The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-07-10
TAUGHT ny NATURE.
Ideas Man Has Borrowed From w
riOuS Sources.
+ rom London Answers.

From London Answers.
Who first wove that delicate ana beauti-
full fabric we call lace? We do not know
his name. But we do know that he took
the SPIDERS web FOR his model, and We
sul talk of lace himy as a cobweb
What save Prof Bell his idea for the
telephone? Was It not the drum of the
human ear a delicate skin stretched tight
10 receive the air vibrations we call souud2
Most readers have seen that machine
commonly known as the hay devil" a
sort OF circular horse rake used for toss
ing damp hay into The air and redry,ng IT,
a variation of the machine is made ian
America, ana GATED the "hav-tedder'
The cong legs of this are modelled precise
ly after the hind Eggs OF The common
gTasshopper
lt you want to dig a dock or railway
cutting, Steam NAVY or eXcavator is
used designed exactly after the shape or
an acorn, with each fang on hinges. A
someW hat similar machine, only il gath
ers hay instead Of Eravel and earth, is
modelled on the ciutching claws of the
crab.
Do YOU know what a pulsometer is2 \
form of pump. with a double pipe and
bal-shaped waive. which a,ternatcs from
SIDE to side, thus supplying constant
stream of water. The heart is more per
feet pump than the human brain ever de-
vised unaided. While on the subject of
the human frame It might be mentioned
that the idea Of bail bearings. such as are
used on bicycles, Is only a development
borrowed from the joints OF our body.
our knee and elbow joints are perfect
samples of the ball and socket which has
from early times been ihe simplest and
most complete used by engineers.
When a man jumps into the water he
puts his hands over his head and takes a
"header" But that is not natural.
child does not do so; he wades in and does
not immerse his head at al. Man uu-
doubtedly borrowed the idea from the
water rat one of the few creatures which
rejoices in this head-foremost ety,e Of
taking TO the water.
Another four-legged creature taught a
nation the science of house-buildng. Inc
Indian name for his own wigwam is the
same as that he gives to the beaver $
lodge" The beaver was once common
enough in European and British rivers,
and it is not unlikely that TO qis crea-
ture we owe our whole science OF dams
and brdge-bunding. Certainly Master
Flattail could give points and beating
to man of the Stone Age in the way of
architecture. q
The South Sea Islanders are experts at
canoe sailing, and make long. open sea
voyages in tiny craft. They have ira
ditiou-probaby a true one-that the hrst
of their fathers to build a sail boat cop
led his sail from that Of the dainty nau-
illus. a small shellhsh, which has the
power Of erecting a delicate membrane
i'm the form of a sail, and so sklmming
across the waves of tropic seas
Architects owe much to nature. The
solendd columns. Corinthtan aud Ionic
We so much admire originate In the state
ly trunk of the date palm, and The dell
cate ornameutatiOn of the capitals began
in copying leaves and fruit of various
kinds Indeed, nearly all ornamentation In
architecture, conventional and otherwise,
is taken more or less directly from ma
ture The crenelated ornament. for in
stance is derived from the dainty scalop
shell. and the dogtooth moulding on Nor
man arches oetrays its origin in its name.
Weights and measures owe their incep-
ton to natural beginnings. Some of them
still show this by their names. What -
foot but the average length Of The hu-
man understanding? The Jewish span
was the distance stretched between the
thumb and forehnger, and the cubit, eigh-
teen to twenty-five inches, the distance
from the elbow to the extremity of the
middle finger The grain weight was or
iginaIy a grain of wheat Diamonds and
other precious stones are still measured
by the carat, which is the bean of an
Abyssnian tree the "cuara." 1t weighs
about the same as four grains.
Without the telescope and microscope
modern civilization would have halted sad
ly. These natural aids to sight are moth
ing more than artificial developments OF
the crystal lens of the eye Itself. That
was the first lensmaker's model
In the early ages Of the world men liv-
ed in holes in the rocks and cliffs. High
on The edges of a precpice some enter
prising savage one day watched a swa-
low gather clay and piece together bit
by bit, her snug and cozy nest. Could
he copy her? he wondered and forthwith
set to work, and eventually produced Il
sort of hut. Rough matchmaking near
so well finished as the model. But it was
the direct ancestor of the palaces of to-
day.
To another of the bird tribe we are
doubtless indebted for the useful thatcn
that keeps our barns and ricks dry. The
South African weaver bird, which lives
and nests in colonies, constructs heavy
rainproof thatch over its congregation of
nests 1t is worthy of note that the Zu-
LUIS kraal of to-day is rooted in an almost
precisely similar manner
Recently experiments have been made
with a view to driving ships. not by a
screw, but by jet of water projected
from the stern. This device was taken
! direct from the CuLtleHsH, winch mas no
fins. but swlms in this way a great speed
without them.
Every flying machine inventor whose IN
ventions seem to promise any degree or
! success has studied the soaring Of hawks
and Duzzards. The successful flying ma
chine of the future will almost undoubt-
eddy not be a balloon, but depend for its
flying powers on great aeroplanes, similar
to the WIDENING eXpanses Of soaring
birds
And so on all through the wide range
of what we call applied mechanics. Any
great inventor or philosopher, from Ed
son downward will cheerfully acknowi-
edge that IL is from watching wild crea-
lures in their homes and in the open woods
or fields that many of the best and great
est IDEAS have come to him.