The morning call., 1893-08-13

There are moments when nature herself
may be admirably supplemented by art.
and Flaxen and [ npa opened upon
delightful commingingM the two. Nature
is in one Of her happiest moods to-day.
The sky never seemed SO blue before nor
the trees so green. The grain-fields looked
fairly solid with full yellow sheaves; the
mowers will be along next week and lay
the golden heads low before they press 1t
into great bales of the bearded hay that
looks so queer TO Eastern eyes accustomed
TO timothy and clover but regarded with
supreme approval by our fleet California
horses. In the field just beyond the hedge
the grain has already been harvested and
cattle are feeding on the stubble. ms,
too. is a curious sight 10 Fasteners. VINO
are at loss to understand, notwlthstahu-
ing the eloquent testimony OF sleek coats
and well-rounded sides, how STOCK can
thrive on bare stubble fields III ogs cOuIu
not find anything to eat there, an lncIeu-
uIous Eastern stockman said 10 me once
Yet those cattle look as plump as though
thew were feeding on clover. IL ny y
terv" So our California climate Is apl "
be to the newcomer until Thoroughly ac-
climatiZed, when the mystery comes " 10
how he ever lived elsewhere
81 smell peaches" FlaXen SAYS, survey
toner's box. 81 wonder where they are.
sniff the air tentatively until L recog-
nize and lorate the suggestive fragrance.
No" say |, ''y0u do not smell reaches
What you notice is the peach little sister.
the brier rose.
Its new thoughr To her that the stately,
fruitful peach tree, the slim almond, the
beautiful APRICOT, the plum and prune, and
eyen-the exquisite Marechal Neil and Gold
of Ophir roses. of which she is so fond,
are all the same family. with this dainty.
fragrant sWeetbrIer as its primitive repre-
sentative 1t seems a long cry from the
tender pink blossom, with its few petals,
TO the big Crawford or. to Flaxen. the sun
further differentiated almond, but no STORY
of the distri button Of races r tue descent
of man. or the eveT-changIng htful cnaln
of circumstances and e1FiIOnmeht ihat
has ma65 Iha mar az Europe what 1t is
to-das and the nations cl tne "o[iu WIZ" ma
thev are is mOTs interesting than the
ltftie-theught-0f history OF this great Do-
teoieaI tr,bp Is changes and VlcisStudeS.
Wit taer as with the higher orders in
tina erese!re scale, to whom they minister.
fheir i1rm and nature has been acled upon
and determined by the conditions under
which they have struggled for existence.
The cherry, the plum and the peach, de-
pending for the distribution Of their seed
on the birds of the air. are brlght-colored.
fragrant and attractive, Sacrihclng their
fleshy covering that their precious kernels
NAV find their way to mother eartn, and
thence to productivity. On the other
hand. what the enemies of the almond are
after is the seed itself. the delicious, sweet,
nUurishing oil OF the nut. and 1t has. there
fore, protected itself with a hard, bitter,
uninvting exterior, in the attempt TO DEFY
the spoiler. Here two dametrIcally op-
posite causes work to produce the same
effect
The brightest best, most luscious fruits
attract most the birds who will live upon
them and help them to live. These then
are borne away, the fruit eaten, the seed
distributed and in turn produce bright,
beautiful and attractive fruit. 1t is case
of the survival of the fttest. SO the hard
est-shelled nut, with the toughest, bitter
est hbrous covering, survives the attacks
of squirrels, rats and other enemies, and
from these fttest survivors the kind is
perpetuated. Thus the constant tendency
is for the nut to grow harder and harder
sheiled. the fruit sweeter, more luscious
and attractive with earh succeeding cycle.
TO the care and artificial devices of man
are due the manifold varieties of each
type; but the original Authorizations are
of natures maktng-genlal, ali-endurlng
mother nature. whose evolutionary prog
Tess works upward, downward and side
ways. over, under and around all hin
ORANGES, making infinite allowance
for the pecuiarities and weaknesses
of all her creatures-allOwing them TO
grow as best they can, within her laws,
but altering those laws OF one Jot or little
whether for the highest o: the lowest.
After all it is iE the ineXorableness Of
nature that her peace and comfort lie.
We may only know her inevitable law,
but at least we know it, and knowledge is
ever better than doubt and uncertainty.
Seine OF this l said TO Flaxen under the
sweetbrier hedge. Some of it l only
thought out in my own mind when she had
gone to Investigate the cause OF dreadful
turmoil and scutfling in the dust some
little distance away. Presently she called
me, distreSsedly, and, rising, | went over
to where she was bending over a little
gravish-back object i'll the dusty grass.
See" she exclaimed, as | came up, there
were two gopheiS fighting; this one was
killed" There had been. in truth, ter
rife struggle, and the vanqulshed warrior
was terrible sight as he lay upon his
back with great wound in his side. where
the victor mad evidently thrust in his nose
and sucked the victims blood.
L was at loss to identify the little
creature, but it was evidently not a gopher.
was turning the tiny corpse over. tenta-
lively, when Flaxen, who had darted away,
called to me. Here is the other one"
she cried. dying" Sure enough, half hid
lay the victor. He was quite dead W hen
l approached, and | drew the little body
forth from The refuge the creature had
sought to make for Itself. | had never
seen such soft, vevety fur. such power
ful claws, and such a formidable mouth
upon so small creature. 1t was not a
gopher, certainly. The identity If the
animal was just suggest itself 10 me
when tlaXen cried out: tWhy il has no
eyes" Searching carefully in the soft,
exquisite fur, l was able to find and show
her the little almost rudimentarv organs
scarcely sufficing to detect daylight from
darkness, which are all the eyes the sub
terranean habits OF the mole have left him.
1t must have been terrific combat that
brought these burrowing creatures to up.
per earth in their eagerness for vengeance
upon one another; but. despite his reputa-
ton for gentle harmlessness, the mole is a
terribly vindictive CHAP. relentless foe
and most determined fighter.
l had never seen one of the little fellows
before. and / was glad to study the one
lying still warm Mn my hand. "Why has
he no eyes?' Flaxen asked. unable really
To regard the minute specks / had pointed
out as eyes. | told her something
of the creatures habits how he was
once a seeing creature, whu had bur-
rowed in the darkness until nature,
the lnexorable, declining to work TO
no purpose, his organs of vision
had degenerated 10 what we saw