Gainesville daily sun. (Gainesville, Fla.) 190?-1938, 1905-05-05
MANS INVENTIONS.
ManS % the Hdeas Used Were BtOHsn
DtreutIy From Mature.

many % AmI Aufnn tneo were oAoa@n
DtrestIy FROM Mature.
House, are not the invention Of man.
The idea was Borrowed from the swai-
low.
When the world was young It's lnhab-
itants were troglOdyates. They dwelt In
holes In ellis. One savage, more enter
prising than his fellows. puzzled bis
brains to ind out a way to construct a
coy dwelling. On one occasion he
caught sight OF a bird gathering bits Of
clay with It's beak. II was a swallow.
and he watched 1t buIld q nest on q
ledge OF rock.
Wonderful" said he. I'll do like
wise"
He set 20 work at once and built a
clay hut. His neighbors called him the
''mudhOle dwelIer" and laughed at his
house. But, when they discovered that
he was more snug than they, up went
other huts.
The savages lived in mud huts until
the beaver came TO visit them. In build
ing a house for himself he gave early
man lesson In architecture The bea-
yer not only showed him how to build
houses that would stand all kinds Of
weather, but Instructed him In the art
Of dam and bridge building.
The gentlemen OF the stone age had
boats. This has been proved by the
things left behind them. 1t Is doubt
full, however, whether they invented
vessels themselves.
A well known antiquarian declares
that the savage stole the idea for the
sailing boat from a small shell6sh hay-
ing kind OF I'm attached to its back.
By resting on q wave and erecting the
m II can skim over the waters at great
speed when the wind is behind It.
II II generally believed that man In
vented the thatch TO keep barns and
rlcks dry. As a matter Of fact, It was
the weaver bird that gave the idea to
him. With its beak II constructs a per-
fectiy made, large. rainproof shelter, or
thatch, over its nest. The Zulu huts
IN the Transvaai are rooted IN almost
the same way today.
Dame Nature was n glassmakef long
before man was created. Natural glass
resembIed the glass Of which beer bot
ties are made, and Il is TO be found In
Iceland, Spain. Italy, Sardinia and al
most every locality in which volcanoes
have been at work. Its proper name IL
Obsidian. and there are enough cliffs Of
glass 20 fll all the window frames In
Great Britain.
Mica Il another form OF natural glass
and is largely used In the making OF
chimneys for incandescent gasllghts.
II IN dug out Of the ground. will stand
great heat'and needs nothing but split
ting TO he made use OF at once
Old brown Windsor soap. so common
~ used for the toilet Is not the real
thing at all. but merely an imitation.
The only soap OF that name II not
made. but comes from the bulbs Of the
Porto Rico soap plant, and II was used
for washing purposes long before man
thought OF manufacturing soap from
fat aud other substances. It's smell Is
exactly the same ~ London made old
brown Windsor and there Is no doubt
whatever that the latter is an exact Inn
itation Of the natural soap,
At one time the world was lighted at
night with "farthlng dips" long sticks
OF compressed fat with a thin string
through the center, Before this the
seeds Of the tallow tree. which grows
In Algeria. Sumatra and China, were
used for lighting purposes. The seeds,
which are VI good size, need but a
wick 10 burn with a clear, white iame.
II will therefore be seen that the Idea
for both ancient and modern candles
was stolen directly from nature.-Pears