Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1873-04-26
LTrE IN THE TRopIOs.

| 1ne idea generally entertained of the
tropics is that they are Eden-like re-
gions abounding in the most brilliant
flowers, the most magnificent birds, OF
well rs the most varied and abundant
animal life. Tocompare them with the
temperate regions in these particulars,
to declare that the temperate zones ore
in fact, the true lands Of floral and an
imal abundance, would have sounded
to our ancestors like the language ol
madmen. Yet the voice of modern dis
'covery has dispelled this idea as it has
destroyed dozen other strongholds o1
ancient belief.
We are now assured that there is nc
special abundance of flowers in the
tropics. Wallace tells us that equato'
rial landscapes are marked by fine foil.
age and by rarity of flowers. The large
and magnificent flowers which we know
to'be of tropical origin are rare, and
are gathered from widely-separated dis.
tricts. The short period of bloom usual
in these regions also causes q paucity ol
floral adornment, and as rule tempeE.
ate landscapes far exceed tropical in VI
riety and abundance of flowers. -
The same may be said in regard te
bird and animal life, the tropics in this
particular also falling for below the
temperates.
Strain wandered for weeks through
the woods OF Central America withou,
seeing an animal, and rarelya bird, and
as for as he can Judge, the rivers con.
tain no fish.
Even the frigid zones appear to sur.
pass the tropics in this respect. Thus
in Alaska animal life is abundant in
Summer, and the rivers swarm with
fish; the white hare the moose and bea.
yer abound. The Kamtschatdales have
thousands of reindeer, and as rule the
short Summer of the extreme north is
marked by agreat animal abundance.
So in regard to the song of birds. II
is almost entirely temperate phenoln.
enon. Song is indeed rather an ex.
ceptional feature than an attribute ol
birds. The singers are comparatively
few, and those few dwell chiefly outside
the tropics. Why these few sweet.
voiced tribes have been so far favored
above their contemporaries is one of the
questions in natural science which yei
await q solution.
Yet in the tropics are found the
largest and fiercest beasts, the mosI
poisonous reptiles and insects, the most
brilliant birds and flowers. This car.
nivorous fierceness may be one princi.
pal reason of the paucity of life, rs it
needs wide district to support each Of
these rapacious animals.
So there may be a lack of the food
necessary to support other more gentle
creatures. We have an instance Of this
in the temperate zones in the absence
of bird life in the pine forests. The
great woods of Russia are strangely ST.
lent from this cause, the pines seem.
ing incapable of sustaining the smaller
animals. t-b..a
The character of life in the tropics is
i'll remarkable accordance with the in
tensity of solar light and heat to which
they are subjected. The fire of the
sun seems to impart fierceness to the
animals, it's rich hues to give intense
brilliance to birds and flowers, its pro-
duction of malaria to fill with venom
the insects and reptiles. e.e sastoi
The equatorial regions are thus truly
the lands of the sun, whose warmth and
brilliance is typi6ed throughout the
tropics in thousand symbols, even the
human race there gaining an impulsive
and passionate character which is for.
eign to the cooler yet more enduring
dwellers within the temperate zones.