The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1900-07-26
ARP AND THE BEANS,


ARP AND THE BEANS,
Relative OF Jack of BeanstaIk Eamc
Writes to Him.
a veteran friend has sent mo one OF
the Identical beans that little Jack
planted and that grew up to the sky
II came IN letter cOilcd up like lit
tie green snake and | thought at first
1t was snake. 1t is about the size Of
an average wHX bean and is twenty
eight and one-hnlf inches long. Il
measured 1T on my square and am sat
isticd it was at least thirty inches when
it WAS taken from the vine, for il has
shrunk some in the mail. He writes
that he is a lincal descendant OF Jack
and the bean stalk and this variety has
been banded down through seventeen
generations, more or less, and these
beans won't grow for anybody except
irish patriots or Confederate Veterans.
The writcr belonged to Captain Daw-
sons company in the Eighth Georgia
regiment and was with us that mcmor-
able night whom VIC crossed the Shcn-
andoah river by torch light and the
short boys had to be cascd over the
deep places by putting taller soldiers
behind them, ana even then the water
ran into their mouths occasionally.
My friend WAS one OF the shorts and
says he got stranglcd several times ON
tiptOc.
These bean vines and other vines
have often excited my wonder and
contemplation. Solomon says: "rhcrc
Is a purpose for everything under Iicav-
| en-, and Addison snNs : "ln reason :
voice all rejoice" And so | w0ull Xix t
TO know why all tho bean vines, mora
ing glOrics, madeira and cinnamon
vines grow and wind towards the sun,
starting on the south side Of the pole
and going east, while the hop vino "nd
sOmc others reverse their course.
Everything has its law and you can't
make anything change its nature. a
vine will die II you force it :he wrong
way. And yot Raphael Scmmcs says
In his great book that south Of the
equator everything is reversed and The
bean vines that climb against the sun
up here climb with it down there. or
course the motion OF the earth on it's
why is il so? We don't know much
after all. Mrs. lIcmans says: "An,l
flowers shall witncr at the north wind :,
breath, but II she had lived in South
America she would have said at the
south winds BREATH for that is The
cold wind below the equator. We arc
inclined to Wow things from our own
| stanupoint or course it is very EaLur.
al for MS 10 do 80 for we live in the sam,
zone and latitude that Adam and Eve
lived in. Westward the course OF
empire takes its way" That's all. Nc
| change in the course OF tho sun on
| moon or stars or climate or tompcra.
! turc. Paradise WAS on a line with
r ll< n
phrates river Is the IItOwah now and
the gold OF that land wns goui and 80
is the gold OF this.
But | was Illuminating about .hcSc
mysteries OF nature that surround us
and are 80 common that We do not
notice them. Last night our grove was
Illuminated by a. thousand trcllics--
more numerous and more brilliant than
ever before. 1t WAS regular pyrOtech-
MICS for an hour They tighten as they
rise from the grass and emit spark Of
gold and green lustcr that is lovely
Some naturalists say it is phosphorous
that they can illuminate at will by
breathing hydrogen or oxygen into it
and that it has no heat. Ever since
Linnaeus lived this little innocent bug
has been under the fires OF dissection
and discussion and no solution OF its
wonderful faculty has yet been agreed
upon. had to catch Is bottle ful! for
the little girls. They played with
them until bed time and then turned
| them ont and one OF them Was dead
| with the light still shining in It's tail.
| 1t had Illuminated It's own death and
kept It's lantern burning without q
breath OF hydrogen or oxygen. Away
down in the tropics these iircnics arc
an inch long and score or two Of
them will illuminate u room and s.
dozen in u bottle gives light to read by.
Travellers tic a dozen to Is stick and
travel at night by their light. / would
like to import come Of that variety
into my grove. In fact think VIC cOul d
utilize them In our street lamps and
get moro light than VIC do now.
The other morning about sunrise
was surprised at the number OF little
dew covered CobwcbS that adorned
the grass and weeds around the house.
They were almost touching each other
and gllstened In tho morning sun like a
frost was upon them. Most Of them were
about the size OF d saucer and had their
tiny cords and stays fastened securely
ana in everyone was IL cunning little
aperture wnere the weaver lived and
waited and watched for his prey. The
workmanship OF those little webs was
exquisite, artistic and pcrfcct-whcre
ala tha little creature get Its material
and who told 1t that this was g0od
morning to set its traps? The books
tell us that 1t has within its little abdo-
mon q tiny rcol thai turns as the web Is
spun and that the fiber Is 80 wonder