The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1895-07-31
BILL ARP'S LETTER.
He Watches the Wonderful Growth OF
the Different Vines.
atlanta Constitution.

IUe UlU6Tcut vluOo'
atlanta Constitution.
"Bic fleas have smaller fleas to bite 'em.
And so proceed ad infinitum."
Naturalists tell US that there is
nothing so small but that there is
| something still smaller, and the only
limit is one Of vision, not of fact.
The most powerful microscope yet
| made has found no limit to the inf
| mite smallness of animal life. 1t goes
| on and on, and on past comprehension.
These invisible creatures fill the air,
the water, the food, the flesh, and
| make up all animal and vegetable life.
We eat them and breathe them, and it
| makes no difference, unless they are
| Of a poisonous, malignant kind; and
then they eat us, and we call it yellow
fever or cholera or some kind Of pesti-
| lence.
What wonderful study is nature.
I sit in the yerandah and watch the
| vines as they climb the lattice-with
| what wonderful instinct they put out
their delicate arms and tendrils to find
something to cling to. The morning
glories and madeira vines and CHINA
mon vines twine around the canes,
but the gourd vine will not twine at
ell. 1t grows straight up, and every
| few inches sends out strong little
arm or tendril that fastens around
cane or a wire and holds the vine
steady. I never saw anything to grow
as rapidly as this gourd vine. It was
late in coming up, but has already
climbed higher than the other vines.
It makes a foot day by measure
ment.
Iwonder how the Creator wrapped
up so much sense in tiny seed.
What condensation of life and beauty
there is in the germ, the embryo Of a
flower seed-the seed of a carnation
pink, for instance. 1t is a never
ceasing mystery-the mystery Of the
flowers, the corn, the cotton, the leaves
of the trees. was talking to friend
about it last night, and he said he be-
lieved that all plants were conscious
of their existence and enjoyed life.
Look at the pines how they bleed
when cut with an az. Look how the
scar heals over. just the same as on a
| man when he cuts his finger. Prune
it too much, and it dies. Look at the
sensitive plant and see how it shrinks
from the touch. See with what desire
the leaves and flowers Of these vines
reach out to the morning sun. My
riads of flowers are born to blush
unseen, and if they we're not consci-
Gus of their beauty, why should they
be born at all !?
I used to think that everything we
see was created for. the use or the
pleasure of man, and that even the
stars were placed in the heavens to
please us. But I don't think so now.
The birds do not sing for us alone.
Even the sparrow that falls to the
ground has the sympathy Of it's Crea-
tor.
But if man wishes to ponder upon
his insigni6cance let him try to grasp
the extent of the universe. Sir Rob
ert Ball, of Cambridge, says, in re-
cent lecture on the stars, that there is
no limit to the universe, no outside
boundary-no space beyond the stars
no space where there are no stars,
and he tries to bring this idea within
our reach by telling US that electricity
travels on the wires 10000 miles in
a second and a message could be sent
seven times around the earth in the
tick of clock, and to the moon in
second and half and to the sun in
eight minutes, but it would take four
years to send telegram to Alpha
Centauri, the star that is nearest the
earth. Over our heads and visible to
the naked eye are stars 30 remote that
if when Columbus discovered America
he had telegraphed the news to them
the message would not yet have reach
ed them. But the telescope at the
Lick observatory has brought stars
into view so utterly distant that if the
wise men who visited the Saviour at
his birth had telegraphed the glad
tidings to these stars the message
would still be going on and on and on
at the speed Of 100000 miles every
second and not have gotten there.
Well, that settlesit. I don t want to
try to think any further than that.
I'm afraid it would strain my mind
like Cabe said when he refused to
shoot at squirrel in the top Of very
high pine-said he didn't like to strain
his gun.
And now the astronomers declare
that this solar system Of ours is very
limited affair when compared with the
other solar systems that the big tele-
scope has discovered. That instru-
ment magnifes l, 1000 times, and has
actually brought the moon within 24O
miles Of the earth. I wish they would
quit fooling with that moon. First
thing we know it will get loose from
it's orbit and come tearing down upon
the earth and knock hole to the hol-
low and set us all on fire. I don't
see much use in the moon nohow, ex-
cept to tell when to make soap and
kill hogs and plant potatoes. They
are making SO much light by electricity
now that before long we wont need
any moonlight.
But what are we've poor mortals
who are jumping up and down upon
this little earth-fghting, fussing and
quarrelling about our rights, our
property, our money. Are the angels
all up among the stars and we the only
sinners, the prisoners Of hope, con6n-
ed here as a sort of Botany Bay-a
place of probation where we may have
chance to repent and prepare our
selves for another habitation, even a
heavenly ? Verify, it is all mystery
one little planet full of people who
don't know whence they came nor
whittier they are going and who cant
add day to their existence They
don't know by what power they raise
an arm or step a foot forward or
breathe the breath of life, but don't
they brag-was there ever such a con-
ceited, self-satis6ed set of creatures
They are carried along in space at the