Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-09-12
THE VALUE OF SMALL FACrs.

Few Of US appreciate the value Of little
things. When DR.. Holmes sketches the
enthusiastic Scarabee, who tells US he could
spend whole life profit ably in the study of
single bug, we are apt to smile, says the
Philadelphia Press, at Whist seems TO be
frivolous waste of time. Yet it is to these
patient, lAborious men Of science, who pile
together one by one the little stones of
knowledge, that we are indebted for the
glorious temple Of progress in which We ofthe
nineteenth century rejoice. We are all IA
miliar with the stories Of Watt and the tea
kettle, and of Franklin and the kite; and
can well understand that these eminent
men would still be astonished could they at
this time see the wonderful events which
have followed their simple discoveries. Yet
to-day there are men as watchful Of little
facts as were these philosophers, and who
may be destined to occupy as prominent q
position in the page Of history as they.
We are very apt, especially about election
times, to feel our dependence in the farmer.
The sentiment that the whole fabric OF ma
tional prosperity rests on successful farming
is very popular when the agricultural vote
is needed. But at all times we have feel
ing, more or less vague, that all our inter-
es;s are coupled with the interests Of the
farm, and yet we little know on how small
matter immense interests in agriculture
often turn. Here is England, an immense
II powerful nation, rolling in wealth, and
with her strong iron nerves bullying the
world. We praise her intelligence her ep-
terprise, her craftsmanship, her natural
resources. All these have their share, but
beyend all these is the labor OF the ancient
[ monk, who hundreds Of years ago, in the
quiet cloister garden, little by little trans
formed Thin, ragged weed from England's
chalky cliffs into the feshy 4stalked turDip
of modern times. ...
In its natural state the turnip has but a
thin, long, hard root, with few rough
green leaves, and the plant speedily throws
up flowers during the first few warm days
of spring, and before summer is over dies
outright. The turnip raised, it was found
an excellent food for sheep, and the wool
for manufactured goods, until the whole
country became huge sheep walk, and
mills for wool manufacture often sustained
half the populations Of the towns.
The history of the cotton plant in Amer
lea furnishes another Illustration Of the So
Quence OF immense results from trifing az
ricultusal operations. When slavery was
first introduced the cotton plant was I'M
known on this continent. Slave labor was
not very profitable, and at the time Of the
formatiOu Of our co Institution slave owners
themselves looked forward to no dista MT
day for The total abolition Of the slave
.,k<fe ia the meantime some one had
been exp ;rimenting with the cotton plant.
What little spot Of ground, or whose labors
tended tie first little plant, no one knows.
Its first small beginning is even more OBJ
scure THAI that of the English turnip. But
Il was found to thrive in our climate. Cot
ION culture became success. Slave labor
became profitable. Immense interests be.
came bou Id up with it, and the civil war,
with its liItold evils, followed.
Anothe, page from American history
shows no great part a very small fat
may pla,. Time was when the strawberry
was not hlwked about in profusion as now
Only those in tolerably good circumstances
could afogd to buy. The varieties ther
popular J yer bore very abundsntly. 4
German m&rket-woman of Cincinnati dis
covered that Strawberries had separate
sexes. Nlrieties that had been cultivated
apart wer' now brought TO grow near tc
each othe r, and the immense crops Of Gin
cinnsti c. sed universal attention to straw.
berry CO. ire. These sexual differences
are Oh value at this time. HERNIA.
phro- e in general qss. But it was