New-York daily tribune., 1858-08-09
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE
SPONTANEOUS PRODUCNON-ANIMA AS
WELL AS VEGETABLE.

To ne Editor Of The y. y. 7r5.ne
Sir: About year ago had occasion 70 Say come
thing through your columns touching the spontaneous
production of oaks, arriving E the conclusion tbs,
could more easiy conceive OF oaks preceding acorrs
than Of acorrs preceding oaks.
have now soms fscts to communicate, Indicative
demonstrative for augh can seeof the spontaneous
production Of fshes. At our postoffice, few days
rir ce child csme in and spoke of plenty Of shes up
there" Where In puddle Of water by the side Of
the turppkerosd. In company with the s,ting post
Dastsr and an intelligent young man, near neignoor
of oureboth Of them understood 20 be committed TO
the Bible views of ereaton-I went at once TO the
place to ASCERTAIN the facts. And there tie fishes
were. Most OF them in dying state, so hot and
scarce, and muody was the water: MY young trend
20, out sh resembling what is here called the sun
fsb four ches in length and two others we're taken
out less in size, ssy two to two and . hall inches IN
length end Of dfferest species. Children 40 caught
ard carried away number previously. One OF the
persons that there was what appeared
TO him Ike shca Of the fishes n part Of the turbd
water. There were then floating about, here and
there plainly in sight, several in dying condition.
This water is a. least hslf mile fro II any perma
ne Mt brock and s elevsed many feet probsby ~ or
moIe, above the possibility OF any connection with
sry living stream. What ts more, the water IN this
place is dried up entirely, nearly or quite every
s,er extends two three rods in length, and in the
widest place possiblya rod in breadth, and may be
from We to ten or twelve and at the deepest possibly
eighteen inches in depth.
TThe fore going as well ss what follows written
several days sgo. Yesterday passed by the place,
and the water is all dried up and gone.
Now whence these fshes, unless they were the
sponaneous productions Of Nature durirg this pecu
liar season of rain and warmth / have inquired
diligently and cannot ascertain that any one has been
known TO deposit fishes there q. any tine Inc chill
dren spcke Of having seen them there numerousy on
that or the preceding day or days. The appearance
was, that hogs had been in, catching them as taey
died Certainly they could net have been there during
the Winter for there could have been no water there
during the diest time last Fall and what az there
during the Winter must sometimes have been frozen
solid rearly or quite to the bottom.
Ny own conviction lie that nature, and only nature,
is equal to such productions that 1t Is cause-snd-
effect process that wherever and wherever the neces
ssry elementary conditions EXIT, living vegetable and
animal organizations will result, whether oaks, or
fishes or men. This is net saying that believe men
have been spontaneously produced within hall dozen
tell US Of power to produce them otherwise than by
necessary elementary processes are ignorant mpostors
and vain babbers; that the idea CT power to make
up man at orce, at any time, anywhere, and under
ai circumstances, from stick, stone, a clod Of
cey-and then TO make a wornan from one OF the
mans rbs-s the hight and depth and length and
breadth of absurdty ard irrationallty.
stitons, which lie across the paths, preventing ad-
vsncement in knowledge Of Nature,
Tpen,, Mile. Stand, warren Ccsuty o., July 80 ia5s
(Mr. Murrays facts are interesting, though by no
means so important as he supposes. With bis
theory of Spontaneous Generation, we shall not
neddle, farther than to show that these facts do
not begin to establish it. Naturalists have long
known that the eggs spawn of fishes are favor
ite food with aquatic birds, which often void them
undestroyed in flying or when exploring other
waters in quest of food. These eggs, under favor.
able circumstances, are hatched, aud become fish
Thus pond, (or tarns) without outlet, located on
the tops Of mountains, have been stocked with
f,h any time these Thousands Of years; thus Eve
cannot doubt) the slip Of shallow water described
in Mr. Murrsys letter happened, BY concurrence
Of chance deposit of fsheggs last Spring with
nterchapgeaby hot and rainy weather since to pro-
duce a lot Of youDg fish. The Like may happen
again in the same spot next season, but more prob
ably will not in the next thousand years. We have
nothing to say of Mr. Murrays little personal diff
ference with "Bible views of creation" except
that the facts be adduces with such an air Of til
umph prove nothing to bis purpo'e. Ed. Tr1.]
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