Year: 1871

There is quite as much inquiry about the
origin of life among the unlcarned rs a
mong philosophers. The farmer who secs
a crop Of pine succeeding a growth Of hard
wood, when neither he nor his fathers ever
saw i pine tree growing in the locality,
very naturally thinks of the possibilities
of spontaneous generation, and he plows
up sod that had not been disturbed for
generation, and which, to his certain
knowledge, has produced nothing but
grass, and the countless plants Of charlock,
and other weeds spring up to annoy him.
What does it mean? If they spring from
seed, where could the seed spring from :?
IL e finds patch OF Canada thistles in the
midst of his meadow, with no other plant
of the kind within miles of his farm. a
red raspberry springs up in the neglected
brush row beside his fence, while there is
not a red raspberry in the town, and no
body ever heard of one. Similar eases are
constantly occurring, and he grows sllep-
teal about every plant producing seed af-
ter its kind" and the necessity of having
germs in all cases, for the production of
vegetable life He hears of learned men
who believe in spontaneous generation,
and reads Of experiments which almost
seem to prove it. His few facts as to the
production of plants under unusual condi-
tions, grow in importance as he reflects up
on them. Spontaneous generation thus far
is merely hypothesis. Nobody needs to
pr owe it more than Professor Huxley, to
sustain his views of the origin Of life. He
thinks it is unwise fer philosopher in the
present state of science to admit that such
a Thing is impossible; and yet, after a full
review of all the experiments that have
been made hy the most competent men
who wanted to prove it, he is compelled to
concede that nothing of the kind has been
proven; but that on the contrary, every
experiment looks the other way. "An in
fusion of hay left open TO the air, will in a
short time be swarming with infusoria. If
it is boiled, however, and sealed from the
air, or If Il plug of cotton strains the air, or
if even the air which comes in contact with
it has TO pass through vent tube from be-
low upward, the infusion will produce no
life; while the free admission of air will
produce life in the same liquid. Expert
ments have been tried in all possible ways,
and seem to show to any reasonable mind
that certain spores or germs pcrvade the
atmosphere, which are essential to the de-


velopment Of this kind of life" This is
a concise statement of the grand results Of
all the efforts of scientific men to disturb
the faith of the multitude in the common
ly received opinions about the origin Of
g.. 4.
cited good deal of alarm, hut thus far
nothing alarming has been detected. Ev
cry plant still produces seed after its kind,
and a new generation of plants grows from
these seeds, and we think it will be some
what later in this wonderful nineteenth
century, when any one Will show so much
faith in spontaneous generation, as to
plow his fields and look for a harvest with
out the ordinary seedsowiug.


How, then, are we to account for the pro-
duction of plants, without visible, proven
seed-sowing? The provisions of nature
for the distribution of seeds, and for their
preservation in the soil, are numerous, and
exceedingly ingenious. Some seed vessels
are armed with burrs and spnes, so that
they adhere to the wool and hair of ami
mails, and may be transported by the ami


mails while living, or to distant climes in
their pelts after death. Some are bound
up in ths core of edible fruits, and are car
ried in the stomachs of animals to distant
regions. Other seeds have wings attached
to them, and are carried by the winds very
far from their birthplace. The nuts Of the
larger trees are stored by animals for win
ter use, and the forgotten horde springs to
life in a new locality as readily as if il had
been purposely planted. Running water
also is an agency for the distribution of
seeds. The cottonwood of the upper Mis-
souri, and Mississippi ia sown for thous-
ands of miles along the banks below.


Whether we accept the tradition of mum
my wheat or not, there can be no doubt
that seeds are preserved very long time
under favorable conditions. In the soil
they seem to preserve their vitality for an
indefinite term, waiting for the needed
heat, light, and atmospheric action TO spring
into life. When the oak or chestnut is cut
off, II lets the sun fall upon soil that has