174 



^lj7i&riner'0 iilonil)liJ bisUor 



Blany of il.o lemptaCom lo ^kc would l.avr been 



'"Tumow ;. IUtl,er,-CM.u'n?c<I in n ITolbsHon, ^^^o 

 |,;,s „n cnlv .son, Cor whose iiUerosl i(= h»« ever 



a suon- lU-sire lo L.i.!;;.£o i.s ii cleik in ;. ^u.i . 

 Tl„; Ib.luM- Celt llKUaorirnlture was m. ev-m//'y 



,V.,n, icniptalion ; jcj h.' .lul not w .sh »'-< ' .> 

 ,o co«./wi <o a coui-«o aver... to Ins ou n c , ac. 

 llo ,i;..,-elo,-..- fn;:»j:c< n |.h.ce for I""''/ 

 m.-rdiUKl (.riiis iR-rinanninwc, to he nucni. < .1 

 ;!w ,ontl,s,oneon.lniou,lK.t,l,n .on .hon 1 



the son alone, and infonned hnn' that he Im( 

 !;,An::d.neha,.lace:.n.h«sa,ne.,meponUe. 



onl inakind nmnner, the advann -es and Ml., 

 a wu auL"r,hen,e,canMle-hn.n,es., and o 

 : , ieuhnre. He udd hh.t^^ftc "»s now of an aye 

 iT. cMon.st ehoo.elbr hin,.eh: That wh.c 

 r e-wav he shonhl now .h'cnle, he wonhl he 

 <^;a;n,neha.,Ma,;.ieaine-tha./Wde-.oM 



,„„sl he tinal-lhal he ini-ht re !eel n ,on lie 

 S^et one weeU, and then U-t Uh« .leei.n.n he 



'" AUherlosc ofthe week, he decided "to he a 

 fanner." lo ihe joy of lii^ father. I roni that day 

 onward, he has ,.n,-s.ed steadily 'j-^^;;-;- 

 „„w nleasanllv silnaled on a condortahh! faiin, 

 '>n.lisi.rou,l,alhoH,e-ai.dal..oad, to ho known 



■^''Wonld it not he uise for utany " father and 

 son, 10 imitate ihis ('xamide?* 



Facts iu iVatuial History. 



BY PROP. J. J. MAPj;S. 



I ni.ntion these f..M3 only in the hope of showing 

 th-it there is nleiisuie in studying the sciences, iind vyhen 

 IveVo me to in.lnrid hi.^.oiy we shall find .he siudy of 

 ,",t still iHore amnsing. The nniirud i.nd vcgeU.ble 

 w^Hd^ are well wo.hy of oUser.i.ion. P^^'^ v^°» 

 .,11 know whiit is meant hy a cuchud. f we ni.iKe a 

 sno n .he pe.i|,he,y of a wheel, travelling on a pl.ne, 

 Xfi u e vvdiioh .Imtspot deserihes ,s „ ey.doid. Now 

 ' er/is no fignve in whirl, a body can he nioved wilh 

 so much velocity and such regnUirhy of speed no. even 

 the",' "hi line^. fthilheimaichms discovered ...is not 



nVyjetirs ago; hut Na.ure's (iod taught it lo .he ea- 

 1 e before mathemMtic, were invcn.ed; arjd when the 

 ?'4le pounces on his prey, he describes the hgare of a 



A gloV>e p'.acet 



[] in wator 



nr ill iiir, in moving meets 

 «ilh"l-esl,Uu,.ce,undils"^clo<l.> will be rel,.i<kd. K 

 Tou Vue the globe .0 .he form of i.n egg, 'l'«'« "'' '« 

 C 'esi^tuncct Aad then I here I. a lorm called die 

 io , 0/ /ct..; ,chl.„„:c, wlfich ma,,he,m,licn,nss iudied 

 fo .any year* U, discover; and when Ihey had discov- 

 fire U?ihey lonnd they h.d .he onj, of a ■*!' s he;|di 

 Naiure bad'" rinsed out" the lish wah just such ahg- 



"'Xhe feathers of birds and each particular part of 

 them are arranged at -such nn angle as to be most elh- 

 cie in assisting flight. The human eye has a t.inro 

 on I ch ohiecfs a.e renerled, and a nerve hy which 

 ,Te e liecions arc conveyed "> d.ehrain and .huswe 

 nre enabled lo .ake an interest ,n the ohjecls which 

 al bdore our eye. Now when .he eye ,s .00 c.n - 

 've.x, we «»e one kind of glasses lo correct, l'« J- ' 

 and iLit be not convcK enough, or .f vv« wish .o look 



iseelai 

 PiWai 



lirelv anolher descriplion. „ HF, i „„ 



J )liu a« birds e lot gel spectacles P.Wdence3s 



♦oiven them a method of supplying the dehciency. 1 hey 

 have Ihe power of contrucling .he eye ol making it 

 n'Jre conv'e., so aa to see the .pecUs vvhich float me 

 ata.osphere, a.nJ catch their food; and a so o( n. Ic - 

 ,n.r the eye, U> see a areal distance, and observe wheth- 

 er'any vulture or other enemy is threatening to destroy 

 Ihem 111 addilinn lo tliis .hey have a him or coating 

 ^ which can suddenly be .hrown down over .ho eye to 

 ♦ prole,-.tit; beeau.se at the velocity at which they tly, 

 andwidi.he dolicaf-MeMure of their eye, .he leas 

 . speck of dust would tvi upon it as a pen-knile thrust 

 into. he human eve. This lilm is to protect the eye 

 „nd the same thiiig exists to some extent in the eye ol 

 the horse, 'ihe horse has a large eye, very liable to 

 take dust. Thi.. coating, in .he horse s eye, is calleil 

 Ihe haw, or ihird eyelid, and ifyou will watch closely, 

 vou may see it descend and return will, eleclr.e veloc- 

 ity It clears away the dust and pro.cls .he eye from 

 injury. Ifi«hc eve'should catch cold, the \u^^y hardens 

 and prcjee.s, and ignorant persons out it oil, and thus 

 d(;:.troy this safeguard.. . , ,„ 



Vou all know, f you tuUo a ponnd of iron and make 

 of it a rod a foot K.na, what weight it will support. 

 But if it he a hollow rod, it will support a w.iglit many 

 tinics "reater th.m h.fore. Nature seems to have la- 

 ken acfvuntage of this also, long before mathematicians 



led discovered it. that all the bonesof animals are hoi- 1 

 ,w 1 "ehoncs of a bird are large, because they r.,usl 

 rs..o 'to move their large ,vi.,gs wi.h such velocity ; 

 but e n.ust also be light in order to lloat easily on 

 the i,? Rirds also strikingly illustrate -'^oihe J.ct^^. 

 i.ural philosophy. Ifyou take a bag, ...ake it . 

 hi and put it under water, it will support a laige 

 ° I'll , say a hundred pounds. But twist it or dim n- 

 .1 d e'air^in it, and it will support no such weigl t. 

 Novv a bird has' such an air bag. When he w ishes to 

 d,.:i. d, ho compresses it, and falls rapidly; when he 

 would rse he incieases il, and floats uith case. He 

 luo has .he power of forcing air in.o the ho low pa » 

 of Ihe body, and ihus to assist his flighl. J he same 

 "wrmay be observed in fishes. They also have an 

 air bag to enable them to rise or sink m the water till 

 they ifnd their proper temperature. .c ,h»v wish 



If ihey wish to rise, they increase it; if ihej w)»h 

 to sink they compress it, and down they go. feome- 

 times the itsh in sinking .nukes too strong "■';• -^» ° 

 compress his air bag, and bursts it; then ^"V" "•^S"^^ 

 to the bottom, and Uiere remains lor thercs of his life 

 Flounders and some other .ish have no air ''''§';"«' ^° 

 ll.cy are never found swimm.ug on the surlace, but 

 must always be caughl on the bollom. 



In this way are the principles of science applied to 

 ■almost every thing. You wish to know how to pack 

 the greatest amount of bulk in the smallest space. 1 he 

 foriiTs of .cylinders leave large -V'^<=^^ ^^'"'''^''YlZe 

 Ma.hema.icians labored a long lime lo h.id « hu hgu e 

 ,.ould be used so as .o lose no space; and al ast louncl 

 that it was the six-sided hgure, imd also that thiee 

 planes ending in a point fornied 'he strongest i oof o, 

 floor. The honey bee discovej-ed the same thing» a 

 .ood while ago. -Honey-comb is made up ol si.x-s,ded 

 bgures, and .tie .-oof is built wilh three plane surlaces 



comiiiS lo a point. _ . . . , -n i „ 



If a flexible vessel be emptied of a.r, ilssidesw.ll be 

 almost crushed together by ihe pressure of 'he surround- 

 ing atmosphere. And if the tube partly hUed vv. h 

 flrTid be emptied of its air, the fluid will rise lo the top. 

 The bee understands this; and when he conies to 11.-3 

 cup of the tall honeysuckle, and hnds inat he cannot 

 reach the sweet inatler at its bollom, ho thrusts in bis 

 body, shuts up the flower, and then exhausts the air, 

 and so possesses himself of the dust and honey ol the 

 flower. The feet of flies and lizards are constructed on 

 a similar principle, and they thus walk with ease on 

 ■dass or a ceiling. Their feet are made so as to cieate 

 I vacuum beneath them, and so they h.'ive the pressure 

 of the atmosphere, fifteen pounds lo the square inch, 

 to enable them to hold on. 1 he cat has the same pow- 

 er to a less extent. 



Plants require the sunlight, and some flowers turn 

 themselves towards the sun as itlriivels rouno from eas 



10 west. 'J he sunflower does this, and so does a held 

 of clover. These lacls, though we have not yet got al 

 the reason of them, are still extremely interesting. 



Vou all know that if a hollow ball be fllled with a 

 „as lighter than air, it will rise and float away. J b s 

 r,„^t isVaulifully carried out iu nature. 1 he larina, or 



i', and filled with light gas 'I'-y are. bicnvn ort 

 Iron the male plant and by la ling upon the em. e 

 l.,,U imp,-egnales it. Nature has so arranged it, hat 

 b "unclious'mauer, vvhieh causes ''- .mpregaa. g 

 pans of plants .0 attach to others, never occn s at e- 

 c,cly Ihe same time in male and fema e plants. J hus 

 [fie f>.-ina from die male plant hit Ibc niale, . does 

 .:dh re; but if it hit the female, it does attach; the 

 a 1 burst but they are fastened and take ejleet. H i 

 ,nnre..m,lion often lakes place many yards distant. In 

 i',,: miian corn you must have noticed lli.,t a single 

 blil of red corn willbe scattered a lor.g distance through 

 the whole. 



The Viiginia creeper throws out tcndri s in the lorm 

 of a fool, vvilh Ave toes; each toe has a large numhc 

 of hairs or spine, which,, entering the smal openings 

 of b lick or lime, swell and hold on; but vvhen deeaj- 

 i,. Ih-yshrhikandthe plant fills ol. Ihe vanilla 

 hnt of the Wcsl fi.dies oxbib.ls a similar constrnclion, 

 Lseept that it winds itself around <"''er objects. 



■Ihe gastric juice is worthy of remark. It isataslc- 

 les cobrless, inodorous, limpid llai. , like water, and 

 s adi p.cd iiKdilVerent animals for ddlerent purp. se> 

 n tl e hvena. "'-J other c.rnive.ous animals it will not 

 L Wc live flesh, hut will dissolve dead '1 hese erea- 

 ,res then live uilon other animals, and even hones 

 , CO hie in thc'ir gastric juice, wh.le it will not .- 

 golve vc-elables at all. On the other hand so.no ani- 

 mals live- entirely on vegetables, and iheir g.islrtc juice 

 will not dissolve animal food. . , , i „ 



W", ,.11,001 alter the nature of an anima hy chang- 

 ing its food. It will still belong to the ^'";' - • ' ^ _ 

 navicular bees are better instructed. U 1 e.i thej lo,e 

 1. queen b.'c-which is an entirely d.flerc... a., n.ial 

 f. , the working bee-if you present another to them 

 . bin 21 l.ouis,°thev will no. ..ccept o her nor obey 

 cr. The, prefer taking an ordinary gr.ib, belore i has 

 beco.ne a tli'er, and feeding it with a 1>^","™ ;"""'' • 

 ami treating it in a peculiar way; aud when it lev... 



the grub stale it becomes a queen bee, and they alwa> s 

 sufler iheniselves to be governed by her. 



The hubhs of aiils are cxtiemcly curious. VVe all 

 have heard of ant houses, somelimes twenty leet in Ui- 

 ameter, fdled with halls and rooms of great size and 

 .'ilrcngth. '1 hese aud beiv cr dams are constructed up- 

 on strictly mechanical principle.1. 



slricuiy inecnanicai prmcipic-i. . 



In some insect species, the males have wings wuiie 

 ihe females have none. This Is ihc case with the glow 

 worm, and the female has the property of emitlmg a 

 phosphore.'-cent light, and were it not for this ihe gen- 

 tleman glow worm would never find his way to Ins i.i- 

 dy's chamber. The ostrich, like the cherubim, is not 

 provided with the means of silling down She cannoi, 

 Ihcrefoie, hatch her eggs, but buries iheni m the hot 

 sind and leaves nature lo hatch them for her. bomo 

 birds build no nests; like ihe cuckoo, whiclv, depos.les 

 ber e».3 in the iiesls of other birds^hut she knovfrs 

 enough always lo select the i.esls of birds that hav-c 

 bills Shaped like her own, for Ihen she is assured her 

 young v,ill have the same kind of lood as she her.clf 



would procure^ . 



PowF.n OF E.NDur.iNC. llEAT.-The female M-r- 

 vniit of a linker in Itoehefoiieair, cdo.hed in Han- 

 nel, was in the hal.il of eiilefin- her nm.sters 

 oven and feniainin- Ion- enon.tih lo ren.ove al 

 the loaves; and Dr. ^rew^ler inli.ni.s us llnU 

 the la.c i^ir Francis (Tiaiitry's workmen ei.lere.l 

 Ihe oven employed li.r diNiiiu .he nioidd.s, .-n. 

 I „,„„„,,,,,„„.,„ M fee. !on.^]'i leet hiL-h, and 1- 

 leet hioad, the temperalme ol « l.teh, with closed 

 .|„o,s,was:J50de.'rees. and the iron re. hr.l.- 

 Thcvwere a.uirded nL-anisl the heal ol th.^ flooi 

 l,y vu.odei. elous, x^hiVh were of eourse .•haired 

 on the snrktee. "On one oeeasion, he:idd>, 

 "Tvir Clmntrv, accompanied hy live or si.\ ol I.i3 

 friends, entered the f.inmee, tmd after remaiiiin!,' 

 two ininit.es, they hro.iLdil on, a thermom-' e, 

 which stoo.l al :«0 degrees, home o! ihe pa.ty 

 eNoeiienced sharp pains in the lip-s of Iheir ea.s 

 ;,„;i i„ ,1,0 sepliim of the nose, whilst others lelt, 

 , ,,„i,i in Iheir eye.s. The.se experiineiits prove 

 Ih'. eMraonlinnry heat whieh .tie hvin- .o.l> 



,.nn hear with iinpnnily, ami favor the po.ss, ,y 



of persons pas.sin:.' iininjnred throu.u'h the Ha.iie.s 

 l„.ovi.led the hodv can he gnardc.l Iron, hein.u 

 seo,elied, hy a noii-eondnetiiiir covering ol an 

 iucomlnistihie nalnre.-Z'/H7oso;;/i^j/ jV;»g-'C. 



A jroTllKR TO HER D.Vt-GHTr.U ON M V Rnivc K. 

 -Yo.i are now, mv helcved child, ahont to leave 

 Iho.-eai-ms which iiave hilhcrto cherished \o.., 

 and .lirecled your every step, tmd at len.jih con- 

 ,|,„.U.,| yon to a safe, happy, and Kono.-ohle |..o- 

 u.,.,i.>n,-in the very hosom o( love aiid im..o,.- 

 Vottiniisinowheno longer the Hi^rhly, incon- 

 siderate, hatighly, and passionate KO'l-it"" .^vei, 

 with reveialiee and delight, h:.vc .he nieiil "I 

 yotir linslKind in view. Reflect how vasl.he sum 

 of yonr ohliantions lo the man who con lers upon 

 you indepen.lence, .listiiie.ion. and »'•.'"■■•; "^ 

 icliciiv. iVIodeiate, then, my helovcd child, \om 

 private e.speii.ses, and proporii...) yoi.r ;:.neial 

 Upendii.i e lo .he standard ot lii.s lort.me, o. 

 rather his wishe.s. I fear nol that, with yon 

 rdiieatioi. iiiid principles, you can ever lorget 

 ,l,e more saer.Ml .Inlies, so soon to he your sphere 

 of ae.ioti. Uememher the solenn.1 y. ol yon 

 vow.s, ,he di;;ni.y ofvonr ehanu-.er, .he saiicinv 

 of your eondition. Von tire ameimhle o poc.e.y 

 r'vonr e.xatnpic, to your lu«ht.iul lor u.s honor 

 ',„ri„,,|,iMess audio Hetiveu ..sell lor .ho>e 

 ' .,, t.l'.'.ls eutrn.ste.l to your care aud your i.n- 

 ,„ovemenl: aud .hough in the maze ol pleasme 

 the whirl of passion, the duties ol. he he.,,-, 

 , ,,y he Ibri-otteu. remember my .larl.nfr eluh , 

 l„.Ve is a record which will one day appeal Hi 

 ;;;;.,ihle evhleuce iigain.st us for our least onus- 



sion. _, 



UuiNi; OK .\.N.MA..s.-Do oiu- f«rmers as a 

 .eiieral thin,', pay sunicieu. "'"■""-' :"';^''7- 

 ...rvt.tiou of this valuable mea.w "I le 111. > .1 

 how many instances .lo wo liii.l nny et.o > u , d . 

 ,o economize i., or .en.ler lis g. vat we d.li a . t - 

 able for the s,.s.ena,.ce an. snppor. . cos 

 Aeeor.li,iK.oanK,iglish.\gri.-nl...rami hot. 1. 

 „natitilV of li.p.id manure pro.hiee.l m onr v. ,n 



Insln.leeolv, ''^ ^''X-''^ ,''' ^'-f'^l^^^^:':^ 

 ,•„,,;,„,,„ acres of sroun, , I'y"'"^' f^^"'( :„;!,^ 

 ,,,r,„nuen.asdollie s..hdexereni.m.s. Ad 



,(■ .oil, sa.nra.e.l with ur.t..;, is e.jnal "" • < "' ^ 



of .he hes, rolled v^: If > •'• "I""'' ''.'': 



s.li.1 evacua.ions, ineln.lintx ike !'"';'|J' '■^., ; ' 



v,.|.u-.i.' imil soaki.ig up the nrine hv lo.. t 



has been Ibn.id .key ; ill manure land, m ,.- 



