The Washington herald., 1907-09-01
NATURE-FAKING IS ANCIENT
Aristotle Wrestled with It and So
Did Aesop.
Alcmneon Told of Goats that
Old-time Snake Stories.

Nothing new about this nature-fakng
business" said the college student. with
the ink scarcely dry on his diploma. says
the New York Mail About 2.2OO years
ago they were at II. and the man who
could tell the biggest nature yarn had
the biggest demand for his writings.
Longer than 200 years ago there was
one Alcmaeon. who said that goats
breathed through their ears. Then came
along Aristotle and accused this Alcmaeon
of nature falsehoods, for old Aristotle
knew a thing or two about nature HIM
self, and used 10 employ the armies OF
his friends. Philip and Alexander the
Great, TO procure specimens for him. one
OF the bits Of nature wisdom which Aris-
totle gave to the world was. Man is the
only animal that has ears and cannot
move them"
About 400 years after Aristotle tried
to clear up Alcmae0n's blunders Pliny
appeared on the scene and muddied
things all mp again with some most won
derful nature yarns II a bramble frog
he wrote, is buried in a new earthen
vessel in the middle Of a cornfeld, there
will be no storm to cause injury And
he had the nerve 10 put up this story:
In the city OF IasHs there was another
boy, also Hermias by name, who, in Ike
manner. used to traverse the sea on a
d0lpEin's back, but on one occasion. a
storm suddenly arising. he lost his life
and was brought back dead, upon which
the dolphin. who thus admitted that he
had been the cause OF his death, would
not return 10 sea, but lay down upon the
dry land and there expired In another
tale he says: Some persons recommend
that three crabs should be burned alive
among the trees on which the vines are
trained to prevent these from being at
tackled by cold blight
"Plinys yarns about human anatomy
were something wonderful lie tells Of
race Of savage men whose feet are
turned backward and OF a race known
as MonocoH who have only one leg. but
are able to leap with surprising agility
The same people are also called the
Sciapodae, because they are In the habit
of lying on their backs during the ex-
IRENE heat and protecting themselves from
the sun by the shade Of their feet These
people dwell not far from the Troglodytae,
10 the west Of whom again there are a
tribe who are without necEs and have
their eyes IN their shoulders Pliny was
paid enormous sums FOR his writings. az
all good nature-fakers are
Sixteen hundred years later there is a
most beautiful specimen Of a nature-fake.
the perpetratOr being the learned and
illustri0us Jesuit physician and naturalist
Athanasius KirCher. Take some snakes,
he writes. of whatever kind you want
roast them and cut them into small pieces
and sow these pieces in an oleaginous
soil; then. from day to day. sprinkle them
lightly with water from a watering pot.
taking care that the ground be exposed
10 the spring sun. and In eight days you
viii see the earth strewn with little
worms, which, being nouTished with milk,
diluted with water, VIII gradually in
crease in size till they take the form of
perfect serpentsJ 1t was some time be-
fore any one tried to raise snakes Ey this
method, but finally an Italian. Redi. tried
IT, and, although he raised no perfect SER
pents, he raised so many flies that he be-
gan to study them, and gave to the world
q valuable book on insects"