The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1895-08-03
BILL ARP'S LETTER.
EXPLORING THE VAST REALMS
OF DAME NATURE.
I!e Also Touches Interestingly Upon
the Solar System.
'Big feas have smaller feas to bite en-,
And 50 proceed ad ininitum."


Nauralists tell us that there IS nothing 30
sma. bu: that there is something sill smaller,
ard the only limit is ono of yi.iuIo. not Of fact
The most powerful microscope yet made has
found no limit TO the infinite smallncss Of an
nal lie. Il goes on and on, AMI on Ta't COM
prehens Oh. Thrs. invisible creatures I'LL the
air, The water the fool. til" n sh, aud make mp
all animal and vegetable lrr. We cat them
and breathe them, and it nluk"s no difference.
nnie,s ticr a!e If & poisonous malignant klndi
an 4 en- they eat us ar1 VIC call it yellow
fever cholera Or some kind of pcs l'cncc.
What wonderful study Is nature. sit in
the ycrandah and watch tho vints as they climb
the lattlce-with what w nderful instinct they
put out their delicate arms and tendrils to find
somalhing 10 cling to. The morning glorics
and madeira vines and cinnamon vines tw:nc
around ii canes, but tho gourd vino will not
twne at all. 1t grows straight up, and every
few inches sends OFT strong llttlo arm or
tendrl thai fas ers around y cane or wire and
holds the vine steady. I never saw anything
TO grow as rapidly rs this gourl vine. 1t was.
late in coming UP, but las already climbed
higher than the other vines. It makes foot
day 10y III eaSuremcnt.
wonder how the Creator wrapped up so much
sense in q tiny seed. What p condensation Of
fc and beauty there is in the germ, the en-
bryo OF flower sced--thc seed Of q carnstion
pink. for in .tAnce. It il n never-ccasinS mys-
rcry--thc mystery of the flowers he corn, the
cotton. ;ha leaves Of the trees | WIS talking
to a friend about it last night, and he said lie
believed that all plants WI re conscious of their
existence and cnjoye life Louk at The pins
how they blce,l when cut with IN ak. Lock
h2w The scar heals ov>r, just the same as Oh
man when lie cuts his tingr. Prune it too
much and it dies. Look at The sensitive plant
AMI see how it shrnbs from the touch. See
with what desire the leaves and flowers Of these
vines reach out 10 the morning sun. Myriads
of flowers are Torn to blush unseen, and il they
were not conscious Of tlcir beauty, why should
tLcy be born at all?
used to think that everything We SO, wac
cr ated for the use or the pleaSureo of man, and
that even the stars were placed in the heavens
to please u. But don't think 80 now. The
birds do not sing for us alone. Even the spar
row that falls to the ground has the sympathy
of it's Crl at r.
Bat ii a man wishes to ponder upon his lnsig-
nifcanca let him try to grasp the extent Of tho
univ,r.c. Sir Robert Ball, of Cambridge, says,
in accent lecture on the stars, that there is
no limit TO tie universe, no outside boundary
mo pace beyond the stars-no space where
thele are no Stars, and he tries to bring this
idea within our reach by telling us that cleo
tric:ty travels on the wires 10000 miles in
second and q message could be sent seven
times around the earth in the tick Of clock,
and to the moon in second and half ana to
the sun in eight minute., but it wonld take
four years to send telegram to Alpha Centau-
ri. the star that is nearest he earth. Over Our
heads and visible to the naked eve are stars so
remote thai if When Columbus discoverel
America he had teleGraphed the news to them
the message would not yet have reached them
Bu. the telescope at the Lick observatory has
rousht stars into view 30 terly distant that
if the wise men who visited the Savior at his
lir,h had telecraphed the glad tidings to these
stars tie message would still be going on and
en- ard on at the speed Of 10000 miles every
s. C nd and not have gotten there.
Well, that settles it. 1 don't want to try to
think any farther than that. I'm afraid j;
would strain my rind--likc Cabe said when he
II fused to shoot at squirrel in the top Of s
very high pine--said he didn't like to strain
lis gun.
And now the astronomers declare that this So
lar system o. ours ig very limited affair when
compared with the other solar systems that the
big tee cope has discovered. That instrument
magniies loco times, and has actually brought
the moon within 240 miles Of the earth. wish
they would quit fCol;Hg with that moon. F.r,t
thing We know il Will get loose from is orbit
and come tearing down upon The ear h and
knock hole to the hollow and ret Us all on
fire. don't see much use in the moon nohow,
except to tell when to make soap and kill hoss
and plant potatoes. They are making so much
lighr by electricity now that b.fore long We
wont need any moonlight.
But what are We poor mortals who are jump
ing up and down upon this little tarth--h1ht-
in :, fussinS and quarreling about our tights,
our property, our money. Arc the angels all
up among the stars and we the only sinners,
the prisoners Of hope, confined here as sort OF
Botany Bay-a place Of probation VIII re We
may have a chance to repent and prepare our
selves for another habitatioa. even heavenly.
Verify, it is all nlysteryone little planet Tuil
of people who dou's know whence they came
nor whittier they arc going and who cunt add
a day to their existence! They dou'G know by
what power they raise an arm or step foot
forward or breathe the breath of life, but don't
they brag--was there ever such a couce ted,
self satisfied set of creatures! They are carried
along in space at the rate of G0,00J miles all
hour, and turn somersault every dry 5000
miles high, and sleep half the time and nev,r
stop to think who it is that holds the earth in
balance and keeps them safe IN their TerIlnus
journey. But don't We brag--brag about Chi
cago and New York and Atlanta ed everything
we do, Just like we made the ear'h and were
driving it around the sun with pair OF lines
and popping whip as We 81. Was there ever
s"ch cheek and assurance?
But there is another side to this picture.
The people are not al fools ani bragSarts.
tt ere are some WHO pondsr on these things and
humble themselves urder the mighty hand OF
the Creator And Revelation te. Is us that we
are or very great consequence; thai we were
ma lc in the image Of our Maker; @ little lower
A., La Nd n
what has been prepared in heaven for thos,
who love God and keep His commandments.
hcn what else should We d.? A happy, trust
'::S poet said:
The world is very lovelv-Omy God
hank Thee that live"
We'll it is lovely, and it grows more 80 as thu
yeurS oil on. The houses are prettler, anu our
homes more comfortable. The horses are finer.
AID y arc the cattle and hogs and ch ckens ana
,oos. The farms and orchards are finer.
,ame hy Tif;on and Cyclontta the oher day
md il WIS a feast to look upon the long rows OF
rec, la!cn with reaches and pears and plum'
md Fl; ;s AMI everything good to eat. Cyclcneta
5 III r'c.ticst farm ever saw anywhere.
Here ar. 2.00J acres in the piney woods that MI
spuks Gear and cultivated as an experlm1nt,
nj it las proved great success. 1t is luxury
10 ork at 1.-THE corn and cotton and oats and
vegetables alternating in the long !uxurIant
rowS. And then the orchards ladE r. with
Il hc'- and bushels of blushing fruit. Th!s
farm has pal good dividends, and there are
thousands of acres all around it that are just
IS good. After all it is the man and the plan
hat succeeds in anything, and one mans sue
,ess affects whole neiShborhood. For miles
,ro.:nd C, clon. ta aud TIfton the farmers a;e
LON, bette" than they ever did, TO: they haze
n example b for. them and trv 10 mita c Ii. -
ELL AEP in Atlanta Constitution.