The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1904-09-28
SOME WISE BARsAR'ANS.
savases who Know Enough to Preserve
Their Native Gifts.

Their Native Gi1ts.
The naturalist Andre. who recently
returned, from the Canca atf1uent or
the Orjnoco. reports that the Ncnezue-
Ian rubber collectors and their lndlan
assistants. at the present rate OF pro-
gress. will in a few years more nave
completely eXterminated thc balata
rubber tree, whose product IS almost
.he only article of commerce in that
region. Their invariable practice is TO
destroy the tree to obtain the ruDner.
Nothing is done to repair this waste
and more than tw0-1hirds OF the trees
have been cut.
So many stories arc in'd Of the de-
siruction of sources Of wealth by bar
barous and seini-civilized peoples thal
it is pleasant ~ heal Of other lolk Oh
low culture WHO conserve the good
things they possess. DR.. Ernst Fried
rich has, been writing Of the tribes or
Australia who consider it an offenSe
of the grayest nature to destroy cer-
tain frees which bear edible fruits AMI
who punish more severely than VIC 10
the bad boys who rob BIRDS llcSrS.
Some of these tribes also make it Il So
ricus misdemeanor to Kill the young OF
animals. which. when they have their
growth. supply a great dee. Of meat.
The pronunciamento OF the King or
the Tonga Islands in 1886, declaring
the volcano Of Niuafu TO BE- "tahu.'
was a we'll meant endeavOr 10 save the
poultry of the largest island from tne
wrath Of the fire mountain Which nad
| covered the island with volcanic dust
threatening, the existence of the fowls,
! of whose eggs the natives were partic-
nlarly fond. 1t was His Majestys
idea that his people had treated Nluaiu
with Il degree Of familiarity bordering
on d%isrespect. and he thought IL he
! made The mountain ''tahu." 50 that the
natives would be afraid 10 go near II
| o. have ANYTHING 10 do with il. the vol
cano would cease sitting lot aSheS
down on the poultry.
1t would be interesting to know II
the slanO companies that made Sucll
haste TO exhaust the deep beds OF rIch
fertilizer on the islands along the coast
of Peru ever heard Of the rigid care
that the Incas took 10 conserve THIS
source Of wealth.
/. The old Perrvians knew tho value OF
this material as we'll as we do and
used enormous quantities Of it for the
enrichment Of their farms. For ge.er'
atoms the Incas kept suardf on all
these islands to prevent any infringe
ment Of the law forbiddilig the killing
of any bird harboring OIL them. Dur
ing most Of the year natives were per-
mittcd to 20 TO the islands for supplies
of fertilizer. but in the breeding season
il was a crime punishable with death
to be caught there.
These vigorous measures were SNAPPED
by a definite policy. 1t was the pur'
pose Of the TncaS to prevent any dilnl-
mutton in the supply OF guane. The
aim was TO encourage in every way
the breeding Of these birds, so that the
annual additions 10 the store OF Suano
would suffice to meet the needs or the
farm lands.
Nearly all that irn civilized world
BUYS from tropical countries is raw
material. and most Of The natives VINO
collect it have little idea OF the need
of conserving the supplies so that they
max be d permanent source OF profit 10
them. They rccklessly destroy the ele-
phant. rubber plants, The oil palm ana
other sources Of wealth
There are exceptions, however, 10
this rule. One Of them is 4 tribe OF no.
torious c%annibals living behind the
Gold Coast in Africa. Their home is
in the belt where the kola tree grows,
and the kola nut is sent 10 many coun'
fries for medicinal purposes.
Any injury done 10 one of these trees
IS severely punished. The natives
know that they can obtain the goed
things they want b. selling IL NUS.
anu have sense enough TO protect the
traeithat bears them.
Here are TWO tNdllllCH vi i"'H W
lZed peoples who have learned the folly
Of destroying sources OF profit. and are
beginning 10 repair the mischief they
have done. Gum tr~agacanth. used III
making mucilage. was a considerable
,,yDorr from Persia till the wild sup
lilies were entirely exhausted. The
cultivation of the plant has recently
been started in wide areas around Is
pahan and Tabriz, and the Government
is regulating the business.and declares
that if intends to renew the industry.
Wild a%ssafoetida was gathered OK
tensively in the wide region between
the Aral Sea and the Persian Gull, I'LL
It became so scarce thar it did not pay
10 collect it.. Many hundreds Oh ma
tives between Kabul and Balkh are
now tilling their patches OF assaloe-
tida.-New York sun. d.