The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1897-10-14
BILL ARPS TALK TO BOYS.
n knowledge of Everything Is Essen
tial-What Trees are Best for Va
riOus Purposes.

Here is letter for the boys.
pelleVe that even an imperfect
knowledge OF many callings renders u
man happier than perfection in any
one aud comparative ignorance OF all
the rest. Great scientists, discoverers
and inventors seem to be necessary for
the worlds progress and tho GOOD of
mankind, but their work is generally
at the expense OF their health and
happiness. Sir Isaac Newton in his
last days exclaimed with u sigh, 81
have made slave of myself" His
great mind was always on u 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 q pair of
Kittens he had two smaller holes cut for
them. The mind is like the body. 1t
must have variety Of food 1t is like
the muscles in the arms or legs. If
only one set are used the others become
weak and will gradually perish away.
was talking not long ago to learn
ed Judge, man OF fine judicial mind
ana literary attainments, but who ac-
knowledged his very limited know
ledge Of nature and natures laws. 81
hardly know one tree from another"
said he, "excepting, of course, the
chestnut, hickory nut and walnut.
Yes, OF course, | know the pine and the
oak. Indeed | have never had any oc-
caslon to know more for | was raised
III town and books have absorbed me-"
was ruminating 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 maple tree. She is working on
the m now and has to go out. and look
at them and examine the bark on the
trunk, and the shape OF the limbs and
the leaves. L wonder how many bows
and girls can draw q hickory leaf with
out looking at one. | should like to
see their specimens. Thousands of
boys, especially country boys, know all
the common trees Of their neighbo
hood, but it requires close and careful
observation to describe them and point
out the difference. Now there are ten
different kin Is of oaks ia this country,
but very few town raised people can
name half Of them. Then there are
different kinds Of hickories and pines
and ash and elm trees, besides the
blackberry, box elder, poplar, beech,
locust and cottonwood Eugene lie
tic Frenchman, but thoug ht that Ameri-
trees and that we gathered it by using
ladders. 1t is said that Mr.. jackson,
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 delightfnf End
instructive recreatlon for young pco
pie, 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 a college smattering
Of calculus and comic sections and
rhetoric and logic. | do not believe
who would know ginseng il they were
to see it. Not many more know what
is father greybeard or white ash, the
medicinal shrub from which old a. @.
Simmons first made the original Sim
mons liver medicine in Gwinnett
county. | know about that, for when
| was q young merchant sold the first
he ever made and continued to sell it
for him for several years and be told
me what IL was made of. | 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 and 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 long
est in the ground? What kind most
suitable for pianos, chairs, furniture or
wainscoting. What kind for mauls or
wedges or canes? DR.. Oliver Holmes
must have studied all about these when
when he wrote the zone Hoss Shay"
$50 the deacon inquired of the village
Where he could find the strongest oak,
That couldn't be split nor bent nor broke :;
That was for spokcs and floor and sills;
lie sent for lanCcwOOd to make the thills :;
The crossbars were ash from the straightest
trees;
The panels were white wood that cuts like
cheese,
And 'he hubs of logs from the settlers
elm"
But perhaps DR.. Holmes got it all
from some old honest wagon maker,
for they know. I'll bet Mr.. Bradley
OF our town, can answer every question.
The boys ought to find out that black
locust and chestnut and Usage orange
make the best posts, and black gum
the best hubs, and persimmOn the best
wedges or luts, and sassafras the best
bows,and "hite oak the best baskets. In
England it is claimed that yew tree
post will last longer than an iron one.
The boys ought to know that the barks
OF all trees are nOncOnductors Of heat
and cold and keep them cool in sum
mcr and warm in winter, and the green
leaves are the lngs that inhale the
carbon from the air and not only make
wood for the tree, but purify tho at
mosphcre that we breathe. And
hence every habitation ought to have
some trees about it. The boys ought
to know about those beautiful islands
in the sea that are Of coral formation
and kept growing until they got above
the water, and then some cocoanuts
came lloating along and lodged there
and sprouted and grew ana the leaves
Of the trees fell down and rottcd and
made q soil for more cocoanuts, and in
course OF time the island became q
paradise. That is the testimony Of the