The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1906-05-22
AROUND THE WORLD WITH
WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN
LIFE nv THE TROPICS HAS ITS DRAWBACKS


, too. is eommodious harhor visited Is
4@lI merchant fleets III lie4 with Sn1a-
/ pore ts an equatorial port The spicy
/ brecz"s" IF Ccylou are immortlIizcd
III song and story 1t is the land
Where every prospect ploases
/ And Only man is VILE
! At Handy. about 1J miic9 from tho
Icoast, there is al excellent botanical
garden. Tivaling the garden at Bitten
Zork. even as Randy itself rivals Butt
fAZork le summer resort There
are extensive gardens at Singapore
+ and Penang. but they are inferior to
| those Of Ceylon and Java. These gar
+ denS are about equally distant from
/ The equator. the former north the lat
To- south. but the garden at Randy
! has twice the altitude OF the other.
We were Interested in comparing the
plants and examining the new spcci-
mems. y hilc BuitenzorE is superior in
her collection Of orchids the ferns at
Randy surpaSs anything we have seen.
Here the yellow bamboo is added to
the varieties seen elsewhere; here too
We saw the screw palm whose leaves
form q spiral line like the thread Of
a screw. Another curious variety is
the sealing wax palm. the higher joints
of which look exactly like red sealing
wax. The travellers palm, which we
also saw in Java. is TO be found here
its name being derived from the fact
shat each leaf stem catches and holds
sufficient water to slake travellers
thirst. The talipot palm attrGcts the
attention of all visitors not only be-
cause its leaves formed the parch-
ment fer the early books Of Buddhism
but because it flowers but once and
then, as if exhausted by its half CEN
tuIy's effort, dies. The sensitive plant
STOWS Wild here and seems almost hu-
man III It's perception, as it shrnlls
from the slightest touch and folds its
leaves as il Withered.
have already spoken of the frlsss-
OF the tropics, especially those of Java
but | think ! ought to qualify my
words. Since reVelin~ in mangosteeus
rambutans etc. [ have eaten an ap-
pie. and am convinced that no tropical
fruit can compare With it; and when
TO the apple are added the peach the
pear, the plum and the cherry and to
these fruits of the tree are added the
grape the Wberry the raspberry
and the blackberry not to speak Of
the pineapples oranges and bananas
Of our Southern States who will say
that the temperate zone is not as high
y favored as the warmer lands?
We not only nave an abundance Of
both the neccssaries and the luxuries
the tropics. Animals, reptiles and in
sccts run riot here. The tiger is
"man-cating," the serpents are large
and poisonous and the insects are ON
nipresent We sometimes complain
at home Of the mosquito which seems
to be a universal pest and is found
everywhere From Grecnland'S icy
mountains to India's coral strands.
but here its activity is perennial! and
its appetite reaches its maximum. In
all the hotels the beds are protected
bv mosquito bars for without them
sleep would be impossible. The ant IS
even more annoying than the mos
quito for while the former does most
Of its prowling at night, the latter
''impFoEeS each shining hour"
If the natives play the sluggard,
it is because they refuse to profit by
the example of industry which the an
ever presents to them. 1t is not un-
common Tor the legs of dining tables
and cupDoards to bet set III bowls Of
water rs q protection from these in
sects, and where this precautiOn is not
taken the diner divides his time be
tween eating and fighting ants. The
white ant has a literary turn of mind
and pays especial attention To books.
We have heard of several libraries be-
ing rayaged by this insect the leaves
being SO perforated that the books
looked like honeycombs. IN his
search for knowledge the ant has the
of the cockroach. which
grows here to the length Of two or
three inches. can fly and stains wha,
it cannot deVour. The house lizard is
always in evidence. one evening we
counted 24 of these interesting little
reptiles in sight 1T one time on Our
porch At night large lizards in the
trees call hoarsely To each other. and
whom it rains the air is vocal with
the croakinG of froSs and the singing
Of insects.
In the botanical garden ut Randy
we saw hundreds Of flying foxes which
look like buZZards. Some OF these
foxes measure four feet from tip to
tip.
] find that there is a disease in these
ATTITUDES called tropical frenzy-an
uncomfortable anger which sometimes
manifeStS itself when European off
ciaIs deal With native subjects This
has been seriously discussed in mcdi-
cal meetings. and it has been argued
that acts of violence on the part Of
officials should be excused on this
ground. The subject has been scien-
tificaIly considered at meeting Of
German physicians. This disease seems
to be confined to Europeans the ma
tives being immune from it-5t Least,
1t 1S not considered a good defense
when urged by q native as an excuse
for doing Violence to an European.
My experience with the money
changers Of the Orient has made the
money changers If America seem vir-
tuouS hy comparison This is the
WGrst place for shaving. for discounts.
for premiums for miSSionS and
for exchange that ! have visited In
travelling one has frequently to change
money from the currency Of ono Ila
lon 10 that Of another and as there
seems IL be no fixed rate he never
knows what he is going to realize. (By