Rocky Ford enterprise., 1908-05-08

When one speaks Of Martians one
II apt to think only Of those canal
builders. those beings who. II ~r arc
To accept Mr. l.ow~ii's remarkably
~~iLsustaincd conclusions. nov irri.
gate with melting polar SHOWS and
cultivate what were once the ocean
beds Of their drying planet
Hut. after all. they cannot live there
alone: they can be but . part Of the
natural history Of Mars In Just the
same way that man Ii but n part Of
the natural history Of the earth. They
must have been evolved from other
related types: and 30 wc must ncccs.
ssriiy give our attention To the general
fauna and nora OF this other world
wc are invading In Imagination before
We can hope to deal At all reasonably
with the ruling species.
II is plausible. At any rate. TO sup
pose that on Mars also. II there Ii life.
green chiorophyi will lie at the base
Of the cdincc: In other words. that
there Will be \ vegetable kingdom.
We know enough to say now that
the vegetable forms with which We
arc familiar upon earth would not
.'do." as people say. on Mars. and we
can even Indicate in general terms In
what manner they would differ. They
would not do because. firstly. the
weight of things at the surface of
Mars is not hnlf what II would be
upon earth: and. secondly. the gen
erni atmospheric conditions are very
different. Whatever else they may
he. the Martian herbs and trees must
be adapted to these conditions.
The great danger for plant In n
dry air IL desiccation. We may expect
Marian leaves to have thick cuticles.
Just as the cactus has. Moreover.
since moisture will come TO the Mar.
tian plant. as Mr.. Lowell shows. main.
ly from below. and not rs rain from
above. coming In seasonal floods from
the melting OF the snow.cnp. the
typical Mnrtian plant will probably be
tan. and have Its lunches and clus.
ters Of spiky biue.green leaves upon
uplifting reedy stalks.
or course. there will be an Infinite
variety OF species of plants upon Mars
as upon the earth. but these will be
the general characteristics Of the
vegetation.
Now, this conception Of the Marian
vegetation as mainly OF big. slender.
stalky, lax.textured, flood.fed plants.
with great shocks Of fleshy. needle
shaped or formless leaves above. and
no doubt with as various a display OF
flowers and fruits rs our earthly
fora. prepares the ground for the
consideration OF the Martian animals.
Everyone nowadays knows how
closely related is the structure of
every animal to the food 1t consumes.
Different food. different animals. has
almost automatic value: and the very
peculiar nature OF the Martian florn
is in itself sufficient to dispel the idea
Of our meeting beasts with any close
analogy to terrestrial species. We
shall find no flies nor sparrows, nor
dogs nor cats on Mars.
Still, there is plenty Of justification
II an artist were to draw a sort Of
butterfly or moth f1uttering about, or
ant.like creatures scampering up and
down the stems of Marian forest
Jungle. Many of them, perhaps. will
have sharp proboscides to pierce the
tough cuticle Of the plants.
But-and here is a curious differ
ence-there are perhaps no fish or
fshlike creatures on Mars at all. In
the long Martian winter all the wa
ter seems to drift to the poles and
freeze there as now, or freeze as ice
along the watercourses; there are
only.food lakes and water-canals in
spring and summer. And SO forms OF
life that trusted to gills. or any meth.
cd of underwater breathing, must
have been exterminated- upon Mars
ages ago.
The Martian air is thinner and drier
than ours, and we conclude, therefore,
that there is still more need than on
earth for well.protected, capacious
lungs. 1t follows that the Martian
fauna will run to large chests.
Here, then, is one indication for a
picture Of a Martian animal-it must
be built with more lung space than
the corresponding terrestrial form.
And the same reason that will make
the vegetation laxer and fiimsier will !