418 NATURE'S TEACHINGS. 



As to the shape of the Fan, it varies greatly according to 

 the country, but it may almost invariably be traced to some 

 familiar object. 



There is, for example, the common Japanese Fan or Screen, 

 which is avowedly made on the model of the Palm-leaf, the ribs 

 of the leaf being represented by split portions of a bamboo 

 stem. The right-hand figure in the preceding illustration is 

 taken from one of the common sixpenny Japanese fans that 

 may be seen in many shop-windows. 



There are exactly sixty ribs in the fan, all produced by 

 splitting the bamboo into strips, kept in their place by a slight 

 rod of the same material, and covered with two pieces of thin 

 printed paper. Seeing that the original cost cannot be more 

 than a penny, it is wonderful how such articles can be pro- 

 duced, and give a living to the makers. 



The reader will observe that the shape of the Japanese Fan 

 is almost exactly that of the Palm-leaf, with the exception of 

 the jagged edges, and a better pattern could not be found. 

 Then there are many Indian Fans framed on the same model, 

 but which revolve on their handles, and are swung slowly 

 round and round by the servants before the guests, and thus 

 become miniature punkahs. 



Here, again, we may find a parallel in Nature. The common 

 hive bee ventilates its dwelling by using its wings in lieu of 

 fans. When the hive is really in want of fresh air, the bees 

 set to work, and wave their wings backwards and forwards for 

 a considerable time, so that they necessarily expel the foul air 

 from the interior of the hive, and create a partial vacuum, 

 which can only be filled by fresh air from without. 



Fans of very similar shape are in use among the South Sea 

 Islanders and the inhabitants of the Essequibo district. They 

 are often used as bellows when a fire has to be raised, but their 

 primary object is to be employed as fans. 



NEXT we come to those fans which are made of flattened 

 sticks, which move on a pivot. This is, indeed, the ordinary 

 form of the fan at the present day, the sticks being sometimes 

 wide enough to constitute the entire fan, but mostly being 

 connected with a sort of lining made with silk, paper, or 

 feathers. Such fans as these can be moved on their pivots, so 



