﻿136 
  

  

  THE 
  NATIONAL 
  GEOGRAPHIC 
  MAGAZINE 
  

  

  Photograph 
  by 
  David 
  Fairchild 
  

  

  THP, 
  MUSHROOM 
  SPAWN 
  OP 
  A 
  IvpAP-CUTTTNG 
  ANT: 
  PANAMA 
  

  

  On 
  the 
  floor 
  of 
  a 
  miniature 
  cave 
  is 
  piled 
  this 
  gray 
  mushroom 
  spawn, 
  kept 
  perpetually- 
  

   growing 
  by 
  the 
  leaf 
  fragments 
  brought 
  to 
  it 
  by 
  the 
  atta 
  ants. 
  Everywhere, 
  scattered 
  over 
  

   the 
  spawn, 
  are 
  the 
  clusters 
  of 
  glistening 
  white 
  mushrooms 
  which 
  form 
  the 
  food 
  of 
  the 
  

   baby 
  attas 
  (see 
  text, 
  page 
  139). 
  

  

  others 
  covered 
  with 
  lichens 
  and 
  parasitic 
  

   algae. 
  

  

  It 
  was 
  hard 
  to 
  understand 
  why, 
  with 
  

   all 
  of 
  these 
  diseases 
  rampant, 
  the 
  place 
  

   should 
  look, 
  not 
  like 
  a 
  plant 
  hospital, 
  but 
  

   more 
  like 
  a 
  nursery 
  of 
  plants 
  which 
  were 
  

   all 
  being 
  given 
  the 
  best 
  conditions 
  for 
  

   growth. 
  There 
  would 
  appear 
  to 
  be 
  

   enough 
  parasites 
  to 
  wipe 
  out 
  the 
  forest 
  

   in 
  a 
  few 
  years 
  were 
  things 
  not 
  so 
  nicely 
  

   balanced, 
  parasites 
  living 
  upon 
  parasites, 
  

   insects 
  hunting 
  insects. 
  

  

  Every 
  plant 
  pathologist 
  should 
  visit 
  the 
  

   tropics 
  and 
  take 
  a 
  lesson 
  from 
  the 
  jungle, 
  

   for 
  if 
  it 
  teaches 
  any 
  one 
  thing 
  it 
  is 
  that 
  

   inherited 
  resistance 
  to 
  disease 
  and 
  the 
  

   setting 
  of 
  an 
  insect 
  to 
  catch 
  an 
  insect 
  are 
  

   the 
  two 
  ways 
  which 
  the 
  jungle 
  species 
  

   take 
  to 
  escape 
  from 
  their 
  enemies. 
  

  

  tin; 
  phenomenon 
  op 
  patigup, 
  in 
  the 
  

  

  TROPICS 
  

  

  I 
  laving 
  gone 
  to 
  the 
  tropics 
  in 
  midsum- 
  

   mer, 
  it 
  was 
  natural 
  to 
  try 
  to 
  analyze 
  the 
  

   climatic 
  differences 
  between 
  the 
  banks 
  of 
  

  

  the 
  Potomac 
  in 
  August 
  and 
  the 
  banks 
  of 
  

   the 
  Chagres. 
  I 
  became 
  convinced 
  that 
  

   the 
  ordinary 
  tools 
  of 
  climatology 
  are 
  not 
  

   sensitive 
  enough 
  to 
  analyze 
  this 
  differ- 
  

   ence, 
  just 
  as 
  the 
  chemist's 
  balance 
  can 
  

   often 
  detect 
  no 
  chemical 
  difference 
  be- 
  

   tween 
  objects 
  that 
  are 
  easily 
  distinguish- 
  

   able 
  to 
  the 
  palate. 
  

  

  There 
  is 
  a 
  tropical 
  fatigue 
  phenomenon 
  

   which 
  some 
  people 
  exhibit 
  more 
  quickly 
  

   than 
  others 
  and 
  which 
  women 
  apparently 
  

   show 
  sooner 
  than 
  men. 
  Just 
  what 
  it 
  is 
  I 
  

   do 
  not 
  know, 
  but 
  its 
  results 
  are 
  easily 
  

   observable. 
  They 
  come 
  generally 
  in 
  the 
  

   hours 
  between 
  noon 
  and 
  5 
  o'clock 
  in 
  the 
  

   afternoon, 
  and 
  are 
  to 
  the 
  brain 
  what 
  old 
  

   age 
  is 
  to 
  the 
  eyes. 
  Not 
  only 
  did 
  my 
  eyes 
  

   blur 
  and 
  have 
  to 
  be 
  rubbed 
  to 
  clear 
  them, 
  

   but 
  a 
  kind 
  of 
  haziness 
  of 
  fatigue 
  attacked 
  

   my 
  brain 
  in 
  the 
  afternoon, 
  and 
  try 
  as 
  I 
  

   would 
  I 
  could 
  not 
  shake 
  it 
  off. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  morning 
  hours, 
  from 
  6 
  to 
  12, 
  

   the 
  conditions 
  for 
  active 
  brain-work 
  

   seemed 
  ideal 
  and 
  I 
  felt 
  ambitious 
  and 
  

   keen 
  to 
  do 
  things, 
  and 
  there 
  was 
  gener- 
  

  

  