526 ANNUAL, REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



An nnfortnnate animal or a nutbearing bush overwhelmed with 

 hotlava from a volcano, or by fires kindled by lightnin.^'s flash, 

 roasted the food which was found superior to that in it uncooked 

 condition that the theory of cooking and the use of fire in domestic 

 economy became a practice, and Avhen not otherwise obtainable, fire 

 was kindled by friction, until the iron age introduced the flint and 

 steel, science the friction match, and the electrical appliances so 

 common in our time. It is only 400 years since this country, pos- 

 sessed by Red men was discovered, and found the natives in the same 

 condition as was Europe, earlier, while Egypt and Asia had advanced 

 to the bronze age, while iron was not in use until at a later period. 



Ignorant people ridicule theory, and when scientific persons appear 

 before them as instructors, they are looked upon as imposters, while 

 in their daily pursuits the same persons who speak flippantly of 

 science, make use of theories conceived and put into practice long 

 ago. Before Galileo's time, "the morning stars sang together for 

 joy," the planets were guided by cellestial hands, and lightning was 

 the Angel of the Lord. In this early period, theory was a dangerous 

 thing to the theorist, but navigation owes its success to the once 

 ridiculed science of astronomy, and agriculture to the theory of 

 cross-fertilization, and the animal industry to the careful study of 

 biology by Darwin. When in 1752, Franklin, accompanied by his 

 son, drew electricity from the clouds with his kite on the commons 

 of Philadelphia, he went quietly, for fear of ridicule should his 

 theory result in failure, because then, as at present, there were peo- 

 ple who were superstitious about things which they did not under- 

 stand. It is only a hundred years since Philip Ginther, while hunt- 

 ing on the mountains near Summit Hill, found a black stone which 

 theory led him to believe it might be stone coal, which it proved to 

 be and was first quarried in 1792. but its use was not known, and 

 would not burn readily, it was used on garden walks in Philadelphia 

 until after repeated efforts and failures, the closing of furnace doors 

 to avoid danger while away to dinner, its value as fuel was acci- 

 dentally discovered. 



There are accidental discoveries of useful things, as for instance 

 Bordeaux mixture; nitro-glycerine; the virtue of Peruvian bark and 

 other things; but in a general way theory, always has a share in the 

 practical application of discoveries. The theory of bacteria in soil, 

 that of obtaining nitrogen from the air by chemistry, to that of navi- 

 gating ships in the air are being practically worked out, while that 

 of making rain and disseminating hail storms by explosives are held 

 in obeyance. Like trusts, there are good theories and bad theories, 

 among the latter, that by having had good roads, we might have 

 hauled ourselves rich, according to logic of wheelmen, owners of 

 fast horses and automobiles. That the losses sustained through in- 

 sect injury, and other causes, fabulous fortunes are missed, yet fre- 

 quently the things produced do not pay cost of production. 



Forestry is to abate all future taxation for coming generations. 

 The theory entertained in some quarters that the farmers have been 

 educated to such a high degree that none but college graduates and 

 professors, with suffixes, Sc. D., Ph. D., Ph. C, A." B.', B. S., M. A., 

 M. S., and possibly L. L. T*. These are theories that it is hoped may 

 be realized, but it's not likely to happen before the millenium. In 

 theory we can fertilize, trim and spray our fruit trees and make 



