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FACTS AND FANCIES 



the millions belonging to densely-peopled and 

 progressive nations. It is plain that " Nature " 

 in such a connection represents either a poet- 

 ical fiction, a superstitious fancy, or an intelli- 

 gent Creative Mind. It is further evident that 

 such Creative Mind must be In harmony with 

 that of man, though vasdy greater In its scope 

 and grasp In time and space. 



Even the numerical relations observed in 

 nature teach the same lesson. The leaves of 

 plants are not arranged at random, but in a 

 series of curiously-related spirals, differing In 

 different plants, but always the same In the 

 same species and regulated by definite laws. 

 Similar definiteness regulates the ramification of 

 plants, which depends primarily on the arrange- 

 ment of the leaves. The angle of ramification 

 of the veins of the leaf Is settled for each 

 species of plant ; so are the numbers of parts 

 in the flower and the angular arrangement of ^ 

 these parts. It is the same in the animal king- 

 dom, such numbers as 5, 6, 8, 10 being selected 

 to determine the parts In particular animals and 

 portions of animals. Once settled, these num- 

 bers are wonderfully permanent In geological 

 time. The first known land reptiles appear In 

 the Carboniferous period, and they have nor- 



