The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1897-12-31
THE TARTARIAN LAMB.
A Strange Plant That CLOSELY Resembles
Little Lamb.

A Strange Plant That Closely Resembles
| Little Lamb.
Among the strange stories to be
found in the narratives Of early
travellers few are stranger than
that OF the vegetable lamb Of Tar
tsry. This story, as believed by the
reading public and even by the nat
urslists of two centuries ago. u SO
marvellous and 30 obviously absurd
that we wonder how the most cred
ulous could have believed il to be
, truo.
Tho story is that, in an elevated
and cultivated salt plain Of great
extent west of tho river Volga,
there may be found creature half
animal, half plant, to which the ma
tives give the name of barometn,
meaning little lamb" To obtain
1t the Tartars SOW in the ground a
seed like that of melon, from
which, in due time rises the strange
plant, having the figure Of lamb,
with the feet, the hoofs, the ears
and the whole head, except the
horns, Of that animal, distinctly
formed.
1t grows on stalk about three feet
in height, being, according to one
version, rooted to the ground by its
four feet while another account
raises the whole lamb, feet and all,
from the ground on single stem,
on which it is able to turn, and also
to bow itself downward to the herbs
on which IT feeds. 1t lives as long
as there Is grass or herbage around
it, but when it has consumed all
within its reach 1t dies and withers
away. Its skin is covered with a
very white down, az fine as silk,
and is greatly priced by the Tartars,
who pull it off and wear it as a
cover for the head.
Inside it is composed of flesh and
bones, and when wounded it gives
out a liquid resembling blood.
Wolves are said to be the only ami
mails that will eat it, and they are
very fond of it.
Specimens Of this remarkable pro-
duotion were looked upon as the
rarest treasures in the collections of
the curious in days gone by. Two
different specimens have been de-
scribed in the philosophical Trans
actions" and third has its portrait
given in an engraving in Darwin's
Flower Garden" and it's history
told in the forid verse of that work
The lamb" is natural produc-
ton, greatly helped in the develop
ment Of the particulars in which it
mort resembles that creature by
the ingenuity Of tho natives. The
body is a portion Of the creeping
stem Of a species of fern which gen
orally grows az erect as tree. This
sten. is densely covered with beau-
tiful, jointed, silky hairs Of rich
golden color.
On tho surface next to thu ground
a few roots arc given OF, whiO the
leares-or fronds, az they are called
in ferns-spring from the upper sur
faeo. Tho fronds reach height OF
Ia OF IA feet, and have long, bare
Sts,ls before tho leaf is spread out.
Khs Tartsr takes suitable part OF
this creeping .tera for body, do
p1ives it Of tho roots and OF all the
lasf STALKS except four. which ace
iassssIeA 10 be the legs. two short
oASs 6r ths seTs and a seump for
tbs tsal, aad then, turning II upside
down, tsisas tbs stsnl, aaid 10 pro
aSSss tAis marvel Of the early az
plorssls. The fern, kaora to boH-
Ri1ts no tiAA Cbotium baromstA, 10 q
native Of eastern Asia. 1t has been
introduced into our conservatories,
whore it dourishes, producing. after
a few years growth, good speci
mems OF the Lamb
The silky hairs Of this fern form
a farorite remedy among the Chi
aese for checking the flow Of blood
by applying them to q wound in
the same way as felt or cobwebs are
used by some people in this country.
Tho more tbrous and elastic hairs
of several species Of the same group,
natives of the Sandwich Islands, are
largely exported from these islands
to California and Australia for stuff
ing cushions and for similar pur-
poses.-Philadelphiu Times.