The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1869-06-24
NUMBER %.

have never seen them lying drowuef
after storm, hence. they must know, whel,
storm is coming, how to disappear and
generally after heavy rain these armies AZ,
more numerous in the forest, for they prob
ably come in quest Of food, of which they
have been deprived during their subteraneau
marches.
"They always attack with fury whicl,
passes description. Where the soil is SANDY
none OF them can be found. When thoy gez
hungry the long file spreads and scatter
itself through the forest IL front line how
the order reaches from one extremity to the
other Is surprising. Then they attack
and devour all that comes within their reach
with fury and voracity quite astonishiug
Tbs elephant and gorilla fly before this at
tack the ieoy ard disappears from his den
the black men run away for their lives: f,,r
who would dare to stand still before such az
! army In very short time any enemy
would be oVerpowered, and | am sure H.
two or three hours nothing would be left o.
! the opposition. Antelopes which I have
killed have been stripped Of everv bit o
/ hesh within that time. At times when they
have spread themselves, they do not advance.
! with rapldIty. but seem to 60 in rambling
! sort OF way. 1t IS said that now and then 2
man is put to death in the following man
ner: He is tied to n tree that Is in the path
/ Of this army What terrible death is
must be Every animal that lives on the
| line OF their march is pursued, and though
! their instinct seems to indicate the coming
danger, many are caught. In an incredible
short space OF time the mouse, the insect,
and many small animals are overwhelmed.
killed, eaton, and their skeletons only re-
| main.
WoNDKRFUL FLOWER.
"COme with me, sir come A foWsr
very large and beautiful, wonderfuIln ex
claimed a Malay, who drew the attention Of
| Dr. Arnold to flower remarkable alike for
its enormous size and its anomalous struc-
! ture and habit. And the surprise of the
Malay was nothing to that Of Or. Arnold
and his companions, Sir Stanford and Lady
Raffles, when. following their native attend
ant. they saw among the bushes Of a Jungle
flower apparently sprinsing out of tho
! ground, without either stem or leaf, and
measuring at least yard in diameter. The
Erst news of this remarkable discovery crs-
| ated great amount of curiosity in Europe.
| and no papers ever read at the Linnaean
| Society can be compared, for the interest
! they excited, with those in which the illus
| triOus Robert Brown described this wonder
of the vegetable world. The most striking
! feature iu the Rafflesia is its enormous size
indeed, IL is the largest, and most mag
nifcent flower in the world. 1t is com
posed of five roundish leaves of petals, each
a foot across, of blick-red color, but eov-
cred with numerous irregular yelowish
sWeliings.
The petals surrounded large cup nearly
| foot wide, the margin Of which bears that
oy,A Il. =, IL
juice, the upper surface Of which is covered
" th curved projections, Ike m n ature COW .
horns. The cup when freed from its con-
tents, would hold about twelve pints of
water. The flower weighs fifteen pounds.
1t is very thick i: the petals being from one
to three quarters of an irCh in thickness
flower of such dimensions and weight
might be expected to be treasure TO the
perfuner but alas! its odur is Ike that
OF tainted beef. DR.. Arnold supposed that
even the flies that swArmcd over the flower
when he discovered 1t, were deceived by tho
smell, and were depositing their eggs ia its
thick disc, taking it for pieco Of Carrion !
Another cause of wonder to the little band
OF explorers who discovered it, was that thsy
| could find no leaves connected with it. It
sprang from small, lea fisss, creeping stem
about as thick as two fingers. Now, pIan6
without leaves is like an animal without a
stomach for the leaves are 10 the plants
what the stomach is to the animal; they
separate from the air what is needed for the
growth Of the plant.
There are, however, strange plants which
are actually leaaess. making up for this
want by using the leaves Of others. Such
plants are called parasites, because they
feed on the nutritive juices Of others
Thrusting their roots into the living tissues
Of other plants, instead of into tho earth,
they appropriate the prepared food Of these
plants. and at once spply it for their own
purposes, for the production Of stem, flower
or fruit. The gigantic Rafllcsia belongs to
this class. Without vestige of foliage, il
rises at once from the long, slender stems of
ono Of the wild vines of Sunatra-i4mense
climbers, which are attached like cables 10
the large trees of the forest The buds push
through the bark like little buttons, contin-
uing to grow until they have the aspect OF
large closed cabbages, and in about three
months after their frat appearance the flow
er expands. 1t remains but a short time
in perfection, soon beginning to rot, leaving
only the central disc. which becomes a large
rough fruit. filled with inultitudes Of small
seeds.-Vorid Of Wonders.
"TrP me ballad, ladye fayre. my lsdye,