The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1908-02-01
MIDwINTER MEDITATION.
1.-THE sweeping blast. the sky o'ercast,"
The Joyous winter day,
Let others fear, to me more dear
Than all the pride of May.
oAo PAAuo Va N0oS' u.xs A..

'sThe sweeping blast. the sky o'ercast,"
The joyous winter day,
Let others fear, to me more dear
Than all the pride of May.
The dread of winter so often ex-
pressed by the thoughtless is sadly
indicative of lack ofsense of proper
ton and philosophical insight. The
obiurgations of this season usually
come from the aged, the sick or the
thin skinned, who long for the land
of flowers and continuous sunshine.
The robust, however, and full blooded
element of humanity find much in
winter that is highly enjoyable. Most
of our pleasures come by contrast.
1t is only after hard work that va
cation is fully appreciated only those
weary from labor know what it is to
obtain sound slumber. Perpetual
summer" involves the idea of monot-
ony which of itself is potent check
to enjoyment, and Tom Moore long
since informed us that "spring would
be but gloomy weather if we had no.
thing else but spring" It is only in
the ATTITUDES of four seasons that one
is able to derive that supreme pleasure
which comes from cooperation and
contrast. The millions of farmers of
the Northern States will soon be wit
Messing that greatest ofall the worlds
miracles known as the vernal awak-
ening. The gradual unfolding of the
spring, however, which is made pos
sible only by the preceding closed sea-
son and all the delights connected
with this remarkable renascence,
are wholly unknown to the inhabi-
tants of tropical climes. Even roses
lose their attraction ifthey are always
in sight, and it is natural law that
we become Indifferent to all things
which are to be obtained without eff
fort. The finest fruits, if always at
hand, pail upon the taste and the sa-
tiated appetite ioathes even the hon
eycomb.
When farmer steps to his door in
midwinter he beholds scene une-
qualed for beauty and grandeur. The
mantle of snow, stretching as far as
theeye can reach; the icicles glisten-
ing through the branches ofthe trees,
and the frost work of the fields and
meadows far surpass the utmost
achievement of art. Around him is
landscape presenting such glories
as do not appear in the finest frescoes
of Phidias or the most delicate tracery
of Michael Angelo. But winter has
value aside from its manifold beau-
ties. The cold wave so much abhor-
red by the timorous element is really
the saving grace of the world. 1t
means energy, vigor, activity and all
those qualities which are essential to
continuous achievment. Frost is pre-
servative; heat is destructive. Cold
saves from decay; heat hastens pu-
trefaction. There is no cold storage
like that prepared by nature in the
1rctics where animals have been found
as perfect as when in life after slum-
Der of hundreds of thousands ofyears.
No great deeds are ever done by
inhabitants of the torrid zone. They
suffer with lassitude, are sleepy, lazy
and listless. All the conquering ma
tions of the world, from the earliest
times, have been found in the temper.
ate and sub-arctic zones. They emil
CRATE along isothermal lines, instinc-
lively seeking the latitudes which cor
respond to their original abodes. They
carry with them the vigor derivable
only from frosty atmosphere and the
ozone found only in wintry air.
These are the races who do things,
and history will show that all the
great physical accomplishments have
been due to the men and women who
know what it is to sniff inspiration
from temperature often below zero.
Looking at the matter from the agri-
cultural standpoint, our northern win
ters are of inestimable benefit in the
category usually classed as practical.
The slumber which they enforce upon
the earth means much to the soil i'll
the way of pulverization and enrich
ment. The fertilization possibilities
of deep and extensive SHOWS, SO we'll
understood by the chemical scientist,
are confined to the temperate zones.
These are the agencies which have
much to do with producing that won
derful capacity for crops which have
made our central valleys so famous.
The poets have delighted to dwell on
the charms of -ceasing summer,
and by their ultra enthusiasm have
been the cause of much false senti-
ment. While the budding flowers,
the magnolia, the palm trees and the
circling vines make fine figures for
the esthetic Imagination. the really
wise know that it is Old Winter which
carries in its frosted bosom the real
blessings of a genuine civilization.
1t is the philosopher, rather than the
poet, upon whom we must depend for
the reasons which give pre-eminence
in the affairs of men to that portion
of the earth's surface which is annual
ly visited by the boreal blasts. Others
may rush off to Palm Beach and seek
the places of the pineapple and bana-
ma. But as for us, we prefer to keep
In touch with the regious of the oak
and the hickory rather than with the
enervating conditions which 6istin-
guish the sections beyond the gulf
| Ame,fcan Fa,met.
A COLONEL on tour of inspection,
unexpectedly entered the drill room,
when he came across couple of SOL
a aloud