The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-12-15
THE PLAN OF LIFE.
"
Some thoughtful Suggestions
J. Regarding 1t
BY PROFESSOR ]. E. TALMAGE.
The Death Of Leaves in the COncOmitant OF
Future Life-Things Which Men
are Wise in Knowing.


takes more than surface view OF his sur
surroundings It is easy to be superficial,
to see dimly and feel lightly the develop
ments of the year. To grow old, and be-
come weary, decrepit with age, is in the ma
natural course of bodily processes, but to
keep the spirit so fresh and vigorous that
it retains the fervor of youth while its cor
poral wrappings fall to decay, should be an
aim of our life The wear and tear Of time,
if not guarded against, are apt to produce
upon the spiritual organism variety of
callosities and malformatfons which, if but
visible to the bodily eye, would be con-
sidered as unsightly as the corns and bun
ions of morbid taste for fashion.
And at this season, as indeed at all sea
sons of the year, there are phenomena Of
daily occurrence which by the few are,
perhaps, wholly seen; by more they are
b;St half seen, and by many scarce seen at
1 think of the everyday name for
autumn; how appropriate it is the fall!
marked by dropping leaves and whitening
flowers. 1t would seem, indeed, as II the
earth was preparing for the grave. The
leafless trees-how gaunt they seem; how
weird is the effect of their naked arms
spreading outward and upward as If in the
attitude of imploring aid a; how like spectres
do they look on winter night when tossed
by the wind in relief against the sky! Do
they not become almost hideous when com
pared with what they were! And then
what loneliness there is in leadess forest.
But where is now the wealth of summer
foliage; where the brilliant costumes OF
earlier days; where the dresses which the
plants wore, and of which they seemed so
proud, while young! Young then, and old
now yet the change has been but week
OR two in coming. Miraculous, indeed but
if such be miracle, what must be the
awakening, the return to leaf and flower,
the resurrecting unto life!
Those beauteous robes have not been des-
troyed, neither lost; they are but tempo
rarily laid aside, and will be brought forth
and worn again -morrow-a after the
winters night. To know where they have
been put, go search in the fields, IN the
corners and by the fences, along the road
side and in the crannies of the rocks and
the clefts of the hills. There are the leaves
and soon the snow will fall and cover them;
they will be safer then than now.
Leaves are intended but for the summer
HSkEvice of the plant; it must hibernate
dNring colder times. Let US see of what
use they are: turn the magic glass upon
Living leaf; on the surface, but especially
Oh the under side, will be found numberless
pores; stOmdtG they are called; and through
these the plant breathes. They are not
simply punctures such as one might make
in the leaf-membrane by means of sharp
needle; each ore of them is bounded by
pair of stout cells somewhat bean shaped;
these are the guard cells, and they enlarge
and contract automatically, thus increas-
ing or diminishing the aperture. Auto
matically," l said; though this does not
mean capriciously or at random; these
changes are only effected through the
prevalence of particular conditions.
When the air is heavily laden with
moisture, so that there is little danger OF
the plant becoming abnormally dry, the
sternata open to their full extent; but
under opposite conditions, when the at
mosphere is thirsty and would steal away
the plant Juices, then these tiny mouths
close, and thus greatly retard the evapora-
ticn. Under ordinary circumstances, sew
eral ounces of moisture will be transpired
by small house plant in the course OF a
few hours, the amount coming from sin
gle cabbage head being about equal to that
which would be exhaled by half dozen
laboring men.
And there is extensive absorption as well
as exhalation through the leaf pores. Car
bon dioXide gas-carbonic acid as it used to
be called-is sucked in so rapidly by these
means that air in passing over leafy
plant becomes almost completely robbed OF
its carbon dioxide in an Incredibly short
space of time. One observer has calcu-
lated that on a common lilac shrub there
are probably over a million of leaves; and
in.this number there would be over four
Kindred thousand millions of breath
i6g pores. Some faint notion OF
Vplant activity in the growing
season may be gained from this.
Just as with our own bodles-When we
sleep we do not grow hungry as rapidly as
during working hours, because OF the
diminished activity of our bodily organs
in slumber: so with plants, during their
resting physiological work is done. In the
winter time then, the trees may well dis
pense with foliage. Nature IS strict
economist: in her laboratory there is no
waste. To the careless observer, she may
appear TO be a shiftless dame; untidy in
: er work she seems to scatter rather than
to concentrate Yes, but her labOrs are
not confined to the limits of a room; her
working table is the globe.
Were it not so, that leaves are regularly
<returned to the earth from which they
were taken, it would not be long ere the
soil in any one place would become eX-
hats ed of its clements OF growth, and
plants would of necessity die. OF all parts
of the tree, the leaves contain the greatest
proportion of fixed or mineral matter, and
consequently the greatest drain upon the
soil The chemical elements of the foliage,
have, however, been but borrowed; and
after the purposes OF AZURE are served
the loan will be paid.
The leaves are returned to the mill, there
TO be disintegrated and renewed, that IN
every spring the plant costume may be
new. But months will be needed to effect
the transformation.
Even the warmth evolved by the leaves
in the course of their decay is of use, and
appears to have been calculated IN the plan
of life During the dark months, when the
sKA has partially turned away his face, it
isgery well that the tender parts of plants
are so protected. AS the leaf tissue sue
cumbs to decay, its component substances
are dissolved bv the water percolating
through the soil; and when the growing
season returns again, these solutions will
be absorbed through the countless hbrillae
with which the rootlets of plants are COW
cred. and thence will it rise through the
stem and branches out to the farthest
tUigs. and there in the unfolding bud will
be shaped again the fabric of the leaf.
Before men had learned to read such
simple lessons as these, it was customary
in caring for the grounds of public parks
and cultivated groves, to carefully sweep
I'D and take away the leaves OF autumn
lest they should cumoer the ground ana
give an appearance of disorder to
the place But, after a few years
of such treatment the trees usually showed
signs of debility, and many of them died.
Al the noted Kensingtop gardens a few
wears ago, there was great CONSERVATION
among the officers in charge over the evi
dent exhaustion of the soil, in consequence
of which many of the choicest trees were
diving. A special committee appointed to
consider the cause of such a calamity, in
the hope of discovering a remedy, reported
tbat IL was all owing to neglect of proper