The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1900-07-25


Il came in letter coiled up like lit
tie green snake and thought at first
i was snake. 1t is about the size
Of an average wax been and is twenty
eight and one-half inches long. I
measured it on my square and am
satisfied it was at least thirty inches
when it was taken from the vine, for
if has shrunk some in the mail. He
writes that he is lineal descendant
of Jack and the bean stalk and this
variety has been handed down through
seventeen generations, more or less,
and these beans won't grow for any
body except Irish patriots or confed-
crate veterans. The writer belonged
TO Captain Dawson's company in the
Eighth Georgia regiment and was with
us that memorable night whan we
crossed the Shenandoah river by toroh
light and the short boys had to be
eased over the deep places by putting
taller soldiers behind them, and even
then the water ran into their mouths
occasionally. My friend was one of
the shorts and says he got strangled
several times on tiptoe.
These bean vines and other vines
have often excited my wonder and con-
temptation. Solomon says: ''There
is a purpose for everything under
heaven" and Addison says: "In
reasons voice all rejoice" And 80 I
would like to know why all the bean
vines, morning glories, madeira and
cinnamon vines grow and wind toward
the sun, starting on the south side Of
the pole and going east, while the hop
vine and some others reverse their
course. Everything has its law and
you can't make anything change it's
nature. A vine will die if you force
it the wrong way. And yet Raphael
Semmes says in mis- great book that
south Of the equator everything is re-
versed and the bean vines that climb
against the sun up here climb with it
down there. Of course the motion of
the earth on its axis has something to
DO with it, but why is it so? We
don't know much after ALL. Mrs.
Hemans says: "And flowers shall
wither at the north winds BREATH"
but if she had lived in South America
she would have said sat the south
winds BREATH" for that is the cold
wind below the equator. We are all
inclined to view things from our owH
standpoint. Of course it is very nat
ural for US to do SO for we live in the
same zone and latitude that Adam and
Eve lived in. Westward the course
Of empire taken its way" That's all.
No change in the course Of the sun or
moon or stars or climate or tempera-
ture. Paradise was on line with
Cartersville, and it is yet, and the
Euphrates river is the Etowah now
and the gold Of that land was good and
SO is the gold of this.
But l was ruminnting about these
mysteries Of nature that surround US
and are 80 common that we do not
notice them. Last night our grove
was Illuminated, by thousand fref1ies-
more numerous and more brilliant than
ever before. It was regular pyrotech-
MICS for an hour. They tighten as
they rise from the grass and emit a
spark Of gold and green luster that ia
lovely. Some naturalists say it is
phosphorus that tley can illuminate
at will by breathing hydrogen or oxy-
gen into it and that it has no hsat.
Ever since Linneus lived this little
innocent bug has been under the fres
OF dissection and discussion, and no
solution of-its wonderful faculty has
yet been agreed upon. I had to catch
a bottle full for the little girls. They
played with them until bed time and
then / turned them out and one c2
them was dead with the light still
shining in it's tail. It had illuminated
its own DEATH and kept its lantern
burning without breath Of hydrogen
or oxygen. Away down in the tropics
these frefies are an inch long and q
score or two of them will illuminate q
room and dozen in bottle gives
light to read by. Travellers tie a
dozen to stick and travel at night by
their light. I would like to import
some Of that variety into my grove.
In fact ! think we could utilize them
IN our street lamps and get more light
than we do now.
The other morning about sunrise
was surprised at the number Of little
dewcovered cobwebs that adorned the
grass and weeds around the house.
They we're almost touching each other
aud g1istened in tha S1inrnsne, aim 4I;ks