The Meeker herald. [volume] (Meeker, Colo.) 1885-current, 1912-02-17

The Joyous Winter day,
Let others fear, to me more dear
Than ALI the pride Of May"
= Robert Burns.
The dread Of winter so often ex-
pressed by the thOughtless ID sadly
Indicative OF q lack Of sense of pro-
portion and philosophical insight.
The objurgatiOns OF this season usual
ly come from the aged, the sick or
the thin-skinned who long for the
land Of flowers and continuous sum
shine. The robust. however, and
full-blooded element OF humanity
find much In winter that IL highly
enjoyable. Most Of our pleasures
come by contrast. It Is only after
hard work that vacation Is fully
appreciated; only those weary from
labor know what 1t is to obtain sound
slumber. perpetual summer" In
wolves the idea Of monotOny which OF
itself ia potent check to enjoyment,
and Tom Moore long since informed
US that ''spring would be but gloomy
weather II we had nothing else but
spring." 1t Is only In the latitudes
Of four seasons that one Is able to de-
rive that supreme pleasure which
comes from cooperation and con-
trast. TIE millions Of farmers Of the
Northern and Western States will
soon be witnessing that greatest Of
all the worlds miracles known a.
the vernal awakening The gradual
unfolding Of the spring, however.
which ID made possible only by the
preceding closed season and all the
delights connected with this remark
isbls renaissance. ara wholly unknown
% thu iphAbitants d tropical ettmss.
Even roses ioss their attraction "
they are always in sight, and It e >
natural Law that We become indiffer.
snt to all thinRs which are to be OBJ
tanned without effort. The finest
fruits, II always at hand, pail upon
the taste and the satiated appetite
loathes even the honeycomb.
When farmer steps to his door In
midwinter he beholds . scene un-
eqlaled for beauty and grandeur
The mantle OF snow, stretching ma f"r
~ the eye can reach; the icicles glist-
ening through the branches Of tn.
trees, and the frost work OF thu fl. III
and meadows far surpass the utmo-,
achievement OF art. Around bin In
. landscape presenting such glories
~ do not appear In the finest frescoes
Of Phidias or the most delicate trac-
cry OF Michael Angelo. But winter
has n valu. aside from It's manifold
beauties. The cold wave 80 much
abhorred by the timorons element, Is
really the saving grace Of the world.
1t means energy, vigor. activity and
all those qualities which are essen
tinl to continuous achievement.
Frost is preventative; heat ia de-
structive. Cold saves from decay;
heat hastens putrrfaction. There ia
no cold storage like that prepared by
nature in the arctics where animals
have been found M perfect as when
In life after n slumber OF hundreds Of
thousands OF years.
No great deeds are ever done by in
habitants Of the torrid zone. They
suffer with lassituda, are sleepy, lazy
and listless. All the conquering ma
lions Of the world, from the earliest
times, have been found in the tenn
perate and sub-arctic zones. They
emigrate along isothermal lines, In
stinctively seeking the latitudes
which correspond to their original
abodes. They carry with them the
vigor derivable only from frosty at
nn>phrre aud the OZONE found only
In wintry air. These are the races
who do things, and history will show
that all the great physical accom-
plish,nents have been due to the
men and women who know what 1t Is
to sniff inspiration from a tempera.
ture often below zero. Looking at
the matter from the agriculture
standpoint, our northern winters are
Of inestimable benefit In the category
usually classed ~ practical. The
slumber It enforces upon the earth
means much to the soil In the way of
pulverixation and enrichment. The
possibilities OF deep and
extensive SHOWS, 20 we'll understood
by the chemical scientist, are cOnfln-
ed to the temperate xoDes- These
are the agencies which have much
to do with producing that wonderful
for which have made our
central valleys 20 famons. Tho poets
have delighted to dwell on the