Part 4

The South American wild Horses, called “the wild Horse of the Pampas,” were all descended from a few domesticated Horses left in the town of Buenos Ayres, which was abandoned some time after the year 1535. These Horses are called cimarrones. They roam in immense herds and are considered a nuisance, as they consume good pasturage and also lead away the domestic Horses. The mustangs of Paraguay, although domestic Horses, vary little from the conditions of the wild Horses of the pampas, as they are much neglected, live out of doors all the year around and really degenerate for want of care.

A. von Humboldt gives an interesting description of the life of the Horse in the Llanos, the great grassy plains lying further to the north. When the never-clouded sun turns the grass to dust, the Horses and cattle roam about, pressed by hunger and thirst, and by inflating their nostrils endeavor to discover by the damper air currents localities where the water has not yet evaporated.

The Mules, using more intelligence, beat with their fore-feet the prickly exterior of the melon cactus and quench their thirst with the watery pulp.

When finally the rainy season begins, the Horses still meet with danger and trouble, as the swelling rivers surround their grazing places and the colts are frequently drowned. Jaguars often lurk in the tall grass and crocodiles are a constant menace. Even among the fish there are dangerous enemies. The electric eels “can kill the largest animals by means of their powerful discharges if their efforts are concentrated upon certain portions of the body.”

The Horses are often their own enemies. Becoming frantic with terror, in a frenzy of fright, they destroy themselves by dashing against rocks or rushing over precipices.

There is much that is interesting in regard to the half-wild Horses of North America. These are all descendants of imported varieties, and while owned by the various ranchmen, they have the freedom of the range or prairie. Ofter they are seen by their owners only at the annual “round-up,” when they are driven into the “corrals” in order that the colts may be marked with the brand of the owner.

One can spend much time studying the instructive facts in regard to the interesting wild and half-wild Horses of the globe, and still feel that much remains unlearned. Yet all will admit that the most beautiful and perfect types of Horses are those bred under the direct supervision of man.

Of those which attain the greatest speed, most prominent are the English thoroughbred, the American race horse, and the Trakehnen Horse, the finest Horse of German breed.

These are all the result of many years of careful selection, each finding among its ancestors the noted Arab steeds, “praised as the noblest animal of creation by the naturalist, the expert and the poet.” The Horses of the Levant and the Barbary have also aided to render the English thoroughbred the greatest race horse of the old world. The American trotters have not been behind, for as far back as 1889 the maximum recorded pace was one mile in two minutes and three and three-fourths seconds.

For the practical uses of life there seem to be as many breeds of Horses as are necessary to meet the varying requirements of an industrial civilization. We find all kinds and sizes, from the heavy and powerful Percheron or Clydesdale cart Horse, standing sometimes over six feet in height, to the smallest Shetland pony which may be even less than three feet at the withers, and we find Horses of various colors, of various lengths of mane and tail, and of varying degrees of intelligence.

While all Horses are not well treated, yet no animal is so respected and loved by man and no other animal has become so close a companion. While many nations as a whole have loved and cherished their Horses, the Arab steeds have been most appreciated and have entered closest into the daily life and thought of their masters. Only when it has attained its seventh year do they consider the education of the Horse complete and meanwhile it has been the constant companion and friend of its master.

In the extravagant and poetical language of the East, one Arab thus speaks of his beloved Horse: “Do not tell me that this animal is my horse, say that he is my son. It runs more quickly than the wind of a storm, more swiftly than the glance that sweeps the plains. It is pure as gold. Its eye is clear and so keen that it sees a hair in the dark. It overtakes the gazelle in its course. To the eagle it says: I hurry on like you. When it hears the shouts of girls it neighs with joy, and the whistling of bullets rejoices its heart. From the hands of women it begs for alms; the enemy it beats in the face with its hoofs. When it can run to its heart’s desire, it weeps tears. It recks not whether the sky be clear or the blasts of the desert obscure the light of the sun with dust; for it is a noble steed and despises the rage of the storm. There is no other in this world that could vie with it. Swift as a swallow, it courses on; so light is its weight that it could dance on the breast of your beloved and not annoy her. It understands all like a son of Adam, and all it lacks is speech.”

John Ainslie.

A MELODY.

Afar and near, afar and wide, The murm’ring chant of a running stream, Across the rocks to the brimming tide Of the shining sea, its waters gleam.

Low in the beeches, hid from sight, A robin is singing a song so sweet, Its rapturous melody seems a flight Of song from Heaven’s own azure deep.

O fateful river, now gleaming, now dark, Like my checkered life of shadow and sun, But always through it the song of my heart Like the robin’s vesper, to God is sung.

But ever the river rolls along With manifold crews of human souls; And ever, the robin’s clear, sweet song Is heard afar as the river rolls. —Amanda M. E. Booth.

THE VERBENAS.

“Hallowed be thou, Vervain, As thou growest on the ground, For in the Mount of Calvary There thou wast first found.”

The name Verbena in the language of flowers signifies enchantment. It is an ancient Latin name for a common European Vervain. As a classic name, however, the name Verbena was applied to any branch that was used in the celebration of religious rites. Though the Vervain of our illustration belongs to this genus it is not the same plant that was held in high esteem and as a sacred herb by the Greeks and Romans, yet it is generally believed that the “herba sacra” of these ancient peoples was a Vervain. And even to-day the name “Herb of Grace” is sometimes applied to the common wayside flower which we illustrate.

Virgil and other classic poets speak of the Verbena as used in altar decorations and as a garland for beasts led to the sacrificial pyre. Virgil, in his Eclogues, refers to it as a charm by which to recover lost love. Plinius states that no plant has been more honored than the Verbena among the Romans. Mr. Knight, in his biography of Shakespeare, says: “Some of the children said that a horseshoe over the door, and Vervain and dill, would preserve them, as they had been told, from the devices of sorcery.”

The genus Verbena includes about one hundred and ten species, often of a weedy character. They are chiefly American. In fact, in 1836, Loudon spoke of the Verbenas as “a genus of weedy plants.” At the present time this statement is not true of many species, for under the florist’s influence they have been brought to a high degree of perfection and they are well thought of as ornamental plants. Even in Loudon’s time there grew on the prairies of South America several species of great beauty which he would not have classed as weeds had he been familiar with them.

The Blue Vervain is one of the weedy members of the genus. It is common along our waysides and with its erect form and long spikes of blue flowers would be quite attractive could the flowers all mature at the same time. It has frequently been placed under cultivation, but has but little value as a garden flower. But in the waste grounds of roadsides it is a pleasing sight even if its leaves are gray with dust.

This plant is sometimes called Simpler’s Joy. It was given this name because in years gone by it was a popular herb with the “simplers,” or gatherers of medicinal plants.

THE BLUE SPRING DAISY. (_Erigeron pulchellus._)

Daisy-like and modest, is not the name the Blue Spring Daisy much more appropriate for this hardy little plant than Robin’s or Poor Robin’s Plantain, by which it is often known? What has it to do with the robin? To be sure it sends forth its stems and blossoms in April when the birds are happiest, yet the robins appear much earlier. Then, too, the robins are not poor, for they are the best cared for among birds. Its flowers are often of a bluish cast, though they may be violet or even nearly white; they appear in the spring and are daisy-like.

The botanist knows this plant of the hills and banks as one of the species of the genus Erigeron. This name is indicative of one of its characteristics. It is from two Greek words meaning spring and old man. Old man in the springs or early old is an appropriate name, for the young plants are quite hoary and this hairiness remains throughout its life.

The Blue Spring Daisy is not alone, for it has about one hundred and thirty sister species widely distributed throughout the world, but they are more abundant in the Americas, nearly seventy of these occurring in North America.

This unassuming plant frequently grows in large patches, yet does not crowd its fellows; often it grows in localities which the more delicate and brilliant of the early flowers are wont to shun. This may have been the theme which inspired these lines of the poet:

I love the lowly children of the earth! I linger ’mid their artless ways To feel their kinship and their fragile worth, And catch their speechless praise.

Though the species of Erigeron are coarse growing and unpretentious plants, they lend themselves readily to garden cultivation. They are easily propagated and make good borders, for they are much more beautiful when massed than when allowed to develop as single plants. The forms vary greatly in color—orange, creamy, white, rose, violet, purple and bluish illustrate the range of color. The yellow centers heighten the color effect.

The flowers resemble those of the asters and the Blue Spring Daisy might be mistaken for an Aster. But few of the Asters, however, blossom earlier than the month of August and none before July, and the Spring Daisy does not blossom, as a rule, later than in June.

Miss Lounsberry says: “What strange idea filled the pretty head of Robin’s Plantain when it decked itself out to look like an Aster we do not know, but its deception is very transparent and we readily discover that it is not one of the Asters.” May we not look upon it as the harbinger of the true Astors?

THE LITTLE FEATHERED BOYS AND GIRLS.

In fragrant fields where graze the herds And all along the old highway, The boys and girls among the birds Call each to each the livelong day.

Bob White, Bob White, pipes out the quail From old fence posts and mossy stones, In meadows where the ripened grain In golden stacks awaits the flail.

A little tuft of feathers grey That snaps its bill in eager glee When e’er a fly is caught on wing, Full forty times calls out Phoebe.

When fragrant dews fall from the sky— And sinks the sun behind the hill, From dark’ning woods rings out the cry, O Whip poor Will—O Whip poor Will. —Blandina D. Miller.

THE COTTON PLANT. (_Gossypium barbadense_, L.)

Theise men ben the beste worchers of Gold, Sylver, Cottoun, Sylk and of all such things of any other, that be in the World.

—Mandeville, Travels, p. 212.

The cotton plant is undoubtedly one of the most useful plants in the entire vegetable kingdom. As with other exceedingly useful, though common things, we are so accustomed to the blessings we owe to this plant that we almost entirely lose sight of its identity and very existence.

There are a number of cotton yielding plants which belong to the genus Gossypium of the Mallow family (Malvaceæ), the same family to which the Hibiscus and garden mallows belong. The most important species are G. barbadense, which yields the noted Sea Island cotton, and G. herbaceum. Both are extensively cultivated in the United States, the latter species more than the former. Other more or less cultivated species are G. arboreum, G. religiosum and G. punctatum. The cottons are handsome plants with large, showy yellow or purple flowers. They vary from comparatively small and herbaceous to shrubby or even approaching the dimensions of trees. The seeds are borne in a three to five lobed capsule, which ruptures at maturity, thus allowing the snow-white cotton head to appear. The outer surface of the seeds is covered with slender fibers, each fiber being simply a single, greatly elongated epidermal cell. The individual fiber is flattened, twisted upon its axis, flexuous, from one to two or three inches in length. These fibers constitute the cotton of the market, which finds so many important uses in human economy. Of course primarily nature intended these fibers for the special use of the plant itself; being a means of aiding in the distribution of the seeds, and no doubt also serving as a protection against being eaten by animals, as the dense, more or less intertwined growth of insipid, tenacious fibers constitute anything but a tempting morsel. Man, by his ingenuity and skill, has been enabled to utilize this product of nature in his own behalf.

The commercial and technical uses of cotton date back to very remote antiquity. Cotton fabrics were in use in China as early as 2300 B. C. At the discovery of America, beautiful cotton fabrics were found in Brazil, Peru, Mexico and the West Indies. According to the eminent Greek historian and traveler, Herodotus, cotton clothing was quite universally worn 484 B. C. The finest cloth came from the valleys of the Ganges, and not until the close of the campaigns of Alexander the Great did the manufacture of cotton cloth become a distinctive industry in Greece. It appears that during the time of Pharaoh cotton was yet a rare article since it is recorded that this eminent ruler presented Joseph with a costly coat made of this material, as a memento of high esteem. It is also a notable fact that the Egyptian mummies are swathed in linen instead of cotton cloth. No cotton seeds have ever been found in the ancient tombs of Egypt, nor is the plant represented upon the ancient mural paintings of that country.

In the eastern continent India was no doubt the principal cotton growing country; even China obtained its principal supply from that source. Not until about the ninth century of our era was cotton extensively cultivated in China. About the second century Arabian merchants brought cotton from India and began to cultivate it in the vicinity of the Red Sea, and from thence it gradually found its way into Spain about the sixteenth century, and from Spain into Italy and Greece.

No one knows exactly when cotton began to be used and cultivated in the western continent; we know that it must have been used a long time before the discovery of America by Columbus, for reasons already given. Mexican and South American mummy cloth is found to consist largely of cotton.

Description of Plate.—A, B, branch of cotton plant; 1, sepal; 2, flowering bud; 3, petal; 4, 5, stamen; 6, pollen grain; 7, pistil; 8, 8a, 9, flower; 10, 11, 12, immature fruit; 13, ripe fruit; 14, 15, seed.

Cotton is now extensively cultivated in the warmer countries of both hemi-spheres—in the southern United States since the sixteenth century. The cotton plant is in reality a perennial, becoming quite shrubby with age, but in cultivation it is treated as an annual, being grown from seeds planted each spring. Three or four seeds are planted to each hill, the hills being about three feet apart. After sprouting the weaker individuals are removed, and at the end of three or four months the remaining carefully cultivated plants are pruned to make them more spreading and give a better yield of cotton. The plants grow quite rapidly, the cotton maturing about five months after planting. With the exception of the pruning, the planting and cultivation of cotton in the southern states is not unlike the planting and cultivation of corn in the middle states.

The cotton is picked by hand into bags or baskets, spread out and dried, and finally carted to the cotton gin, a machine invented by Eli Whitney (1793), which separates the fibers from the seeds. The cotton is now pressed into bales, weighing from 400 to 500 pounds, for shipment. The cotton fiber is subjected to further processes of cleaning, carding, etc., before it is ready to be manufactured into cloth fabrics, thread, etc.

Nearly all parts of the cotton plant find a use. After the cotton is picked, the stalks are burnt upon the fields or “plowed under” to serve as a fertilizer for the soil, which would otherwise become impoverished very rapidly. The bark of the root is collected and employed medicinally, its medicinal properties being highly lauded by the negroes of the South. The seeds yield the cottonseed oil, which is not unlike olive oil. This oil, however, varies in purity, the purest being used as an adulterant of olive oil or as a substitute for this oil. The less pure grades are used for burning, but more in the preparation of woollen cloth and morocco leather, also as a lubricant for machinery. It is also used as a substitute for almond oil and olive oil in many pharmaceutical preparations and in the manufacture of soap. The seeds from which the oil has been expressed constitute the cottonseed cake, used as a nutritious cattle fodder. In the South a tea made from the seeds is considered a useful remedy in the treatment of malaria and dysentery. A tea made from the leaves is much used medicinally in Jamaica and other islands of the West Indies.

It is, however, the fiber, or cotton, which is the important part of the plant. It would be a tedious and difficult task to describe, or even enumerate, all of the uses to which it is put. It is used as wadding in clothing and quilts. It is used by the bacteriologist in the filtration of air; air passed through a layer of cotton is germ free. It is also used in the filtration of liquids. Purified and variously prepared, cotton is almost indispensable in surgery. It forms an excellent protective covering for wounds, ulcers, burns and scalds. It absorbs secretions and arrests hemorrhages. It is used in the preparation of gun cotton (pyroxylin) nitro-cellulose, collodion and flexible collodion. Gun cotton is prepared by treating cotton with strong nitric acid and is used in gunnery, blasting and in photography. Collodion (collodium) and flexible collodion are used in surgery, in the treatment of ulcers, skin diseases, to arrest hemorrhages, applied to inflamed areas, etc.

The most important part of the entire plant is the fiber or cotton as it is used in the manufacture of cloth. The modern method of cotton manufacture does not date back further than 1760. Prior to that time weaving and spinning were altogether domestic. At first the work was done by means of the ancient distaff and spindle, more recently the spinning wheel. By these only one thread could be produced at a time and, as may be imagined, the process was very slow. Furthermore, the yarn produced was inferior. A fairly good thread could be spun from flax, but the softness, shortness and unevenness of the cotton fiber made it difficult to produce a good uniform yarn by means of such crude apparatus. In fact, so poor was the yarn produced that in weaving it was used only for the weft (transverse thread), while linen, woolen or worsted yarn was used for the warp (longitudinal thread), in order that the cloth might have sufficient durability. During the middle of the eighteenth century the machinery for spinning was much more imperfect than the machinery for weaving. As a consequence, it became necessary to produce better spinning machines. In 1767 Hargreaves invented the “jenny” which spun eight threads at a time. In 1769 Arkwright invented the “waterframe,” or “throstle,” by means of which a much firmer yarn was produced. In 1785 Dr. Cartwright invented the “power loom,” which far surpassed any previous spinning machine. Other improvements were added from time to time, culminating in our highly perfected modern machines, which would require volumes for a complete description. We have machines with thousands of spindles. It is possible to weave a thread one thousand miles or more in length, yet weighing but one pound.

The raw cotton must be subjected to various processes before it is ready for spinning. The bales are opened and the cotton sorted, so as to insure a uniform quality. It is then passed through a scutching, willowing or cleaning machine, where all impurities and undesirable foreign particles are removed. Next it is passed through a carding machine, which straightens out the fibers and lays them parallel. It also passes through the spreading machine, roving machine and finally to the spinning machine.

The finer yarns are spun from Sea Island cotton, from which fine muslins, laces, etc., are made. This cotton has long fibers. The good qualities of short cottons are used in the manufacture of cambrics, calicoes, sheetings, shirtings, etc. Inferior grades of cotton are used for coarse yarns in the manufacture of coarse fabrics. Cotton is also mixed with wool. Yorkshire broadcloth is said to be about half cotton. From warps of cotton and wefts of wool or worsted (a variety of wool) are formed Orleans cloths, Coburgs, mousselines de laine, damasks, etc. There are also fabrics composed of silk and cotton, linen and cotton, alpaca and cotton, etc. It is used in the manufacture of cotton thread for sewing and pack thread for tying bundles, and other cordage.

Albert Schneider.

THE CLOUD.

I bring fresh showers for the thirsty flowers, From the seas and the streams; I bear light shades for the leaves when laid In their noonday dreams. From my wings are shaken the dews that waken The sweet buds everyone, When rocked to rest on their mother’s breast As she dances about in the sun, I wield the flail of the lashing hail And whiten the green plains under; And then again I dissolve it in rain And laugh as I pass in thunder. —Shelley.

INDEX. Volume XI—January, 1902, to May, 1902, inclusive.

Page.

A Animal Emotions. Alberta A. Field, 175 Antelope. The Autobiography of an. Alice Moss Joyner, 149 April (Poem). Walter Thornbury, 145 Arrow Head, The (Illustration), 182 Awakening (Poem). M. Townshend Maltby, 144