Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1845-06-20


will be almost crushed together by the pressure of
the surrounding atmosphere. And ii tube partly
filled with fluid, be emptied of its air, the fluid will
rise TO the top. The bee understands this; and
when he comes to the cup of the tall honeysucke
and finds that he cannot reach the sweet matter at
the bottom, thrusts in his body, shuts up the bower
and then exhausts the air. and possesses himself
of the dust and honey of The flower. The feet of
flies and lizards constructed on similar prin-
ciple and thus they walk with ease on glass or cell
ing. Their feet are made so MS to create a vacu-
um Of atmosphere, fifteen pounds to the squire
inch, to enable them to hold on. The cat has the
same power TO a less extent.
Plants require the sunlight and some flowers
turn towards the SUM- as it travels round from east
to west. The sunhower does this, and so does a
field of clover The facts though we have not
got at the reason of them, are extremely interesting.
You all know that if hollow ball be filled with
gas lighter than air, it will rise and float away
This fact is beautifully carried out in nature. The
farina or mpregnaon dust of plants are little balls
extremely thin, and filled with light gas. They
blown Of from the male plant, and by falling upon
the female plant impregnate it, Nature has so ar
ranged it, that the unot uou5 matter, which causes
the mpregnating part of plants to attach to others,
never occurs precisely the same in male and fe.
male plants. Thus if the farna of the male plant
hit the male plant, it does not adhere but if IL hit
the female it does attach the ball bursts, but they
are fastened and take effect The inpregnatlon Of
ten takes place many yards distant In raising In
dian corn you must all have noticed that single
hill of red corn will impregnate an entire field ;
and red corn will be scattered to long distance
through the whole.
The Virginia creeper throws out tendrils in the
form of foot with fine toes ; each toe has large
number of hairs orspne, which entering the small
opening of brick or lime, swell and hold on but
when decayi1g they shrink and the plant falls of.
The vanilla plant Of the WestIndes exhibits sim
liar construction except that it winds itself around
other objects.
The gastric Juice is worthy of remark 1t is a
tasteless coloress nodorous, lmpld fluid, like wa
ter, and is adapted in different animals to different
purposes. In the hyena and other carniverous an
finals it will not.dssolve live flesh, but will dissolve
dead flesh These creatures then, live upon othe
animals, and even bones are soluble in their gas
trio JUICE, while it will not dissolve vegetables a
ALL On the other hand, some ANIMALS live entirely
on vegetables, and their gastric JUICE viii not dis
4 solve animal food
G We cannot alter the nature of the animal by
changing its food 1t will still belong to the SAINT
family. In this particular bees are better instruct
Y ed. When they lose their queen bee-whlch l
= entirely different from the working beef yo
present another to them within twenty-four hours
t they will not accept of her nor obey her. The
prefer taking an ordinary grub before it has becom
2 n hier, and feeding it with & particular food an
n treating it in peculiar way, and when 1t leave
the grub state it becomes queen bee, and the
always suffer themselves 10 be governed by her.
The habits of ants are curious. We all hav
: heard of ant houses, sometimes twenty feet in di
# ame,er, flied with halls and rooms OF grea
strength These and beaver dams are constructe
g on strictly mechanical principles.
), In some insects the males have wings while tn
i females have none.
G This is the case with the glow worm, and tn
: female has the property of emitting phosphores
It cent light, and were it not for this, the genema
y glow worm would never find his way 10 his lady
h chamber. The ostrich, like the cherubim, is ne
o provided with the means OF sitting down. Oh
h cannot therefore hatch her eggs and buries then
n in hot sand and leaves nature TO hatch them &c
s her. Some birds build no nests like the cuccot
which deposits her eggs in the nests of other bird
that have bills like her own, for then she is assure
IS her young will have the same kind of food she hel
self would procure.