Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-04-12
CARDINAL POINTS.
HOW FOUND IN THE DAY TIME
 WITHOUT A COMPASS.

HOW FOUND IN HE DAY TIME
 WITHOUT A COMPASS.
 sunflower, the Marigold, the Commas
 Plant, tho Tree and the Rock e Use-
 ful Guides.
 Tho most natural guide in the day time to the cardinal points which would suggest itself to the mind of the average individual would be tho sun. So long as the sun shines, he would reason, the wayfaring man. though a fool need not err in the direction he desires to take, in whatever situation he may be placed.
 It is a well known physical fact of course, that the sun is continually on the move. The point on the horizon on which it appears in tue morning is directly opposite to that whcro it vanishes in the evening. The direc- tion which it is in at any time between two or three hours after sunrise and the same length of time before sunset is not easy at all times for the ordinary person to figure out, unless he has watch or is surrounded with landmarks with which he is perfectly famil- jar.
 The average person, if cast adrift in small boat on the ocean or on any of the large lakes, would discover 1t to be very nearly as difficult to tell which point of the horizon was north, or east, or south or west, even though the sun was shining, as he would during the night. The same remark is true of the average person travelling on the prairie or the desert
 sUNFLOwER AND MARIGoLD.
 Several species of flowers may be said to be guides, in a general way, to the points of the compass That is to say, they afford Q hint AL .ys- -s-l~A that orb may be hidden from view by any ob- ject. Among these are the sunfower and the marigold. These flowers generally keep their faces toward the sun when it is visible turn ing toward it when it rises, and following its movements as it sweeps across the horizon until it disappears below the western horizon.
 If the direction in which these flowers faces point pe followed by the eye the sun will often be seen if the time be during the day light hours. To be sure, that luminary, V hen it is in the immediate vicinity, usually makes it's presence manifest without the aid of the sundower, the marigold, or any other member of the vegetable or animal kingdom. There are occasions, however, when Q knowl edge of these qualities of the plants named nay possibly be useful in giving a hint as to i!,e direction the sun is in from the observer. The possession of these attributes certainly gives these plants an interest and importance which they would not otherwise command ')f course, when the sun is found the direc- s.on may be traced as before indicated. To this extent, therefore, the sunfower and the inarigold may be fairly included among the guides to the points of the compass
 The sunfiower, the marigold, and plants of their class, it may be said, are, in negative scnseonly, guides to direction. They simply lead the eye to the point where the sun is when that luminary may be temporarily hidden from view by an intervening build inS tree, hill or other object, and the sums position being known, 1t becomes possible to ''fgure out" the points. There is Q certain flower, however, which is a positive guide to the cardinal points. This is the compass plant. Most persons who have travelled for any considerable distance in Illinois, Mis- souri, Iowa or Kansas have noticed a plant producing several stems from a single root, the two or three central stems ranging from four to six feet in height, bearing upon their upper extremity bright yellow flowers The upper leaves of this plant are erect, and usu- ally stand with their edges pointing north and south. This peculiarity gives it the name of polar plant, pilot weed, or compass plant. Locally, however, it is given the less poetical designation of ''rosin weed" on account of the juice which exudes from it. Its botani- cal name is silphium laciniatum. Although most numerous in the states mentioned, the compass plant is seen far east as Ohio and Michigan, and as far west as the states bor- dering on the Pacific ocean. Wherever found it may be relied on as trustworthy guide in locating the points of the compass
 TREES AND ROCKS AS GUIDES. Trees and rocks are also useful in indica- ting tho cardinal points. Lichens and moses, when found on trees or rocks, are densest on the north side. When tree or rock stand so that tho sun strikes them during larger part of the day, neither lichen nor moss, generally speaking, will be found on the south side. The tendency of these growths to cling to the south side increases in the proportion with which the sun is obstructed from shining on | them. Trees or rocks in @ dense forest may havo moss on all sides of them, but even there the thickest growth is on the north side. Of course the principal cause of this peculiarity is that the sun rarely strikes the north side of any large object, and then only 1 for a short tine in the morning and evening. Moses and ichens thrive best in the shade. When tree stands in a position in which 1 the sunlight can reach it through most of the day the limbs on one side of it will usually | be much heavier than those on the other. Tho side upon which the heavy growth is on is the south side. A rock in a similar position will be darker on one side than the other. l The dark side is on the south. In connection with the rock it should be understood that 1t is the rock itself and not any of the growths upon it, which is considered here. The moses which, as before stated, are thickest l on the north side, may be, when viewed at . distance, as dark or darker than the bare face of the south side will be. But the stone on the north side will be comparatively light colored. The branches on the south side of a tree are heaviest and the south side of rock is darkest for the same reason that moss is absent on the same side of both. The sun shines on that side longer than any other. This is true of the region north of the equar tor all over the globe, but especially in the north temperate zone. South of the equator the opposite conditions prevail-St Louis
 Democrat.
 Cremation Making Roadway.