The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1897-10-13
BILL ARP'S LETTER.
Arp Talks to Boys-He Tells Them that
knowledge of Everything is Essential.
atlanta Consultation.
Here is a letter for the boys.

man happier than perfection in any one
and comparative ignorance of all the
rest. Great scientists, discoverers
and inventors seem to be necessary
for the worlds progress and the good
of mankind, but their work is gener-
ally at the expense Of their health and
happiness. Sir Isaac Newton IN his
last days exclaimed with sigh, i
have made slave of myself. " His
great mind was always on strain IN
one direction. 1t is said of him that
he had hole cut in the lower part OF
the door for his favorite cat to enter
and exit, and when she had a pair OF
kittens he had two smaller holes cut
for them. The mind is like the body.
It must have variety Of food. 1t is
like the muscles in the arms or legs.
IF only one set are used the others be-
come weak and will gradually perish
away.
I was talking not long ago to a learn
ed Judge, man of fine judicial mind
and literary attainment, but who ac-
krowledged his very limited knowl-
edge Of nature and natures laws. Il
hardly know one tree from another,
said he, excepting, of course, the
chestnut, hickory nut and walnut.
Yes, of course, I know the pine, and
the oak. Indeed I have never had
any occasion to know more, for | was
raised in town and books have absorb
ed me.
I was Illuminating about this because
our little girls mother is teaching her
to draw and to paint, and asked her
to draw ME chestnut tree, an oak
tree and a maple tree. She is work
ing on them. now and has to go out
and look at them and examine the
bark on the trunk, and the shape of
the limbs and leaves. / wonder how
many boys and girls can draw hicko-
ry leaf without looking at one. l
should like to see their specimens.
Thousands of boys, especially country
boys, know all the common trees OF
their neighborhood, but it requires
close and careful observation to de-
scribe them and point out the differ
ence. Now there are ten different
kinds of oaks in this country, but
very few town raised people can name
half of them. Then there are differ
ent kinds Of hickories and pines and
ash and elm trees, besides the hack
berry, box elder, poplar, beach, locust
and cottonwood. Eugene LIE Hardy
was a very learned and scientific
Frenchman, but thought that Ameri-
can cotton grew on the cottonwood
trees and that we gathered it by using
ladders. It is said that Mr.. Jack
son, of Atlanta, is trying to introduce
the ladder kind now and has got the
trees up to fourteen feet high.
The study of the trees and shrubs
of this Southern country is a delight
full and instructive recreation for
young people, and [ wish they would
pay more attention to it. Of course
this study requires some knowledge of
botany, but that is easily acquired.
This kind of knowledge is more useful
and more comforting than college
smattering of calculus and comic Sec
tions and rhetoric and logic. LIDO not
believe there are ten men in Barlow
County who would know ginseng if
they were to see it. Not many more
know what is father gray beard or white
ash, the medicinal shrub from which
old A. @. Simmons first made the
original Simmons liver medicine in
Gwinnett County. know about that,
for when | was a young merchant |
sold the first he ever made and con-
tinued to sell it for him for several
years and he told me what 1t was made
Of. I think, though, that the father
graybeard gave out about the time the
old man died
| wish that our young people would
acquire habits Of observing things
more closely as they journey along
through life. Some people see every
thing aud some see nothing hardly.
When should trees be cut down that
are wanted for wood? What kind Of
wood is the strongest and will bear the
greatest burden ? What kind is the
most elastic? What kind the hardest
to split? What kind will last the
longest in the ground What kind
most suitable for pianos, chairs, fur
niture or wainscoting? What kind for
mauls or wedges or canes ? DIR. Oil
yer Holmes must have studied all
about these when he wrote the ''One