Natural Science News. 



VOL. I 



are most interested is not repre- 

 sented it will be your own fault. 

 Send in your notes and gleanings 

 or at least write along what line 

 you desire information. 



On Jan. nth we addressed the 

 subscribers of the Oologist and 

 other known live naturalists in re- 

 lation to the publishing of the 

 Natural Science News. In this 

 announcement we stated that "our 

 stakes were set for 500 advance 

 subscribers." On F"eb. 1st we find 

 by actual count that we have re- 

 ceived 543 of these advance sub- 

 scriptions with more coming at a 

 rate of about thirty per day. In 

 this same announcement we stated 

 that subscriptions mailed us on or 

 before Feb. 15th would be ranked 

 as "pioneers." At the rate they 

 are now coming we can safely pre- 

 dict over 800. Our 543 advance 

 subscribers are distributed through- 

 out the United States and Canada. 

 Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and all 

 but six of the states and territories 

 are represented. New York leads 

 with 90, followed by Illinois with 

 54; Pennsylvania, 43; Michigan 

 and Ohio, 35 each. The distribu- 

 tion of our "pioneer" subscribers 

 will be given in detail in an early 

 March issue. 



Mexican Jumping Beans. 



The familiar jumping or dancing 

 beans, which have been displayed 

 of late in the shop windows, and 



ALBION, N. Y., FEB. 2, J 895. 



By Morris Rice. 



For several years I have been 

 studying a book — a volume, made 

 up of poetry and prose. 



The poetry is pure, tender, and 

 sweet. 



The prose, eloquent, earnest, 

 and noble. 



The title of this wonderful book 

 is Nature. 



It is a living book, the very 

 words breath, and each and every 

 page tells a story in a language of 

 its own. 



We find the poetry in the birds, 

 in the beautiful flowers, the majes- 

 tic mountains, the warm sun-shine, 

 and sometimes in the drifting 

 clouds: they are all beautiful liv- 

 ing poems. 



The prose we see in the tall 

 naked trees, in the great rivers, in 

 the broad plains, and in the bar- 

 ren scene of a winter land-scape; 

 they are paragraphs of living 

 prose. 



Where can you find a sweeter 

 verse than in a bunch of beautiful 

 flowers, even their breath is poe- 

 try, divine poetry. 



Did you ever look across one of 

 those broad western prairies with 

 the gigantic mountains in the back- 

 ground, does it not present a grand 

 piece of prose? 



What speaks more eloquently 

 than a strip of woods in winter 

 when the trees and shrubbery are 

 covered with snow? 



No. 1 



Have you ever thoughtfully 

 studied bird-life, have you ever 

 thought what delicate creatures 

 some of them are? 



How very beautiful and interest- 

 ing they are — bits of verse swim- 

 ming through the air. or as that 

 noble writer. John Ruskin, has 

 said — 



••It is little more than a drift of 

 air brought into form by plumes." 



They are feathered verses from 

 the Divine Hand. 



"Sweet thesong of the birds at dawning, 

 When the grass is wet witli spangled 

 dew." 



Can you show me a more beau- 

 tiful picture than an April sun rise, 

 or anything more magnificent than 

 an Autumn sun set? 



This great book of Nature is re- 

 plete with puzzles and secrets, 

 which requires persistent, and lov- 

 ing study to unravel, — each year, 

 each season will reveal something 

 new. 



The system of Nature is wonder- 

 ful, poetic and sublime. 



Her laws are mysterious and 

 profound. 



Through the mighty lion and sky 

 soaring bird down to the ugliest 

 grub beneath the dead leaves, God 

 speaks to us — to you! 



The heart of man skims the sur- 

 face of Nature but the spirit seeks 

 the inner passages. 



Remember God has created 

 nothing unworthy of observation 

 and study. 



The study of nature promotes 

 health, a kind disposition and 

 noble thoughts. 



Oliver 0 Wendell Holmes has 

 said: "I have written manv 

 verses but the best poems that I 

 have produced, are the trees that 

 I have planted on the hill-side." 



Nature is too varied to be unin- 

 teresting, to deep to produce nar- 

 rowmindedness, and too grand to 

 be easily forgotten. 



P'ollow that excellent motto, 

 "Keep your eyes open," and get a 

 better understanding of Nature. 



"Find tongues in trees, books 

 in the running brooks, sermons in 

 stones and good in everything." 



For thousands of years we have 

 searched and studied, and yet not 

 half do we understand the most 

 common things that surround us. 



The wonders and beauties of 

 creation are manifold, and knowl- 

 edge has no limit, 



Natural Science News. 



A Weekly Journal Devoted to 

 Natural History. 



FRANK H. LATTIN, Editor and Publisher, 

 ALBION, N. Y. 



Correspondence and Items of interest to the 

 student of any of the various branchts of the 

 Natural Sciences solicited from all. 



TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION. 



Price, One Dollar A Year. 



To Foreign Countries in the Universal Postal 

 Union, $1.50, equal to 6 s., or 6 marks, or 8 francs. 

 Single copies, 5 cents each. 



Subscription's can begin with any number. 



Remittances should be made by Draft, Express 

 or Post Office Money order, or Registered Letter. 

 Unused U. S. Postage stamps of any denomina- 

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 lar. Make Money Orders and Drafts payable, 

 and address all subscriptions and communica- 

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 Albion, Orleans Co., N. Y, 



Natural Science News is pub- 

 lished for the benefit of students 

 of Natural History in all depart- 

 ments — if the branch in which you 



extensively advertised by curio 

 dealers throughout the country, 

 have become a very popular nov- 

 elty, and great quantities of them 

 have been sold. 



The bean is the seed of the Se- 

 bastiana palineri, an Euphorbiaceus 

 plant, related to the castor oil 

 plant (Rineini/s), which grows abun- 

 dantly in various parts of Mexico. 

 The curious movement is caused 

 by the antics of a larva, the Carpo- 

 capsa salitans, which is imprisoned 

 in the hollow shell of the bean. 



The larva resembles closely the 

 common apple worm of our or- 

 chards. The bean has no particu- 

 lar intrinsic value. MceJian 's 

 Monthly suggests that it is quite 

 probable that in a round pea, mo- 

 tion might be observed if closely 

 watched before the "worm" crawl- 

 ed out of it. 



Nature As I See It. 



