Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1891-06-19
THE STORY OF ABex OF DUST,


7 AAN f1NNif flOAAA NiiAtN ttrrN 90 IVA NNA
tanning soil from the lower Pecos Val
ley, n. NJ, was sent TO the professor of
science to be analyzed. 1t was put
away for vacation leisure in storeroom
adjoining his laboratory and was
covered up soon after by pile Of
boxes containing specimens for the
museum.
From time TO time, recently, the
professor has heard strange noises in
the store room and now and then the
fall Of box. Thinking his assistant
was sorting over the stuff, he simply
called out so him to handle the arti-
cles more carefully, and went on with
his work.
On last Wednesday the noise among
the fossils became so loud as to dis
turb recitation in history in the
room above. The professor dropped
his bowpipe and hurried to the store
room door to demonstrate with his as
sistant but to his surprise, met him in
the hallway, sent on similar orrand
by another irate professor. The door
was locked and neither had the key.
The nest of a mudwasp completely
aled the keyholc, and it happened
that neither had been near the store
room since the boxes were placed
there. Jnst then they heard a crash
of gldss at the south window Of the
storcroom Huuying around there,
they found nothing but an innocent
olive branch thrust through the
broken pane. Neither cared to APP
proach 100 near the aperture for closer
Investigation. Leaving h,s assistant
to guard the window, che professor
procured the key and, with few
armed attendants opened the door
Everything was silent within, but the
orderly pile of boxes had been over
turned and scattered on the floor in
/ indescTibable confusion. On the top
Of tho pile stood a wellgrown, though
somewhat cramped olive tree. How it
got there was Il mystery 1t was at
first supposed to be joke which the
students had prepared for Arbor Day,
but after removing the rubbish it was
foaad to haye root ia the box of soil
from the beautiful valley Of the Pecos.
] Io5t oe .hc wood in that aad thc
neel.boriar Sc-e5 waG th?oughy de-
caycd, but in the soil were found the
two halves OF the shell OF an olive pit.
/ The box containing this germ had
been'placed next to an uabanked
wall. undcr south window, in fore
Ing house as it were, and those famll-
lar with the efficacy Of the soil in the
Pccos valley say that the cTelessnes5
in so storing the box has had only it's
natural result.
In seeking to remove the tree If was
found to be firmly fixed in its place,
| Invest lgation showed that the hoor of
hard scasoued Georgia pine was split
wide open where a root had gone
through iu search OF water. Getting
into the cellar. this root had followed
a partition wall fifty feet along the
cement bottom, turned around the
end, and crawled back forty feet to
the water pipe. About this it had
.te1...7 eoven times and literally crush
ed in the iron lender. The roots had
SO completely filed the mus w of Tho
pipe that not a drop of water escaped
save through the pores Of the tree
yet the water moter had telpped along
as diligently as even.
Perhaps the most remarkable ano
mostimportant Of these phenomena
was discovered when the boxes Of fos
sis were rearrangcd. One containing
. some unusually good specimens of
those famous insects found in Soutf
Park had broken and scattered it,
contents near the box Of earth. Some
d of the soil had fallen on 4 stone, anC
a poorly preserved plant stem of som'
doubtful antedeluvian species hat
been enriched with this wondeFfu
natural fertilizer The broken en-,
had sent forth leaves and two buds, St
. that, is said, there viii be no difficult
in determining its nature, and thu
r. settling a long disputed point il
science. Yours faithfully NERlfAs
COLORADO SPRINGS, COL, May u.