomes of a crystalline nature, which form is known
and prized by us as marble. Of this beautiful material
there are again many, very many varieties; of almost
every known shade of color from the purest white to
the deepest tint of jet. The whitest marble comes
from Carrara and the island of Paros, from the latter
source it has been named Parian marble, and it is
highly prized for statuary purposes. Small quantities
of foreign matters mingled with the rock give to it
a mottled or clouded appearance. Man has great
reason to prize so beautiful and valuable a stone,

ABOUT LIMESTONES. 207

fitted as it is for so many purposes in architecture
and art.*

Many of the mountain ranges of the globe, the
Appenines and the Corderillas, part of the Rocky
Mountain system, and the historical Cliffs of Dover,
are built of the calcareous remains of animal life.
Years, perhaps centuries ago, these tiny architects
reared their small, though beautiful dwellings; and
proud man is glad to erect his stately edifices from
the remains of their worn-out homes.

The massive limestone, marbles and chalk already
named, are the most widely distributed of all the
calcareous rock; but beside these there are many
others. A semi-transparent and crystallized variety
is called calcite, and the purest kind, which is trans-
parent and exists in regular crystals, has received

* Ruskin has written in the following expressive way:
"What are marbles made for? Over the greatest part of
the surface of the earth we find that the rock has been prov-
identially distributed in a manner particularly pointing it
out as intended for the service of man. It is exactly of
the consistence which is best adapted for sculpture and
architecture. It is neither hard nor brittle, nor flaky, nor
splintery, but uniform and delicately, yet not ignobly soft
— exactly soft enough to allow the sculptor to work it
without force, and trace on it the finest lines of finished
form; yet it is so hard as never to betray the touch or
moulder away beneath the steel; and so admirably crys-
tallized and of such permanent elements, that no rains
dissolve it, no time changes it, no atmosphere decomposes
it; once shaped, it is shaped for ever, unless subjected to
actual violence or attrition. This rock, then, is prepared
by Nature for the sculptor and architect, as paper is by the
manufacturer for the artist; nay, with greater care and
more perfect adaptation."

208 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

the name of Iceland spar. Then there is another
variety called oolite t the name meaning "eggstone,"
and given to this member of the great limestone
family, because composed of numerous rounded
grains, like the eggs or roe of a fish. Good speci-
mens of oolite are obtainable in several places
in Utah; among the best being those found at the
temple quarry, Manti. Marl is another calcareous
rock, containing a considerable proportion of clay,
and usually, also, whole or broken shells. Being in a
loose and friable condition, it very readily yields to
the disintegrating action of frost and rain, and so
becomes rapidly incorporated with the soil, and is
used extensively as a fertilizer.

CHAPTER XLI.

LIMESTONE MADE OVER.

gj!& T will readily be believed from what has already
j§£j been said regarding the formation of rock, that
the materials of the earth's crust are under-
going continual change. The solid canon walls,
and the stony banks of streams are broken and
loosened by the torrent in its fury, and the fragments
are hurled onward and downward, being broken and
powdered as they go till reduced to the state of sand
and mud, which then are borne by the waters to
quiet places, and there deposited to form new beds of
rock.

LIMESTONE MADE OVER. 209

Much of the water that falls upon the earth as rain
and snow, runs directly off the surface into the streams*
but a portion of this water sinks into the soil, and
there accomplishes a great labor before it comes to
the light of day again. We all know that water
dissolves many substances with great readiness. A
little fine sugar or salt for instance if placed in a
vessel of water very soon disappears from sight, and
seems in fact to have been absolutely lost. This is
not possible, however, and the characteristic taste of
the water after the solid matter has disappeared
shows that the sugar or salt is still there, though the
solid particles are suspended or dispersed between
those of the liquid. If we evaporate the water by
heat or other means, the same amount of solid
material as was originally added will be recovered.
In such a way does the water falling naturally upon
the rocks and soil or flowing over the same dissolve
away the soluble matters and carry such along with
it in its descent into the earth. All natural waters
contain in solution more or less of solid material,
derived from the soil and the rocks as here described.
Look for an example on the inner surface of a much
used fire-kettle or steam boiler; a hard material,
looking not unlike stone is found there; this was
without doubt present in the water before boiling,
and has been left behind as the liquid evaporated.

Pure water is able to dissolve limestone to a very
small extent only, but water containing carbon-
dioxide gas, is a ready solvent of all kinds of calcare-
ous material. This carbon-dioxide is known to be

15

210 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

present at all times in the atmosphere, and it is set
free within the earth wherever calcareous rocks un-
dergo decomposition, and by other means, so that
natural water contains a considerable proportion of
this gas. Such water, then, dissolves the limestone
with which it comes in contact; and as it comes to the
surface after its long subterranean journey in the form
of springs, it is frequently so heavily charged with cal-
careous matter, that as the carbon dioxide gas escapes
into the air it can no longer retain the solid material
in solution, and consequently deposits it around the
mouth of the spring, forming oftentimes a curb about
itself or even a large mound. This is a very common
phenomenon about the carbonated springs so deserv-
edly famous in this region; truly beautiful examples
are found at Soda Springs, Idaho, and in the won-
derful water-pots at Midway, Utah. The solid
matter in such waters as these will be deposited on
any object placed in the spring. A bunch of grapes
kept immersed for some time will be completely
covered with a layer of stony matter; before long,
however, the grapes themselves decay, leaving the
original plump and beautiful form represented in the
stony casing. Flowers, pine cones, baskets, expanded
fans, and objects of such a kind are frequently sub-
jected to the incrusting process, by visitors to such
springs, and carried away as instructive mementoes
of this action of water.*

* The process above described is not an example of pet-
rifaction, in which the particles of any body are replaced
as fast as they decay by solid matter dissolved in the water;

LIMESTONE MADE OVER, 211

It frequently happens that water in seeking a
course through the rocks and soil, washes out for
itself wide passages and enormous caverns, often-
times at very great distances below the surface.
Such caves are common in limestone formations and
prove most interesting and instructive occurrences.
Imagine a cavern of this kind existing in the earth,
and water trickling in through the sides, having in
solution much solid matter which it has dissolved in
its course. If this be of a calcareous nature, it
will be deposited on the inside of the cavern, form-
ing a lining and ceiling to the underground room,
often of the purest white. A drop of water oozing
through the ceiling would leave a part of its solid
matter there, then falling to the floor would evapor-
ate and so deposit the rest; and thus in time pen-
dant rods of calcareous matter called stalactite*, are
formed on the ceiling and upright pillars known as
stalagmites on the floor. The water dripping from
the point of a hanging stalactite above, would fall
of course in a straight line to the spot directly
below, and there make its calcareous contribution to
the growing stalagmite so that the stalactites and
stalagmites form in pairs, point to point. Finally
they touch, then of course a column exists from ceil-
ing to floor, down which the water runs instead of
dripping and splashing as before; it evaporating as
it flows, and leaves its dissolved solids year by year

it is merely an incrusting or covering of the object which
is immersed with a solid layer; the particles of the body
itself remaining unchanged in other respects.

212 FIRST! BOOK OF NATURE.

to increase the size of the pillar. But few spectacles
can be imagined that surpass in impressive brilliancy
the hangings and the decorations of such a subter-
ranean apartment; what architect can compete with
water in its quiet but effective style of building!
Within these rocky recesses of the earth, water has
erected its stately pillars, reaching from paved floors
to frescoed ceiling, of wondrous beauty; oftentimes
these have formed a long succession of chambers,
with majestic archways leading from one to the other,
passages below stupendous architraves, and corridors,
the entrances to which lie through colossal gateways
of dazzling purity. The walls and roofs and floors all
glisten in the light of the torch-fires as if studded
with diamonds and sapphires — such formations are
Nature's palaces.

Several of these interesting caverns exist in Utah
and surrounding regions; there are the Formation
Caves at Soda Springs, Idaho, the Crystal Grotto near
the Mammoth Mine in the Tintic Mining District
and the caverns connected with the Cave Mine and
Pace Mine in southern Utah, all of great beauty,
though at present considerably marred and defaced,
through the spirit of vandalism displayed by visitors
to these beautiful places.

Very large and wonderful caves exist in Tenuessee,
of which the Nicojack Cave is the best known; in
Virginia are the celebrated Luray Caverns; but by
far the most extensive region of caves yet discovered
in the United States, exists in Kentucky; in which
State there is a district of country nearly eight

LIMESTONE MADE OVER. 213

thousand square miles in area, the surface of which
is the ceiling to an almost continuous series of sub-
terranean caves. Of these, the deservedly famous
Mammoth Cave is the most important. It is so
extensive that several days would be required to
explore its intricate passages and capacious chambers.
The entrance to the wonderful formation is through
a natural archway, having a span of seventy feet.
The main cavern within varies from forty to three
hundred feet in width, and from thirty-five to a
hundred and twenty-five feet in height, and is
divided by crystal walls into several large rooms, to
most of which expressive names have been given, as
"Rotunda," "Star Chamber," and the like. At a
place within the cave, situated about a mile under-
ground, thirteen little cottages have been built, in
which visiting tourists and invalids used to pass their
leisure time; but these houses have now fallen into
disuse to a very great extent. The combined length
of all the accessible avenues is about one hundred
and fifty miles. The walls in many of the rooms
and passages are ornamented with stalactitic tapestry,
of the most imposing kind, displaying an almost
endless variety of color, and a radiant beauty beyond
description.

In the depths of these dark recesses large streams
of water flow with great velocity and force toward
their hidden destinations, and along their course
they frequently leap from one level to another,
forming grand cascades of several hundred feet fall.
Within these caverns there have been found several

214 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

distinct forms of animal life; twenty-eight species
have been already described as truly subterranean,
beside several others which are regarded as visitors
from the outside. A peculiarity of all animals
native to those dark regions is that they are without
eyes, — not even a rudimentary apparatus for vision
exists. In this strange circumstance we are brought
again face to face with another forcible declaration of
Nature's purposes —that the Creator never brings
into existence a useless organ nor a superfluous form
of any kind. Eyes would have been of no practical
use in places such as these, where the light of day
cau never penetrate; and in consequence, visual
organs have been withheld, and by the same Omnis-
cient power other senses of these animals, especially
that of touch, have been wonderfully strengthened.
There is a blind fish native to those dark streams,
possessing a most sensitive power of touch in the
parts of the head and face; there is too a wingless
grasshopper, with its antennae so excessively long
and of such delicate power, that we may with good
reason think this high development of the sense of
touch was intended by the Creative mind to be in
a degree a recompense for the absence of vision.

In some parts of Europe very large caves have
been found containing vast quantities of bones, many
of which belonged to animals not now living on
the earth. Such caverns were doubtlessly used by
the savage beasts of that day as dens and retreats,
into which they dragged the animals upon which
they fed, and when they themselves died their own

ROCKS FORMED BY HEAT. 215

bones were added to those of their victims, thus
preserving these relics of extinct animals, without
which science to-day would embrace but scanty
knowledge of those curious creatures. Many of
such caves have been used in the past by the partly
civilized races of men as burial places for their dead.
Within these vaults, explorers often find human
skeletons with various ornaments, weapons, and uten-
sils which were buried with the bodies, apparently
according to a custom similar to that now practiced
by certain tribes of Indians and others.

CHAPTER XLII.

ROCKS FORMED BY HEAT.

l^LLthe.r°ck formations thus far studied have
been in some way associated with the action
of water; pudding-stones, sandstones, clay-
stones, slates, and calcareous deposits are
all indeed sedimentary in their origin. Few of
us have traveled far in this Territory without notic-
ing a number of rocks differing much in general ap-
pearance from any thus far described. Some rocks
are found containing numerous small holes or
bubbles, looking very much as if produced by the
escape of gas or steam from within, and in all their
characteristics they appear as we think rocks would
that had cooled from an originally heated and
molten state. They are usually called igneous rocks,

216 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

for this reason. The name signifies literally that
they have been produced by fire. To this class
belongs the lava which is found within the craters of
volcanoes in action, and poured out from their
heated tops in molten streams. A volcano may be
defined as an opening in the crust of the earth,
through which rock matters of various kinds are
ejected, always heated and usually in a liquid con-
dition, associated also with various gases and vapors.
The intense igneous action taking place within the
earth often causes a swelling of the surface, forming
a sort of earth-bubble, which permits the escape of
the contained vapor and molten matter. This re-
sults, of course, in the formation of a conical
mound, the elevation of which is usually increased
by deposits of solid materials ejected from within.
Some volcanoes are in fact among the loftiest moun-
tains of our globe.

The cause of the great heat existing within the
earth, and especially marked in volcanic districts,
has given rise to much speculation and great diver-
sity of opinion. But putting all theory and supposi-
tion as to the cause aside, we may accept as a fact
the statement, that the interior of the earth is in a
condition of great heat, sufficiently intense in some
places to completely fuse the rocks and to eject the
fluid material as lava upon the surface. At the time
of an eruption, large quantities of rock dust, some-
times called ashes, are thrown out. The lava runs
from the crater as a stream, until by cooling it
becomes viscid and finally too thick to flow. The

ROCKS FORMED BY HEAT. 217

outer parts of a lava stream will often become
perfectly cool and hard, while the inner portions
remain heated and in a liquid state perhaps for
months. A hardened lava stream may sometimes be
traced continuously for many miles; and of this Utah
furnishes many examples, though the volcanoes from
which such streams sprang are now no longer active,
and are therefore said to be extinct. Several
extensive lava "flows" have to be crossed in traveling
through Beaver and Millard Counties, and wonder-
fully distinct streams exist about St. George in the
south. Dameron Valley, or Diamond Valley as the
place is sometimes called, lying between the little
town of Pine Valley and St. George, contains a
number of such streams, and also several interesting
volcanic cones, from which the lava courses lead. It-
is a rather laborious undertaking, but one well
worth the effort, to climb the rugged side of such a
blackened mountain. On reaching the top we dis-
cover a cup-shaped hollow, into which we can with
care descend. This is the crater, from which issued
the vast quantities of lava now to be seen extending
in all directions. The floor of the crater is formed
by the hardened lava which remained after the last
eruption.

Such volcanic forces, though mighty and even
terrible in their operation and effects, are necessary
to the preservation of the proper condition on the
earth. Through these natural vents the pent-up
gases and expansive vapors from within the earth,
together with the molten "matters resulting from the

218 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

intense heat, find their outlets. Without volcanic
discharges we have all reason to believe greater and
more destructive effects would be produced from
violent earthquakes and other intense convulsions of
a kindred order. Again, volcanoes belch forth large
quantities of carbon-dioxide gas, which, though fatal
to human beings and animals in the immediate
neighborhood, is still essential to the support of plant
life upon the earth. Even the fiercest of volcanic
fires, aud the maddest fury of igneous forces, serve a
purpose tending toward the general good.
rocky veins.
Most of us, perhaps, have noticed pebbles and
other stones having streaks of a light color running
through them. These light-colored seams are called
"veins," and have been formed in a most interesting
way, which we are capable of discovering and, to a
degree at least, understanding, by remembering the
admirable and effective way in which the water
excavates large caverns and passages within the
ground. We have seen that the sand, mud and
calcareous powder produced by the grinding of stones
in the river channel, are deposited by the water in
the form of stratified sediment, which eventually
hardens into rock. As it dries and hardens, it
shrinks, and oftentimes cracks, leaving many gaping
fissures in the rock. Look at any mud flat from
which the water has receded, and upon which the
drying effect of the sun's heat has been felt — the
cracks there to be seen will illustrate all that has
been said.

ROCKS FORMED BY HEAT. 219

By volcanic disturbances, earthquakes, and similar
violent forces, the earth's crust is sometimes moved
over great areas, producing many a rent and fissure
in the rocks. Such cracks and fissures, whether large
or small, when re-filled, are called veins. If the
rock, n which such rents are formed, is soluble in
water, or if soluble rocks exist in the neighborhood,
the water in percolating through will dissolve much
solid matter, and deposit the same in the vein-
fissure; just as it deposits its load of dissolved ma-
terial on the walls of subterranean caverns. Such a
tiny vein as we see in an ordinary pebble, may, in
fact, be regarded as a miniature cave, into which the
percolating water has brought so much solid matter
as to entirely fill the space. This is one of Nature's
means of healing the wounds and rents that may be
produced through violence in the rocky tissues of the
earth; just as a cut in the flesh is naturally healed
by a liquid serum oozing from the sides of the wound,
finally filling the cavity and uniting the parts.
Under certain circumstances this dissolved material
is deposited in the stony fissure in the form of
beautiful crystals extending from one wall toward
the other, till perhaps they meet, and so accomplish
the joining. In such cases they look remarkably
like rocky stitches put in to sew up the rent and
hold the parts in proper place.

Vein fissures are also formed in other ways. Molten
material from below may be forced by volcanic dis-
turbances into the rocks above, completely filling all
such cracks and fissures, and opening many others by

2*20 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

the violence of its injection which it fills at the same
time. Whether any particular vein was filled by
matter in solution or by molten material may be
determined by examining the nature of the filling
and the condition of the rock bordering the vein.
Calcareous crystals for instance could not be formed
from a molten mass; because calcite undergoes ready
decomposition by heat. If the rock on either side
close to the vein is in no way different from that at
a considerable distance from the vein, we may con-
clude that the fissure has been filled by infiltration
and not by the injection of igneous matter, as in
such case the vein walls would doubtlessly have
suffered change — chalk or limestone would in all
probability have changed to marble; and clay would
have become slate under the influence of the heat.

The vein matter in large fissures is frequently im-
pregnated with metallic substances or their com
pounds, brought there in all probability by heated
water in most cases rising from below. Such a
mixture is called "ore;" and whenever a vein of
this kind reveals itself by any surface indication,
it is eagerly explored and worked for the sake
of the rich treasures that it contains, so do we
obtain our lead, and tin, copper, iron, silver and
gold, without which the present state of civiliza-
tion would be materially changed. Among such
veins, only those that afford some indications
of their presence at the surface are available, and
these may be indeed very few compared with the
unknown and hidden treasures of the ground. Un-

A TALK ABOUT COAL. 221

told wealth lies concealed within the stony bosoms
of our hills, as to the locations of which, however,
nothing yet has been learned. At present, man
labors blindly in his search for mineral riches; he
may yet be taught the secret combination of the
rock-bound safe within whose deep recesses these
treasures lie secure.

CHAPTER XLIII.

A TALK ABOUT COAL.

g!|S|rjRANY of our readers have heard or read or
fcJJ® perhaps they have thought for themselves
about the fact that coal is formed from
plants. Yet it appears truly remarkable
that any vegetable production should be dug from
the earth as rocks and ores are, or that such should
be called, in any sense, a mineral. Proof of the
vegetable origin of coal are simple but strong. Re-
mains of plant life, such as the leaves, twigs, and
trunks of trees, flowers, fruits and seeds are all found
imbedded in the clay and rocky layers lying above
and below the coal deposits, and sometimes within
the coal itself. This is especially true of the anthra-
cite coal seams in which the original structure has
not been so completely obliterated. The author has
had the pleasure on several occasions of visit-
ing some of the celebrated Pennsylvania coal
mines. He was fortunate enough to find while

222

FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

there, several pieces of slate and coal matter, con-
taining most perfect impressious of ferns and other
plants, pieces of gigantic rushes, fragments of bark
showing intricate and complicated markings upon
the surface, a number of cone-like fruits produced
without doubt by plants closely allied to the pines,
and many other evidences of vegetable origin.

& Mm

w

Fig. 31.— Fossil Fern in Coal Slate.

A picture of a fern leaf from such a source is
given in figure 31; every fibre and veinlet is clear
and distinct; so perfectly are the details preserved
that the nature of the plant is as readily distinguish-
able as are the living ferns of this day. A close
examination of the coal itself results in farther
proof of the same fact. It was said in speaking
of the structure of plant stems that the micro-

A TALK ABOUT COAL. 223

scope revealed a number of ducts and vessels which
bore marks upon their surface of a peculiar and
characteristic kind. Similar vessels marked after
the pattern of the vegetable fabric, are found in all
coal, even the hardest stone-coal. The ash remaining
after the coal has been burned, shows to the skillful
microscopist the same characteristic structure.

Another argument, urging strongly an unqualified
belief in the vegetable nature of coal, is that men
have succeeded in manufacturing an artificial coal
from saw dust and other finely divided vegetable
matter, by placing the same under great pressure
and subjecting it at the same time to heat. If we
take the trouble to dig and examine the soil to a
depth of several yards in any marsh or swampy
place, we will find an interesting gradation as we
descend. Near the surface the roots of growing
grasses, rushes and other plants form a kind of mat,
which entangles the soil, but each root fibre can be
clearly and distinctly traced. Deeper in the ground
we find roots and stems of plants not now living, and
to all appearances buried by the sediment that has
been carried by the streams into the marsh; they
have all turned to a dark color and are brittle and
friable. The soil entangled between the fibres of
this deeper root-mat is of a black color too, being
saturated with soluble organic matter derived from
the half-decomposed plants. This mixture of soil
and vegetable remains is called peat, and in many
parts of the earth it is cut into blocks and dried, and
so used as a fuel, plentiful, cheap and effective.

224 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

The conditions favorable for the formation of peat,
are a tolerably low temperature — without which the
vegetable matter would entirely decay before it had
been converted into peat — and a moist or humid
state of the atmosphere. Where such conditions
exist, peat is formed in immense bodies called peat-
bogs. Large areas in France, Scotland and England
are covered with peat; and one-tenth of Ireland is a
bog. Prof. Dana has estimated the quantity of peat
now existing in Massachusetts, at fifteen billions of
cubic feet. If, after such a bog were formed, it were
covered with water, either from the sinking of the
land or the rising of the sea, heavy deposits of sedi-
ment would be made above the peat, exerting a great
pressure on the buried matter; and, as the sedi-
mentary layers increased above, the internal heat of
the earth would invade the lower strata, and thus
still further contribute to the process of change.

Such buried vegetable accumulations have been
found in many places beneath layers of sedimentary
rocks, converted into a kind of brown coal called
lignite, in which may be traced all the proofs of
vegetable structure. Other bogs have been discov-
ered buried much deeper in the earth, and conse-
quently under the effect of far greater pressure, and
of higher heat; such influences would more com-
pletely change the plant tissue, resulting in the form-
ation of ordinary bituminous coal, so extensively
used as a fuel. The dull and lustreless cannel coal
is a variety of this kind, so rich in volatile matter
that it burns like a torch, when lighted, producing a

A TALK ABOUT COAL. 225

large luminous flame; in fact it was used at one time
to give light, and hence called "cannel," which is a
corruption of the word "candle." Where the heat
and pressure have been still more intense, the vege-
table matter is changed to anthracite or stone-coal.
This is a very hard kind of coal, with a metallic
lustre, and will burn only if a good draft be supplied;
then it evolves great heat, but no smoke or flame.

To this interesting series of coal, another sub-
stance, apparently not coal at all, should be added.
This is the graphite, sometimes called plumbago or
"black lead." It seems to be formed under the
most intense effects of pressure and heat, and though
it shows plain proof of its vegetable origin, has
undergone such thorough change as to be entirely
incombustible. It is used, in fact, as the material
of crucibles, which are vessels for melting metals
and other refractory substances. Graphite is also
used in vast quantities in the manufacture of
pencils.

Such is a very short chapter from the family
history of a lump of coal. We see in that black
mass the preserved matter of trees and herbs which
flourished many centuries ago, and which has been
safely buried and locked within the rocky cases of
the earth's treasure-house, where, protected from
disintegration through air and water, it has been
effectually hidden till the day of man's greatest
need. In its burning, the coal liberates for
our benefit and comfort, the light and heat that fell
upon it in the distant day of its growth. Through

226 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

the mystic processes of plant life, combustible matter
has been separated from the air and soil and so
preserved for use when most in need.

CHAPTER XLIV.

PICTURES IN THE ROCKS.

JjfgUIE crust of the earth is to the thoughtful
mind as a mighty book, bearing upon its stony
leaves the history of the past. But the text
of the volume is not entirely abstract nor
wholly difficult to read. Upon its rocky pages are
numerous pictures and illustrations, engraved with
such perfection of form and detail that they are as
useful to the earnest student as the originals would be.
In many parts of Utah , such picture-bearing rocks
are common. There are lying before me as I write
a number of those stony tablets, each telling of a life
long since ended. Here is a piece of sandstone
which I broke from a mountain cliff near Orderville
in Kaue county; there are upon it the pictures of two
leaves — every line and fibre clearly shown. Surely
the methods by which such delicate impressions
could be preserved on so hard and enduring a sur-
face, must be almost perfect. Here is another slab
of stone; this is from the hills of Castle Valley; upon
its surface are the impressions of hundreds of little
mollusks, most of them varieties of snails, the grace-
ful curves and the delicate tracery of their shells

PICTURES IN THE ROCKS. 227

more accurately shown than could be done by any
feat of human sculpture or painting.

Fig. 'A2.— Ammonites.

Illustrations of a peculiar kind of mollusk called
the ammonite are given in Figure 32. These fossils
may be found in some parts of southern Utah.
Ammonites varied from the size of a dime to that
of a small wagon wheel. The shell of these animals
was chambered: the last being the largest division and
the one in which the animal lived. By forcing liquid
into or out of the empty chambers, the ammonite
could change its specific weight and thus rise or sink
in the water at pleasure.

Yonder are some pieces of stone from the temple
quarry at Manti; curious markings appear upon
them; these are imbedded scales from a strange race
of fishes, which once tenanted the briny waters that
rolled over these valleys. Here, too, is a block of
stone from Wyoming; it appears to have had painted
upon it, the pictures of three fishes lying in different
positions. Let us look again; it is no painting, it
is an imprint taken from the objects themselves,
when the rock was in a soft and plastic state, and
every depression and elevation of body is plainly
delineated.

228

FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

A very peculiar animal called the crinoid has left
its record in the shape of figure 33. In form it

appeared more like a
flower than an animal,
but it is possessed of a
true animal body, and
a calcareous shell,
though borne upon a
long, jointed stalk. A
detached section of this
stalk is shown below the
main body in the figure.
The name "stone lily"
has been given to some
species of these pecu-
liar creatures. The
jointed stalks or stems
before referred to are
hollow, and are found
in some parts in very
great numbers. They
are popularly called "St. Cuthbert's beads," and are
sometimes strung and used as ornaments. Large
rock masses are often formed almost entirely of the
consolidated remains of these crinoids.

Figure 34 represents such a piece; and specimens
quite as beautiful as the one there shown may fre-
quently be found upon our own hills. When pol-
ished, such a stone has a beautiful appearance, and
is highly prized as an ornamental material, under the
name of encrinital limestone or marble.

Fig. 33.

-Crinoid or "Stone
Lily."

PICTURES IN THE ROCKS. 229

Evidences of former life, found in the rocks of the
earth, are called by the general name of fossils,
from a word, meaning really "dug up;" and the way

Fig. 34.— Encrinital Marble.

in which these fossils are produced is not difficult to
discover. Look at the muddy river hastening to-
ward its resting place in the lake or sea; beside
the particles of clay and sand, it bears in its
course, leaves and fruit that have fallen from over-
hanging trees; insects, by some mishap transferred
from the aerial element to the watery; bodies of
birds and small animals; all of these and many
other objects are carried along, to be deposited, to-
gether with the sediments in the still water below.
The bodies of aquatic animals, birds and fishes, fall
also to the bottom, and are in time buried beneath
the accumulating deposits. As we have before dis-
covered, these strata of sand and mud soon harden
into rock; but in the meantime the perishable struc-
tures buried there have undergone decay, if not
destruction, though the impressions still exist in all

230 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

their original detailed beauty, and the harder the
rock becomes, the more enduring will be the record
of the beings that once found a grave within its
substance. Truly, Agassiz, the great naturalist, was
wise when he wrote, "The crust of our earth is a
great cemetery, where the rocks are tombstones, on
which the buried dead have written their own epi-
taphs!"

Let us stroll along the sandy shore of a fresh-water
lake; we cannot fail to observe the shells that lie
scattered in such numbers all about. Very likely
some of them will be found filled with sand. Now
we will dig to some little depth in the sandy shore;
other shells will be found also filled with sand, but
the filliug is much more firmly and solidly pressed
than was the case with the surface specimens. At a
still greater depth we discover other shells, with the
sand-filling forced into every curve and crevice of
the inside, and as firm and solid as rock. What
will become of them after the beach strata have
hardened into sandstone? Though the shell-matter
itself may disappear wholly or in part, the stony
filling shows exactly how the shell was constructed
within — we may rely upon the cast, for the shell
itself was the mould, and the impression left by the
imbedded shell is a representation of its outer shape.

There lies before me what seems, when viewed
from a distance, to be one of the vertebrae or spine-
bones of some animal. Such it is, or rather was, for
by a closer examination we find from its weight and
other characteristics that the specimen is really stone

PICTURES IN THE ROCKS. 231

and not bone; it would be usually described as a
'petrified bone. The word "petrified" means really
"turned to stone;" but such a process as is implied
in that expression is impossible. Bony matter does
not consist of the same elements as stone, and one
cannot be changed into the other. The explanation
is this. The bone itself was buried beneath sedi-
mentary material which underwent a change into
solid rock. As the bone decayed, a cavity would be
left within the rock; the percolating water, holding
solid matter in solution, would find its way into the
cavity and there deposit its solid contents, till the
spaced was filled. But the decay of the bone took
place slowly, particle after particle wore away and
just so fast did the water leave rock matter to fill up
the room; so that a petrifaction really is a body the
particles of which have been replaced by stone as fast
as they were separated by decay. Here is an inter-
esting illustration of a partial petrifaction; it is a
fossil tooth of a shark. It was found in the rocky
ledges of South Carolina, aud belonged doubtlessly
to one of those savage rovers of the sea that inhabited
the waters of that locality.

The rocks afford us other proofs of life than the
actual impression of the decaying bodies. Water-
fowl, stalking along the muddy banks of their native
streams and lakes, leave thereon their footprints to be
perpetuated in the future rock. Animals frequently
come from great distances to drink at the rivers, and
often leave their footmarks on the soft and yielding
shores to testify, perhaps centuries afterward of their

232

FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

existence. The water-beetle and the worm make
tracings on the mud as signatures to attest their
being.

Here is a piece of stone marked upon its surface
by a number of indentations as if it had been bat-
tered by flying missiles of some sort. Figure 35 is a
good picture of it.

Figure 35.— Rain drop marks in mud and in stone.

To understand its story we must again try to
interpret the past by the present. Let us pay a visit
to a half dried mud flat, during or immediately
after a sharp shower, the mud has a battered appear-
ance, which we know is due to the falling rain
drops, and such must have been the cause of the in-
dentations in that piece of stone. Yes, there is an
unmistakable account of a prehistoric storm, the
depth of the impressions tells us of its force, and

PICTURES IN THE ROCKS.

233

their shape indicates the direction from which the
rain drops were driven, in that far distant time.

In walking along the shore of a lake, we observe
the little waves rolling and rippling upon the beach,
and leaving marks upon the soft mud or sand. After
the sediments have become transformed into solid
rock, the ripple marks still remain plain and un-
injured; a slab of stone bearing such undulating
marks is shown in figure 36.

Fig. 36.— Ripple Marks.

Who of us can in any way doubt the reliability of
such stony records? Upon our own mud banks and
lake beaches similar impressions are being printed
before our eyes. Surely these stones speak, and that
too in a language plain and unmistakable; — the way-
faring man can read their words. The rocks declare
the history of the past to all who are willing to learn.

Referring to such impressions in the rocks, Prof.
Winchell has spoken as follows: "It is a solemn

284 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

and impressive thought that the foot prints of
these dumb and senseless creatures have been pre-
served in all their perfection for thousands of ages,
while so many of the works of man which date
but a century back have been obliterated from
the records of time. Kings and conquerors have
marched at the head of armies across continents,
and piled up aggregates of human suffering and
experience to the heavens, and all the physical traces
of their march have totally disappeared; but the
solitary biped which stalked along the margin of a
New England inlet before the human race was born,
pressed footprints in the soft and shifting sand which
the rising and sinking of the continent could not
wipe out."

CHAPTER XLV.

CRYSTALS.

BAKE a strong brine, by stirring fine salt in a
vessel of water as long as any can be dis-
solved. If this solution be carefully set
aside so that it will not be shaken, or in any
way agitated, after a time, some of the salt reappears
in the solid state, but not as powder. Beautiful
little blocks of salt form on the bottom and sides of
the vessel, each of a regular cubical form. At first
they are very small, but if left undisturbed, each
increases in size, by the addition of layers of salt

CRYSTALS. 235

deposited on the tiny cube. Nearly all mineral
substances, under certain conditions, tend to assume
regular and symmetrical shapes, producing solids,
bounded by straight lines, perfect angles, and plane,
smooth surfaces; and such are called crystals.

If a solution of alum in water had been used
instead of brine, each crystal would have been in
shape like a pair of pyramids, placed base to base,
having eight sides all equal in size, and exactly alike
in shape, if the crystallization had been uninter-
rupted. Every mineral has its own characteristic
shape in crystallizing.

Man is unable to tell for what purpose, or by what
laws substances are caused to assume such regular
and symmetrical shapes; but this he does know, that
from the earliest times these characteristic forms
have been unchanged. Salt crystallizes in cubes;
alum, as we have seen, in octahedra or eight side
solids; quartz, which very frequently is found in
crystal form, always as six-sided prisms, terminated
by six-sided pyramids.

Figure 37 is a picture of a beautiful cluster of
quartz crystals found in the rocks about Lake
Superior. Such crystals are transparent and pass
under the common name of rock crystal. They
are used as gems, and are also of value in cutting
glass. Quartz crystals are sometimes found of a very
delicate violet tint, and such are known as amethysts.
Many brilliant crystals are regarded as the most
valuable treasures which the earth affords; such are
the sapphires, rubies, topazes and diamonds. The

236

FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

elements of which these precious stones really con-
sist, are simple and common, but in a crystalline
form they are both beautiful and rare.

Fig. 37. — Cluster of Quartz Crystals.

In order that an}* substance may assume the
crystalline shape, its particles must be free to move
in any direction, according to the laws of attraction
operating between them.

For this reason, crystals form readily from a state
of solution or of fusion. If a solid be dissolved, the
particles are so separated and suspended within the
solvent that they are free to obey any attractive force
operating upon them; and so also if the solid be
brought into a molten condition. But in a rigid
solid, the particles are fixed and in consequence
unable to move at all as they may be attracted.

CRYSTALS. 237

We have seen that crystals form within the caverns
of the earth, and also in the vein-cracks or fissures
through the rocks; these were probably pro-
duced from a state of solution, — water, finding its
way into the cavity with solid matter in solution,
deposits the same in a symmetrical and regular
shape. A pot of molten sulphur, cooled slowly,
forms itself into a multitude of regular and beautiful
crystals.

Within the mountain-caverns and the subterranean
caves, the laws of Nature have operated to produce
this crystalline arrangement of matter. This con-
dition seems to be one toward which all mineral
solids tend, and short of which they are not in a state
of rest or CDntentment. Any disturbance of the
particles in a solid mineral body is attended by an
approach toward crystallization. The constant shak-
ing to which the large axles of railway carriages are
subjected, in time produces a crystalline arrangement
within the metal; the particles being disturbed by
the constant jarring, settle at last into the condition
of greatest equilibrium, which is the crystalline state.
It is a universal tendency of matter to gather par-
ticles of like kind together and place them in
symmetrical order. In sandstone strata for instance,
any particles of clay that may be present seem to be
attracted toward one another till they form nodules
or concretions of clay-stone in the midst of a sand-
stone formation.

Thus even among the ultimate particles of matter
in their almost inconceivable minuteness, the laws of

238 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

orderly arrangement are supreme and obedience
thereto is the rule. The earth's crust tends toward
a crystalline state; and in inanimate matter the
crystal is the type of order and system — in a crystal
every particle seems to be in its proper place, each
holding by its unseen bonds of affinity the particles
about it, and being in turn held and bound by them.
The prism of quartz, the cube of salt and the foliated
mica crystal, all declare by their very existence, the
mathematical accuracy, according to which the forces
of the universe operate and co-operate. In shaping
the crystal of stone, no less than in determining the
orbit of the world, the Creator teaches us by example
"the principles of a perfect geometry."

Part IV.

The Heavens.

"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firma-
ment showeth His handiwork."

"He telleth the number of the stars; He calleth them
all by their names." — Psalms.

"Behold, all these are kingdoms, and any man who lias
seen any or the least of these, has seen God moving in
His majesty and power." — Doctrine and Covenants.

CHAPTER XLVI.

A GLANCE AT THE SKY.

JiUR interesting survey of Nature in her beauty
% need not end with the decline of day. By
night also the manifold labors of our Omnipo-
tent Father declare to the listening ear His
majesty and might. Do but lift the eye toward
heaven upon any clear night, and let it dwell upon
that wondrous dome of crystal, whose bounds are
only set by the powers of our own vision. Man can-
not gaze upon such a spectacle without feeling within
his soul those stirring emotions that are always
prompted by the presence of the supremely grand.
Wonderful, indeed, are the charms of mountain

240 FIRST BOOK Of NATURE.

and plain, river and lake, with their living miracles
of trees and flowers, butterflies, birds and beasts;
yet beyond all these, in the far-away depths of
space we can discern the lustrous twinkling of other
worlds, many of them larger and apparently more
awe inspiring than our own.

The thoughts aroused by the contemplation of
such a scene of heavenly grandeur cannot be other-
wise than elevatiug in their nature.

"Oh! who can lift above one careless look

While snch bright scenes as these his thoughts engage;
And doubt, while reading from so fair a book,

That God's own finger traced the glowing page;
Or deem the radiance of yon blue expanse,

With all its starry hosts —
The careless works of chance?5

Our wonder and admiration, however, are some-
what checked because of the frequency of the sight;
for in our weakened natures, that which has not the
air of novelty about it is apt to be considered com-
mon-place and worthy of but little notice. Emerson
has expressed a deep thought by his words: — "One
might think the atmosphere was made transparent
with this design, to give man in the heavenly bodies
the perpetual presence of the sublime. Seen in the
streets of cities how great they are! If the stars
should appear one night in a thousand years, how
would men believe and adore; and preserve for many
generations the remembrance of the city of God
which had been shown. But every night come out
these preachers of beauty and light the universe with
their admonishing smile."

A GLANCE AT THE SKY. 241

In all ages, mankind has shown a greater tendency
to contemplate the wonders of the sky, than to learn
from the nearer and the simpler creations of earth.
The heavenly bodies have even possessed for him a
deep fascination; they seem to:be present, and yet are
inaccessible; he yearns to know the nature and pur-
pose of their being, and reaches out toward the
realization of that desire, as the babe stretches its
tiny hands to grasp the glittering moon. There is a
mystery about these ornaments of the sky, and this
feature is alone sufficient to inspire within us an
attempt to fathom it.

In the oldest times, men delighted to gaze up-
ward upon the diamond vault, and strove to read
the meaning of that emblazoned canopy. The occu-
pations of the people in those times were mostly
farming, stock raising, hunting, and other open air
pursuits; and such would favor contemplative study
of the stars. It seems perfectly natural that the
shepherds of Chaldea, watching their flocks by night,
should be among the first to recognize any unusual
appearance or new arrival among the great family of
visible worlds. And beside, the people had fewer
books than have we to-day; they devoted less time
to reading and more to thinking. The changes in
the positions of the heavenly orbs marked the
natural divisions of time; and for traveling, the
sun and stars served as guides. There was a time
when the lights of the sky were the only compasses,
almanacs and clocks that man possessed; and so deep
were his feelings of admiration and wonder toward

17

242 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

these heavenly bodies, that many early nations
rendered to them an idolatrous homage.

The science that deals with the sun, moon and
stars — the heavenly bodies as these distant creations
are called — is Astronomy. This word is in reality
made up of two Greek terms and means the "science
of the stars." This is indeed the oldest of all
branches of science, so old in fact that history tells
us but little of its origin, almost all famous nations
of antiquity claiming to have been the founders of
the science. The Chaldeans, who inhabited the city
of Babylon, and the region round about along the
banks of the Euphrates in Asia, also the Egyptians,
the Chinese, the Hindoos and the Greeks, all pur-
sued attentively the study of the stars in very early
times. At the time of the surrender of Babylon to
Alexander the Great, about three hundred years
before the time of Christ, the inhabitants had
among them records of astronomical observations
extending back nearly to the supposed date of the
tower of Babel.

The earth seems to be situated in the centre of an
azure dome, across which the sun appears to move in
slow, majestic state, rising at mom in the east,
reaching his highest point at noon, aud sinking at
night below the horizon in the west. During the
hours of darkness, however, the position of the sun
with reference to any part of the earth, is so changed,
that at the proper time, that luminary appears again
in its usual place, in the eastern horizon; rising and
beginning the march of another day. By night,

A GLANCE AT TIJE SKY. 243

however, the heavenly vault presents a much more
diversified appearance. At regular periods the moon
is seen following a course nearly the same as that of
the sun, in her apparent journey from east to west;
and on all cloudless nights, the multitudes of stars
shine out in dazzling beauty as they move in trium-
phal procession across the gleaming arch.

A little careful thought and consideration will
convince us that this seeming motion of the heavenly
bodies day after day is in fact a delusion, depending
upon the actual motion of the earth. It is doubt-
less true that each of the heavenly bodies has a
motion of its own; in some cases this can be readily
perceived, in others less so on account of the ex-
ceedingly great distances by which some stars are
separated from the earth; but they do not really
make a daily inarch about this little world of ours.
We have perhaps noticed while riding in a swiftly
moving railway carriage that we unconsciously trans-
fer our own motion to the fixed objects along the line
of travel. The trees and fences seem to dart hurriedly
past while we imagine ourselves as remaining still.
We know at once that this appearance is a false one;
the posts and the trees are firmly planted in the
ground while we are swiftly moving. So with the
heavenly bodies about the earth; they appear in
motion while the earth seems at rest.

The earth is known to revolve once upon its axis
in the space of a day; as a large ball or a bead may
be twirled on a string. Imagine such a revolving
ball, and upon its surface a tty; the insect would in

244 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

all probability see the fixed objects about the ball as
if they were in rapid motion. We conclude, there-
fore, that the uniform and regular daily motiou of
the sun, moon and stars about the earth, is but an
apparent one produced by the rotation of the earth
upon its axis.

While speaking of the natural objects to be seen
upon the earth — the animals, plants and rocks — we
referred very frequently to the microscope, a wonder-
ful instrument, by the aid of which, small objects
are made to appear many times larger than they
really are. The astronomer employs another iustru
ment no less useful in its application, uor less won-
derful in its results. This is called the telescope,
and through its assistance distant objects appear
much nearer and larger than ordinarily. By means
of this instrument, the heavenly bodies have been
carefully examined, and their appearances and
position described. The telescope proves to us also
that many of the faintest and seemingly smallest
stars in the sky are in reality large and bright;
though they are so far away from us that their light
appears but dim to our unaided vision. By this
magic glass countless numbers of stars, otherwise
invisible, are brought within the range of vision; and
beyond these again, unnumbered others are seen
faint and dim even through the most powerful in-
struments.

Where ends the mighty hosts of worlds? This is
not for man to know as yet; it is beyond the powers
of his understanding; he can simply acknowledge

THE SUN. 245

with reverence and with praise the endless results of
his great Father's labors. There are the Kokaubeam
without number, yet all in orderly array, each with
its path among the other bodies, allotted and de-
creed; there is Olea in all her silvery splendor; and
Skinehah, in his glorious majesty shedding beams of
light and warmth upon many worlds. (See Pearl of
Great Price, Book of Abraham.)

CHAPTER XLVII.

THE SUN.

(St^HE sun is to us the most brilliant of all the
Ws?£g lights of the heavens; so intense is its lustre
that with the unprotected eye we cannot lnok
upon it. If, however, we hold between the sun
and our eye a piece of dark- colored or smoked glass,
that body appears of a circular form, and to most
people seems of about the same size as the disc of the
full moon. Astronomers have measured the dimen-
sions of the sun as accurately as their instruments
and their skill would enable them to do; and as a
result they tell us that. 1,245,000 earths like ours
would be required to form a body equal in size to the
sun. By careful measurement our earth is found to
be about 8,000 miles in diameter; the sun is said to
have a diameter of over 860,000 miles. It is only
the enormous distance between the sun and the

246 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

earth that gives to the former its apparently small
size. The accepted distance of the sun from the
earth according to present measurements is 92,880,000
miles — a number far beyond the comprehension of
any of us. Let us seek some more definite idea of
these figures by comparison.

If it were possible to make the trip between earth
and sun by road, traveling at the rate of thirty miles
per day, we would need eight thousand four hun-
dred and eighty-two years in which to accomplish
the journey; an express train traveling at the rate of
thirty miles per hour without stops could traverse
the distance in three hundred and fifty-three years,
and the fare for the round trip (without return
tickets), at the rate of four cents per mile, would be
$4,715,200. The electric current, which carries a
telegraphic message between any connected points
upon the earth without appreciable time in transit,
would require five minutes to accomplish the journey
between us and the sun; and a cannon ball fired
toward the sun, if it retained its initial velocity, and
moved in a straight line, would be nearly ten years
on the way.

It should be remembered that these figures are
based upon the most accurate measurements thus far
made; but we have no conclusive proof, that the
results are in every way correct and reliable. Of
this, however, we may feel sure, that in speaking of
distance, with reference to the sun, or any other
of the heavenly bodies, measurement by miles, almost
loses significance; those orbs are far, far away; the

THE SIN. 247

dimensions of space are boundless; to the universe
of God there is no end.

The rotation of the earth upon its axis turns each
side alternately toward and away from the sun,
giving rise thereby to the regular succession of day
and night.

That part which is directed toward the sun receives
its light, and in consequence experiences day; while
the opposite half of the earth being deprived of sun-
light passes through its night.

As seen from the earth, the sun appears to change
its position in the heavens with the passing of the
year; during our winter it is far toward the south,
while during the summer months, it appears to
traverse its daily course in a line almost over our
heads. This appearance is also due to the changes
of the earth as it moves in its orbit; and a conse-
quence of such motion is the change of seasons.

In Figure 38 the sun is represented near the
centre of an elliptical orbit, around which the earth
is shown in several different positions. It must be
remembered in thus picturing the earth in its yearly
journey that the directions of the earth's axis is not
changed to any appreciable extent; the north pole
being apparently directly under the Polar Star. On
the 22nd of March and the 22nd of September of
each year, the earth is in such position that the rays
of the sun fall directly upon its equator. This is an
imaginary line passing around the earth in an easterly
and westerly direction, and situated at equal distance
from the poles. The effect of this position is, that

248

FIRST BOOK OFI NATURE.

at such times all parts of the|earth^ experience the
same duration of light and darkness; the days and
nights are then equal over the earth; and such

O

r.

cc

bfc

occurrences are called the equinoxes or times of
equal nights. On December 21, the earth reaches a
position, shown in the figure, so that the sun shines

THE SUN. 249

more directly upon the southern hemisphere, giving
to that half of the earth therefore its summer, while
winter reigns upon the northern section. Six months
later, on June 21, the earth has passed to such a
position that the northern hemisphere receives the
direct rays of the sun, and in consequence, experiences
its summer; this time the southern half of the earth
is passing of course through its winter season.

In reality the sun does not occupy the exact cen-
tre of the elliptical orbit along which the earth
moves, and therefore the earth is nearer the sun at
one time than at others. The earth reaches its point
of greatest distance from the sun July 1, and this
position is called its aphelion. On December 31, of
each year, the earth is at its perihelion or least dis-
tance from the sun. The hieroglyphic figures accom-
panying the names of the months upon the diagram,
are symbols of particular groups of stars, which
appear close to the sun at those times. From the
fact that the earth is in its perihelion at the time of
the northern winter, and in aphelion during the
northern summer, these seasons are much more
moderate in our hemisphere than in the southern.

To the inhabitants of the earth the sun is of more
general interest than any other of the vast orbs of
heaven. From the sun seem to come the light, and
heat and chemical power without which life would
soon cease to exist upon our globe. That great
luminary has been placed in the firmament "to rule
the day" and to make of this globe a fit habitation
for plant and animal and man.

2o0 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

As a result of careful measurement it is said that
the amount of heat received by the earth from the
sun during a year is sufficient "to boil an ocean of
ice water covering the whole earth to a depth of
eighty feet:" and the total heat radiated by the sun
in that space of time is 2,300,000,000 times as great
as that received by the earth. Prof. Proctor said "In
each second the sun sends out as much heat as would
be given out by the burning of 1 1 ,600,000,000,000,< K M I
tons of coal." The noted astronomer, Sir John
Herschel, calculated that a solid cylinder of ice
forty-five miles in diameter and 200,000 miles long,
if plunged into the sun, would be melted by the
intense heat of that body, in one second of time.

The light of the sun is no less surprisng in its
degree. It is many times as intense as the brightest
electric light and every other artificial light appears
absolutely black when held before the sun. The
sun radiates 600,000 times as much light as the full
moon.

Soon after the invention of the telescope, in the
early part of the seventeenth century, dark spots
were observed upon the sun. This discovery pro-
duced a consternation among the superstitious people
of that time; they had always learned to regard the
sun as an emblem of purity and unsullied brilliancy.
and the thought of blemishes upon its fair face was
most repugnant to their prejudiced minds. It is
now known that spots are usually present on the
suu's surface, and sometimes of such a size as to be
seen by the naked eye. These spots are often of

THE MOON. 251

enormous size: Shroeter measured one over 29,000
miles in diameter; Sir John Herschel names one of
50,000 miles diameter. The black appearance of the
spots is due to the effect of contrast. As has been
said, the brightest artificial light appears dark when
projected upon the face of the sun, owing to the
superior brilliancy of the latter; and so also do we
suppose the spots to lack brightness; but in truth the
blackest of them would be of insufferable brilliancy
when compared with earthly lights. Many opinions
have been advanced by scientific men as to the nature
of the spots: some consider them merely clouds float-
ing in the solar atmosphere and others regard them
as rents in the enveloping layers of the sun, through
which the darker nucleus below is revealed. Of
their true nature, as indeed of the constitution of
the sun, and the structure of the heavenly bodies in
general we know but little.

CHAPTER XLVIII.

THE MOON.

SECOND in brilliancy among the great lights of
the firmament is the Moon. Though appear-
ing almost as large as the sun, it is in fact the
smallest of the heavenly bodies ordinarily vis-
Its comparatively short distance from us adds
to its apparent size. By measurement, the moon is
found to be only one-fiftieth as large as the earth.

252 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

When near the horizon, the moon appears much
larger than when high in the heavens toward the
zenith, though in the latter position the moon is
nearer the observer than when at the horizon by the
semi-diameter of the earth. We may explain this
illusion of distance as follows: When we perceive
the moon apparently close to the surface of the
earth, as when on the eastern or western horizon,
we are more fully aware of its distance, and
unconsciously correct our mental impressions as
to its size, and conceive it to be much larger than it
really is.

The moon, too, is nearest to the earth of all the
bodies in space; she is really the companion of the
earth. In round numbers the moon's average dis-
tance from us is placed at two hundred and forty
thousand miles, which, though an enormous distance
in comparison with any terrestrial measurement, is
but very small when considered in connection with
the figures denoting the distance of the sun or any
other of the heavenly bodies. The moon moves
around the earth in a manner somewhat similar to
the earth's revolution about the sun; and in conse-
quence, our satellite appears in widely varying posi-
tions at different times.

Figure 39 represents the earth as situated near the
centre of the path of the moon, and the latter ap-
pears in several different positions along its course.
The upper part of the figure is illuminated, to indi-
cate the direction of the sun, from which light falls
both upon the earth and the moon, these being

THE MOON.

253

dark, opaque bodies, capable of giving light only by
reflecting the rays of the sun. The moon being
approximately globular in shape, only one-half of its
surface can be illuminated by the sun at any one

Fig. 39.— Diagram of Moon's Orbit.

time, and the portion that is turned away from the
sun will be in darkness and night. In the figure,
therefore, the upper half of the moon in each of its
positions is shown as brightly illuminated. By the

254 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

side of each representation of the moon along its
orbit, is an illustration of its shape at such position
as viewed from the earth. Thus, when the moon is
between the earth and the sun, its illuminated part
is turned away from us; this is called new moon;
and at such time the disc is invisible to us; we
speak of the moon as new after it has moved slightly
forward in its orbit, so that a small portion of its
illuminated half is visible in the form of a crescent.
At the time of full moon our satellite is seen in
the part of the heavens opposite to the sun; its whole
illumined part is then turned toward the earth and a
full disc is seen. When half way along its course from
new to full moon, one-half of its lighted part, that is
one-fourth of the whole surface is seen from the earth;
this position is called first quarter. So also when
the moon is half-way along its path from full
to new moon, it is said to be in last quarter. As
the figure indicates, while passing from new moon to
full moon, the illuminated part visible from the
earth grows larger; this is called the "waxing
moon;" along the opposite half of its orbit the visible
part grows smaller, producing the phenomenon of
"waning moon."

The moon accomplishes a revolution around the
earth, moving from west to east, in about twenty-
seven days; and therefore appears each day farther
east than at the same time on the preceding day.
This causes the moon to appear on the eastern
horizon somewhat later each day; the daily retard-
ation amounting to about fifty minutes. The moon

THE MOON. 255

turns upon its own axis in about the same time that
it takes to revolve about the earth, and so shows but
one side to the earth. The moon requires nearly a
month in which to turn once upon its axis; this is
therefore the length of the lunar day. The sun
shines without intermission upon one part of the
moon for nearly two weeks, and then sets, to remain
absent for the same length of time. The extremes
of heat and cold upon the lunar surface must be
therefore very great.

The peculiar markings so readily seen upon the
face of the full moon have always excited the interest
of even superficial observers. We remember perhaps
our nursery stories about the "man in the moon;"
though a strong imagination is required to picture
any human form upon the moon's bright face. The
telescope shows these markings to be due to numerous
elevations and depressions upon the surface; there
are mountains and valleys upon the moon as upon
the earth; and the sides of many such inequalities
are steep and precipitous. No one has yet succeeded,
even by the assistance of the best telescopes, in dis-
covering the 'presence of water upon the moon, and
if water be entirely absent there can be no rain or
snow, no clouds and no atmosphere of appreciable
density.

If there be observers on the moon, the earth must
present to them a spectacle of indescribable gran-
deur. When its illumined sides were visible, the
earth would look like an enormous moon, having
four times the diameter, and thirteen times the

266 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

extent of surface which the full moon has to us.
The earth would seem to assume all the phases which
the moon presents to us. There would be ''full
earth," and "new earth," and all intermediate
shapes; but in an opposite order to that of the
moon. Thus, when the moon is to us new, the
earth would appear full, as seen from the moon,
and so on. The effect of "earth-shine" upon the
moon is easily seen, just after the time of new moon;
the brilliant crescent then seems to embrace within
its curve the feebly illuminated part then turned
from the sun. This appearance is pleasantly spoken
of as "the old moon in the new moon's arms;" and
it is produced apparently by the earth-shine lighting
up the lunar surface. The dark part of the moon is
passing through its time of night, and the gloom is
lightened by the light reflected from the surface of
the earth.

The earth would not seem to rise and set, how-
ever, as seen from the moon; the same part of the
moon being always turned toward the earth, the
latter would appear always in the same quarter of
the lunar sky. To an observer, near the middle of
our side of the moon, the earth would seem always
to be overhead; to one near the edge, the earth would
seem to be on the horizon, from the farther side of
the moon the earth would be of course entirely
invisible.

ECLIPSES.

The movements of the earth and moon as already
described explain fully the common phenomenon of

ECLIPSES. 257

eclipses. Eclipses of the sun are caused by the moou
passiug in its orbit between the earth and the sun,
so as to shut off the light of the latter, and cause
darkness upon the earth, wherever the shadow of the
moon falls. If the moon appears to cover the entire
surface of the sun, a total eclipse results; if only a
portion of the sun's disc be obscured, the effect is to
produce a partial eclipse. A solar eclipse, as is seen
from this explanation, can only occur when the moon
and the sun are in the same quarter of the heavens;
that is to say at new moon. Some disbelievers in
the Bible have tried to explain the darkness that fell
upon the earth at the time of the crucifixion of
Christ as the result of an eclipse of the sun. This,
however, could not possibly be the cause, for the
Jewish Feast of the Passover, at which time the
crucifixion took place, was always held during full
moon; and at such time no solar eclipse was possible.

An eclipse of the moon takes place whenever that
body passes into the shadow of the earth; and this
of course is only possible at the time of full moon
when the moon is on the dark side of the earth.*

By a careful study of the motions of the earth and
moon, astronomers are able to predict eclipses with

* "Eclipses, especially total eclipses of the sun were
greatly dreaded by the ancients; and are still dreaded by
uncivilized peoples. The Hindoos believe that in a solar
eclipse, some monster is trying to swallow the sun. At
these times they all turn out with gongs, and every pos-
sible noise-producing instrument, and keep up the loudest,
and most hideous noises, until the frightened monster

disgorges his fiery mouthful." — Sharpless <t- Philips.
18

258 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

great accuracy long before their time of occurrence.
It is related by several reliable authorities that
Columbus once profited by his foreknowledge of an
eclipse of the moon in a rather remarkable way. In
1504 he was wrecked off the coast of Jamaica, and
all attempts by persuasion and by threat to procure
food and assistance from the natives were utterly un-
successful. He told the savages that in consequence
of their unkind treatment of him, their Great Spirit
was angry with them, and would that night darken
the moon as a sign of His displeasure. When the
eclipse began, the superstitious Indians were greatly
frightened, and hastened to do all in their power for
the comfort of Columbus and his crew, beseeching
him to ask forgiveness of the Deity in their behalf.

CHAPTER XLIX.

THE STARS.

_ ET us lift our eyes toward the great sky-dome
upon some clear night when the moon is absent.
Surely none but an infinite power can count
these glimmering lights; these "lamps of the
universe" as they have so appropriately been called.
Think of those unnumbered worlds, and learn that
there is one mind supremely great; one who telleth
the number of the stars, and calleth them all
by their names. But not alone to counting does
His power extend. He is at once architect and
builder of this imposing structure of creation.

THE STARS. 259

If we note carefully the position of several prom-
inent stars for a number of nights in succession, we
will most likely discover that some of them change
their position relative to the rest from night to night,
just as the moon is seen to apparently move among
the stars; while others, — and these the greater num-
ber—seem to retain a fixed position, never appearing
nearer to or farther from thoir neighbors. The wan-
dering stars first referred to above will be found very
near the daily path of the sun in the heavens, none
of them are seeu far to the north or the south; and
these have been called planets, — the name meaning
really "rovers." The second class of stars are called
fixed stars.

All the great family of planets move round the sun in
regular order and at a fixed speed, each accomplish-
ing its long journey always in the same interval of
time; though this is different for each planet. All
of these wandering stars derive their heat and light
from the same great luminary.

There is Mercury, which of all known stars is the
nearest to the sun. It moves along its path at the
surprising speed of thirty miles a second; and com-
pletes its orbital journey in the space of about eighty-
eight days. This, then, is the duration of the Mer-
curial year, there being but twenty-two days in each
season. In size, this body is about one-sixteenth
that of the earth.

The next planet in order of distance from the sun
is Venus, the brightest star in the heavens, though
in reality not nearly so large as the earth. She

260 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

moves about the sun, however, along an orbit within
that of the earth, and consequently receives more
solar light and heat. When in a position west of
the sun, she rises earlier than the orb of day, and is
known as the "morning star," but when moving east
of the sun, she is seen in the western heavens after
sunset, and is honored by the title of "evening
star." Before the motions of Venus had been care-
fully studied, these two appearances were supposed
to be distinct stars, and were named accordingly,
Phosphorous or Lucifer, the Star of the Morn, and
Vesper, or the Star of Eve.

Being entirely within the orbit of the earth in all
her movements, Venus presents in different positions
all the phases or changes of the moon. Next to the
orbit of Venus comes that of our Earth; for though
appearing to us so different from the brilliant stars
of the sky, the world we inhabit is really one of them,
and moves in obedience to the same laws that hold
Venus in her orbit, and that urge Mercury along its
fiery path. And beyond our earth Mars, the ruddy
star, rolls on its way. This planet also is smaller
than the earth — being about one fourth the volume
of our globe, and requiring about two years in which
to complete a revolution around the sun. Still
farther off in space is Jupiter, the giant planet,
moving in majestic state along its prescribed path,
and requiring about twelve years in which to com-
plete a revolution. This enormous world is fourteen
hundred times as large as ours; its volume is about
one tenth that of the sun. Four moons attend it

THE STARS. iJ61

along its path and reflect the rays of the sun upon
its surface.

On the outside of this orbit is that of Saturn,
which planet is surrounded by a beautiful ring, and
is accompanied by eight moons. It rolls once around
the sun in thirty years. Still beyond, are Uranus
and Neptune) the former making a revolution about
the sun once in eighty-four years, and the latter in
one hundred and sixty-five.

The sun, with its family of planets, and their
satellites or moons, constitutes the so-called solar
system. Wonderful as are these circling bodies, and
great as are their separating distances, this system
appears to be but one among many in the boundless
fields of space.

From what can be learned of the fixed stars,
they are all self-luminous bodies like our sun; and
each of them may be the central orb of a vast
system of planetary bodies, equal to, and perhaps
surpassing our own in grandeur. Even without
assistance to our vision we may detect many patches
of hazy starlight — almost like clouds. The telescope,
turned upon such a foggy field, shows it to be but a
cluster of numerous stars, differing widely from each
other in size and brilliancy, and separated by dis-
tances not to be counted in miles.

Figure 40 represents such a misty patch in the
constellation Toucan, one of the constellations visi-
ble in the southern heavens. To the naked eye this
seems nothing more than a very faint cloud; but
with telescopic aid it appears to be composed of

262 FIRST BOOK OF/ NATURE.

innumerable points 'of light, each telling the loca-
tion of a bright and blazing sun.

Fig. 40.— Star Cluster in the Constellation Toucan.

The Milky-way or Galaxy may be seen on any
moonless night stretching across the heavens as part
of a great circle. It looks ordinarily like a ring of
misty light, but the telescope shows it to be com-
posed of unnumbered millions of stars of varying
degrees of brightness.

Beside such, there are in the heavens numerous
hazy patches which even the most powerful instru-
ments fail to resolve into any appearance but'that of
fog or mist. These are called Nebulae, and poeti-
cally termed "star dust," though their true nature
man is unable to learn.

THE STARS. 263

Figure 41 is designed to represent an annular or
ring-like nebula in the constellation of Lyra. The
smaller representation gives its appearance as viewed

Fig. 41.— Annular Nebula in the Constellation Lyra,
through a telescope of moderate power, and the
larger picture is as the nebula appeared in the enor-
mous Rosse reflector. The outer part seems to con-
sist of separate and distinct stars, while the middle
portions seem of a gauzy or filmy nature as if con-
sisting of tiny particles. "Tiny," we say, but only
by comparison, for to be seen at all at that enormous
distance, the tiniest speck in that great "ring uni-
verse" must far surpass in size and brilliancy our
effulgent sun.

The distance between the earth and the nearest
fixed star is estimated at 20,000,000,000,000 miles;
but what does such a number signify to our finite
minds? Light travels through space at the incon-
ceivable velocity of 186,000 miles per second, a speed
sufficient to encircle the globe seven times while a
watch ticks once. Light passes from the sun to the
earth in eight minutes; but not less than three and

264 FIRST BOOK OF NATURE.

a half years must elapse while light travels from the
nearest fixed star to the earth; over forty-five years
are required for us to receive light from the Polar
Star; and the luminous rays that come to us from
many of the farthest stars, must have set out on
their journey centuries ago.

If such be the wonders of matter, how passing
wonder must be He who made all such ! The Creator
of all we see, according to whose word the heavenly
spheres are formed and the forces of the universe are
governed — He is our Father; and it is He whom we
profess to worship.

CHAPTER L.

CONCLUSION.

|HE pages of our little volume are nearly com-
plete. In their course we have bestowed some
attention upon a few of the unnumbered objects
of our Father's creations. We have spoken of
the animals, plants, and minerals of earth, and also of
the brilliant orbs of the sky. In the contemplation
of all these, we have seen unmistakable proof of a
wise and powerful direction; the hand-marks of a
Creator are left upon the fabric of Nature in every
part; all things, the small and the great, declare
with one accord the wisdom of the Almighty Mind
that called them into being.

At every step in his attempts to fathom the

CONCLUSION. 265

"thoughts of God," as expressed in the visible forms
of creation, the student finds himself on the verge of
the unknown; he feels ever as if traversing the frontier
of an unexplored realm of truth; and without the aid
of a Divine director he is apt to wander into danger-
ous paths. But to the thoughtful and prayerful
pupil, the Master is ever ready to impart knowledge
and power. Knowledge has no permanent value only
so far as it insures to its possessor a firmer reliance
and a more implicit trust in the wisdom and might
of his heavenly Parent.

To the thoughtful observer, there is more than
melody in the throbbing ecstasy of the singing bird;
there is much beyond grace of movement, and
brilliancy of hue in the flitting butterfly; the flower is
more in his eye than a bunch of pretty leaves upon
a stalk, such as a skillful artist might in some degree
imitate with wax and paint; to him, the sun by day,
and the moon and stars by night are not mere lamps
to light the world — in all of these he sees and recog-
nizes the existence of a perfect design, that could
have originated only in the mind of Omniscience.

Well has it been said, that order is Heaven's first
law; and the second is like unto it, that everything
in nature has a purpose; these constitute the sum of
all science. This is Nature's hymn of praise to the
Creator, chanted by the lowly objects of earth no
less than by the majestic worlds of the universe, "in
Him we live and move and have our being."

••_K<^

^

4S T3 1888
First book of nature.
Talmage. James Edward
1862-1933.

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