Daily Honolulu press. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1886, 1886-04-14
FROM ANOTHER WORLD.
A Wonderful Plant and a Strang,
Story OF Its Origin.

On train between Rochester and
Syracuse happened the other day to
occupy seat with middle-aged man
who carried small flower pot contain
ing little plant for whose safety he
seemed extremely solicitious. During
the first half of the journey there was
but scant conversation between us,
each being preoccupied with his own
thoughts but, as | am interested in
botany, l began to look more closely
at my fellow-traveller's plant, and finally
became quite absorbed in it 1t was
a species OF fern with which | was
wholly unacquainted.
"May l ask you what kind of fern
that is, and where it growsr | inquired
at last.
"Ihat is more than / can tell you,"
he replied, "but venture to say there
lis no other like it in the world"
Naturally became curious, and
asked questions. The following is
synopsis of his replies;
81 was for years in the employ of the
Hudson Bay Company, and spent the
best part of my life among the iceland
savages in the cold rigions of British
America. l had often noticed that
the snow and ice in some localities
were covered with a grayish-black
powder, but paid no attention to it till
| read an account of an Arctic ex-
pedition, in which the writer stated
that such powder was cosmic dust,
sifted down through the atmosphere
from space, which is said to be more
or less filed with it.
'As soon as | read this statement it
struck me that it would be good plan
to collect some Of the dust and see
whether anything would grow on it
So began to carry bottle, into which
| put the power whenever ! found any.
In a few years l succeeded in collect
ing quite a quantity, about as much
as you see here"-he held the flower
pot toward me- it was about one-third
full-"and | became very much in
terested in my cosmic treasure, wonder
ing whether, if any of our pllnts should
grow in it, they would take the same
shape as when nourished by their native
soil.
"At this time was called to England
in connection with the business of the
company, and, planting pea in the
celestial mould, ! locked it up in
large wooden box There it remained
undisturbed till my return, little more
than year. I confess | opened the
box again with a good deal Of curiosity,
and was both astonished and delighted
to see that the pea had developed into
fern, as supposed, for this plant was
then about one inch in height. | at
tended it very carefully for about two
months, but it did not seem to grow.
One day stirred up the dust-it had
hitherto been undisturbed-and to my
extreme astonishment brought to light
the pea / had planted, as dry and un-
sprouted as though it had been buried
in dry sand examined the pea
carefully. 1t was wholly unaffected,
and the fern must have had some 9TH
er origin. There is no doubt about
that"
"Have you any idea how it origi-
mated there" / asked.
swell, yes; / am confident that the
seed came with the dust from some
other world"
In answer to my look of amazement
and, it may be, incredulity, he an
swered: "It was certainly not planted
in this pot in any shape. And how
could fern root or fern seed be-
come mixed with the dust at the top
of thick snow and ice? That was i'm
possible. Neither could it get into the
bottle, in which | kept it until emptied
into this pot, which was brand new.
And now il cosmic dust can settle up
on the earth, which believe scientists
regard as fact, is there anything un-
reasonable in supposing that light
plant seed can do the same 7"
"Your logic seems good, but / must
confess that on first thought your the
ory appears fanciful"
"On first thought it will undoubted-
ly seem so, but not on the hundredth,
perhaps. | have studied this matter
in all directions, and have come to