The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1906-08-01
a TRIBUTE TO GRASS.
Poetic Gulogy That Was Pronounced
by Senator Ingalls,.

by Senator Inyalls,
The following tribute to grass, writ
ten by tho late Senator Ingalls, OF Kan
sas, should be preserved:
Majestic. fruitful, wondrous plant!
Tie corn triumphant, that with the aid
OF man hath made victorious process
sion across the tufted plain and laid
foundation for the social excellence
that is and Ia to be- This glorious
plant, transmitted by the alchemy Of
God, sustains the warrior In battle, the
poet In song anu strengthens every
where the thousand nrms that work
the purposes Of life.
"Next In Importance to the divine
profusion Of water, light and air, those
three great physical facts which rcn.
der existence possible. may be recls-
oned the universal beneflcence OF grass.
Exaggerated by tropical heats and Va
pors to the gigantic cano congested
with Its sacchnriEe secretion or dwarf
ed by polar rigors to the flbrous hnir
or northern solitudes, embracing be.
tween these extremes the maize, with
Its resolute peEnons. the rice plant Of
ley, oats and other cereals, no less
thnn tho humber verdure Of the hill
side. pasture and prairie In the tenn
perate zone, grass is the most widely
distributed Of all vegetable beings aud
is at once the type Of our life and the
emblem Of mortality. Lying In the
sunshine among the buttercups and
the dandelions Of May, scarcely higher
IL intelligence than the minute !en-
ants Of the mimic wilderness, our ear
Hest recolections are Of grass, and
when the fltful fever Is ended and the
foolish wrangle Of Tic market and the
forum Is closed grass heals over the
scar which our descent into the bosom
of the earth has made, nnd the CARPET
OF the Infant becomes the blanket Of
the dead.
Grass Is the forgiveness Of nature,
her constant ;bcnediction. Fields tram
pied with battle, saturated with blood,
TORN with the ruts Of cannon, grow
Is forgotten. Streets abandoned by
traffic become grass grown like rural
lanes and obliteruted. Forests decay,
hnrvcsts perish, flowers vanish, but
grass is Immortal. Beleaguered by the
sullen hosts Of winter, It withdraws
into the impregnable fortress Of its
subterranean vitality and energies up
OF the first solicitation Of spring. Sown
by the winds, by wandering birds,
propagated by the subtle horticulture
of the elements, which are Its ministers
and servants, 1t softcns the rude out
line OF the world. Its tenacious flbers
hold the earth In its place and prevent
its soluble components from washing
into tho wasting sea. It invades the
solitudes of deserts, climbs tbs innc-
cessible slopes and forbidding pima
cles or mountains, modif1es climates
and determines the history, character
and destiny Of the nations. Unobtru.
sive md pntlent, 1t has immortal vlgor
and aggression. . Bnnished from the
thoroughfare and tho field, it oides Its
time TO return aud when Vigilance is
relaxed or, the dynasty ns.perished It
silently resumes the throne from which
It has been expelled. but which it new
er obrogates. . It bears no blazonry of
bloom to- charm the senses with fra
GRANGE or splendor. but ita heme!y ..aa
is more enchnnting than the lily or the
rose. 1t yields no fruit In earth or mir.
and yet should Its harvest fail for a
s.ngle year famine would depopulate
the world, "s,z .>4-. ; al, '. :. ...,<s.s'
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