Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 172, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 July 1914 — Page 3

CURIOUS RESEMBLANCES

youthful student. All those who have gained experience as teachers will readily admit the initial difficulty which exists in arousing the intelligent interest of a class) in study. In other words, something is needed tp Bet 016 machinery of the mind In motion. For example, a flower or an insect, as such, may fail to evoke the desired response.' But if we can point out some curious or grotesque likeness which it bears tp a familiar creature or thing, we are able from this starting point to lead on by •carefully planned stages to such great questions as i structure, natural affinity, and adaptation to environment * When nature is in one of her imitative moods, the products of her workshop frequently bear all the ear-marks of a deliberate fake. Occasionally they seem to have been conceived and executed in a spirit of sportiveness. As an. indication of this mood, the remarkable Taira crab of Japan, which has lately attracted the attention of science, stands forth as a conspicuous example. In Japanese tradition there is a story to the effect that many years ago a great naval battle was fought in the Sea of Japan between a force of pb Tates and Japanese, resulting in the total destruction of the pirate fleet. The story continues that since that , day all of the crabs of a certain specieß found on that part of the coast have borne on their backs the face of a Japanese warrior. An examination of one of these crabs reveals at * glance the somewhat startling visage. The hu-man-like face is not only there, and typically oriental in appearance at that, but actually resembles

the face of a drowned man, with open mouth and greatly swollen features. Whether the Japanese Idea that the crab offers good evidence of the transmigration of the souls of dead bodies Into the bodies of lower animals be accepted or not, the phenomenon described is certainly ▼ery interesting. Another curious thing about this crab is the fact that it is equipped on its back with four short supplementary legs, which are shown in the accompanying photograph at the corners of the mouth of the face, so that if accidentally turned upside down,

it is able to run quite as well in that fashion as in its ordinary position. The advantages of such an equipment will readily be appreciated by those who have witnessed the awkward efforts of other species of crabs, turtles, and various kinds of bugs to right or propel themselves when lying on their backs. Another remarkable example of typical racial features is found in the earbone of a finback whale which was picked up on a Norway beach It has all the features of a Scandinavian face, of low caste, with rounded cheek bones, flat nosebridge, small upper Up and receding jaw. In general appearance, however, the face is more like a death mask than that of a living person. That this was not a freak formation is proved by an examination of the ear-boiteß of other finback whales at the Smithsonian institution in Washington, All of which have substantially the same fornf. In the plant kingdom nature’s imitations are equally astonishing and much more numerous than in either the animal or vegetable kingdoms. There are several species of orchids, for Instance, bearing popular names which suggest the likeness of the flower to some member of the animal kingdom, among them being the man orchid, the bee orchid, the spider orchid, the lizard orchid, and the holy ghost orchid. While it is true that some of the supposed likenesses are more ,or less imaginative, others are wonderfully distinct and will bear close scrutiny. This is particularly true of the holy ghost orchid, which contains within each of its blossoms a pigeon with half spread wings. It Is necessary to view the blossom from squarely in front, as in the case of the lower blossom shown in the accompanying photograph, to get the full effect of the resemblance. When viewed from this position, the bird is so perfect that it looks as if ready to take flight. The plant, which is a native of the Isthmus of Panama, is very rare, there being perhaps not more than half a dozen specimens in the United States, Including two in the greenhouses of the White House at Washington. It growß sturdily, but, in order to thrive, has to be kept in a hothouse With the temperature of a Turkish bath. In all of the instances referred to above the resemblance is mainly due to the lip or labellum of the bloom. Now orchids rank admittedly among the most highly specialised flowers, while their extraordinary modifications are the result largely if' not entirely of insect interference. Many of these flowers depend entirely upon the visits of insects for pollination, and without the aid of these winged emissaries of Cupid they are quite unable to get seed. The labellum is the recognised alighting platform upon which the insect stands while it probes the recesses of the Sower in aeardh of nectar; and as orchids are so closely associated with Injects, we must as : some that the special shape of the labellum in each Instance is more or less definitely related to the convenience of the guests that are specially catered for by the flower in question. In certain fnrf«n«w this Is actually known to be the case. Throughout the great orchid family the labellum exhibits an almost endless variety of configuration, and we are justified in the assumption that --swob- form Is exactly adapted to attract, or uphold, a particular kind of insect

O TRACE in natural objects a resemblance, either structural or pictorial, to other objects with which they have no real connection is a diverting pastime. Moreover, though at first thought it may seem somewhat puerile, it can in fact be turned to good ,account as a means of stimulating the imagination, and inducing the min’d to embark upon h course of truly scientific investigation which may lead to important discoveries.

by Robert H.Moulton

Most young people are familiar with the ca-nary-bird flower or common canary creeper, and here again we find that the unusual form of the blossom is due to insect visits. The blooms of this group of plants seem especially designed to meet the needs of long-tongued moths, which seldom or never settle on the flower, but hover in front of it, lightly poised on their rapidlymoving wings.' While in this position the tongue Is unrolled and thrust far back into the “spuuP of the flower where the nectar is stored. Meanwhile, the head or body of the moth comes into conflict with the pistil or stamens, and pollen is deposited or removed, as the case may he.~ A very curious plant, which has been famous siiice ancient times, is the “Scythian lamb” — otherwise known as the "vegetable lamb,” or by the Chinese as the “golden-haired dog ” It looks remarkably like an animal, and in early days was popularly supposed to combine in some mys-\ terious way the attributes of animal and plant. The belief was that it sprang from a seed and turned on its root until it devoured all green food within reach, whereupon it perished of starvations! As a matter of fact, it is merely the root stock of a plant, which, densely covered with soft, golden-brown hairs, -suggests a likeness to a quadruped. A strange plant found in New Zealand is known as the “vegetable sheep” because of Its wool-like foliage. In fact, the vegetable kingdom offers an almost endless variety of curious imitations. The seed-pods of the common garden snapdragon look exactly like small human heads arranged on the stalks like "poles of skulls,” such as are set up in certain countries where head-hunting is a popular amusement. These show not merely the head and face, but dried

TELLS OF DROWNING ELEPHANTS

“Did you ever hear the terrorized trumpeting of a herd of drowning elephants?” asked W. J. Williams of Peru, Ind., at the Willard. “If you never heard the piteous cries of dying you have escaped one of the most heartrending experiences that ever comes to civilized man. I was in Pens during the flood of 1913, when the Wabash river rose to unknown heights, causing tremendous destruction of property. Peru is the winter headquarters of the Wallace and -Hagenback circus, and when it was found that the water was coming higher than bad ever been known before, the fourteen elephants in the circus were unchained and let go to take care of themselves. Three of them managed to reach a small mound where they stoo<J. In the water with their trunks elevated till the end of the flood,' but the other eleven were drowned, “With the watar rusbing through the streets, and the people of the city marooned in the second stories of the houses, the elephants swam around for hours, trumpeting in terror and sticking their trunks into the open windows of the houses in their efforts to find some spot of safety. They cried like children and one could almost understand their language as they pleaded for the help which could not be given them, for not one of them coußT’Be taken in through, a

THE EVENING REPUBLICAN, RENSSELAER, IND.

portions of the scalp, eyelids and pps. Their color is like that of mummied Hhads. The Insect world i« full of mimicry. Butter' flies that imitate dead leaves are familiar, aqd the same may be said of the “walking stick,” which bears so close a likeness to a twig that, though common enough in the woods, it is rarely detected or captured. The “measuring worm” assumes the attitude of a twig, and remains motionless for boars together. Moths, to project themselves against enemies, mimic wasps, and other insects adopt the aspedt Of the spider. Native to Africa is la remarkable insect, a species of Spalgls, the cnrysalis of wfckth looks like the head of a chimpanzee. Even s he hair and the pupiis of the eyes are shown. itt*t more wonderful yet ip the chrysalis'of a butterfly, Fenlscea, which is a likeness, seemingly a mask, of the Roman king, Tarquln. x

door or window out of the flood They acted more like human beings than beasts, and-it was almost as. pitiful to see them go tw’Wn under the muddy waters, one by one, as it was to see a . human being washed from a roof. “I shall never forget their dying cries as they sought the safety which could ndt be found ip that flat where the whitle surface of* the earth was submerged. ' “Back in the big circus menaferte, however, there was even a more tragic scene. When the water came up into the cages of the anim.l. they all became frantic from feai. “Lions and tigers roared and dashed themselves against the bars of their evges till it was feared they would escape and swfltt to places of human refuge, where they would destroy many lives. hmwm -mmrm 1 a v« jv- 1 a- . . irun oars uy id© D6&BIS In ti)6lF fury and as the water rose higher their terror and their strength increased. When It was'seen that nothing could be done and that lives of per sons in the city were being endangered, the manager Y>f the menagerie went from cage to cage with a rifle and shot one after another of the monarchs of the jungle tin all were dead. It cost the circuq a fortune, but many human lives were saved.” -r— ——!•

HOME TRADE BOOSTS

wooE AIL realize that when there is dancing going on, whether it be the yWf/ new-fangled tango or the old-fashioned polka or waltz —some one ' UU must pay the fiddler. We cannot have music without paying for it, nor can we have much of anything in this world without paying for it. -If we expect any person to do something for us, we expect, naturally, to do something in exchange for such favors as we receive; If “we accept flavors, but evade the responsibility of making any returns for them it will not be long before we discover that the unpaid for favors- become curtailed. Probably we become provoked, after the favors have stopped, and acknowledge our own stupidity; It is generally too late when we wake up and then It is merely the old story over again,—of locking the door after the horse has been stolen. Many of ub in this community devote more or less of our time to the raising of produce of various kinds. We have vegetables, butter, eggs, milk, etc., to sell. , . ... .’7 We find it a convenience to sell such products in the local stores. Some of our business men buy up the small quantities, as well as the larger lots, and ship all together to the more central markets. This facility for disposing of such articles is a great convenience to ns. If the local storekeepers did not buy our produce it would be difficult for ns to find a market. In fact, there would be no market for small quantities except at ruinous pricey. Therefore we are favored, to a very considerable extent, by the fact that onr local storekeeper stands ready to buy from us. This places us under certain obligations. The local storekeepers are entitled to some consideration from us in return. ; A-j- - HOW MANY OF US APPRECIATE AND ACKNOWLEDGE THIS FACT? _—How many of us think of. this when wahavesotne cash to spend? How many of us consider that the local storekeeper is entitled to our trade and that we are morally bound to consider him as the proper repository for onr orders and the recipient of our trade? It is regrettable that many of os must plead guilty to an entire forgetfulness of any feeling of obligation. Therefore, we send our orders, with the cash, to the mall order honsee. to whom we owe nothing. We are enticed by cleverly written advertisements and neatly worded descriptions of goods and merchandise to that we deceive ourselves Into believing them to be true. We forget the local storekeeper and Ms favors; we forget that he la a benefit to the community and td every Individual In the community; we forget* that he Is affording us an opportunity to dispose of our produce—that he has hia money Invested In a stock of merchandise that he has selected because he believed'we would.need such articles and vjoulrf. wish to buy them at home. Every dollar we send away from home to the mail order houses brings ns closer to the limitations of <?ur local opportunities. Every dollar diverted from local trade adds to the restrictions of Our trade facilities at home so that we are not only permitting, but .we ire inviting, our local merchants to close up shop and go out of business; or to move to some community where By our lack of appreciation we are urging our local storekeepers to restrict their efforts to carrying only the linee of merchandise that are the most profitable for them and to cut out all goods that we can buy In the city. We a»w actually Inviting disaster. LET US AWAKEN TO A REALIZATION OF THE CONDITIONS WHICH CONFRONT US. LET US PLACE SOME LIMITATIONS ON OUR DISREGARD FOR EXISTING CONDITIONS AND LOOK INTO THE FUTURE. We can Bee what the consequences must be If we fail to do our share toward supporting the establishments'of our ( business men in town, for the handwriting is written plainly on the wall. Shall we read the writing and profit by the message or shall we continue to dance merrily and foolishly on until the time shall come when we must pay? And how shall,we pay? There will be only one way to pay and that will be with much more than the profit we «T»"Ti have derived from our dealings with the /nail order houses. WE WILL PAY DEARLY UNLESS WE AWAKEN TO A FULL SENSE OF OUR RESPfcNSIBILITIteS, AND AT ONCE. . We wish to dance, but let us change the tune—or the fiddler.

GETTING OUR MONEY’S WORTH

HN EVERY transaction we expect to get our money’s worth. When we bay .merchandise from onr local storekeepers we examine everything with the utmost care, we test for strength and look for quality. We discuss with the merchant the desirability and Value of everything and after we shall have decided that we will effect a purchase we are convinced that we have obtained full value and that we can depend on our purchase am being what we want. Then, again, if for any reason we have reason to be dissatisfied with that which we have bought we can talk it over with our merchant and any discrepancy will be readily adjusted. This is the principle of all good business. The buyer meets the seller face to face and examinee the goode before closing the deal. The teller is responsible for his representations and the feuyer can always find him and adjust any differences which may occur. On the other hand there is the mail order method. We receive a’ book from the mail order house. Illustrated with expensive pictures of various articles. The descriptions of these articles are always optimistic and gloriously pleasing. Onr minds afe lffipressed by the charming wording of the descriptions apd the selection of adjectives creates In our minds a desire to possess these wonderful things. sorts of promises are made In the book, or catalog. We will be accorded the greatest possible consideration, we will be allowed all kinds of privileges; we can return the goods at the expense of the house if not satisfactory; shipments will be made with promptness and despatch; any damages In shipping will be adjusted at once; “Our Mr. go-ond-So wIH give your orders his personal attention,” etc. We are flattered and cajoled by the clever wording of the catalogue and the statements made In the “fake” personal letters sent to follow up the catalogue. We are touched In that tiny spot of vanity which, though small, seems to be everywhere and to respond to the slightest touch. We are allured by the prospect of obtaining such magnificent and desirable articles at such remarkably low (T) prices and we are flattered by the statement that Mr. So-and-So will glva our order personal attention. We begin to believe ourselves to be “some punkins” and we are inclined to swell up and look askance at our lew fortunate townsmen who have not been singled out for suet} distinction as a letter, signed in person by Mr. So-and-So. ' • . Therefore, we decide that we will send an order for something We forget that we can go into the store of our own local So-and-So, whom we know and to whom we are perhaps responsible for past favors. But it is easy to forget all this in the happiness and exultation of having been singled ont by the great mall order “boss” as a desirable person with whom to do businew. SO WE SENT> AN ORDER, CASH WITH IT, OF COURSE. Then we wait for the article to, come. More waiting. Then we write to the mail order "boss." " We get a succession of form letters in reply, but no merchandise. We waste a lot of time and patience and postage stamps and stationery. Finally the shipment arrives. , We are astounded. This hardly looks like the article we expected. So we write again. Then follows more correspondence. We are told to examine the article again thoroughly and compare the description with It We do so. - Yes the technical description is the same. BUT THE CLEVER STYLE IN WHICH IT IS WRITTEN HAS DELIBERATELY MISLED US. The illustration has lied to us deliberately, because the picture was toned up and exaggerated for the sole purpose of misleading ns. We are stung. We could have gotten a far better value from our local storekeeper for the money. The lying letters we received from Mr. So-and-So wore merely printed form letters and wens probably never seen by the alleged signer, who Is In Europe spending the dollars which we, and other similar dupes, have sent him. Bah! Why will be persist in such foolishness? Onr common sense should tell ns better. But no. probably we will do the same thing over •gain when we get the same sort of flattering and lying dope from another vwnCT nrder honse thot has bought* llst of. n*mes. cont»ißlng PUrv,_ frgfl)utbt_ boose which stung ns. YES THEY WILL PASS OUR NAMES ALONG, ONE TO THE OTHER. WE HAVE PLACED OURSELVES ON RECORD AS BEING “EASY MARKS.* In the meantime wo may go to our local dealer and buy the article we really need. He win guarantee it and, perhaps, give us credit for it if we US SUPPORT OUR LOCAL BUSINESS MEN. THEY ARB *NOUR TRADE AND WE KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THEM.

Paying; the Fiddler