Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-01-02
Home Study Course.
E. BENJAMIN ANDREWS IL D, Editor.
Mature Studies For Old
aDd Yourq
BY ALLEN WALTON COULD. a. N.
Natures
Money

MOney ice to others, and this. 1 take it, is
the real essence of all the monetary dealings
for the doctors advice, he lis really giving his v service t. others for the
doctors service to him. The money is only a convenient measure II value in
terms Of service. The money is lot the real thing in the transaction. The
real thing is the payment of service by service. of which the money is only
Let us see how nature manages such payments among the lower creatures.
A good subject for study in this connection is the white clover. which is me
of our most familiar plants. II aDounds everywnere, = " eomu na. e
remain beside one of these clover heads o. any pleasant day or a few
a Imnp u i aabt = Il she knew lust where she ws going.
The moment she aNghted she thrust her long tongue rapidly into two o three
of the outer orets, one after the other, and promptly departed without
touching any Of the other scores Of aords making up the clover head. It
seemed as IL she had sampled the nectar of this flower and found 1t unsats-
factory and then had taken a bee line for the next clover head, a hundred feet
away. where she would so through the same aampnng process and a
promptly depart for a third clover head, to be treated In tn san way. But
the bee was not samplng the nectaI. a ltle les, study o. : = ense GOV seas w VIII . 10Y
doing tho same at the next plant and the next till she filled her honey bag
by visiting scores of plants.
noret she arst thrust her tongue into seemed struck with death It begins to
n Nl a aaaa ~ a euasa ~ r lsa ~ th hose .4thsrad blossoms had suddenly begu to
droop after a similar visit Of son bee. and all the other forets still standing
will meet the sa-ef fate. We should see them, n after the other. droop and
curl up 5 if dead upon the visit of SOL bee, but by examining them we
should ind that they were forming seeds. They are only dead as flowers.
They are alive and growing as seed vessels
Each Of these tiny forets, then, seems to change from flower to fruit with
the visit Of the bees And this seeming connection is g real Each horet
is fertnaed BY the pollen which the bee brs .a but. oa. + !. on = ss Il natures sss Jules
be fortified by the pollen of some other head The pollen is formed in each
each horet. When the bee pushes her honey seeking head into a blossom
where the pollen is ripe, she unconsciously brushes on the yellow dust and
overs her head with it. Then she brushes this pollen upon the next flower
she visits. OF course II all the dorets in the clover head should open at the
carrying the fertnlzng pollen with her. SO that each doret would be fertHzed
BY the pollen Of it's own dover. That would be much easier for the bee. as IL
would save her scores Il visits. But it would be weakness and death for the
10 avoid this fate the clover has her dorets open not al at once. but one
after another. The outer noset opens first, and a little later the next inner
amst unfolds Its white petals, AID then the next and SO n while in each aoret
the fetliaas pollen rtpens before the seed forming organs Of that horet ar
9 : sss. art successful ~. visit I T. , { ,esns clever lev d mead q. he. finds nd. the the
honey and at the same time has her head covered with pollen Then, seeing
NJ si.s ssss si ssss se snsn es CT sa'' H 1sso the 70 s,d ass s DO se' With ID riss ep E petals = = is
sss as' it e The sa ass. h Se ssa i h IA rs m q soe se9 and - ready e = be Be aersn ed and SsI as
the bee ssg pushes ssd y ~ e ,s GET the \. honey r. she ssa brushes = sseoe % s On the en ae'e 9 IL ~. p Sssa sn =
in getting tho honey covers herself with 2 fresh fresh supp! of, Of pollen sa ALSO 80. Then hen
the aorst which i most open en-. This HI ,sa ready ssg To-, the fssni sa pollen ass,, which ni,S
pollen, which she must carry 70 another clover head and fsrdn1s stn another
By this clever plan the clover compes the bee to take the pollen from one
clover head to another with each visit The bee must visit half 9 hundred
NAN n nsss . on one clover head. and she must visit each tiny aost twice TO
s.. y fe ,s ! aa to Day y for tn the Sea ays she s = b By perform lal this Indispensable
service to the flower. and d. ! ,aa sn say yt the plant t y sausa .s, unconscious er ssr,,e = s e
the plincl is there none the less ssa and I. ths sl instance zee y - only h,% one . Il = large
come into existence only because they helped insects to find their + way to the
devices contrved by the plants to prevent any insects from sn getting honey honey
n.,; IS s. s,,ss. J, use he sss ss,. as ,s , tt pay Way 70 e. : , ssss s.s' sssn s ssss:, IS sss ss, ss.,
as we have already seen in an earlier article while a South American thorn
a assin sMi as seas aoss. The Il trees e sl produce d%1 hollow ill v' horns aned with = sweet sub
Stance a., and , ,ns amt ans the nal ser q i iaeli as q hen ae' for s' .ai.i han ta s s pau g. the
ees have become SO dependent upon their tiny boarders that they cannot
! But SUCH direct payment Of service BY service 10 no. the common method
M a''@ The carpenter ar an does not usually build . house for the doctor a. payment
l hous ns for opt the community unity And this is the way It is among lower creatures.
f a. " ns Jun, ,nsss g I as : t ssss s.s sam assas4 = millions snss' q p plants q and se animals ma IS a I'M
daily means as.as, hard . work ar TO- man sn.t q, v 40 . ans 9's al Be .ne po aaa. ,n By ess the ar W
breathe. Yet how rarely do we see a dead mouse IT dead bird! II we Go hap
Del upon one, the chances are that we should and it slowly sinking INTO the
ground. And IL we should raise it up, We should discover a couple II small
"burying bNles' at work beneath 1t. One Of these uses its head a q ploy
and pushes the earth ont from under the dead mouse little by little till IN Y
few hours o. a day o two at most the body is wholly underground. 4 ours,
", Werl assss to furnish n1 h' their iehr youns ~ with rood BY laying the eggs upon the buried
But their service is none the less real
The dead plants are cleared up in an equally eRectual way. The moment
a tree falls a host of insects begin to demohsh it. The tiny white ants of the
tropic are perhaps the most noted of these removGs of rubbish. though they
do not wait FOL a tree to fall. They build their clay tunnels up the tree
trunk and out O. the branches and the moment life leaves any twlg they
deyour it. They even regard the timber of houses as dead wood III eat II
10. and IL a man lies down to sleep in their neighborhood with q wooden leg
they will consume it by morning. They may seem going a little too far, but 1T
has its useful side. They keep the forest where they live IA clean rs Il
swept by the fairies" as Dr. DrummOnd says, and they render M service
without asking any return save in the food they get.
Perhap the most obvious and widereaching service given without direct
return is that which plants render to the life a-oye them. All animals owe
thnir life to the plants. Even animals that eat only meat owe that meat
ultimately to the plants Yet in most cases these animals hay rendered no
whatever to the plants that the plants should hui serve them. Evil
IDENTIFY the plants must be paying for the services they receive from q and
earth and air and water. To pay for the life they receive from the elements
hey Give their lives to feed the animals. This payment of life for life seems
to underue ill Of natures great system. Lower life IL given for higher life
M that fr Uu highW-the plant for the insect, the insect for bird and beast
.4 AAaan hoast6 ~ man -A ~ man himaelf seemai ndtnctYelx = fel that