<{n
■■^Ui) ",i •■■iK"'-.: ■■•-
MM li:' :■
• " ;K I'f'i^W:- ■<•.;■'■ •





;<; :jj h ■■?;>*■■<■' ••''

 
                 >
Heolth. Educotion,  » ond Welfore. Public

                 O
               >
Heolth Service   *>
Bethesdo, Md
o      x/^  «\


   US Department of
>
»  Health, Educotion.
o       x/'   ~\

  and Welfore, Public
NLM050067443 
s     N/^kiAA/     s     N/^M/^x/     5     N/^i^V     s      n/^ =
it of  °?  Health. Educotion,  f ond Welfare, Public °J   Health Service   »    Bethesdo, Md.   °J  U.S. Department of  » Health, Educotion,  °i and Welfare, Public »
sg       e3i*jas u,l|D3H     V\Hnd 'aJD)laM Pu0    'uoi|Oinp3 'u,i|oan     jo luauiijodarj-gn      pw 'opsaqiag        aaiAjas qi|oan      J||qnd a'°)|3/v\ Pu0
ig        SJiAia; qi|oaH     3M<ind 'ajDfl*AA Puo   'U0|io3np3 'i|i|oan     jo luauiiiodags n      PW 'op?3u,iag        aaiAjag qi|03H      3'|Snd '3JDfl3M Puo
■  of  "t  Heolth.  Education  » and Welfare. Public °i   Health Service   »   Bethesdo. Md.   °5 U.S.Department of  » Health, Education,  °J and Welfare, Public » 
 
           NOTES  OF  A

CATHOLIC    BIOLOGIST



                      BY

     REV.  GEORGE A  KREIDEL

    Member, American Association for the Advancement
     of Science, American Anthropological Association,
           Professor of Biological Sciences in
        St. Joseph's Seminary, Dunwoodie, N. Y.
"For by the greatness of the beauty, and of the creature, th«
 Creator of them may be seen, so as to be known thereby."

                               —(Wisdom xiii, 5)
   B. HERDER BOOK CO.

 17 South Broadway, St. Louis, Mo.
              and
68 Great Russell St., London, W. C.
              1922


            """"" ""7^^. 
  31


NIHIL OB ST AT
Sti. Ludovici, die 22. Martii,  1922.
                   F. G. Holweck,
                        Censor Librorum
        IMPRIMATUR
Sti. Ludovici, die 22. Martii, 1922.
                 ^Joannes J. Glennon,
                     Archiepiscopus
                            Sti. Ludovici
  Copyright, 1922,
        by
B. Herder Book Co.


 All rights reserved

 Printed in U.S.A.
  U\  3< 1922
        ■           v
©CI.A674357 
               DEDICATED
                   TO
        HIS GRACE THE ARCHBISHOP
                   OF
               NEW YORK
THE MOST REV. PATRICK J. HAYES, D.D. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY
 Aristotle—De Partibus AnimaUum, Clarendon Press, New
       York; Historia AnimaUum, Clarendon Press, New
       York.
 Bach-Borgas—Studien und  Lesefriichte aus dem Buche
       der Natur, J. P. Bachem, Cologne.
 Cambridge Natural History Series, Macmillan &  Com-
       pany, New York.
 Chamberlin and Salisbury—Geology, Henry Holt & Com-
       pany, New York.
 Cleland, Herdman  F., Ph. D.—Geology, American Book
       Company, New  York.
 Comstock, John  H.—Manual  for  the Study of Insects,
       Comstock Publishing Company, Ithaca, New York.
 Curtis, Carlton C,  Ph. D.—Nature and Development of
       Plants,  Henry Holt &  Co., New York.
 Dana,  James D.—Manual of  Geology,  American  Book
       Co., New York.
 Davenport,  C. B. and G. C.—Introduction to Biology,
       Macmillan & Company, New York.
 Driesch, Hans, Ph. D.—Science and Philosophy of Or-
       ganisms, A. & C. Black,  London.
 Eimer, Theodore, G. H.—Organic Evolution, Macmillan
       & Co., New York.
Encyclopedia Britannica.
Fabre, J. H.—The Life and Love of the Insect, Macmillan
       & Co., New  York.
Fabre,  J. H.—Social Life in the Insect  World, Century
       Company.
Fabre,  J. H.—The  Life of the Spider, Dodd, Mead and
       Co., New  York. 
BIBLIOGRAPHY
 Folsom, Justus W., Sc. D.—Entomology, P. Blackiston's
       Son, Philadelphia, Penna.
 Gamble, F. W., Sc. D.—Animal Life, E. P.  Dutton &
       Company, New York.
 Ganong, William F., Ph. D.—The Living Plant, Henry
       Holt & Co., New York.
 Georgia, Ada,—Manual of Weeds, Macmillan & Co., New
       York.
 Guenther, Conrad,  Ph. D.—Darwinism and the Problems
       of Life, A. Owen & Company, London.
 Hastings, James, D. D.—Dictionary of the Bible, Charles
       Scribner's Sons,  New York.
 Kerner  and Oliver—Natural History  of Plants,  Henry
       Holt & Co., New York.
 a Lapide, Cornelius—Commentary on St. Matthew's Gos-
       pel, John Grant, Edinburgh.
 Le Conte, Joseph—Elements of Geology, Appleton & Co.,
       New York.
 Lull, Richard S. Ph. D.—Organic Evolution, Macmillan
       & Co.,  New York.
 Menge, Edward, J. Ph. D.—The Beginnings of Science,
       Gorham Press, Boston.
 Metcalf, Maynard M., Ph. D.—Organic Evolution, Mac-
       millan & Co., New York.
 Morgan, Thomas H., Ph. D.—Regeneration, Macmillan
       & Co., New York.
Nussbaum-Karsten-Weber—Lehrbuch der Biologie, Wil-
       helm Engelmann, Leipzig.
Peckham, G. W. and E. P.—Wasps, Social and SoUtary,
      Archibald Constable & Company, London.
Pycraft, W. B.,  A. L.  S.—The Courtship  of  Animals,
      Hutchinson  & Co., London.
Redi,  Francesco—Esperienze tntorno  alia  Generazione
      degV Insetti.
Thomson,  J. Arthur, M. A.—Natural History Studies,
      Henry Holt  & Co., New York. 
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Walsh, James, J.  M. D. Ph. D.,—Catholic Churchmen
      and  Science, The  Dolphin Press, Philadelphia,
      Penna.
Walsh, James, J. M. D. Ph. D.,—The Popes and Science,
      Fordham University Press, New York.
Ward,  John J.—Some Nature Biographies, John  Lane
      Co.,  New York.
Wasmann, Rev. Erich S. J.—Psychology of Ants and
      Higher Animals, B. Herder, St. Louis, Mo.
Windle, Bertram, C. A., Sc. D— What is Life? B. Herder,
      St. Louis, Mo.
Weismann, Dr. August—The Evolution Theory, Edward
      Arnold, London. 
 
PREFATORY NOTE
  The topics discussed in the following pages are
not wholly unfamiliar to those who have pursued
a course of studies either at a University, College
or High School.   However, there is a larger, if
less favored class of readers, whose restricted ad-
vantages have not permitted them to be informed
on scientific subjects.   Since lack of information
could not be construed as want of interest, it was
felt that there was a place, if not indeed a need for
a work of this kind, which in an informal manner
would serve to introduce such readers to scientific
thought.  Yet, this is but part of the purpose of
the author.   He  feels that  the  facts of science
should not be allowed to stand by themselves, iso-
lated  and alone.   Ultimately  such facts  are not
self-explanatory, but rather contain in themselves
an appeal beyond.  They aid us in making the
step from Nature to the Author of Nature.  There
is excellent warrantry for believing that from the
visible things  of Creation, the mind may readily 
PREFATORY NOTE
ascend to a consideration of their Invisible Crea-
tor.  But this somewhat anticipates.
  While technical language has so far as possible
been avoided, the author trusts that there will not
be any sacrifice of scientific thoroughness.  The
recognized authorities, by no means merely chosen
for their agreement with the views of the writer,
have been consulted and a glossary of the few un-
usual terms  employed, is supplied at the end of
the book.  An acknowledgement of gratitude is
hereby made to those friends who have so kindly
aided the work by suggestions  or otherwise.  The
author wishes  to  thank in particular his  sister,
Miss B. Kreidel, for her not inconsiderable share
in the final preparation of the manuscript for pub-
lication.
                                   G. A. K.
  Dunwoodie, N. Y.,
    Nov. 18th, 1921. 
               CONTENTS
                                        PAGl
 Bibliography...........v
 Prefatory Note...........ix

                 CHAPTER I
 Introduction,  The Point of View.....1

                CHAPTER II
 God in Nature...........11

                CHAPTER III
 The Beginning and the End of the World.  .  32

                CHAPTER IV
 The Origin of Life..........55

                CHAPTER V
 Pollen and Flower.........77

                CHAPTER VI
 Distribution of Plants and  Seeds.....97

               CHAPTER VII
Wonders of Instinct.........125 
                 CONTENTS

               CHAPTER VIII            pAGH
Animal  Camouflage.........153

                CHAPTER IX
How Nature Restores.........185

                CHAPTER X
The Locust in Ancient and Modern Times.  . 209

               CHAPTER XI
Salt of the Earth..........244

Glossary.............261
Geological Time Table........263
Index.............. 266 
CHAPTER I
             INTRODUCTION

              The Point of View

All men are privileged to enter the archives of
Creation in order to view and examine the rec-
ords of the universe from the time of its incep-
tion down to the present hour.  Among the many
volumes is one that is read by comparatively few
and very often misunderstood.   It  is  the great
book of Nature, on  whose pages  have been writ-
ten countless  activities and  phenomena  which
are startling and should hold the attention  of the
reader.   However, as facts or phenomena alone
they are not likely to make a lasting impression,
because in and of themselves they  have only a
relative value.  They may satisfy a momentary
curiosity, but eventually memory will not recall
them.   What the human mind desires in addition
to the  facts is  an interpretation, a meaning  of
it all, in other words, a central idea around which
the interesting data may be grouped.  Like the
                      1 
  NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC  BIOLOGIST

bricks of a house  the phenomena of Nature are
merely individual units which go to make up some
general structure of thought.  Again, they con-
stitute "at  most  a  cold catalogue which  we must
thaw  and quicken at  the fire of the mind; we
must  introduce thought and the light of reason;
we must interpret" (Fabre).
   Various  writers have  consulted the  book of
Nature for the  purpose of  emphasizing  some
fundamental idea or theory, and in this manner
have  commanded  the attention  of the general
reader.  But  their viewpoint  does not  always
meet  with approval, and very often the serious-
minded have protested most vehemently against
the peculiar  interpretation  of  the facts.  The
mode of reasoning proves unsatisfactory because
a spurious  code  was employed in the procedure.
Such  works may be compared to the endeavors
of a great  scientist of the 17 th century, who in
all sincerity deciphered the hieroglyphs of the
Egyptian obelisks in Rome  according to the then
prevalent standards of interpretation.  Although
his rendition was  plausible and scholarly, sub-
sequent events showed that it  was far from the
truth.   It was only after the year 1799, when the
Rosetta stone was discovered, that the real signifi-
cance of the inscriptions became manifest.
                     2 
INTRODUCTION
  The writings of certain modern authors  con-
tain unwarranted  misrepresentations, and to all
appearances the element of sincerity was given
little consideration.  Erratic opinions are put be-
fore the  public and the results of scientific in-
vestigations are introduced to supply the details.
Their  ideas may  be well developed and seem
plausible to the unwary, but the right code  has
been either entirely ignored or treated with dis-
dain.  They dismiss a Rosetta stone which tells
them that  the  idea of a  Creator  must not be
omitted.   Their publications  give  ample proof
that a little knowledge is a  dangerous thing.
They raise the  cry, "Science for science's sake,"
yet they themselves employ the facts of science to
defend some strange philosophical  point of view.
But "it must not be forgotten that the facts are
not disputed—all the arguments and wranglings
come from what these facts mean,  and meanings
are  and  must  always remain in  the realm of
philosophy" (Menge).
  One of the most famous instances which might
be mentioned, is that of Ernest Haeckel the apostle
of Monism.  As a scientist, he had done some
remarkable  work  in  his  particular sphere  and
credit must be given to him  for his endeavors.
But when he crossed the barriers  and appeared
                      3 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

 before the public as a great "philosopher,"  he
 lost the esteem that men would have had for him.
 In his writings and discussions he made use of
 the facts of science to bolster up an idea, which
 has created  disturbances  of far-reaching  con-
 sequence.  When  there were no facts available
 to prove his point, his own imagination produced
 them, or else, he stooped  so  low as to forge the
 evidence.   In the preface to his work, "The  Rid-
 dle of the Universe," he wrote: "In taking leave
 of my readers, I venture to hope that through my
 sincere  and  conscientious  work. ...   I   have
 contributed a little towards the solution of the
 great enigma."  But the two traits which we  have
 purposely  italicized are  not to be found  in
 Haeckel's works.  In his book on the "History
 of Creation" he fraudulently employed illustra-
 tions with slight modifications of his own design,
 to represent similarities of three different forms
of embryonic development.  This deception and
 others  were discovered by Professors His  and
 Riitimeyer, the former remarking.  "Let others
honor Haeckel as an efficient  and reckless party-
leader; according to my judgment he has forfeited
 through his methods of fighting even the right to
 be counted as an equal in the  company of serious
 investigators."  Haeckel,  however,  did not re-
                      4 
INTRODUCTION
form his ways, as became evident in a later work:
 "The Riddle of the Universe."   He used "quota-
 tions" of an alleged English theologian, employ-
 ing the pseudonym "Saladin," who never existed.
 When called to task he omitted the "quotations"
 in the English editions but retained them in the
 German.   Despite protests he persisted in his un-
 scrupulous methods.
   What was the  reason for all this "sincere and
conscientious work"?   Haeckel together with his
 sycophants  bore  a rabid hatred towards every-
 thing  theistic or  Christian.  He  endeavored to
 prove  that no God created the world,  or even ex-
isted, and that Christianity is  only a "rich and
variegated polytheism  that dwarfs the  Olympic
 family of the Greeks."  This was the  root idea
of all his endeavors and the remarks did not ap-
pear in scientific works, but in those destined for
the general public, where he was certain that his
readers were not  in the position to estimate true
scientific values.
   The facts of science do not warrant the deduc-
tions proposed by Haeckel  and  his adherents.
Rather, when prudently considered,  these facts
lead to the idea of God, the Ruler of Heaven and
earth.   This conclusion was admitted  long  be-
fore the appearance of  many  alleged  scientific
                      5 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

 dissertations and will  be the opinion held  by
 every scientist who views  the facts judiciously.
   The impression may yet remain in the minds
 of  some that the study of  the natural  sciences
 leads logically  to irreligion.   To  substantiate
 their view they will tell us that many of the prom-
 inent scientists  defend materialistic  principles.
 It cannot be denied that many who are heralded
 as able scientists, may be so  inclined.   But they
 are  not  all classed  among  the  representative
 scientists, and experts  may  not consider them
 worthy of passing judgment on serious questions.
 These so-called able men have materialistic tend-
 encies, not on account of  the science which hap-
 pens to be their specialty, but on account of the
 background they have  adopted for their argu-
 mentation.  In  their  treatment of the subject-
 matter, they start out with the idea that there is
no Divinity, or that none  was needed, and carry
 this view to  what seems to  them a logical  con-
 clusion.  Against  them  we  would  advance
 savants whose names are recognizable as the very
 greatest in scientific endeavor  and achievement.
Such  have  never thought that their scientific
 knowledge, no matter how profound,  was incon-
 sistent with their religious faith, however simple.
 On the  list  are noticed  Hauy, the  father  of
                      6 
INTRODUCTION
scientific crystallography; Herschel and Faye, the
great astronomers; Steno, the founder of geology;
Malpighi, the founder of physiology; Vesalius,
the  founder of modern anatomy;  Harvey,  the
discoverer of blood circulation; John Muller, the
greatest  physiologist of all times;  Schwann,
the founder of the cell-theory; Cuvier, the founder
of modern comparative anatomy; Linnaeus,  the
founder of modern botany; Pasteur, the prince of
investigators and  the founder of  bacteriology;
Mendel,  the formulator  of the law of heredity;
Fabre, the  entomologist; Mme.  Curie, the dis-
coverer of radium.   The list is by no means ex-
hausted, but space forbids further details.
   A passage quoted by Professor Menge in his
book "The Beginnings of Science" deserves con-
sideration.   "The  half-educated man,  who  is
smoothly borne along the streets  in an electrical
car,  who from his room  converses with a friend
miles distant and recognizes his voice, who sends
a message to America from Australia, far in ad-
vance of the fastest train or steamboat, this man
often smiles with a sneering and superior look,
when he sees an old woman telling her beads, or
when  the  conversation  turns on  priests  and
church, and he thinks that the great discoveries
of this age  of electricity have given the death-
                      7 
  NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC  BIOLOGIST

blow to the old religious prejudices.   But by so
doing he betrays his  ignorance; he forgets  that
the great intellects to whom, in the first place,
these great modern achievements are due, have
humbly meditated on and bowed before the truths
of  Christianity.  And the clever  hands  under
whose touch the hidden forces of electricity  first
manifested  themselves,   have often  closed in
humble prayer, and in the instance of Volta and
Ampere have not disdained to hold the beads."
Francis Bacon reminds us: "A little philosophy
(i. e. science)  inclineth man's mind  to atheism,
but  depth in philosophy bringeth men's  minds
about to religion."  Hence,  Pasteur  could de-
clare:  "The more I know, the  more nearly is
my faith that  of  a Breton  peasant.  Could  I
know all, I would have the faith of a  Breton
peasant woman."
  There is no reason why  the above should not
be the case.   The true  believer has nothing to
fear from science, whereas, in  point  of  fact, it
must be said  that he cordially  welcomes every
advance in  natural  knowledge.   If  there were
any  antagonism between science and religion, the
Church would never have fostered natural science
in past  centuries;  the  famous  universities of
Europe—Aberdeen,  Glasgow,   Oxford,   Cam-
                      8 
INTRODUCTION
 bridge, Paris, Louvain, Salamanca and Bologna
 —would never have been founded by the Popes.
 The enlightened occupants of the Chair of Peter
 realized full  well  that  in  the  whole range  of
natural science, there was no single known proc-
ess, no law of Nature, which seemed counter to
 revealed religion.   The  antagonism  arose  only
when  a direct attack was made on  religion  or
when men confounded the natural and the super-
natural and began to treat as established facts
many  statements which,  on fuller consideration,
could  not be accepted.   These men overstepped
the boundaries of science and  attempted to prove
certain points in a region where their  methods
could not be applied.
   True science remotely at least deals  with the
objects of  sense,  and although  God  transcends
sense,  nevertheless, according to  St. Thomas, ob-
jects that appeal to the senses are the basis of our
demonstration of the existence of God.   Such a
demonstration has  been attempted in the follow-
ing pages.   The facts taken  from the  book  of
Nature are grouped  around  that all-important
idea, which is sought in  vain  in many works  of
our  day.   Haeckel  disdainfully  called  it  an
"irrational  superstition," but renowned and pru-
dent men have acclaimed it  the  essential  and
                      9 
NOTES  OF A CATHOLIC  BIOLOGIST
true.  The study of the natural phenomena does
not weaken our belief in an all-powerful and all-
wise God.  On the contrary it prompts us to
show Him greater honor and respect and to pro-
claim with the Psalmist: "Lord, before the moun-
tains were made or  the earth and the world were
formed;  from eternity  and to eternity thou art
God" (Ps. lxxxix, 2).
TO
 
CHAPTER II
             GOD IN NATURE

The natural  sciences were formerly considered
the exclusive field of a few specialists, who had
chosen this work as the object of their life's study.
But the progress of these sciences has been great
and the results attained so significant, that even
the  general public shows  interest and tries  to
familiarize itself with the facts.  For that reason
many works are written in popular language and
find their way into  the family library.   These
books show in what manner the results of scien-
tific investigations are being employed  for the
economic betterment of mankind, or how they sup-
port or refute  some philosophical opinion.  The
physicist has shown  how the forces of heat and
water can produce  steam, which propels the giant
ships of the sea and the iron monsters of the land.
Steam-power has  brought  about  an industrial
revolution.   Since the days of James Watt a new
civilization has arisen, quite different from any
which have previously existed in the world.  Our
                      11 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

 modern  industrial  centres would  not exist,  our
 acquisition of foreign products would not be so
 abundant and varied, if it had not been for the
 steam engine.   After many modifications and
 improvements,  it is now a mechanism of high
 efficiency.  In watching the  motion,  to-and-fro,
 of  the crosshead of  a  reciprocating  engine, or,
 in  listening to the  faint purr of  the turbine, a
 person  realizes  something  of  the  marvellous
 adaptability of steam and perhaps wonders why
 its  value was not recognized  centuries ago.
  The chemist has made known some of Nature's
 most carefully  guarded secrets.   With  the help
 of  the physicist,  he has given  to  the world  the
 internal  combustion  engine.   Daimler  invented
 the first practical light oil engine, and his original
 motor was produced in 1866.  Since  then, there
 have appeared many forms, so that now there
 are types for domestic use, types  for the motor
 car and  flying  machine, and types for the sub-
 marine and other vessels, as seen in the renowned
 Diesel engine.   Besides this invention,  chem-
 istry  has made other discoveries, like the  many
compounds used in  the industrial and medicinal
departments.   In the biological laboratories may
be found the keen and patient observer, who, with
 scalpel,  microscope,  and reagents, studies the
                      12 
GOD IN NATURE
 structural  and functional phases of organisms.
 Such observations may be of greatest importance
 in the branches of pathology, hygiene and sanita-
 tion.  The astronomer searches the heavens in
 order  to verify previous observations or to aug-
 ment the data furnished by his colleagues.   Thus,
 there  are  triumphs  and  discoveries  in  every
 branch of  scientific endeavor, and we are asked
 to marvel at the  wondrous works of Nature.
   Before giving  our complete approval to this
 last statement, it will  be  necessary  to consider
 the word "Nature."  It is likely to create con-
 fusion  because of the  different meanings men
 attach  to  it.  Caution must  be  exercised,  lest
 assent  be  given  to  some  proposition  which is
 altogether  unfounded.  The varied  use  of  the
 term  is readily  seen  in  Darwin's "Origin  of
 Species."   In the third chapter he makes mention
 of animals "in a state  of  nature"—that is, ani-
 mals not domesticated.  Then he refers to species
 "as arising in nature,"  as  if they were produced
spontaneously in  an environment outside of  the
 organic world.   In another place, he speaks  of
 animals as given to man  "by the hand of Na-
 ture."   He also states that the works of Nature
 are superior  to those of art.  Here Nature ap-
parently signifies some  power equal or superior
                      13 
  NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

 to human intelligence.  A similar expression is
 used  by Darwin's great pupil, Romanes,  when
 he explains the mystery of progressive  develop-
 ment  in Nature.   He writes:  "Nature selects the
 best individuals out  of each generation  to live."
 Unless Nature means some intelligent agent, the
 phrase  would  be   difficult  of  interpretation.
 Greater consistency would be shown  in  all these
 modes of expression  if the word  "Nature," as
 here employed, represented the  manifestation of
 an Almighty God, who foresaw and  arranged
 everything from the beginning.   We are willing
 to marvel at the wondrous works of Nature, be-
 cause, as Seneca says, Nature is a "certain  di-
 vine purpose manifested in the  world."
  Many persons are satisfied with the explana-
 tion  that all  the  various phenomena  are the
 products of Nature's laws, and by  some  these
 laws are considered  inexorable and  immutable.
 But it must be made  clear that the  "laws of Na-
 ture"  are neither powers  nor forces which  in-
 fluence things, nor, are they decrees like the Ten
 Commandments or legislative measures.  They
 are merely  generalizations of our  own,  and, as
Professor Windle says, "express our appreciation
or conception of an orderly or supposed orderly
sequence of events in  the natural world."  Laws,
                     14 
GOD IN NATURE
as understood by  science, are deductions made
from observed modes of action.
  There are numerous events in  the  world of
Nature which proceed in regular order  and these
permit us to draw some definite conclusion.  As
Ganot remarks:  "Every change which  can hap-
pen  to a body, actual  alteration of its chemical
constitution being  excepted, may be regarded as
a physical phenomenon.  The  fall of a stone,
the vibration of a string and the sound which
accompanies  it, the attraction of light particles
by a rod of sealing wax which has been  rubbed
by flannel, the rippling of the surface of  a lake,
and  the freezing of water, are examples of such
phenomena."  ("Physics.")
  The constant  relation  existing  between  any
phenomenon and its cause is spoken of as a physi-
cal law.  "As an example, we have the phenome-
non  of the diminution of the volume  of a  gas
by the application of pressure; the corresponding
law  has  been discovered and is  expressed by
saying that the volume of a gas is inversely pro-
portional to the  pressure, if the temperature be
constant."   {Ibidem.)   Similar laws have been
formulated with  regard to heat,  motion,  attrac-
tion, and gravity.
  Laws like  the above may  be  found in other
                     15 
  ;NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC  BIOLOGIST

branches of natural science and they are based on
present experiences.  But as such they are not of
necessity.   Perhaps different laws may have to
be formulated for  parts of the universe not ac-
cessible to  us at the present time.  The results
of further  investigations may make known new
facts, that will cause the law to be modified and
changed  considerably.   Guenther in his  "Dar-
winism and  Problems  of  Life" says:  "Science
deals with probabilities as  well as exact observa-
tions.  When it deduces a law from a  number
of phenomena that it has  observed, it assumes
that  this law  will hold also for other phenomena
of the same category, and this assumption in turn
implies that there are general laws which apply
universally and unconditionally.  This, of course,
can  never be proved.  It is possible that new
observations might be made that compel  science
to rearrange all its  laws.  However that may be,
physical science is not absolute and unconditional,
because it supposes that what is true in a thou-
sand  cases,  will not prove  untrue  in  the next
one."  In a  footnote he writes:  "The laws  of
science must  not admit  a  single exception.   In
this case the law is  not confirmed, but completely
destroyed."   Hence  the  fact that phenomena
occur  according to certain  fixed laws  at  the
                     16 
GOD IN NATURE
present time, gives no assurance that they could
not take place in accordance with some differently
worded deduction.
   The mode of occurrence of various phenomena
shows regularity and uniformity and causes  us
to infer that there is an external influence guiding
all things.   An  example drawn from human
activities may illustrate the  case.  In one of the
unfrequented quarters of  the famous Woolworth
Building in  New York,  a  dispatcher  is found
sitting at a contrivance somewhat like a telephone
switch-board.   Instead of the orifices for wiring
connections, this board has- a number of translu-
cent  knob-like  arrangements,  behind  which a
light appears at intervals.   The one  employed in
this task watches the light intently,  as it travels
up and down the  different rows, and from time
to time she is heard to give instructions.   She has
the entire system  of  elevators  of that  immense
building under her control and  it is her duty to
regulate their movements.  The necessary direc-
tions  are given  to the operator of  each lift by
means of the telephone.   In this manner, the dis-
patcher determines the times and the distances
and decides which elevator  shall wait at one  or
the other floor.   She also  inquires concerning de-
lays, etc.  Here we have  an unseen guiding in-
                      17 
  NOTES  OF A CATHOLIC  BIOLOGIST

 fluence, who, in a way, has control not only over
 the individual operators, but also over  the me-
 chanical contrivances  and  the  electricity that
 moves them.  It is similar in the world of Nature,
 and this illustration gives  only the faintest idea
 of  the numerous interactions and interdependen-
 cies which may be known or unknown.  Nature
 is one vast entirety with parts inseparably con-
 nected  and related,  and  is  governed by  laws.
 These laws, we claim, are the highest evidence  of
 Power and Divinity, as well as the realization  of
 the plans of an All-wise and Eternal God.
  The  ends  to be obtained in Nature may not
 always  be known, and it would appear as  if all
 the activities could not be regulated  by  such a
 Superhuman Intelligence.   This,  however,   is
 owing to ihe limitations  of the  human  mind.
 The interactions and  adjustments  of laws are
 of different grades.   Furthermore,  they  are so
 varied and complex in their scope, application,
and possible combinations, that we are unable to
 calculate their results.   Yet, this  gives no justi-
 fication for disregarding divine influence.
  There are some who will find fault with this
mode of reasoning and claim it to be an anthropo-
morphic fancy,  into which the "mystic" element
                     18 
GOD IN NATURE
 has been introduced.  Such  persons forget that
 all science  is  built  up  in  the  same  manner.
 All our conceptions of the wonderful uniform-
 ities or laws in Nature are based on experience,
 and science relies on what we know of Nature
 through the medium of our senses.   Accordingly,
 science consists of that which we think of Nature,
 as presented to us, and it is human reason which
 has made the deductions.   This power of infer-
 ence enables us to  realize that we are a part of
 Nature, that we  belong to the unity of a  great
 plan,  and  are in  harmony  with  other  parts.
 Were our minds  not so attuned, there would be
 no  guarantee for  the  absolute truth of scientific
 facts and principles.
  By the same mode of  reasoning  the human
 mind has drawn  the conclusion that Nature is a
 manifestation  of  Divine  Power  and Wisdom.
This idea is not  of recent date, nor  limited to
 certain peoples.  On  the  contrary, it is ancient
 and universal.  Man  from time immemorial has
noticed  something analogous  between the opera-
tions of Nature and  those of his own  volition
and design.   He  has concluded, from the  facts
observed, that these natural phenomena, varied
though they may be, show a uniformity and  com-
                     19 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

 plexity difficult for him to understand, and  to
 him they imply a First Cause infinitely beyond
 himself.
   Even savages and primitives have come to this
 conclusion.   They  have a belief  in  the "Man
 above the clouds," meaning thereby the Maker
 and Creator of all.  The Veddahs of Ceylon refer
 all to the "Great  Spirit," the inhabitants of Ma-
 lacca and the Andaman Islands speak of "Our
 Father," whilst the primitives of Australia  and
 Central Africa pray to the  "Father  of  all."
 Bishop Le Roy, in his work "Les Pygmees," states
 that in the Congo he found no group to which the
 idea of  the Creator was unknown.
   Ancient  monuments  and writers show that
 among  the more  cultivated races the  idea  of  a
 God  was always  prevalent.   In the  ruins  of
 Telloh,  in Mesopotamia, there have been found
 thousands of bas-reliefs, statuettes, and inscrip-
tions giving the history of ancient Chaldea.   Dr.
 F.  Delitzsch  ("Babel and Bible") writes that
 some  of the finds date back to the fifth millen-
 nium before Christ.  One of these tablets has  a
 record  of the  Chaldean  king Ur-Nina, who,
 wishing to erect a  temple to the Divinity, worked
 at it with his  own hands.  In fact, the earliest
 monuments among all peoples have references to
                     20 
             GOD  IN NATURE

 a deity.   It is significant  and important to note
 that the farther back the history of any people is
 traced, the more there is recognized the profound
 and wide influence of religion in the life of  in-
 dividuals.   Plutarch  exclaims:  "There  can  be
 found cities without walls, without a literature,
 without kings, without treasures, without coins,
 without theatres, or  schools of  athletics, but a
city  without a  sanctuary, without a deity, with-
 out  prayer,  without oath, without  prophecies,
 without sacrifices for  obtaining favors or avert-
 ing evils, such  a city no one has seen and no one
will  see."   ("Contra Colotem,"  ch. 31.)
   The famous  Roman orator and philosopher
 Cicero remarks: "The main reason for the belief
 in the gods could be that  no people is so wild,
no man so uncouth as to be destitute of every con-
ception of the gods.   Some, indeed, have  formed
objectional  representations of the gods;  this is
the result of corrupt morals; but all are convinced
of the existence of a  divine power and a divine
being.  This conviction was not brought about
by an arbitrary agreement of men;  it has  its
foundation neither in instruction nor legislation,
but rather, this  common knowledge  is a natural
law to all peoples."   ("Disp. Tusc,"  I, 13.)
  The great Roman empire gives  abundant proof
                      21 
  NOTES OF A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

 that the old world was religious.   The state was
 founded on religion.  At all the important trans-
 actions the gods were consulted,  sacrifices were
 offered and religious rites observed.  The emperor
 Augustus expressly decreed that every senator,
 before taking the oath of office, should go to the
 altar of the deity in whose temple the assembly
 was held  and  offer a  libation and strew incense.
 (Suetonius, "Augustus,"  ch.  35.)  The  army
 going to battle received inspiration from the an-
cestral deities.  When the great  Pompey spoke
 to his soldiers on the art of war, they remained
 unmoved, but when Cato reminded them of the
 dii patrii, he aroused enthusiasm and confidence,
 so that victory was won.
   In a similar manner the domestic and family
 life  of a  Roman  had  a religious tone.   Each
 period of life, every  important event was cele-
brated with religious services.   The goddess Lu-
cina watched over the  birth of the child; at such
times candles were  lighted in honor of Candeli-
fera; Nunlina was invoked  on the ninth  day
when the  name was given; Potina and  Educa
accustomed the child to food and drink; Farinus
taught the child to lisp; Locutinus to talk.   Spe-
cial gods were  supposed to watch over the family
and  every community,  every city had its  special
                     22 
GOD IN NATURE
cult, rich and  distinguished colleges for priests
as  well  as special feast  days  and  sacrifices.
Everywhere religious observance was intimately
connected with important activities and events.
  When this variegated and rich development of
polytheistic belief was at its height, St. Paul, the
Apostle  to the Gentiles,  appeared  before  the
Areopagus at Athens to speak of the one true and
only God, the Lord of Heaven and Earth.  Con-
cerning Him he writes to the Romans: "The in-
visible things  of him, from the  creation of  the
world, are clearly seen, being understood by the
things that are made" (ch. I, 20).   Tertullian
says: "Nature is the teacher, the soul the pupil."
Athenagoras calls the things of Nature "pledges
of divine worship" and  says, the "visible is the
medium  by which we  perceive  the invisible."
St. Chrysostom exclaims: "Did God call the Gen-
tiles with  his  Voice?   Certainly not.  But  He
has created something which is apt to draw their
attention more  forcibly than words.  He has  put
in  the  midst  of  them  the  created  world and
thereby, from the mere aspect of visible things, the
learned and the unlearned, the Scythian and the
barbarian, can all ascend  to  God."  ("Homily
on the Epistle to the Romans," no. 2.)
  Some of the learned of  our day are likely to
                      23 
  NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

dispute this point, being convinced that Nature
presents a  number of opposing forces which do
not give evidence  of a great  and regulated ex-
ternal influence.  But when the facts are examined
more carefully,  it can  be  seen that everything
is balanced by the most wonderful  interactions
of matter and forces.   Behind it all there is a
law, according to which everything  occurs with
invariable regularity and constancy.
   When some substance, like water,  condenses
from a vaporous state in the  atmosphere by the
action of  cold,  particles unite  and form solid
figures.  Heat had  kept them  asunder, but a
cohesive force unites  them.  Not only do  the
particles unite, but they form solid objects, called
crystals, which can be seen in snow and ice forma-
tions.   Such  crystals always possess  the same
definite outline  when coming from water.  In
fact, according to Haiiy's law, "every crystalline
substance of  definite chemical composition has
a specific form characteristic of that substance."
H. P. Gurney remarks:  "In whatever manner, or
under whatever circumstances, a crystal may have
been  formed,  whether in the laboratory of the
chemist or in the workshop of Nature, in the bodies
of animals or in the tissues of plants, up in the
the sky or  in the depths of the earth, whether so
                      24 
GOD IN NATURE
 rapidly that we may literally see its growth, or
 by the slow aggregation of its molecules, during
 perhaps  hundreds, perhaps thousands  of years,
 we always find that the arrangement of the faces
 of  the crystal and therefore  its other physical
 properties,  are  subject to  fixed  and definite
 laws."
   In Nature there are  also varied  arrangements
 and activities that operate together for a common
 good.  No more wonderful instance can be found
 than the green leaf of a plant, which  has well
 been called  an elaborate  chemical  laboratory.
 Under the microscope, it is seen that a thin layer
 of compact cells surrounds the leaf on  all sides.
 This skin  has very small openings, which  are
 provided with lens-shaped cells,  called "guard-
 cells."  By means of these  minute pores access is
 afforded  to carbon dioxide, and oxygen can es-
cape.  These  openings  communicate with any
number of air-spaces that run in all directions in
the spongy mass of cells beneath the layer.  For
 the most part, the interior mass of cells  possesses
numerous green bodies which give the green color
to the leaf.   Moreover, the  leaf is connected with
the main part of the plant  by means of  the stem,
whose outer portion is usually green, similar to
the leaf.   The inner portion of the stem  known
                     25 
  NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

 as the pith consists of delicate cells which conduct
 water for a short time and soon die.   The zone
 between the two just mentioned, is the great con-
 ducting region and this also gives rigidity to the
 stem.
   Although the structural portion  of a leaf shows
 great  beauty and  complexity, its functions  are
 even more wonderful and  perplexing to the bot-
 anist.  This is true especially of the green bodies,
 which construct the most important  foods of  the
 plant.  One scientist calls  it the "leading wonder
 of the world, because its processes  are so compli-
 cated and of such magnitude and importance'in
 the  economy of this world of  ours."   (Curtis,
 "Nature and Development  of Plants.")   By way
 of the stem  the leaf receives water from the soil,
 with materials in solution.   Gases enter the leaf
 through  the  minute openings in the thin outer
 layer.   The  green bodies change these substances
 chemically and  as a result there are produced
 complicated and otherwise inimitable compounds.
 Professor Curtis says: "All that can be definitely
 stated about the change  going on  in the leaf
during the formation of the  carbo-hydrates  re-
lates solely to the beginning and end  of the proc-
ess."   Water and carbon dioxide  enter the cells
having green bodies, and  "a series of changes
                     26 
GOD IN NATURE
follows,  the  nature of which  can only be con-
jectured."
   The energy which brings about this remark-
able  transformation  comes  from  the  sun.   Its
light and heat are freely admitted into the interior
of the leaf through the transparent outer skin.
In this  way, all  the materials available for  the
maintenance of life are produced and no other
structure  than the  living vegetable cell,  as it
exists in the leaf, is capable of effecting  this
change.   This process is, therefore, of greatest
importance, since the existence of plants, animals,
and man depends on it.   What happens in such
a subtle way as not even to attract our  attention,
is that the vegetable cell is placed in relation with
the entire plant,  with the soil, and with the sun
and its  energies.   Photosynthesis  is the name of
the process, and  it means "the putting together
by means  of  light."   This  solar energy  acting
in conjunction with the green bodies on  a few
elements, gives us the great variety of compounds
found in plants and animals and man.
   A further evidence of a Superior Intelligence
is furnished by the beauty of form, proportion,
and coloring that abounds in Nature.  Our Lord
Himself tells us:  "Consider the lilies of the fields,
how they grow;  they labor not, neither do they
                      27 
f   NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

  spin.  But I say to you that not even Solomon in
  all his glory was arrayed as one of these" (Matt.
  vi  28-29).  St. Augustine, commenting on the
  Epistle to the Romans, wherein St. Paul speaks
  of  those who, knowing God, have not  glorified
  Him,  asks  whence they do  know Him,  and
  responds: "From  the things He  made."  Then
  he  exclaims: "Ask the beauty  of the earth, ask
  the beauty of the sea, ask the beauty of the dif-
  fused atmosphere, ask the beauty of heaven, ask
  the order of the stars, ask the sun illuminating
  the day with its brightness, ask the moon soften-
  ing with splendor the ensuing night,  ask the
  animals that move in the water, that live on the
  land, that fly in the air.  .  . . Ask  them.  They
  all  answer:  Behold,  we  are beautiful.  Their
  beauty  is  their confession.  Who  made  these
  changeable beautiful objects, but the Unchange-
  able Beautiful One?"
    Suffice it to mention one  of the animal forms
  "quae  moventur in  aquis,"  according  to the
  Bishop of Hippo.  It is the "Slipper Animalcule,"
  whose existence was not even  suspected by the
  great Luminary of the Church, because the mi-
  croscope  detected  it only  centuries later.   The
  animal is no more than about M25 of an inch in
  length, but it has been made the basis of scientific
                       28 
GOD IN NATURE
discussions  of  cell-structure  and  cell  physi-
ology.  It has the outline of a tiny slipper and
is found in stagnant pools of  fresh water in all
countries, and can be procured in the laboratory
by placing a  quantity of  the hay  to which it is
attached, in a jar  of ordinary water, and permit-
ting  it to stand for a few days.   The microscopic
animal consists of only one cell and has a definite
shape; it swims freely in the water along a spiral
path. Attached to the outer portion  of  its body
are numerous hair-like structures, that move with
great rapidity.  They are the  organs of locomo-
tion.  In a groove leading to the digestive system
are  other hairs,  which  by their action   send
particles of food down the short gullet.
   When the food has passed in, it is immediately
surrounded by a  little drop of water and  floats
about in  the  interior of the soft and semi-fluid
body.  While the  food is being carried around
in this manner, a digestive fluid breaks up the
food particles by chemical  action,  so  that they
may be assimilated and build up the bodily struc-
ture.  By certain  channels the  waste  products
are brought to pulsating sacs, one at either end of
the body, which contract  alternately.  When the
sacs are filled to capacity, they burst at the sur-
face and the waste is poured into the water out-
                      29 
  NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

side.   Here is a brief description of only one of
the animalcules showing a beauty of construction
and coordination of functions.  It could not have
arisen spontaneously, but points to  a Higher In-
telligence, which created it.
   Another fact to be cited, which however, will
be treated more fully later, is that of animal in-
stinct.  The  remarkable  behavior  of  many
animals shows us how these creatures  are placed
in relation to other objects and to most  complex
processes.   Notwithstanding  assertions  to  the
contrary, instinct by its very  nature  cannot  be
improved upon.   Invariably it works in the same
manner,  and if interfered  with, proves useless
for the purpose.  It is inherited by each genera-
tion in all its perfection, and the offspring  shows
the same instinctive qualities as the parent.  To
compare instinct  with  human  intelligence  is er-
roneous.   Simply  to state that it  began in the
past proves unsatisfactory.   To assert that Na-
ture has made these provisions, means  nothing,
unless Nature represents  the revelation  of  a
Superior Creative Intelligence  that regulates the
world in which we live.
   Therefore, the phenomena of Nature can be
rightly interpreted only if the point of  view be
accepted that they proclaim  the  Majesty and
                      30 
             GOD  IN NATURE

Glory of Almighty  God.  Aptly does the Book
of Wisdom say:  "All men  are vain, in whom
there is not the knowledge of God:  and who by
these good  things that are seen, could not under-
stand him that is; neither by  attending the works,
have acknowledged,  who  was  the workman.
But  have imagined either the fire or the wind or
the swift air, or  the  circle  of the stars, or the
great water, or the sun and the moon, to be the
gods that rule the world.  . .  . For by the great-
ness of the  beauty and of the creature, the creator
of them may be seen, so as  to be known there-
by.  .. .  But then  again they are  not to  be
pardoned.  For if they were able to know so much
as to make a judgment of the world: how did
they  not more easily find  out the Lord thereof?"
(chap, xiii.)  Human reason enables  man to
explore the universe.  This  same  reason should
infer from the beauty, magnitude and harmonious
activities in  the  world,  that there  must be  a
Creator who fashioned it.  For according to the
Book of  Wisdom, human beings  can obtain  a
knowledge of God's existence and attributes from
the  world of Nature,  and Cicero  says: "What-
ever  Nature teaches must be true."   ("De Nat.
Deor.," 1, 17.)
31 
CHAPTER III
    THE  BEGINNING AND  THE END
             OF THE WORLD

The starry firmament, as seen on a clear nightr
with its innumerable twinkling bodies possessing
a greater or lesser degree  of luminosity,  has at-
tracted the attention of mankind since the days
of antiquity.   The origin of the celestial spheres,
their  constituent elements, their disappearance
and reappearance at regular intervals, have long
since been a source of speculation and have given
rise to various cosmogonies.   The  Bible  relates
that in  the beginning the "earth was void  and
empty  and darkness  was  upon  the  deep."  On
the successive  days  of Creation  the  Almighty
brought shape  and order  out  of chaos,  and on
the fourth day the  heavenly bodies  appeared.
   Since the Book of Genesis does not give a de-
tailed description of the emergence of the stellar
bodies  from  the original  void,  man has  en-
deavored to  form some conception of their mode
of  origin.  Even the benighted  savage has not
                     32 
   BEGINNING AND  END  OF WORLD

been content to take the world as it is, without
forming some theory, infantine and crude though
it be, with regard to its initial formation.  Vari-
ous opinions are held by the  civilized peoples of
our day.   Many say  that the physical  universe
has come  from the hands of God exactly as it is
found at the present time.  They are justified in
their view, because God, the Omnipotent Creator,
could have acted in that manner.  Others, not
detracting from His attributes in any way adhere
to the view that the world in its  present state was
not completely formed  by Him, but attained this
arrangement through the operation of secondary
causes.   Scientific investigation has  done much
to strengthen the latter opinion.  It must  be
remembered that this phase of the history of the
world is speculative and does not go beyond the
limits of an hypothesis.  According to the obser-
vations  and calculations made, three  principal
views have been put forward to account for the
development of  the  solar  and  stellar  systems.
They are known as the Nebular, Meteoritic, and
Planetesimal Hypotheses.
  A form  of Nebular  Hypothesis was proposed
by Immanuel Kant, when  he was only twenty-
four years  of age.  On account of his inexperi-
ence and  lack of knowledge of mechanics and
                      33 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC-BIOLOGIST

physics, his work, "The Theory of the Heavens,"
required considerable revision.   Yet, his scheme
propounded  long before the period  of "pure
reason," with all its deficiencies, bears  the  au-
thentic stamp of genius—of a genius imperfectly
equipped  with knowledge, but original, penetra-
tive, and  far-seeing.   Since  the  ideas approach
very closely to those enunciated by great astrono-
mers equipped with the necessary knowledge, the
details need not be considered here.
   According  to the hypothesis of Laplace, modi-
fied by Faye,—now commonly known as  the La-
placian or Nebular  Hypothesis—all  the atoms
which compose the physical universe were at one
time scattered and formed the  constituent parts
of an immense nebula diffused throughout space.
This rarefied mass contained all  the elements of
terrestrial chemistry, as well as the constituents
of the other planets, but they were more or less
mixed  and in a chaotic state.  The materials of
the nebula were  attracted to each other and  in
time,  owing  to  diverse movements, patches  or
clouds were formed.  These continued to  move
and within them  there also occurred slow gyra-
tions.  Gradually, by progressive condensations,
the different  patches gave rise to the worlds  of
the universe.
                     34 
   BEGINNING  AND END OF WORLD

   Our  own  solar system  is  supposed to have
emerged from one of these clouds.  The mass is
said to  have  been  so rarefied as to measure only
a small fraction of a millionth of the density of
our atmosphere at  the surface of the earth.  The
extreme degree of rarefaction was maintained by
an intense heat, produced by the slow  circular
movement.  A gradual loss of  heat caused  the
cloud to contract and to rotate with greater rapid-
ity.  When the radiating or centrifugal tendency
had  gradually equalled the centripetal  accelera-
tion—or pull of gravity—the outermost portion of
the nebula no longer contracted, but was "thrown
off"  in the form of a ring, similar to the rings of
Saturn.   The remainder of the cloud  continued
to contract because of further loss  of  heat, and
eventually more rings  were given  off.  As  the
cooling  and contraction went on, there arose rings
equal to the  number of planets now existing in
our solar system, and  the central mass, namely,
the uncooled  portion   of  the  original  nebula,
formed  the sun.
   The rings, fashioned in this manner, probably
revolved for  a time in their entirety.  As they
cooled still more,  they parted at their  weakest
point.   The  material of each  ring concentrated,
gradually  became  more  compact,  and finally
                      35. 
  NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

 fused into  spheroids, which were still hot and
 gaseous.   In other words  they  were embryonic
 planets that resembled the  sun, which is said to
 be a "mass of intensely heated gas and  vapor,
 powerfully   compressed by  its own  gravity."
 These bodies also contracted, smaller rings were
 abandoned, and as time went on, they experienced
 changes similar to those of the former large an-
 nulations.   The secondary  rings were to give us
 the satellites.  However, the nebulae of Mercury
 and Venus  did not produce rings for the forma-
 tion of satellites.   Only the planetary masses at
 a greater distance from the sun: the earth,  Mars,
 Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, furnished
 secondary bodies of this type.
   Accordingly, the earth at first was a globe of
 highly  heated vapor.   When  it  had lost  the
 materials that gave rise to the moon,  it slowly
 condensed,  owing to the fact that its elements
 fell toward  the centre.   It was then in a liquid
 state, and for a long time it must have been in-
 candescent like a star.  The loss of heat caused
 it to cool to a degree which  permitted the forma-
 tion of a crust upon its surface, whilst the interior
 still remained liquid.   After the  solid  crust
covered the  surface of our earth, there were in-
                      36 
   BEGINNING AND END  OF WORLD

 troduced  the various geological  phases.x   Re-
 garding the origin of the moon,  two explanations
 are offered.  The one is that both the earth and
 the moon were contained  in the  original ring
 given  off from the immense nebula.  This ring
 was changed into a hot gaseous spheroid, which
 later gave off a second ring to form the moon.
 The other view is that the moon  was not detached
 as a ring, but was "thrown off" as a large lump
 or a series of fragments, after the earth had con-
 centrated to  a liquid or perhaps even to an in-
 cipent solid state.
   This explanation  of the origin of our  solar
 system has found favor since the very date of its
 publication.  Laplace's  great  name  and  the
 unique value of his work on celestial mechanics,
 led to  the acceptance of  his  ideas.  Hence the
 greatest physicists and astronomers of the nine-
 teenth  century have given the weight of their ap-
 proval to  the Nebular Hypothesis, and all calcu-
 lations as to the age of the sun  have been based
 upon it. Among other facts that support this view
 might  be  mentioned the hot condition of  the in-
 terior  of  the earth.   Molten rock  has  been ex-
 truded from  it at various times throughout the
different geologic ages.  Again, the earliest known
  1 See the geological time table on page 263.
                      37 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC  BIOLOGIST

rocks—as in the Archean Complex—are igneous,
or igneous derivatives.
   The  Nebular  Hypothesis  retained its  com-
manding position until Chamberlin and Moulton,
two American scientists, advanced some weighty
arguments against it.  An old objection  to  the
hypothesis is that all the satellites of the various
planets should revolve in the direction in which
their  planets rotate.  However,  the satellites  of
Uranus and Neptune and the ninth  satellite  of
Saturn travel in the opposite direction.   Further-
more, the planes of the four satellites of Uranus
are almost  perpendicular to  the plane of  the
planet's orbit,  and this  seems  to  be directly op-
posed to Laplace's views, which describe all  the
stellar bodies as travelling in the same direction.
Then we  are told that Phobus, the inner satellite
of Mars, revolves in less than a third  of the time
of the planet's rotation,  whereas the hypothesis
would require  its velocity to  be much less than
that of  the planet's surface.   Phobus travels
around its planet in  7 hours, 39 minutes, and  IS
seconds, while the period of Mars'  rotation  on
its own axis is 24 hours, 37 minutes,  and 22§
seconds.  So  also, the particles, that make up
the inner ring of Saturn, revolve in  about half
the time of  Saturn's rotation period.
                      38 
   BEGINNING AND END OF  WORLD

   It is further argued that the  molecules  of  a
 gas move about at velocities which increase with
the temperature.  Near the surface of the original
 nebula of Laplace, the velocities of the molecules,
 as, for example, in hydrogen, would be so great
 that the molecules would overcome the pull of
 gravity and be  dispersed in space.  Hence,  it
 would be difficult to account for the abundant
supply of hydrogen  now observed in  the  sun
 and  for  formation of the various  rings in the
 original  nebula.  Moulton  also  applied these
 principles to the planets with regard  to the power
 of each to retain an  atmosphere.  He does not
 consider  it probable that  the diffuse earth-moon
 ring, with its low power of attraction, could have
held any of the atmospheric gases  or water-vapor,
 when such concentrated bodies as the moon, and
perhaps Mercury, are unable to hold an atmos-
phere at the present time.
   The average density of  the original nebula,
when it extended to the orbit of Neptune, can be
approximately calculated,  since the masses of the
sun and planets are known.   According to Moul-
ton,  this  density was  about   i9ii0oo!ooo,ouo   °*
that of water.   It is argued that  in  this rarefied
condition  matter would  have been  left  behind
continually and that  the  formation  of separate
                     39 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

rings would be impossible.   He  also holds that
even if a ring had been formed, its elements could
probably  not  have been drawn together into  a
planet.
  Although the  above facts may  be open  to
question, Moulton offers another objection which
demands  serious  consideration.   It  is a law  of
mechanics that the  moment  of  momentum,  or
quantity of motion, of any freely rotating or re-
volving system of bodies, remains constant, unless
influenced from without.  In this connection our
scientist wants us to assume that  the  present
solar  system could be  changed into a  gaseous
mass, expanded so as to fill Neptune's orbit, and
distributed in density to agree with the recognized
laws  of gases.  If, then, the whole amount  of
motion  now possessed  by the solar system be
given to such a nebula, there will not be a suffi-
cient rate of rotation to detach matter from its
circumference.  The required rate would not be
present  until  the nebula had  contracted  well
within the orbit of Mercury,  which is the inner-
most planet.   Therefore, according to some, the
Laplacian idea of the development  of the solar
system must either be reconstructed or abandoned.
  As  substitutes  for  the Laplacian  view, there
are given  two hypotheses, the one called the Me-
                     40 
   BEGINNING AND END OF WORLD

teoritic, developed by Lockyer and G. H. Dar-
win, the  other, the  Planetesimal,  proposed by
Chamberlin and Moulton.  Both of these hypoth-
eses assume  that swarms of meteorites,—rather
than matter  in  a gaseous state,—composed  the
raw material of which  the  stellar systems  are
made.   The  nature  of the swarms is explained
differently.   Lockyer  holds  that the  meteorites
were like the wandering molecules of gases which
moved indiscriminately in all directions and at
widely  different  velocities.   Furthermore,  these
bodies in their rapid  movements collided with  one
another from time to time, just as the molecules
of gas are supposed to do according to the kinetic
theory.  On  the  other hand,  Chamberlin  and
Moulton claim that  the meteorites revolved in
well defined  orbits, and collisions occurred only
when certain meteorites overtook others of lower
velocity.
   The Planetesimal  Hypothesis, which seems the
more plausible, holds  that the solar system was
derived  from a nebula of the most common type,
namely  that  of the spiral  nebula.   There  are
about 120,000 of these spiral nebulae registered
in the heavens, and their peculiar  form is said to
represent a prevalent process in celestial dynam-
ics.  Moulton's view begins with a fully organ-
                      41 
  NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

ized sun, which in its movement  through space
came into close proximity of another sun of equal
size or larger.  Perhaps there was even a "graz-
ing collision."  There was, moreover, an attrac-
tion between the two bodies causing tidal action,
with the result that portions were given off at
high velocities, never to return.   Further attrac-
tion caused the separated material to acquire a
spiral form,  in which the scattered particles re-
volved in elliptical orbits about a  central mass.
Although the matter  shot  from  the sun  was
gaseous,  the hypothesis  assumes that it cooled
down rapidly to a finely  divided solid condition.
In  such  a  spiral nebula, which  appears like a
pyrotechnic "pinwheel,"  there  are  different ele-
ments or  degrees of density: a central mass, knots,
and diffuse nebulous matter.  In  the primeval
spiral nebula of  Moulton,  the central mass is
supposed to  have  formed  the sun, the  knots
served as nuclei about which the planetary ma-
terial gathered, and the remaining diffuse matter
was to have been swept up  by the  nuclei or ab-
sorbed by the sun.
  Thus,  the building up of the planets occurred
by the gradual ingathering of the small particles
called planetesimals or "little planets,"  in the
                     42 
  BEGINNING  AND END OF WORLD

form of molecules or small bodies.  The results
were brought about not only by the gravitational
attraction of the planetary nuclei, as in the nebu-
lar hypothesis, but also by the gradual  accretion
of the mass through collision of isolated  particles,
as they were  crossing each other's paths.  The
earth, in that case, was never a molten substance,
which cooled and contracted, but it was gradually
built up  by  the accumulation  of more and more
particles.
  In its early stages our globe had no atmosphere,
because its small mass was not capable of holding
gases by  the  attraction of gravity.   The  gases,
on account  of their  activity, were lost  in space.
As the earth grew by the addition of more matter,
the gravitational attraction increased, so that  it
could  bind  to itself greater  volumes  of  gases,
until the  present condition was reached.  Even
now   two  gases,  hydrogen  and helion,  are
superior to its attraction.  Comparisons  are made
to show the size of the earth when it could hold
the atmospheric gases.  The moon at present  is
about the Y&i part of the earth's size  and has no
atmosphere.   On the other hand, the planet Mars
is  %.34 as  large  as the earth and  is said to
have  an  appreciable, though apparently quite
                      43 
  NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

limited, atmosphere.   Our earth, therefore, must
have  been  between %o and Ho of  its present
size.  Probably it  was about the Y20  part, since
the planet Mercury,  which is Y26  of  the  earth's
mass, seems to show a slight evidence of water-
vapor.
   Regarding the origin of  the  atmosphere and
the earth's  waters, an explanation is  also given.
The elements came from the original sun and the
planetesimals, upon condensing, held within them
the atmospheric material.  When they struck the
earth, heat  was produced and this caused part of
the gases to be given up.   When our globe was
of sufficient size, it held this material in  the form
of an atmospheric envelope.   The portions of the
gases retained by the planetesimals were gathered
into the growing earth-nucleus and were progres-
sively  given  off to the atmosphere.  When  the
increasing water-vapor of the growing  atmosphere
reached the point of saturation, it took the liquid
form and so became a contribution  to the waters
of the earth.  Furthermore,  it is  probable  that
condensation  occurred within  the earth, long
before the external atmosphere reached the point
of saturation.  Consequently, the waters  of our
globe probably had their  origin underground  in
                     44 
   BEGINNING AND END  OF WORLD

the porous sections.  As these  waters increased,
they rose to the surface and first appeared in the
innumerable pits  that  had been caused by in-
ternal disturbances.
   As the earth increased in size, volcanic activity
set in.   At first there was lacking sufficient com-
pression in the central parts to produce the requi-
site  heat.   But  once begun, this vulcanism in-
creased and brought about changes in  the  rock
formations that  theoretically underlie the whole
surface of the globe.   These rocks now consist
of former surface lava-flows and sediments  that
had  been baked and fused to such a degree  that
the sandstone, gravels, clays and limestones were
changed into  bright and crystalline material in
the form of gneiss, mica-schist, quarzite, horne-
blende-schist and marble, all of which go under
the name  of the  "Archean Complex."  At  this
point the hypothetical stages cease and  observa-
tional geology * begins  its  work.
   Plausible as the hypothesis may be, it is never-
theless  replete with many unsolved problems.  It
raises many very  difficult questions  in  celestial
mechanics and will  give a considerable amount
of work to mathematical astronomers.  There is
 1 See the geological time table on page 263.
                      45 
  NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

no knowledge, for example, why the spiral nebulae
glow with  a  steady and unchanging light, since
there is no direct evidence that this light is pro-
duced either by heat or by electricity.  Moreover,
very few nebulae are known with certainty to be
gaseous.  Many of them do not show the presence
of gases when  scientifically  examined.  Again,
the manner in which the stars are produced from
the nebulae is not clearly understood.  The spiral
effect may  not be concerned in the process, since
in the Orion nebula which is not spiral, there is
a direct relationship between  stars  and nebulae.
Astronomers  are also of the opinion, that,  while
the temperature of small particles in the nebulae
may be very high, the  mean  temperature of the
entire  mass may be very low, and it has been
shown that the appearance presented by the neb-
ulae could  be produced  by widely separated lum-
inous particles.  In the face  of many difficulties
this planetesimal hypothesis may some day be re-
placed by  another opinion based on more recent
observations.
  By comparing briefly  the two principal hypoth-
eses, the Nebular  and the Planetesimal, the fol-
lowing stages of the earth are noted.  These are
based  on the description given by Chamberlin
and Salisbury.
                      46 
BEGINNING  AND  END  OF  WORLD
   Spiral  Nebular Hypothesis

1) Nuclear or Nebular Stage.
     The  earth was originally
     a nebular knot, that acted
     as a  nucleus, which grew
     to the present mass.

2) Atmosphereless Stage.
     The solid nucleus was not
     massive  enough   to  con-
     trol  the gaseous  envelope.
3) First Volcanic Stage.
     There was  a contraction
     and   a  rearrangement  of
     the  material within  the
     earth, thus  causing gases
     to   be   produced.  Vast
     quantities of gases were
     shot  forth  by volcanoes
     or   escaped   from  lava-
     flows. These gases were
     given to  the atmosphere.

4) Primordial      Atmospheric
   Stage.
     The earth was sufficiently
     large to  hold the mole-
     cules of  atmosperic  ma-
     terial.
5) Initial  hydrospheric Stage.
     The  water vapor reached
     the point  of saturation in
     the  atmosphere  and  fell
     to the earth.  Water also
     came to the  surface from
     the interior  of the earth.

6) Climax of Volcanic Distur-
   bance.
     The   compression  within
     the earth  became  greater;
     the heat was so intense as
     to liquify the  materials
     and  send  them to the  ex-
     terior in  large quantities.
     Other material was baked
     into   crystalline  rock.
    Laplacian Ring Hypothesis

1)  Astral,  gaseous or  nebular
    Stage.
     There was a separation of
     the material of the earth
     from  the original  nebula
     to  form a  ring;  then  a
     concentration of  the par-
     ticles into a rotating gas-
     eous spheroid.

2)  Molten Stage.
     The material of  the gas-
     eous mass condensed into
     a molten body  which was
     surrounded  by a  hot  va-
     porous atmosphere. With-
     in  the  spheroid  were all
     the elements of terrestrial
     Chemistry.

3)  Solidifying  Stage.
     The  molten mass began
     to solidify  most  probably
     at the centre on  account
     of  the  pressure.   At  a
     later  stage  it  hardened
     from  the surface  down-
     wards.  The two portions
     met or  partially met giv-
     ing the  essential  solidity
     to the whole.

4)  First  Volcanic Stage.
     After the solidification of
     the crust, there was great
     volcanic   activity,  giving
     rise  to  lava flows from
     within.  At the same time
     there  were  subordinated
     atmospheric  and  hydro-
     spheric  conditions   pro-
     duced  by   condensation
     and evaporation.  This re-
     sulted  in  sedimentary  de-
     posits being interlaid with
     volcanic  rock. 
,  NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

   The objection might be raised that the slow
processes described by hypotheses, like those men-
tioned, would exclude the Creator and would re-
duce the universe to a mere "fortuitous concourse
of  atoms."  As  put by one  writer,  "given  a
quantity of detached atoms cast into space, then
mutual  gravitation and  the  collision  of frag-
ments  would give us  the  spangled  heavens."
Yet, if the results of scientific investigation can
give rise to an hypothesis that seems reasonable,
it would  still redound to God's glory.   Many
facts in such a tentative explanation would still
refer us  to a First  Cause.   One would be the
origin  of  the atoms and molecules with their
original  differences  of  matter and  their  varied
powers of  combination.   The  chemist knows of
them and  their  characteristics, but  Science will
not tell him whence they came.   Even the gravi-
tational attraction cannot be accounted for unless
as a mode of action given by an Almighty Power.
If God permitted the various bodies of our solar
system to be formed by secondary causes accord-
ing  to some plausible  scientific  hypothesis, He
may by similar  forces bring  about conditions so
"that the sun shall be darkened and the moon
shall not give her light and the stars shall fall
                      48 
   BEGINNING AND  END  OF WORLD

from heaven and the powers of heaven shall be
moved" (Matt, xxiv, 29).  If such be His plans,
then "at the end of the world the  very great and
very  strong stars of  heaven shall change  their
motions, appearances, influences  and in conse-
quence  everything  upon the earth shall be in
perturbation, so that  the world shall be shaken
by unwonted movements, the sea shall  overflow
and the atmosphere shall be troubled with comets,
thunderbolts, meteors, whirlwinds, and all things
will  seem to be utterly in confusion" (Cornelius
a Lapide).
   St. Peter in his  second Epistle writes: "The
heavens shall pass away with great violence, and
the elements  shall be melted with heat, and the
earth and  the works which are  in it,  shall be
burnt up"  (Chap iii. 10).   In an ancient  San-
scritic epic, the Mahabharata, there is  also pre-
dicted the destruction of the world by fire.  The
following extract is of interest.   "O king, towards
the end of those thousands of years constituting
the four Yugas, and when the lives of men become
so short, a drought occurs extending for many
years.   And then O Lord of the earth!  men and
creatures endued with small strength and vitality,
becoming hungry, die by thousands.  And then
                     49 
  NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

O Lord  of men, seven blazing suns, appearing
in the firmament, drink up all the waters of the
earth that  are in rivers and seas.   And O  Bull
of the Bharata race, then also everything of the
nature of wood or grass, that is wet or dry, is
consumed  and  reduced to ashes," etc.   With
regard to the "seven blazing suns" there is also
found a similar idea in the words of the Prophet
Isaiah: "And the light of the moon shall be as the
light of the sun and the light of the sun shall be
sevenfold as the light of seven days: in the day
when the Lord shall bind up the wound of his
people and shall heal the stroke of their wound"
(xxx,26).
  These are strange utterances, but they point
to the belief that  the world will experience the
catastrophe of a great  conflagration.  How  it is
to come  about is not  known.  There may be
volcanic  outbursts and disturbances, or, an  out-
burst  from  the  sun may cause the earth to burn
up, at least everything on its  surface could be
reduced to  ashes.  In February, 1901, there oc-
curred a violent outburst in Perseus.  Small out-
bursts  are  daily taking place  in  the sun, as
indicated by the red flames visible around  that
body at the time of a total eclipse or, at any  time
by means of the spectroscope, but they seem to be
                     50 
   BEGINNING AND END OF  WORLD

 unimportant and are  not  likely  at  any time to
 affect  the earth.  A great outburst could occur
 if the  sun collided with some  dark body in the
 heavens.
   Astronomers have reason to  believe that there
 are dark bodies in space, and if  they exist, they
 would  have  their  origin in cooled-down suns.
 These  celestial objects, luminous  at one time, by
 dissipating their energy in the form of radiant
 light and  heat,  would gradually  become  ex-
 hausted.  When the cooling process of such a
 body had sufficiently advanced, the star would lose
 its light and roll through space  as a cold and
 dark sphere.   If the observations made by scien-
 tists are correct,  then some of the variable stars
 already show this  phase  and perhaps in many
 cases the cold and dark stage may have actually
 been reached.   Even the most up-to-date  instru-
 ments  would not be ablg to detect them  as they
 show no light and would not be visible.
   Our sun, in travelling through space with great
 velocity, carrying with it the earth and  all its
planets, might possibly come into collision with
 a dark body.  Should  this happen, an immense
 amount of heat and light would be produced and
 the prophetic utterances would be fulfilled.
  However,  as  Our Lord says, "there would be
                      51 
  NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

signs in the sun, and in the moon and in the stars"
(Lk. xxi, 25), the coming of such a catastrophe
would most likely be known, months and perhaps
years beforehand.   When the approaching dark
body came within  a certain distance of our sun,
it would begin to shine by reflected light, as do
the planets.  If it were a body as large as our
sun, it  would  first be detected far beyond the
confines of the solar system.  For  some  months
and years  its motion would be very slow owing
to its great distance from the  sun.   Perhaps  it
would  be mistaken for a "new" or "temporary
star," or heralded  as a distant comet.  But in
time examinations  could  be made to ascertain
whether it  was shining  by  reflected light or
not.
   By calculations,  it is estimated that  a dark
body of the size of our sun, and possessing the
density  of our earth, could become visible by re-
flected  light when  at a distance of  about 15,000
millions of miles from the sun.  Assuming that
this dark body were travelling through space at
the same rate as the sun—about 11 miles a second,
—and  moving  directly toward  the sun, the time
needed  for the two bodies to come together can
be approximately stated.   If first visible at a dis-
tance of 15,000 millions of miles, this dark body
                     52 
   BEGINNING AND END OF WORLD

would require about 46 years to reach the orbit
of Uranus or, rather, be at the same distance as
Uranus.   At the end  of a year it would reach
the distance  of  Jupiter.  After that  its rate of
speed would be very rapid owing to the increased
rate of attraction and in 51 days it would be at
about the same  distance from  our sun that  the
earth  occupies.   If a direct collision were then to
occur, the velocity would be so great that the  sun
and the dark sphere would meet in 8 days. Both
bodies then would be reduced to a gaseous state
within an  hour,  and the terrific heat produced
would destroy not only the earth, but most likely
all the planets of the solar system.
  Even if  the dark body did not strike the  sun
directly, it  could in an elliptical orbit come close
enough  to  it and still cause great disturbances
due to tidal  action.  A large  amount of extra
heat would probably be developed.  If the two
bodies should merely graze each other, the enor-
mous amount of heat produced would be sufficient
to cause the earth's destruction.
  These views,  it is true,  are  only conjectural,
but they show what could possibly occur by  the
operation of  secondary causes  which  Almighty
God has planned.  As such, however, they enable
us to  understand to some extent  the  prophetic
                     53 
NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST
words of Our Lord concerning that time when He
shall be seen "coming in a cloud with great power
and majesty"  (Lk.  xxi, 27).   At the  present
moment  no  foreboding signs are  detectable by
man and it is but meet to consider  the Work of
Creation as now existing.  We are prompted to
exclaim with Gabriel in  Goethe's "Faust":

    "The sun-orb sings, in emulation
     'Mid  brother-spheres, his ancient  round:
     His path predestined through  Creation
     He ends with step of thunder-sound.
     The Angels from his visage splendid
     Draw power, whose measure none can  say;
     The lofty works,  uncomprehended
     Are bright as on the earliest day.
     Though still by them uncomprehended
     From these the angels draw their  power,
     And  all thy works sublime  and splendid.
     Are bright as in Creation's hour."
54 
CHAPTER IV
           THE ORIGIN OF LIFE

Life !   It is that certain "something" in animate
creatures which is unfathomable.   Its character-
istics are noted, its presence is manifested, yet no
satisfactory  definition  has  been  given.  Some
call it a principle, some call it a state, and others
say it is a force.  Surely the mind of man finds
here a serious problem.   Philosophers of old and
of our day tell us there is a certain independent
entity or vital  principle  which, uniting with the
body, gives life, and separating from it,  causes
death.  Professor Windle describes it as a "some-
thing over"—a vital force—which, according  to
the scholastic view is an "intrinsic principle of the
living cell, constituting it living and differentiat-
ing it from non-living matter."
   Bichat says it is the "sum-total of the functions
which resist  death."  Herbert  Spencer,  after
much thought,  called it a  "continuous  adjust-
ment  of internal relations to external relations."
Oliver Wendell  Holmes  describes  life  as  "the
                      55 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

state  of  an organized being in which it  main-
tains, or is capable of maintaining its structural
integrity, by the constant interchange of elements
with the surrounding media."
   Definitions  like the above could be multiplied,
but they all prove to be vague and unsatisfactory
and simply show that, from the days of the Greek
philosophers  down to the present, the nature of
life has  not been solved.  Men are just  as in-
capable of defining life as they are  of telling us
what  electricity really is, although the latter ap-
parently should be less enigmatical.  The most
satisfactory view  that can be  given regarding
life, is to describe its essential notes.  But the
greater the endeavor to fathom it, the more mys-
terious it becomes.
   Whatever views may be entertained respecting
the actual nature  of life,  both philosophers and
scientists in general affirm that at some period in
the past history of our globe,  the first germ of
organic  life made its appearance.   This  gives
rise to  another great question:  How  did the
inert  molecules  at that  first moment  suddenly
become  endowed  with vital  power?   In  what
manner was the first living protoplasm formed?
   The Book of  Genesis tells us not only that in
the beginning  God created heaven and earth, but
                      56 
THE ORIGIN OF  LIFE
 that He said: "Let the earth bring forth the green
 herb ... let the waters bring forth the creeping
 creature  having  life ... let  the earth  bring
 forth the living  creature in its kind."  True as
 these facts are, they do not seem sufficiently defi-
 nite for some interpreters.  These say that God
 is the Author  of Life  as  the First Cause only.
 He seems to, or  He could, have created  the  ele-
 ments and then made them capable of combining
 under favorable  conditions into some form of
 life.  Others will have  it that God created  life
 directly and did  not leave  it  to the operation of
 secondary causes.
   In the  laboratories, scientists with all equip-
 ment at their  disposal, have not been  able to
 solve the  problem.  Some  of them have delved
 into the earth's most ancient  history in order to
 obtain  evidence.   Even in the  oldest rocks  of
 the earth, where such  information  is  sought,
 there appear evidences of life, telling us some-
 thing of its characteristics  and relative age,  but
 nothing of its mode of origin.  All that can be
 done with such facts is to build up a philosophi-
 cal argument by means of which it is endeavored
 to arrive at the origin of life.
  The  opinions  based  on such  argumentation
may be  placed  in two categories.   There is one
                      57 
  NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

group of individuals, who are firmly convinced
that life must have been produced spontaneously
under physico-chemical action.   No external in-
tervention  was  necessary.   Others,  employing
the same data, postulate some external influence,
apart from the  world, that brought  about  life.
They hold that  the facts of science lead to the
conclusion  that  the spark of life began  to exist
upon this  globe through the  intervention of a
Personal Creator.  The question is one  of  vast
importance, since on the one side the treatment
of the subject leads to the existence of a Personal
and acting  God, whereas, on the other hand, the
idea of a God becomes a chimaera.
   The discussion  of the problem of the origin
of life has  been  an important one in the history
of science and even in the present age, the  con-
troversy is renewed.  In the days of old, Aristotle
and other Greek philosophers and scientists were
of the opinion that many animate objects, whose
origin was unknown, were produced  without
parents by the force of  inanimate matter.   To
them  the mud of the rivers  and decomposing
animal  and vegetable matter seemed capable of
producing  and organizing reptiles, fish,  insects,
worms  and  other small   creatures.  Aristotle
("Historia  AnimaUum")  tells us that  "Some
                     58 
THE ORIGIN OF  LIFE
animals  spring from  parent animals  according
to their kind,  whilst others  grow spontaneously
and  not  from kindred  stock;  and  of  these
instances  of  spontaneous generation some  come
from  putrefying earth or vegetable matter, as
is the  case with a number of insects."  Again,
"there  is a species  of mullet that grows  spontane-
ously out of  mud  and sand."   So also, he tells
us that "eels proceed neither  from pairing nor
from eggs, but are derived from the so-called
'earth's entrails' that grow spontaneously in mud
and humid ground" (Bk.  I and VII).
  The views of Aristotle were shared by the Ro-
man poets, philosophers, and naturalists: Varro,
Virgil, Lucretius,  Ovid, and Pliny.  Virgil de-
votes the  fourth Georgic  to  the subject of bees
and gives a receipt for replenishing them,  when
diminished or  lost.  He speaks of  it as an art ,
practised  in Egypt.  The process was to kill a
young bullock by stopping up his nostrils.   This
would permit the skin to remain unbroken by any
wound.  After  leaving the  animal  to putrefy
within  its hide,
 "Behold a prodigy,  for from within
  The broken bowels  and the bloated skin,
  A buzzing sound of bees the ear alarms,
  Straight issuing through the sides assembling swarms.
                      59 
 NOTES  OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST
  Dark as a cloud, they make a wheeling flight,
  Then on a neighboring tree descending, light
  Like a cluster of black grapes they show
  And make a large dependence from the bough."
                         (Dryden's Translation.)
The observation was more or  less correct, but
wrongly  interpreted.   It  escaped  the  notice of
Virgil  that  there are certain  flies, which very
closely resemble bees and  in their larval stage de-
velop  in  decomposed matter.   The  so-called
"bees" came  from eggs that had  been deposited
by the flies.
  Lucretius the poet-philosopher  writes: "It re-
mains  therefore  to believe that the  earth must
justly have obtained the  name of mother, since
from the  earth all  living creatures  were  born.
And even now many animals spring forth from
the earth, which are generated by means of moist-
ure and  the  quickening heat of the  sun"  ("De
Rerum Natura," Bk. V).
  Due to the imperfect methods of scientific re-
search, the spontaneous birth of certain individ-
uals was an accepted view for many years.  St.
Augustine  says:  "Many small animals originate
from unhealthy vapors, from evaporations from
the earth or from corpses;  some also from decayed
woods, herbs and fruits.   But God is the Creator
                      60 
THE ORIGIN OF LIFE
 of all things."   The Angelic Doctor does not ex-
 actly deny spontaneous generation, but severely
 reprimands Avicenna, who  attributed it entirely
 to matter.   Both St. Augustine and St. Thomas
 interpreted the fact in a manner different from
 the materialistic view of  life.   They asserted
 that if matter produces life, it is in virtue of a
 special power given by God.
  For a long time after St. Thomas  the  theory
 of  spontaneous  generation  was universally  ac-
 cepted and taught in the  schools  of the  Old
 World.   John Swan,  the author of the "Specu-
 lum Mundi," declared that  a dead  horse  breeds
 wasps, that from the body of  an  ass proceed
 bumble bees, while a mule  produces  hornets.
 Anyone desiring bees, must  seek them in a dead
 calf, but with this condition, "if the west  winde
 blow."  To show the imperfect knowledge of the
 development of insects—that in all cases the con-
 nection  was  not  perceived  between egg,  larva,
 pupa and mature form—his perplexity over the
 silk-worm may be cited.  "Whether  I may name
 it a worme or a flie,  I cannot tell.   For  some-
times it is a worme, sometimes a flie and  some-
times neither worme nor flie, but a little seed
which the dying flies leave behinde them."
  Father Athanasius  Kircher,  S. J.,  a famous
                     61 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

 scholar of the seventeenth century, writes of a
 method of producing serpents  by  spontaneous
generation that was given credence.   "Take  as
 many  serpents as you like, dry them, cut them
 into small pieces,  bury these in damp earth, water
 them freely with rain water, and leave the rest
 to the spring  sun.  After eight days,  the whole
 will turn  into little worms, which, fed  with milk
 and earth, will at length become perfect serpents,
and by procreation will multiply ad infinitum."
 In  1644,  Van Helmont, a Belgian doctor, gave
 a receipt  for  making bees.   Others gave direc-
 tions for  obtaining mice from  cheese or  fish by
 the fermentation  of substances.
  But the spirit  of correct scientific observation
 asserted itself and even in the seventeenth century
many of the  fables and strange views  were dis-
 sipated.   This was due principally to the  efforts
 of  Redi  and Swammerdam.   Redi was  court-
physician to   the  Grand Dukes of  Tuscany, a
member of the Accademia del Cimento of Flor-
ence, as well  as of the Lincei, the earliest scien-
tific academy  founded at Rome, in 1603.  Swam-
merdam was  a prominent physician of Amster-
dam.
  In 1688, Francesco Redi,  in a work entitled
 "Experiments on the Generation  of  Insects,"
                     62 
          THE  ORIGIN OF  LIFE

proved that animals are born from the egg  and
not  spontaneously.  After having  given  a  de-
scription  of  many experiments to establish his
point,  he  writes:  "Know then that,  as it  is true
that meats, fish, and milk products kept in a pro-
tected place do not breed worms, it is likewise true
that fruits and vegetables, raw and cooked, secured
in the  same way  do not grow wormy; or, in the
contrary case, left in an exposed place, will pro-
duce various insects of different species, accord-
ing to  the animals that have made deposits there-
in."  He  disproved a myth that the toad is gen-
erated from a duck putrefying on  a refuse-heap.
"Three experiments with this material brought no
result,  hence I  was convinced that  Porta, other-
wise a most interesting and profound writer, had
been too credulous.  And Avicenna was none the
less, for he would have it that women's hair, lain
in a damp  and  sunny place,  would  turn  into
snakes.  Now  I  believe  that  snakes are only
generated  by means  of  coition, and all  other
kinds of serpentine creation from  rotten matter,
or by processes mentioned by writers, are utterly
false."
  In another place he comments on the view of
Pliny and others, "who relate that infinite kinds
of animals  are bred in the soil, in mud  and
                     63 
  NOTES OF  A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

swamps,  and in the bed of rivers," with partic-
ular reference to frogs.  "But  what causes me
most amusement is  the statement of Pliny that
these same frogs, after a short life of six months,
return  suddenly to dust and  mud, whence they
again,  on the  approach  of spring, become re-
suscitated to a new  life.". .  .   "But these are
all fables.   Those animals that apparently were
made of  earth,  had  they  been closely examined,
it would have been evident that they were merely
covered with mud: and though  living things do
arise in swamps and mudholes, it is because eggs
have been first  laid  in  those places."
  "Land turtles also  lay  eggs  and put them
underground; and those that live in fresh or salt
water lay eggs on the shore and cover them with
sand, where they are  acted upon by the sun's
heat, and hatch;  whence an  inexperienced per-
son might conclude  that the little  turtles  were
born directly from the earth, from which they
are seen issuing."
  By means of the above experiments and state-
ments Redi strongly manifested his belief in the
idea that there  is no life  without  antecedent life
—t(omne vivum ex vivo."  For a long time the
idea was accepted by the  learned, and spontane-
ous generation  fell  into  disrepute.  But Redi's
                      64 
THE ORIGIN OF LIFE
 victory was  only temporary.  That wonderful
 instrument, the microscope, was in the meantime
 being  perfected, and  it made known a new and
 undreamed of world  of minute creatures called
 "animalculae."  As the facts  of propagation  in
 all cases  were not known, the old  opinion  of
 spontaneous  generation again  arose  and found
 many  adherents.
   The eminent defenders now coming to the fore-
 ground were the English naturalist Needham and
 the French scholar Buffon.  They asserted that,
 whatever views might  be entertained of the origin
 of higher animals, there could be no doubt about
 the spontaneous  production  of certain  of the
 lower  animalculae from suitably prepared infu-
 sions  of  animal and  vegetable matter.   Abbate
 Spallanzani opposed these views, stating that the
 experiments  undertaken   were  defective  and
 therefore there was no justification for their con-
 clusions.   He gave as an example the dried ears
of wheat.   They appeared to be  merely inert dust.
 But a  drop of water placed on  this  "dust," even
 after a considerable period of time, was sufficient
 to reanimate it.  Hence, life was not extinct, but
only suspended.   Furthermore, he  showed that
microscopic life,  appearing in  infusions,  e.g.,
beef tea, when exposed to the air, was  due to
                     65 
  NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC  BIOLOGIST

atmospheric germs.  If the necessary precautions
are taken against  the  admission of germs  into
such  preparations, no  animalcules whatsoever
are developed.
  Many scientists  subsequently  made  a  further
study of the problem.   Among  them  are to be
mentioned   Schultze,  Schwann,   Van   Siebold,
Leuckart, and Van Beneden.  Despite their re-
searches and the conclusion that  life comes from
pre-existing life, there  were not wanting  others
who still adhered  to spontaneous generation, or
"abiogenesis," as  it is also called.  Such were
the great chemists  Berzelius and Liebig.  They
asked: "Was  it certain that in  the experiments
which had hitherto  been conducted, that the prop-
erties of the air, or the oxygen of the  air or of
the menstrua themselves, had not been essentially
changed, and thus  rendered them incompetent to
give rise to the phenomena which they would ex-
hibit in their natural and chemically unchanged
condition?"
  In  1858, M. Pouchet, professor of zoology at
Rouen, fostered similar views.   He claimed that
he had seen microscopic  animals come  to life
spontaneously in a fermentable  liquid that had
previously been rendered sterile,  and into which
was passed air deprived of germs.   Many mem-
                     66 
THE ORIGIN OF LIFE
 bers of the French Academy of Sciences, among
 them Claude Bernard, de Quatrefages, and Payen
 pointed  out that sufficient  precaution  was  not
 taken in  the  experiments.   The  dispute  con-
 tinued, and since it  was an important  problem,
 the  Academy proposed that its examination  be
 made the object of a  prize.   It  was then that the
 great Pasteur entered upon the  scene.
   This prince of investigators took upon him-
 self the burden of proving that,  in every  instance,
 life originates from  antecedent life;  that  fer-
 mentation, putrefaction, and disease are the re-
 sults of  bacterial  activity   and  the   microbes
 themselves, as well as creatures  of  higher organ-
 ization, are invariably produced by beings  like
 themselves; that  in all cases like proceeds from
 like, and  consequently spontaneous generation is
 a chimaera.  He instituted two series of experi-
 ments in order to prove the following facts:  1st,
 a pure air, completely deprived of microbes, does
 not  cause putrefaction  in  a  fermentable  but
 thoroughly sterilized liquid.   2nd,  pure  air con-
 taining germs, will not necessarily  putrify a  fer-
 mentable liquid previously made sterile, because
 the  microbes may not be sufficiently numerous.
  Since the results of Pasteur's endeavors have
proved to be of importance not only to the scien-
                      67 
 NOTES OF  A CATHOLIC  BIOLOGIST

tist but also to mankind in general, it may not be
out of place to  consider some of the details.
   (1) He showed that sterilized air  would  not
cause a fermentable liquid  free  from germs to
become  putrid.   At  first he used a solution  of
sugar and  albumen, then different broths,  also
blood, milk, etc.  The different liquids were  de-
prived of their  germs by boiling, just as Pouchet
had  done, so that there would be no  reason  for
accusing Pasteur of destroying the germinating
powers of the preparations.  He was  soon able
to  show errors,  against which Pouchet had  not
guarded  himself.   In such preparations high
temperature does not  affect all  microbes alike.
Sometimes they appear to be destroyed, but life
is  only suspended  and  latent,  because certain
germs have a covering which protects  them from
the heat for  a  long time.   Especially was this
the case in the preparations used by Pouchet and
his adherents.  Hence, it was not surprising that
evidence of living forms appeared in Pouchet's
experiments.
   When Pasteur felt assured that the liquids were
devoid of micro-organisms, he admitted perfectly
pure air, deprived  of  those bacteria   which  are
usually  suspended in the atmosphere.  The air
reached the liquids  by passing  through  a  tube
                      68 
THE ORIGIN OF  LIFE
 of red-hot  platinum.   Thus, the microbes  per-
 ished in the passage, but the composition of the
 air remained undisturbed.   After some time, it
 was seen that the liquids showed no signs of life.
 Lest it be said that he disturbed the air by over-
 heating, he then filtered air by causing it to  pass
 through  cotton-wool  sterilized  by  heat  and
 through asbestos previously calcined.  The same
 result was obtained, namely, no evidence of liv-
 ing forms.   To prove  that  the  organisms came
 from the air, he took a few shreds of the cotton-
 wool  and  asbestos,  which had  checked the en-
 trance of the microbes, placed the shreds  in the
 liquid and  directly there were evidences of  life.
   Again he took several flasks with zig-zag necks
 containing sterilized liquids and into some  per-
 mitted the  air to pass quickly  and  directly.
 Bacteria  appeared  in   the  cultures.   Into  the
 others he caused the air to travel slowly, with the
 result that all  remained unaffected, because the
 microbes rested on the surface of the curved tubes.
 But when he brought these same preparations into
 direct contact with  the  air, germination  set in
 at once.
   (2)  Pasteur also showed that natural air does
not necessarily  contaminate a  liquid  that  has
been sterilized.  Pouchet asserted that air taken
                      69 
 NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

from  any spot  desired, would  act  in  the  same
manner upon such preparations.  Pasteur denied
this statement and gave  proof  of it after  some
time.   He caused some fermentable liquids, in
glass  vessels, to come in contact with the air,
some  on the Jura  and  some on Mont Blanc.
Many remained unchanged even after three or
four years.  The neck of one of the flasks hap-
pened to be broken accidentally in his laboratory,
so that air was admitted.  Inside of three days
bacterial life was observed.   Some fifty-six flasks
containing liquids deprived of germs were opened
in various places to  let the air come in contact
with  them.   Nineteen were exposed to the air
of the amphitheatre  of  the Museum;  nineteen
were  opened on  the  highest  portions  of the
dome, and  eighteen were  taken  to   Bellevue
and placed on a lawn under a group  of poplar
trees.  Of  the first nineteen, fourteen remained
uncontaminated; of the second  set, thirteen were
not tainted, and at  Bellevue all but one showed
the greatest abundance of living forms, proving
that the organisms were suspended in the air.
  In   England  the  experimentalist,   Tyndall,
undertook  similar  investigations,  in   order to
verify the results of Pasteur, and arrived at the
same  conclusions.  In  fact, all  the results of
                      70 
THE ORIGIN OF  LIFE
scientific investigation point to the view that the
air round about  us carries numerous microbes,
which  can grow and multiply quickly in any
nutritive preparation and bring about fermenta-
tion.   The experiments also showed  that as far
as science goes there is no life, except that com-
ing  from preexistent life.  Tyndall  remarks:
"In experimental science  there is no conclusion
more certain than this.  In the presence of these
facts, it would be absolutely monstrous to affirm
that these swarms of bacteria were spontaneously
generated."   Virchow, the celebrated founder of
cellular pathology,  tells us:   "IsTever has a liv-
ing being or even a living element—let us say a
living cell—been found of which it could be pred-
icated  that it was  the first  of a species.   Nor
have any fossil remains ever been found of which
it could ever be likely that they belonged to a be-
ing the first of its kind, or produced by spontane-
ous generation."  Oscar Hertwig, the famous bi-
ologist, says:  "Considering the state of natural
science at this time, there seems but little pros-
pect that any one engaged in scientific  research
will succeed  in artificially producing  even the
simplest living organisms  from lifeless material."
  At the present moment  Pasteur and his adher-
ents are the victors in the controversy.   But ac-
                      71 
  NOTES OF  A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

cording to Pouchet and Dr. Charlton Bastian of
England, the question is only settled provision-
ally.  They would  agree with the statement of
Huxley: "But expectation is permissible  where
belief is not; and if it were given me to look be-
yond the abyss of geologically recorded time to
the still more remote period when the earth was
passing through physical and chemical changes,
which it can no  more see again than a man  can
recall his infancy, I should expect to be a witness
of the evolution  of living protoplasm from non-
living  matter."   In  his  opinion, the solution
would  be  found  there and the scientist  in  the
laboratory could then apply the formula.
  Attempts have been made to show that the re-
sults of science  are  not  conclusive.  John  B.
Burke at Cam-bridge, England, by the  action of
radium  on beef-bouillon produced objects  which
he  called  "radiobes."  This was supposed  to
give evidence for spontaneous generation.  The
fact is,  however, that the powdered radium pro-
duced some chemical changes.  Radium can sep-
arate water  into  the gases, oxygen and  hydro-
gen.  It can also cause  albumen to coagulate.
So upon further experimentation, it  was  shown
that the "radiobes" were  little bubbles of gas,
surrounded  by  a covering  of coagulated albu-
                     72 
THE ORIGIN OF LIFE
 men.  The more the  radium acted,  the  greater
 was the amount of bubbles produced, and  this
 gave the  appearance  of  a growing organism.
 Burke mentioned that the "radiobes" were seen
 to melt away in the water.  What really happened
 was that the water,  after a while, gradually re-
 moved the  gelatine from the bubbles.  Thus, no
 proof for the spontaneous production of life was
 given to science.
   Although scientists  in  general agree that all
 living matter came from living matter, the ques-
 tion arises: Where  did the first living  matter
 come from?   There was a time when life  did
 begin on this earth, as  scientific  investigation
 shows.  Geology assures us that the earliest rocks
 of the earth show a state of fusion at  a tempera-
 ture higher than  the burning material of vol-
 canos.   In this  intense heat,  no life would be
 possible, and  no  germ could have  offered  re-
 sistance.  Strangely  enough, men like  Fechner
 and Preyer would overcome the difficulty by hav-
 ing organic matter preceding inorganic, and say
 that  the heavy metals in the rocks, once organic
elements, are "signs of the dead primaeval  gigan-
tic organisms whose breath perhaps was glowing
iron  vapor, their blood molten metal, and their
food perhaps the meteorites."
                      73 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

   Certain authors have opined  that  the  living
 forms may have  fallen on the earth's  surface as
 "dust" escaping  into  space  during the passage
 of comets or shooting stars.  This is not a satis-
 factory explanation because these stellar bodies
 must  have  received  life  from  elsewhere.  As
 Guenther remarks: "If we put life off  to another
 planet, we have to ask how it was  born there."
   It seems to be  a lamentable fact that scientific
 investigations  do not give  any proof  for  the
 spontaneous production of life.  Professor Conn
 remarks:  "It has  been a disappointment to  biolo-
 gists  to be obliged to admit that  they find no
 evidence for the theory of spontaneous develop-
 ment, since at some period in the history of the
 world, life must  have made its appearance  for
 the first time. . . . The majority of  biologists,
 however,  believe  it to be  a  logical necessity to
 assume that at some time in prehistoric ages, the
 first living thing  appeared from a  source which
 was not living.   While accepting the fact that
 abiogenesis does not occur at the present day or
under  present  conditions,  biologists still  claim
that we have no means of knowing what may have
occurred, under different conditions in earlier eras
of the world's history.  Thus the problem of the
 primal origin of  living matter still  remains  un-
                      74 
          THE  ORIGIN  OF LIFE

 solved."  Haeckel was more emphatic with his
 defence  of this postulate when he wrote: "The
 living bodies  must have been formed chemically
 at the cost  of inorganic  compounds; thus that
 complex substance must have appeared which we
 call protoplasm, which contains carbon and nitro-
 gen and which is the material scene of all vital
 activities."  And  why must this have occurred?
 Because  it is  a matter of choosing between two
 possibilities:  Natural Evolution or Supernatural
 Creation.  He tells us:  "If we reject  monistic
 evolution,  nothing  remains but  the  irrational
 hypothesis of a miracle of supernatural creation."
 For him spontaneous generation must have taken
 place in  order to avoid the idea of God.
  But despite such rabid outbursts, we claim that
 the first spark of life came from a power superior
 to matter and to  any of the forces prevalent in
 Nature.   This is the only plausible and  logical
 solution of the great problem.  It was the result
 of that solemn Fiat in the  first days of  Crea-
tion.  Reinke  will tell us: "If we agree that liv-
 ing matter has at some time  come from inorganic
 substances, then  in -my opinion, the Creation
hypothesis is the only one which meets the neces-
sities  of  Logic and  of Causality and therewith
answers to the needs of a prudent seeker after
                     75 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

nature.  I take creation to mean that, at the be-
ginning of time, when no living being of any sort
moved on the surface of the earth, the first organ-
isms  came  from preexisting  conditions  of  the
earth's crust through forces that were not con-
tained within inorganic matter, but  worked on it
from without, just as iron and brass are  turned
into machinery by forces that  are not a property
of these metals."   Since scientists,  in prudently
considering the facts and in  searching  for  the
causes of phenomena,  can trace everything to a
Superior Intelligent Mind, there is but one opin-
ion to be held: God gave  the inert molecules  the
power to become  animate  according to His own
plan.  His  noblest creature,  man,  realizes  the
greatness of this  act, and since all  power to  be-
stow and  deprive comes from God, we can say
with Mordecai: "O Lord, Lord,  almighty king,
for all things are  in thy power, and  there is none
who can resist thy will. . .  .   Thou hast made
heaven and earth and  all things that are under
the scope of heaven.  Thou art Lord of all, and
there is none that can resist thy majesty" (Esther,
xiii, 9-11).
76 
CHAPTER V
         POLLEN AND FLOWER

This earth of ours presents many objects and
activities which, upon reflection, should lead one
to the conclusion  that they are marvels which
proclaim the greatness and wisdom of the Creator.
It was He  who decreed that they should  appear
and function according to a mode of action which
He prescribed.  Even after careful study,  they
cannot be fully comprehended and may  remain
unexplained.  In ordinary life the arrangement
and movement of a watch engages one's attention.
It is remarkable how the skill of man has  been
able  to assemble many small parts so that  they
will interact and by means of their movement let
us know the time of day.  Especially may this
be said of the very small time-pieces of modern
times, which can be considered objects of wonder.
  In Nature there exist structures and  interac-
tions of forces that are not as evident  as  the in-
tricacies of a watch and very often they are not
observed by persons, although in closest proxim-
                     77 
  NOTES OF A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

ity.   In many cases, it is only after attention has
been drawn to such facts that an examination is
undertaken.  One phenomenon of this  charac-
ter is the formation of plant-seeds.  These appear
season after season, and what is more wonderful
than in the case of the watch, they come regularly
and excepting in a few instances, arise without the
interference of man.   Each particular kind  of
plant  produces  its characteristic  seed,  but no
brand  of watch can  give  rise to others.   The
reason of it all is that the Creator has given  to
these living plants the capabilities of producing
their own kind.  For He  said: "Let  the  earth
bring forth the green herb and such as may seed,
and the fruit tree yielding  fruit  after its kind,
which  may  have seed in  itself upon the earth.
And it was so done" (Genesis).
   The phenomena connected with the first stages
of seed formation  deserve consideration.  Ordi-
narily they may be viewed as a matter of course,
but in reality they are of greatest significance and
import.
  The  plant-world offers   even  to the casual
observer, who may have very little knowledge of
botanical science, a phenomenon that will prompt
him to admire the foresight and arrangement of
God.   Indeed, there is  scarcely any one whose
                     78 
         POLLEN AND FLOWER

attention has not been attracted by the gay blos-
soms  of  plants, the yellowish powdery material
that loosely clings to the stamen, the odor so de-
lightful,  and the humming and buzzing of many
an insect.  A little observation and reflection will
show that all these elements, besides being things
of beauty and  poetry, have  a purpose and re-
dound to the wisdom of their Creator.  From a
biological point of view they all aid in that won-
derful process  known as pollination.  A  great
many members of the plant kingdom depend on
the seed  for reproduction  and  multiplication.
Yet, such a seed can never  be produced,  unless
the pollen-grain be brought in some manner to
the stigmas and eventually  effect impregnation.
The poet may sing: "Full many a flower is born
to blush  unseen and waste its sweetness on the
desert  air,." but  the Almighty has  arranged  a
place  for it in  Nature so that it, as  well as its
future  offspring, may pay tribute to  His glory.
  In order  that plants might fulfill the decree of
their Maker "to increase and multiply," they
employ various agencies to bring about the first
stage  necessary,  namely,  that  of  pollination.
One of the  great agents to accomplish this is the
wind.   Plants  pollinated in  this  manner are
very numerous  and include  cone  bearing trees
                     79 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

 (pine family), grasses, and sedges.  Their pollen
 is dry  and powdery in character and usually has
 a smooth surface, so that there  is no  tendency
 for the grains to cling  together.  Accordingly,
 they are readily shaken from the flowers and ob-
 tain a wide distribution  by means  of the wind.
 This  pollen  is yielded in enormous quantities
 and it has been  estimated, for example, that a
 medium-sized plant  of   Indian-corn  produces
 50,000,000  pollen grains.  Some  of our  text-
 books  state that pollen-carrying by the- wind  is
 a wasteful process.  A great amount of pollen is
 produced  and but a  small portion reaches its
 destination.   This does not bespeak waste.   Al-
 mighty God had to supply a great abundance so
 that some  at least would reach other plants.   The
 remainder, which happens to fall to the  earth,  is
 not lost.   After a process of decomposition it en-
 riches  the soil and forms nutritive material for
 other plants.   There is no waste in the economy
 of Nature.
  Remarkable  is  the  fact that  flowers which
receive pollen by means  of  the wind, have  a
peculiar arrangement of their stigmas.   Some of
these are  brush-like or  richly branched  as in
the hazels, feathery as in most grasses and thread-
                     80 
POLLEN  AND FLOWER
like as in Indian  corn.  This enables  them to
catch the dust-like  flying pollen.
   Another agent and an important one, destined
by the Allwise Creator to aid in pollination, is the
insect.  This  little  creature is attracted to the
plants by different factors.  It darts from flower
to flower to obtain food and instinctively chooses
only such as contain what it  needs.  This  food
may be  in the  form of pollen or in the more
luscious  material:  nectar.  Many  flowers  pro-
duce  nectar or  honey in special  glands called
nectaries.  Ordinarily it is  called honey, but it
is really nectar  that has been swallowed by the
insect  (the bee) and by partial  digestion has
undergone slight chemical  changes.  The  con-
tents  of  the nectaries is  a  sweet sugary fluid,
which  at  first is rather thick and syrupy, but
subsequently becomes more diluted by the absorp-
tion of liquid from beneath.   A good example of
the process would be the following: If two hollows
were made in an unpeeled potato and one of
them filled with  powdered sugar, after about an
hour,  this  one would be full of  syrup,  which
might even overflow.  The other hollow will be
dry and empty.  The sugar has drawn water out
of the potato.   In this way, plants produce nectar
                     81 
  NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

and employ water that has been absorbed from
the soil.   If nectaries  happen to be at  the base
of the stamens, the nectar absorbs  the  moisture
from these pollen-bearing structures, and  causes
them to dry up, so that the pollen itself becomes
exposed.   Such stamens have been found to be
dried up even though  the atmosphere had been
saturated with moisture.
  Not all flowers  produce nectar.  A limited
number offer  no other food  but pollen.  Yet,
here too  provision  is made, since such flowers
usually possess a large number of pollen-bearing
structures, so that sufficient  grains both for pol-
lination and food are present.   As a rule insects
take a certain amount of pollen as food even from
flowers that produce nectar.
  Many  flowers exhibit devices for protecting
nectar and pollen  from the injurious effects of
dew or rain.  The simplest method is for the
pollen-bearing portion to close up more or  less
completely, when the air becomes damp.   In other
cases the entire flower closes,  in  order to  shield
the honey and pollen.   The same end is  obtained
by the hanging position of many flowers as, for
example, in the lily of the valley.
  The insects find the various plants by means of
the  colors of their flowers.   The essential  requi-
                      82 
POLLEN AND FLOWER
site of floral color is that it be conspicuous and
produce  quite  a contrast with the general color
of  the plant, which is  usually green.  Accord-
ingly, white, yellow and red are  the  commonest
colors in flowers that nestle among foliage.   The
less contrasted  blue is  rather more  common  in
flowers that stand by themselves,  whether singly
or  in long terminal clusters.  Another  point  of
interest is that certain insects show a preference
for certain  colors,  and  flowers possessing such
colors are  usually  of   a  size and construction
better fitted to the visits of these particular in-
sects.  Hence,  most of the  small  regular flowers
are yellow and  white and are visited  by a great
variety  of  small  insects,  especially  flies, blue
flowers by bees and red often by butterflies.  White
flowers  of specialized kinds,  like  orchids, are
preferred by moths,  which happen to be the only
insects with sucking organs of sufficient length to
reach the bottom  of the unusually long nectar-
bearing tubes.
  The white color is found to distinguish most
of the flowers that bloom at dusk, a color there-
fore most conspicuous in darkness.   It so happens
that such white flowers are visited  by moths,
which are chiefly night-flying in habit.
  Brilliant colors are found in flowers that grow
                      S3 
 NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

in rather inhospitable places, suoh as the Arctic
shores, the desert  wastes or the Alpine  heights.
The Alpine flowers are famous for their beautiful
coloration.   In these places, insects are scarce
and the extra  brilliancy is designed to attract
them.
  A good many flowers display  a variety of color,
which  consists chiefly  of definite  spots  or lines
quite different  in hue from the ground color of
the flower as a whole, as in forget-me-nots, pan-
sies, and nasturtiums.   They are  said to act as
honey  guides, in  that they indicate  the  position
of the nectar.   The general color attracts the in-
sect to the flowers from  a distance, and these
markings then show the place to probe for nectar.
They also bring the insect into the position where
it can  best leave pollen or receive an additional
supply.
  There is still another form of allurement.  The
poet sings  "that many a flower wastes its sweet-
ness on the  desert air."   This does not agree
with facts.   The  color of flowers is sometimes
aided  and often replaced  by  the  odor  issuing
from  them.  It has even  been claimed  in  late
years that insects are guided to flowers much more
by the odors than by the colors, and that many
odors are hardly, or, not at all  perceptible by us.
                      84 
          POLLEN AND FLOWER

But, whatever the case may be, the odors assist
the colors, especially where color alone cannot be
made sufficiently conspicuous.   This would hold
true of night-blooming flowers in which  sweet
odor and white color are common.  The odor
also aids  flowers that bloom in very inconspicu-
ous  positions—close  to  the  ground  or among
leaves  in  the shade, as seen in the Mayflower,
Virginia creeper, and Dutchman's pipe.   While
most odors happen to be pleasing to us, there  are
some (skunk cabbage) that are obnoxious.  Yet
they have their lovers among the insects and  are
doubtless  very delightful to them.
   It is an interesting fact that many flowers give
off their  scent  mainly  at the  time  of  the day
when the  insects which pollinate them are most
active.   Some kinds of tobacco and honeysuckles,
petunias and catchflies, have very little odor by
day, but are quite fragrant at night, when  the
moths which pollinate them are on the wing.   On
the other hand, many plants of the pea family,
which  are pollinated  by  day-flying bees and
butterflies, give  off  their fragrance mostly  by
day, and especially in strong sunshine.
  The  insects most frequently acting as pollinat-
ing agents, are various types of  bees and humble
bees, butterflies,  moths and many  kinds of flies
                     85 
  NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

and beetles.   All  of them,  except  the beetles,
possess a special sucking-organ arising from the
underside of the head and of  different lengths.
In flies they are short, whereas in butterflies and
moths they are exceptionally long and are coiled
up  when not in use.  Due to the different posi-
tions taken by the insects  upon the flowers, di-
verse parts of the body may become dusted  with
pollen.   These parts are  often  covered  with
minute hairs, to which the pollen readily clings.
In this manner, the pollen taken from one flower
will most likely be rubbed against the stigma of
another flower, which the insect visits, thereby
bringing about pollination.
  A great many flowers like the buttercup, poppy,
rose and  others  having  radial  symmetry,  are
visited by  many  sorts  of insects from flies  to
bees.  But flowers having  bilateral symmetry,
e.g., violets,  mints, wild  balsam and a goodly
number of the pea  family  are frequented only by
insects that can reach the  nectar or pollen,  or
both.   In violets,  the pollen is abundant but it
is concealed  and  the nectar is at  some depth.
Both elements are  easily reached by the tongues
of bees but not by small  insects.  In the snap-
dragon, the flower  closes up firmly and no small
insect can enter.   Bees, however, can overcome
                     86 
POLLEN  AND FLOWER
 the elasticity of the hinge at the junction of the
 lips and gain entrance.
   Some plants depend on a single kind of insect
 for pollination and  therefore cannot  set seeds,
 if that species of insect is not at hand to carry
 pollen.  The fig-tree may bear large juicy fruit
 without visits from insects, but it cannot produce
 seed unless pollinated by a small species of wasp.
 The yuccas, lily-like plants, that grow  in desert
 or semi-desert regions, have flowers that are white
 or  nearly  so.  Pollination is  impossible in one
 species without the aid of a small female moth.
 During the day the moth remains at rest  within
 the  flower.  At  dusk,  it  crawls  to  the pollen-
 bearing portions where it collects a considerable
 amount of the pollen and holds it by  means of
 spinous  appendages  of  the  head.  Frequently
 the  mass is three times the size of the head.
 Then the moth crawls about toward the structure
 containing the ovules.  It pierces the soft ovary
 wall with  the sharp  tip  of its  egg-depositing
 apparatus  and  inserts  one  of its eggs.  After
 this  process, the creature uncoils  the appendages
 holding the pollen and with its tongue vigorously
 thrusts the pollen-grains into the opening of the
ovary for several seconds.  In this manner, the in-
sect has brought  about pollination and has also
                     87 
NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST
secured food for the little grub  that will come
from the egg it deposited.   The larval form later
bores  its way  to  the exterior,  drops to  the
earth and makes a cocoon of silk a few inches
under  ground.   It  is probable that it  does  not
assume the  form  of a perfect  insect  until  the
next blooming  time of the yuccas.  The plant
is pollinated by its  own reproductive elements, a
fact which does not obtain in all cases.
  Another example of a  flower  specialized  for
insect  visitors is the Dutchman's pipe.  It  re-
sembles the pipe  that the Hollander  smokes,
having a curved lower part  and  two  upward
pointing lobes, one being  the  hooded  exit,  the
other containing the pistils and  stamens.  A fly
laden with pollen enters and falls to the bottom
of the curve.  It tries to crawl to the surface but
the  inner wall of the flower is so  smooth that its
endeavors prove futile.  Then  it flies from one
side to the other and in so doing dusts the stigma
with its pollen-coated body. The  fly remains en-
trapped for a day or two and in the meantime  the
stamens ripen.   In darting back and forth  the
fly  raises a  perfect dust-storm  of pollen  which
finally lodges on its body.  Meanwhile  also,  the
flower  begins  to wither and the insect climbs
along the now roughened sides to the exterior and
                     88 
POLLEN  AND FLOWER
brings the pollen to another flower.  Here is to
be noticed a wonderful arrangement to prevent
self-pollination, namely the stigmas have ripened
first and  received pollen from the insect,  and
only later do the stamens become mature, so that
the fly may carry their pollen elsewhere.
   The greater  part  of pollination  is performed
by  insects, but they are  not the  only animals
that attend to this function.  There are certain
birds that  seek nectar, and the most familiar in
our own country is the humming-bird.  In Asia
and Africa the sun-birds are most efficient.   The
flowers pollinated by them are large and showy,
many  of  them being scarlet  or  deep  orange.
Some  of  the most familiar flowers  visited by
birds are the trumpet-creepers, the scarlet salvias,
century plant, cotton, evening primrose, oleander,
and  certain species  of tobacco.  Among other
animals that effect pollination are snails.  They
are not abundant in  this  country  and therefore
not important agents.  In some countries of the
Old World they swarm in almost countless num-
bers on the foliage and flowers of many species
of plants  related to our jack-in-the-pulpit  and
dragon  root.   They  are said  to visit  some of
these plants for the soft tissue that grows abun-
dantly among  the blossoms.   In doing so, they
                      89 
  NOTES  OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

transfer  pollen from  one  plant  to  another.
  Here, finally, might be mentioned the fact that
plants in some instances display wonderful pro-
vision to  keep away  unwelcome  guests, the
food being reserved  for animals that can  be  of
assistance  in  the  process of  pollination.  All
other forms would simply feed on the honey and
be of no benefit to the plant.   One mode of pro-
tection has already been indicated, namely, that
the pollen  and honey are so situated  as  to  be
accessible  only to  desired  animals.  Another
method is similar to that employed by gardeners,
in order to keep away snails, caterpillars,  centi-
pedes, and other creeping forms.   The  horticul-
turist places the pot containing the  plant  upon
another low pot inverted in a shallow dish  of
water.  The plant becomes isolated and the creep-
ing  forms  cannot  approach.  The  crowns  of
young trees are at times protected  by tying a
sticky cloth or cotton around the stem, or, paint-
ing the bark with bird lime or other mucilaginous
material.   By  means of  this arrangement, the
animals  in creeping along  become  entrapped.
Again, belts of spiny  branches are  attached  to
stems of trees, so that progress is impossible for
the sensitive caterpillars,  snails, and  slugs.
  What man does by artificial means, that Na-
                     90 
POLLEN  AND FLOWER
ture is able to provide for various plants.  There
are many water plants and bog plants which are
protected  by  their isolation.  The water-lilies,
bladderwort, water soldier,  and others can only
be visited by flies and bees that come through the
air for their food and thereby aid in pollination.
All the creeping forms are checked by the water.
Some plants have their leaves so constructed that
they contain small amounts  of water, and crawl-
ing forms in  search of  honey are destroyed  in
such basins.
  Better still  is the production of viscous sub-
stances by some plants.   Ants in crawling toward
floral  portions of certain plants, touch tensely
gorged cells with the claws of their feet.  These
cells then burst readily and  a milky substance is
exuded.   This covers the feet and  abdomen  of
the ant.   In self defence, the insect bites at the
substance and as a result covers its head with it.
The ant  struggles to free itself, but only causes
more and more cells to be irritated and ruptured.
Some of the ants manage to escape and fall to the
ground, but many an intruder is simply glued in
the  material and eventually  succumbs.
  The plant called catch-fly by its  very  name
suggests some such protection.  The lower por-
tion of the stem is green and shows no sticky
                     91 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

 coating.   But in the upper section, in the im-
 mediate  neighborhood of the flower, is secreted
 a viscid substance which prevents the approach of
 small insects.  In some  other plants, the entire
 foliage is sticky,  and frequently the dead bodies
 of  insects, who  ventured  upon  them, may  be
 found adhering to the leaves.
  The flowers of  some plants  have a  waxy
 coating, making it difficult for creeping forms to
 proceed.   Certain kinds of  willows depend  on
 the bee for pollination and the honey is reserved
 for this insect.  Ants and other  crawlers in at-
 tempting to reach the honey, slip on this waxy
 coat, lose their footing and fall to the ground.
  Other  flowers,  not arranged for the visits  of
 snails or slugs, display spines, prickles, and stiff
bristles, and toward these the soft-bodied animals
 are very sensitive.   It  is  noticed  that  plants
possessing  spiny  structures, show an abundance
of them  near the flowering structures.  Besides
keeping away the undesired visitors, they also act
as "path finders" for the  useful honey-sucking
insect.  They place the insect in the best position
for  dislodging pollen grains upon the stigmas.
  Plants like the pinks produce a good amount
of honey, which is reserved for insects that visit
the  flower  from  above, where the  stamens and
                     92 
          POLLEN  AND  FLOWER

 stigmas appear.  Bees and  humble bees at times
 endeavor  to  obtain honey  by  simply biting
 through  the delicate covering of the honey re-
 ceptacle.   This cannot occur in the pinks, which
 have tough overlapping  scales,  like the  shingles
 on a house, around the receptacle.  Not even the
 strongest humble bee can pierce this guarded por-
 tion.   The only alternative is to obtain the honey
 from above and so aid in pollination.
   The ants in general are not  good pollinating
 agents because  they  cannot transfer the pollen
 grains with  sufficient rapidity from flower  to
 flower.   For that reason, they are excluded from
 many a honey-producing plant.  However,  they
 do render  service to certain plants by guarding
 and protecting the flower.   Some European forms
 of the thistle  group, whilst  bearing  the  buds
 of future flowers, are liable  to the attacks of
 devouring beetles that bite big holes into  the buds
 and  destroy the undeveloped  flowers  and the
 leaves which usually  surround them. To ward
 off such  attacks, a group of  ants is employed.
 During the development of the flowering portion,
 honey escapes through the scaly covering of the
bud.   As  it is produced  in large quantities, the
ants  are  attracted  and they remain  on  the  un-
opened bud as long as the delicacy is furnished
                     93 
  NOTES OF  A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

to them.  Should a beetle appear  in the neigh-
borhood, the ants  assume a menacing position.
They hold on to the scales of the bud with the
last pair of legs and present the forelegs, abdo-
men and  powerful jaws to the enemy.  They
remain in this attitude until the beetle withdraws.
Should  the beetle come too  near,  then the ants
squirt some formic acid toward it.  When the
enemy has left, the ants quietly continue to feed
on the honey.  It  is significant that these crea-
tures do not fight among themselves, even though
fifteen may  be  present on one bud at  the same
time.  As soon as the flowers begin to  unfold,
the production  of  honey becomes  less  and ulti-
mately ceases altogether.  The beetles  will then
no longer seek the tender contents of the original
bud, nor do the ants remain as guardians: they
leave and go in search of other, younger flower-
heads.
  These facts show wonderful  arrangements in
the plant-world, in order that seeds, so  necessary
for multiplication and reproduction, may be pro-
duced.  Many  present-day writers would  have
us believe that all these phenomena  are the results
of Chance:  that in the  beginning there was  a
fortuitous  intermingling of  atoms,  which  in
course of time gave rise to the varied forms now
                     94 
         POLLEN AND FLOWER

existing; that owing to some  "force" in Nature
these plants were able to produce structures and
processes  that  would  prove  beneficial  in  that
peculiar "Struggle for Existence."  Darwin says:
"Hence we may conclude that, if insects had not
been developed upon the earth, our plants would
not have been decked with beautiful flowers, but
would have produced only such poor flowers as we
see on  our fir, oak, nut and ash trees, on grasses,
docks,  and nettles, which are all fertilized through
the agency of the winds."  It must be remem-
bered that the  gay flowers are  not  independent
parts, but are correlated with a vast number of
other properties of  these plants, with which the
insects could have nothing to  do.  The implica-
tion that  the insects are  the cause of the  gay
flowers, does not explain the  case.   Similarly it
could be argued that the  honey associated  with
the gay flowers  was the cause of the suctatorial
proboscis  of  the insects.
   Others again will concede that there is present
here a  certain law  and arrangement,  but  they
would  trace it all to a cause that is unknowable.
Yet any one  considering these facts with unprej-
udiced mind can recognize a  plan  and arrange-
ment instituted by a Superior Intelligence.  This
Superior Mind,  Our  Creator, though  invisible
                      95 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

is not unknowable.   "For such is the energy of
the true Godhead, that it cannot be altogether and
utterly hidden from any rational creature.   For
with the exception of a few in whom  nature has
become  outrageously depraved, the whole race of
man acknowledges God  as  the  maker  of  this
world"  (St.  Aug., "Tract, in Joa.," 106, n. 4).
His Wisdom "reacheth from  end to end  mightily
and ordereth all things sweetly" (Wisd.  viii, 1).
Hence, with  the Psalmist,  the fair-minded person
can exclaim: "The eyes of all  hope in Thee, 0
Lord: and Thou givest them  meat in due season.
Thou openest Thy hand and fillest with blessing
every living creature" (Ps.  cxliv,  15-16).  In
truth, "He made the little and the great and He
hath equally cared for all (Wisd. vi, 8).
96 
CHAPTER VI
    DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS AND
                   SEEDS

From the moment that Almighty God manifested
His will  by uttering that solemn Fiat on  the
third day of Creation, there have gradually  ap-
peared upon this earth of ours an abundance and
variety of vegetation.  By His decree the earth
was to bring forth the green herb and the tree,
each producing seed  according to its kind.   It
was also according to His design that plant-forms
were to appear from season to  season and be a
source of admiration and benefit to mankind.
  The many forms of the plant  kingdom were
not to be confined to one restricted area, the seeds
were  not  to  fall directly downward from  the
parental form and germinate in closest proximity.
It was the Will of Our Creator that they be dis-
tributed to other parts,  in order  that favorable
soil and uncrowded conditions be furnished  for
their development.
  The processes connected with  the  formation
                     97 
  NOTES OF  A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

of even the smallest seed are interesting and com-
plex and show the forethought and arrangement
of some one who is allwise and supreme in power.
Similarly, the work of God, as seen in the distri-
bution of plants and seeds, prompts us to express
our deepest  feelings of wonder and admiration.
The facts given in the following pages will  show
how this Great  Sower went out to sow His  seed,
by noting, in the first place,  a few examples of
plants that came into new surroundings, and then
the manner  of their dispersal.
   From time to time we may be made cognizant
of the fact that changes of vegetation have been
brought about in certain  areas where forest fires
had  occurred.  Plants  and  trees  of  different
species from those formerly growing there sprang
up.  The writer of these pages had occasion to
witness this fact while visiting the inland-sections
of Martha's Vineyard, where  after a great forest
fire,  numerous berry bushes made their appear-
ance.  Investigations have shown that a certain
cress, which grows in meadows, swamps, streams
and ditches has been found everywhere in Europe,
excepting the Arctic portions, in Algiers, Abys-
sinia, India, Ceylon, in  Northern Asia, on the
Islands of the Pacific, on Mauritius, in Eastern
                     98 
DISTRIBUTION OF  PLANTS
and Western North America to the Arctic Ocean,
in Columbia, Patagonia, Buenas Ayres, Chili
and some other regions of South America.  The
American plant, water-thyme, has for its habitat
the rivers, from Canada to  the Mississippi.  It
was first noticed in Ireland, in 1836, just after
some  North American water plants  were trans-
ported to that country.  That  very  same year,
the body of water in which it happened to thrive,
was filled  with this plant.   Five years  later, it
appeared  in several lakes of Scotland and Eng-
land.   It travelled along the  canal system  of
Central England and by its rapid growth checked
fishing, boating, and the opening  and closing of
the sluices.  It even stopped the  flow of water,
so that floods  occurred.  This plant  did  not
reach  the  Continent for a long time,  not until a
botanist in Berlin applied for samples of it from
England,  in 1854.  Gradually it   was found
spreading to different centres of Northern Ger-
many.  In 1858 it  was found in Belgium.  Data
are not at hand, but in the meantime it may have
found a footing in other parts of Europe.
  These examples  show that plants have found
new homes and that some of them .at least,  are
widely distributed.   Naturally,  one is curious to
                     99 
  NOTES OF A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

 know how these plants were  able to invade new
 territory and  what means God placed at their
 disposal to enable them to accomplish this end.
   The modes of distribution are varied.   Some
 plants have an independent locomotion and this
 power is  well developed in the simpler  forms
 that lack the firm cellulose covering.  The slime-
 moulds,  for  example, creep along.  They are
 gelatinous  masses  that  are  sometimes seen in
 damp  places, on  decaying wood,  on neglected
 flower pots and they creep  along  by a simple
 method of advancing a stream of their substance
 in one constant direction.
   Other plants, or,  rather  their  reproductive
 spores, can swim freely in the water, a charac-
 teristic possessed by sea-weeds.  The motion  is
 brought about by  innumerable  tiny hairs, that
 beat the  water more vigorously  in one direction
 than the other, or  they  move by means of out-
 growths that appear like tails  or  whips,  which
 they pull behind them.  Others, again, living in
 the water, make use of the vibration of their rod-
like bodies.  Their movement is similar to that
of a piece of flexible steel that is shot through the
 air after having been bent between the thumb and
 fore finger and then quickly released.  Certain
plants possess a soft texture and are able to send
                     100 
DISTRIBUTION  OF PLANTS
out runners or stems.  If the stems are sent out
horizontally,  so  as to touch the ground,  their
tips will strike roots and send  up a new shoot.
Hence, new plants arise at some distance from the
parent,  from  which they will later  be cut  loose
by the  death of  the  intermediate  stem.  The
strawberry plant illustrates this very  well.  By
means of the runners and new shoots  which ap-
pear,  a single plant  may give rise to numerous
daughter plants during the course of one summer.
Another plant, the anemone, seen in forests and
meadows in spring, has a horizontal root bearing
three buds at  the tip.   One of these develops into
a flower, the  second into  leaves and the third in
the following year produces a horizontal root to
one side.  The old root at the opposite end dies
off.  In this way the plant creeps along gradually
and after  a number of years is found in an en-
tirely  different locality.
  Certain mushrooms have underground equiva-
lents  of roots that radiate horizontally.  They
may be compared to  a wagon wheel  lying on the
ground.  The hub would represent the plant, the
spokes the streamers radiating  from  it.  These
send up new mushrooms  at so regular a distance
from the parent as to form a very prominent ring,
to which has been given the name "fairy-ring."
                     101 
  NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

  The briars and blackberries have very slender
stems capable  of curving over and bringing their
tips to the  ground.  There they strike root and
produce  other  shrubs.   Some  tropical  fig-trees
frequently send out aerial roots  from their trunks
and branches.   These roots bend over and upon
reaching the ground, become fastened and  give
rise to a new trunk.  By  this process  one tree
can become the progenitor  of numerous younger
shoots, which  continue  the same function, long
after the original tree has been  destroyed.
  In  other plants  the  main stem creeps on, or
just under, the ground, striking root or sending up
shoots as it goes, thus spreading its  own growths
to new places.   The grasses have creeping stems
that run and  branch so freely  and interlock so
closely that they form  the dense mats, we call
turf.  Solomon's seal grows  onward  year  after
year.   The old parts die behind as the new parts
are developed  in front.   However, by means of
runners and the creeping of the roots, plants are
enabled to spread to a  limited extent only.   For
that reason the above  cited methods  have been
called "supplementary," since these plants  pos-
sess other means that afford them a much wider
distribution.
  Plants in their embryonic  stage  as seeds are
                     102 
DISTRIBUTION  OF PLANTS
small and can be readily transported from place
to place by various modes of dissemination.  In
certain species  the  different layers of the seed-
pod dry up to an unequal extent during ripening,
so that a tension is created which leads, at the
slightest touch,  to a sudden explosive opening of
the fruit.  The seeds, which lie loosely within,
are then hurled  to distances of several feet.  This
happens in the  pansy and the violet, the sides of
whose  ripening  pods dry and split  during  the
hot weather.  The sides come to press harder and
harder upon  the smooth seeds held in the angle
between them, until  finally, the seeds are shot out
of the pods in  the  same manner that a smooth
bean or  nut  can be  shot from between  tightly
pressed fingers.  The pod of the sweet pea when
ripening, dries and  splits into two valves.  This
often  occurs  suddenly and  with some violence,
and as the valves twist at the same time, the seeds
are flung a little distance away.
  In the poppy and the  snapdragon, the  seeds lie
loosely in open-topped  capsules  at the  ends of
long, stiff,  elastic stalks.  When the stalks  are
shaken by strong  winds  or by  the  impact of
animals,  the  seeds are thrown out by the move-
ment,  especially by the jerky  recoil,  which acts
similar to a catapult.  The exit of the seeds from
                     103 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

the pods lies along smooth grooves so placed, as to
guide the seeds at an angle best suited for their
flight to a distance.
   Instead of the slinging device, some fruits in
ripening, do not dry up but remain green and be-
come very turgid, that is, a pressure  is developed
by tensely-gorged cells against the lines  of  a
weaker  sort.   The least touch  would cause  an
explosive  rupture  of the fruit and the seeds are
shot out.  This happens  in the touch-me-not, a
common wild plant.  Fabre mentions the peculiar
action of  a plant called the squirting cucumber.
The entire pulpy mass inside the firm-skinned
fruit, ripens so turgidly that the pulp and seeds
together are shot out to a  distance, when an out-
let is made by breaking the fruit away from the
stem.  All these devices permit various plants to
spread their seeds to various distances.
   A method  very useful  to  the distribution  of
plants, is  that of waftage by the winds.   These
winds are present everywhere  and  occur in all
degrees  from the violent gales that create  distur-
bances for hundreds of miles down to the gentle
breeze   found only  in limited regions.   Here
must also  be included the upward currents of the
air which rise over heated places in summer, to
                     104 
       DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS

heights where  the  winds and breezes  prevail.
The seeds carried by the wind are constructed or
so provided with devices that they expose a great
surface in  proportion  to  their weight.  The
simplest forms consist of minute and light seeds,
which in the case of the orchids are nothing but
a  powdery mass,  like pollen.  Other plants
propagate by light seeds of somewhat larger size
that are capable of being carried a  considerable
distance.  They are attached to the plant in such
a manner as  to be easily shaken off.  This oc-
curs in the primrose where  the stalk is swayed
and the seed scattered by the wind.  Such  de-
vices are known as "Censer Mechanisms" because
the dispersal of the seeds depends upon the sway-
ing movement that the winds produce.
  The cone-bearing trees, birches, elms, maples
and ash have  seeds provided  with lengthened
wings.  The  manner in which these seeds  are
blown  about on some of our streets proves  the
efficiency of this device.  Some members of  the
pea family have the pods greatly swollen in the
form of bladders and in these the seeds are to be
found.  Thousands of  these seeds  may be  de-
stroyed along the journey or fall on unfavorable
ground.  However the decomposed material can
again be taken aloft by the wind and deposited in
                     105 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

 places where it enriches the soil.  Many of them,
 though,  fall on  good  ground  and  so  form  a
 terminus a quo for future distribution.
   Another splendid  method  is the provision of
 long soft hairs or plumes.  The seeds possessing
 this construction are numerous.  By means of
 the tufts or plumes the  seeds can float in the air
 and catch  the slightest  breeze.  Such seeds and
 fruits are often carried great distances,  and the
 kinds of plants that  bear them are found widely
 distributed over the  earth.   Plumed seeds  with
 tufts of fine silky hairs are present in the poplars,
 willows,  and willow-herbs.  The cotton-seed de-
 velops hairs of such number and length that they
 serve not only to spread it afar under the action
 of the wind, but  also  prove of great value to
 man,  since they yield him the fibre for the com-
 monest of all his clothing materials.
   In  the dandelion there is found a  "parachute
 plume."  The seed is at one end of a stalk and
 the plume at the other.   The plumes spread out
more  or  less horizontally when  the air  is dry
 but close together vertically in dampness.   Being
 very light,  the seed can  be lifted over the tops of
 trees and transported great distances under favor-
 able conditions.  It falls to the ground with the
                     106 
DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS
advent of rainy weather, during which time it is
likely to be washed into the soil.   The dandelion
and its related  forms constitute the largest and
most widely  distributed  of  all  existent  plant
families.
  A little observation will show that plants whose
seeds are winged, in general,  belong to  trees,
whilst the plumed variety belong to herbs.   This
is  a remarkable provision.  The  plumes are
better lifting  devices than  are the wings.  The
extra height of the trees and their greater ex-
posure to wind, give the  winged  seeds  a start
which is ample to transport them to considerable
distances.  Moreover, some seeds are so con-
ducted that they take a serpentine or spiral course
through the air, thus giving  the wind a  longer
action  on them.
  Not only  seeds  but  other parts  of   plants
capable of growth are also carried along by the
winds.  Some varieties living in open dry places,
at times, roll  their branches inwTards  to form a
sort of ball.   In  this state, they may  be easily
blown  from  their anchorage  and sent  rolling
across the plains to take root again in new places.
These plants are called "tumble weeds" and are
characteristic  of  the  prairies and  plains.  The
                     107 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

 Russian thistle,  the  rose  of Jericho,  and the
 Resurrection plant of the Southwest, furnish good
 examples.
   In the world  of Nature provisions  are  also
 made for various seeds that fall in odd places,
 after being borne along by  the  wind.   As ex-
 amples,  church-towers  and  the  gutters  of old
 ruins might  be  mentioned.  The wind carries
 particles of dust, many of which lodge in such
 places.   The seeds of mosses carried by the wind
 then alight there or are stopped abruptly.   When
 the mosses die, a humus is formed and in time the
 seeds of grasses  are embedded there.   As time
 goes on, even small bushes may make their ap-
 pearance, in a  similar manner.   Nature will
 make use of any spot, where a  small amount of
 dust or  soil  can find a place.  She soon  en-
hances it with the green of her vegetation.
  The  wind currents  are  very important  in
mountainous regions.   Fields of snow and hard
smooth rock offer no place for the germination of
the seeds.  Accordingly only odd patches show
signs of vegetation and the wind is the means of
bringing it there.  Creeping  plants and the or-
dinary pod arrangement are  of no  avail.  The
writer witnessed this phenomenon in the  Canyon
of the Yellowstone National Park and in  the
                     108 
       DISTRIBUTION OF  PLANTS

Grand  Canyon  in  Arizona.   On ledges of ap-
parently bare rock and on somewhat steep  in-
clines, pine-trees are growing either singly or in
small  groups.   The  mountain-climber  would
have  difficulty in reaching  some  of the places,
but the  pine-seeds were carried there  by the
winds.  A  similar condition  was observed  in
Walnut Canyon, Arizona, where the ruins of
cliff-dwellings are to be seen about three hun-
dred feet above the ravine.  The pines are located
on different shelves of rock one above the other
as if  some one had planted them there method-
ically.  On the volcanic fields at the foot of the
extinct  Sunset Mountain,  about  twenty  miles
away, there were seen numerous pine-trees which
trace their origin in that locality to seed dispersal.
However,  the  roots do  not extend to  any great
distance below the surface, but lie in a horizontal
plane, sometimes even above ground, in order to
obtain moisture and  the requisite materials in
solution.  This  condition permits the trees to
grow  for a number of years, but then  they may
be blown over  by strong winds or else suffer pre-
mature  decay  for lack  of  nourishment.   This
fact may again give the impression of a wasteful
process  in  Nature.   But it  need  only be  men-
tioned that the various ingredients of the disin-
                     109 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

 tegrated trees will be scattered over those fields
 of  lava and volcanic cinders  and  in time  will
 produce a better soil for vegetation.
   Another  agency  instrumental in  distributing
 plants is water.   It may be in the form of streams
 flowing from the hills into the valleys, of rivers
 traversing extensive regions, or again of ocean
 currents that flow into far distant parts.   Seeds
 may fall directly  into mountain streams or rivers,
 or  be carried thither by the  rains  and  floods.
 They may be conveyed great distances and even-
 tually cast upon  the  bank where  their presence
 will be noticed in due season.   Chamisso found
 different forms of mountain flowers in the coastal
 sections of Chili.   Later, another botanist found
 similar plants in the highest sections of  the
 Chilean  Cordilleras,   near the eternal  snows.
 Apparently the seeds of these plants  were carried
 downwards by the streams and found a favorable
 place along the coast.
  The largest rivers  of the earth,  such  as  the
 Amazon, the Orinoco, and the Mississippi, tear
 large portions of  soil away from the shores and
 transport  them to other places.  These portions
 appear like swimming  islands  and  bear plants,
bushes, and even small trees upon  them.   The
entire La Plata at times has the appearance of a
                     110 
DISTRIBUTION  OF PLANTS
 large meadow with various forms of vegetation.
   In the smaller bodies of water, some plants se-
 cure  transport by  living  in the water.  Water
 cresses are only lightly attached and are readily
 moved to new places.   Some plants have floating
 seeds, as  for  example,  the  white  water  lily.
 These seeds  have  a spongy covering filled  with
 air.   When the seeds escape from the fruit, which
 ripens and opens under water, they float to the
 top and sink when the water has soaked in and
 displaced the air.  The  yellow  water lily has
 spongy fruits,  that float  about and  only  when
 decaying do they permit the seeds to escape.  The
 African lotus has  a  great top-shaped and air
 filled receptacle.  This  forms a  very effective
 float for the seeds that are dropped here and there,
 as it goes.  Most of the wind-scattered seeds are
 so light that  they can float upon the water and
 obtain a still wider transportation.
   The waters of the  ocean are well worth  con-
 sidering.  Scarcely has a  new coral island made
 its appearance above  the waters  of the South
Seas,  when vegetation appears.   The waves and
ocean currents  bring  the  plants to new homes.
The Galapagos Islands are about 120 geographi-
cal miles distant from the  western shores of trop-
ical America and about 600 miles from the near-
                     111 
  NOTES OF  A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

 est islands of the South Seas.  Darwin in his
 famous expedition noticed that of 265 species of
 plants found on these islands, 144  were related
 to  species of South America.   Since  the Gala-
 pagos were almost uninhabited,  or  only settled
 at a late date, it was difficult for  a  long time to
 solve the problem as to the  origin of these 144
 plants on the ten islands.  Human beings could
 not have transported them,  nor  birds, as there
 were  no types common to both the  islands and
 the mainland.  Even the wind, blowing north-
 west from  Peru, did not offer a satisfactory ex-
 planation.  As time went on, it was  noticed that
 the plants  common to the islands and to Peru,
 also grew in  other parts of the western coast of
 South America.   It was also observed that be-
 sides  the ocean currents running from Peru  to-
 wards the South Pole, there was a local current
 running from Panama Bay southwestward to the
 Galapagos Islands.  Since the plants in question
 grew on the islands and also in Panama and the
 plants strictly belonging to the Galapagos were
 not found on  the mainland, it was concluded that
the  plants came from Panama and  were trans-
ported to the islands by the current.
  The oceans also carry fruits and  even plants
from island to island and from mainland to main-
                     112 
       DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS

land.   Certain plants have been  brought from
the West Indies to Ireland  by way of the Gulf
Stream.  The greatest distribution occurs when
plants  can  go from  island to island, as a long
journey by water proves harmful and causes  the
seed to lose its germinating powers.  The flora
of the  Society Islands,  as  an  example,  shows
greater resemblance to that of India than to that
of South America, although the latter land is
nearer. The  reason  is that the various islands
form stepping stones from India to the Society
Islands, whereas no  land  exists  east of them  to-
wards  South America.
   There is one plant whose seed has been wonder-
fully provided for, so that it can be carried con-
siderable distances, namely the cocoanut palm.
The cocoanut  is a fruit that has a fibrous layer
and a  hard inner shell, within which  the true
seed is enclosed.   The fibrous portion is air-filled
and is covered by a  water-tight skin.  This  ar-
rangement enables the fruits to float on the waters
for weeks, and at times they are carried from is-
land to island many hundred  miles apart.  So
marvellous is  the power  of  this husk  to resist
deterioration in the water, that  ropes and cords
are made from it and employed  where resistance
to decay in salt water is particularly needed.   It
                     113 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

 might not be out of place to mention that the
 palm  trees are valuable to the inhabitants of
 various places and  are  utilized in  many ways.
 From  the bark of the tree, rope and matting are
 made; from the leaves, hats and palm-leaf fans;
 from the  fibre of the nut, rough clothing, sails,
 cordage and fishing nets; from the sap,  sugar;
 from the  green fruit, milk; from the ripe fruit,
 food; from the kernel, rich cocoanut oil for lamps
 and the hair.   Surely the  Almighty could  not
 have provided more  wisely and abundantly.
   As a last example of  a plant affected  by the
 water,  the seed of  the  mangrove  tree may be
 cited.  This is a peculiar plant that grows in the
 muddy regions of the Tropics.  Its seed shows
 a wonderful  arrangement.  It  begins to  germi-
nate while still clinging  to  the tree, and grows
 into the shape of a spindle.  When it drops from
 the tree, it penetrates the mud with its pointed
end.  Even if the water  should rise one half of
 a foot above it, the seed will not be removed.  It
strikes root quickly and from day to day fastens
itself more firmly, so that in a short time it can
withstand the  strongest surge.
  A distribution of  plants is  also  effected  by
means  of animals which Nature has pressed into
her service.  To facilitate matters, she has pro-
                     114 
       DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS

vided seeds with special devices  so that the ani-
mals, always roaming among plants  for shelter
and food, become the unsuspecting agents of dis-
tribution.  These seeds have hooks and other ar-
rangements  suitable  for attachment  to  fur and
feathers. The close-clinging burdock is a sample
well known to all who may have gone through the
fields in Autumn.  Striking  examples  are fur-
nished by  plants of the Great  Plains.  There,
large animals are in abundance  and  the unicorn
plant catches in the tails of the horses.  In South
Africa there is the grappling plant,  which en-
tangles itself in the fur of the lions.
  The  spiny clotbur  has  seeds provided  with
little spines, as its name suggests, and its habitat
is in Southern Russia, from whence it spread over
the  greater  part of  Europe.   In 1828, it was
brought  to Wallachia by the  Russians,  the
seeds  being  lodged   in  the   tails  and manes
of horses.   In  1830,  it appeared in  Bukowina
at the same time that the cholera  broke out.
The  inhabitants have, therefore, named it the
cholera-thistle.  As early as 1839 it was found
to be spreading  in  Hungary.  The hogs and
sheep raised in that country carried  the thistle
with  them whilst  being transported  along the
Danube, so that in time it appeared in Ratisbon
                     115 
  NOTES  OF A CATHOLIC  BIOLOGIST

and neighboring places.  The railroads shipped
these  animals to  different ports and  the thistle
always  accompanied  them.   No matter  how
tightly the  hooks may cling to the fur, the seeds
sooner or later fall to the ground, being brushed
away by contact with  some hard  object or  else
dropped when the hair of  the animal is shed.
  The employment of hooks or barbs is not con-
fined entirely to seeds.   They also exist on some
separable  joints of  small  cactus, or  on some
slender  stems of the  bedstraw  or tear-thumb,
which therefore can secure transport through con-
tact with wandering animals.
  The seeds of some  water  plants are carried
great  distances by being embedded in the  mud
which  adheres to the  feet of large and wide-
ranging birds.  Some  of these birds  have  been
shot while on the wing and the seeds were found
attached to  the feet and feathers.   A good many
water-lilies  provide an adhesive material for their
seeds  and by means of it they can cling to birds
and be carried to other bodies of water.  In the
mistletoe, part of the flesh of the fruit possesses
a very  sticky  bird-lime.   The  seed  contained
therein adheres to the bill of the bird, which rubs
it off  on the branch  of a tree.   In this manner
                     116 
DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS
the mistletoe obtains attachment on trees, the only
place where it can thrive.
   Other seeds have an indigestible covering and
are surrounded with  a  nourishing and appetiz-
ing  pulp.   They depend  for  dispersal  upon
animals, chiefly birds.   As  a rule these  fruits
have a bright color, which conspicuously displays
their position and causes them to be readily eaten
by the animals.  Since the seeds are protected by
a hard covering, as in berries, they pass through
the alimentary canal  undigested and unharmed,
and are voided at a  considerable  distance from
where  they were eaten.   The colored  fruits are
abundant on  trees,  shrubs,  and tall-growing
vines,  where birds  mostly frequent, as well as
in low-growing herbs, where  they  are eaten by
ground birds and other animals.  It has been
noticed that red is a common color and most con-
spicuous against the green of the foliage.  Purple
and blue appear in autumnal fruits which ripen
when   the leaves have  turned  yellow or  red.
White  occurs in some  berries, that grow in some-
what dark shady places near the ground.  Be-
fore the  fruits  ripen, they  are usually sour or
astringent and unpalatable.   Their color is then
green  like the foliage and the birds are not at-
                     117 
  NOTES  OF  A CATHOLIC  BIOLOGIST

tracted.  Sometimes  an inedible core is  present
in the fruits  (e.g. apples).   It is carried away,
the fleshy part is eaten, whilst the core is dropped.
In others (e. g.  oranges) the slippery seeds are
not swallowed at all but are scattered about, as
the pulp is devoured.  Nuts are carried away
and buried by squirrels and blue jays.  At times
they remain  untouched underground and begin
to grow in  the following spring.
   The birds are the principal agents employed in
this particular  mode of dissemination,  as  can
readily be  seen from one or  two examples.   In
1770, the herb  called pigeon-berry was brought
from  North America to the  area of Bordeaux.
The plant is  beneficial because it gives a certain
coloring  to the  wine.   Due  to  the  birds,  this
berry has  spread over the  entire  portions of
Southern France to the Pyrenean Valleys on the
one side  and through Switzerland to the Tyrol
on  the  other side.  There was a time, some
years ago,  when the  famous old Colosseum of
Rome had  261 species of plants, that came from
different  parts  of the world.  It  is easily ex-
plained when one considers  the fact, that the Ro-
mans  had birds and animals of every description
brought to their city for amusement.   The south-
west tower  of the Cologne Cathedral, which  had
                     118 
DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS
remained incomplete since 1437,  displayed  22
species of plants in 1865, that is, after some 400
years.
   Finally, the  noblest  of all  God's creatures,
man, has also aided in bringing plants  to new
localities.  He may  have acted unintentionally
or purposely  in  this  regard,  but the  effects are
readily  noticed.
   Near the sources of the Senegal and  Gambia
Rivers  in Africa, at  Futa-Dialon,  Hecquard
found a grove of orange trees.   The  story runs
that merchantmen halted near there and were anx-
ious to  receive shelter from the natives.  While
waiting for a kind invitation, they ate  oranges
which they  had  brought with them  from some
Portuguese settlement.   The  seeds of the  fruit
were scattered round about and from one of them
are said to be derived all the orange trees now
growing  in that vicinity.  The grateful  Man-
dingo-negroes consider the orange tree sacred and
forbid  their own people  from partaking of  its
fruit, although strangers are at liberty to do so.
  The primrose was brought from North America
to European gardens  by early French explorers.
In  1614,  Prosper Albinus  of  Padua  had  it
planted  in his garden.   Now it is  found in all
parts of Europe.   It  possesses the  characteristic
                     119 
  NOTES  OF  A CATHOLIC  BIOLOGIST

of unfolding its flowers at dusk and then gives a
pleasant odor.  This fact, together with the con-
spicuous yellow floral color, shows that it depends
for its pollination upon the moths that fly about
at night.
   The weeping willow is a tree that every one has
seen at some time or other.   Its original home is
Southern Asia.   Besides undergoing the process
of pollination and eventual dissemination, it can
be multiplied by simply cutting off one of its
twigs and  placing it in  the ground.   The con-
struction of the twig is such that it can absorb
moisture  from  the soil  for a  considerable time.
Whilst doing this, it produces rootlets which then
provide the necessary nourishment.  All slips of
a willow tree can function in the same manner.
There is a report that  the English poet, Alex-
ander Pope, was once presented with a basket of
figs.  The basket was said to have come from
Asia Minor and consisted of the flexible branches
of a willow that grows in Persia and Syria.   One
of the branches happened to have  a green bud.
So for the sake of experiment and  curiosity, the
poet placed it  in  the  ground.   It thrived and
from it, are said to have come all the willows now
found in Europe.   On the island of St. Helena,
Napoleon's grave was shaded by a willow tree
                     120 
       DISTRIBUTION OF  PLANTS

that caused a great controversy.  It was thought
to have been an indigenous  willow, but Laudon,
after a  thorough investigation,  established the
fact that it came  from a European tree, and was
brought  to the island in  1810.  Laudon  also
states that, in 1730, a French merchant sent the
first specimen from the Orient to England, where
it was  planted in the parks  at Twickenham.
From there it  spread over England and on the
continent.  This  seems  plausible, since  twigs
from time to  time  may  have  fallen into the
streams and rivers, thus making their way toward
the  English  Channel.  In  time,  that body of
water may then have carried other twigs to the
mainland,  where they took root.   One fact in
support of such an explanation  is that nearly all
the willow trees of Europe  at one time were of
the female sex and never produced seeds.   How-
ever trees of the  male sex are now to  be found
there, so that pollination can occur.
  A European  plant by the name of "greater
plantain" was called the "Footstep of the White
Man" by the American Indians.   Wherever the
white man settled, this plant was sure to  make
its appearance.   On the other hand, the century
plant and the cactus were taken  from  our  con-
tinent to Europe about 1561.  These plants have
                     121 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

so multiplied as to be now abundant in Southern
Spain, Italy, Sicily,  and on the Canary Islands.
   One of the best known migratory plants is the
Canada  fleabane, which also  goes by the name
of marestail or bitterweed.  It was first noticed
to grow  abundantly near Paris,  in  1655.  Ac-
cording to a report, it was brought from our  con-
tinent to  Paris on a branch that acted as a basal
support for a mounted bird.   Now,  it is men-
tioned in  every botanical  register  of  Central
Europe.   Furthermore, it has  travelled eastward
through  Asia  and perhaps  it  will enter North
America  again by way of the Pacific.   It is only
a weed,  that is  spreading far  and  wide, but it
is  beneficial to  man.  From  it is  distilled  the
volatile oil of fleabane,  used  in  making "mos-
quito dope" and employed by  people who have
occasion to go where  mosquitoes are troublesome.
It  is also used in medicine.
  The ships which man builds  also aid in spread-
ing plants  to foreign shores.   In the middle of
the 17 th  century, a vessel carrying  a species of
narcissus  from  Japan,  was  wrecked near  the
shores  of Guernsey.  The  bulbs of the plant
floated on the waters and were washed  ashore.
They soon developed in the sandy soil.   Later on,
                     122 
DISTRIBUTION  OF PLANTS
the inhabitants of the island cultivated the plant
and now it forms an item of trade.
   The transportation of objects may  also assist
in the distribution of plant-forms.   In Denmark,
at one time, there were  found six plants that
really belonged to the Italian flora.   For a long
time  no satisfactory explanation could be given
regarding their first appearance in that  distant
country.   It was recalled that they had first ap-
peared around the year 1840.   At that time the
masterpieces of Thorwaldsen were shipped from
Italy to  Denmark.  The  works  of art were
packed  in  hay  and most  likely,  seeds  of  the
strange plants were  present and in this  manner
found their way into the country.  Wool would
form another means  of distribution.   Port Juve-
nal,  near Montpellier, has  been a great centre
for wool and the manufacture of cloth ever since
the 11th century.   Close to the harbor, is  a level
stretch of ground, where  wool coming from all
parts of the world is washed and  dried.   Every
year,  strange plants make  their appearance  in
this locality. They must have come from seeds,
that  were  hidden  in the wool  and fell  to  the
ground during the cleansing process.   Thus far,
387 species  of plants have been counted and  of
                     123 
  NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC  BIOLOGIST

these, 52 species come from unknown places or
areas of the globe, that have not as yet been in-
vestigated by the botanist.
  The above facts, excerpts from God's immense
Book of  Nature, portray the  wonderful manner
in which He manifests His power and wisdom.
Marvellous, indeed, are the structures, functions,
and  arrangements  of the various individuals of
the plant-world.  The most skillful human be-
ing would  not be  able to produce even the ap-
parently  most insignificant of them all.   They
seem to be rather simple and are  often spoken of
as if they  involved no  complexity.  However,
they are stupendous in their intricacy and vast-
ness and make the relation of Almighty God to
their origination and history  as  inscrutable  as
His  relation to the construction  and orbital ar-
rangement  of the stellar  bodies themselves.
  In conclusion there might be quoted a passage
from  that  wonderful  Hymn  of  Creation,  con-
cerning whose compass, truth, and grandeur, the
great Humboldt  expressed   his  astonishment:
"How great are Thy works, O Lord?  Thou has
made All things in Wisdom:  the earth is filled
with Thy riches" (Ps. ciii, 24).
124 
CHAPTER VII
         WONDERS  OF INSTINCT

The activities of many individuals of the animal
kingdom are a source of wonderment to every one
who, upon observation, will pause for a moment's
reflection.  It may have been noticed what means
these creatures employ to protect themselves and
to evade danger; how  with cunning and  stealth
they go in search of the necessities  of life, and
again in  what manner they provide for them-
selves and their offspring.  Their behavior and
the fruits  of their labor have attracted the atten-
tion of poet and  mentor, with the result that we
are asked to learn  a lesson from these humble
creatures.   In many instances,  the  remarkable
characteristics become manifest from the very first
days of the animals' existence,  and throughout
their long  or short span of life these traits remain
essentially the same.  When it is considered that
these animals do  not possess the sublime mental
faculties  of man and  cannot lay claim to the
training and experience accorded to him, the prob-
                     125 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

lem must be  solved  in  some  other  manner.
These  phenomena are attributable to a natural
impulse or propensity called instinct.
  Alfred  Russel Wallace, however, says: "I de-
cline to accept the theory of instinct, where all
other  plausible modes of explanation have  not
been exhausted.  If instinct means  anything, it
means  the capacity to perform some complex act
without teaching  or experience."  To show his
position regarding the matter,  he also  tells us,
for example: "Birds do not build their  nests by
instinct, but by memory.  The young birds before
they leave the nest, have ample time and oppor-
tunities of observing  its form, its size,  its  pro-
portions,  the materials  out  of  which it is  con-
structed and the manner in which it is arranged."
In accord with this line  of reasoning is Charles
Darwin, who remarks: "It can be clearly shown
that the most wonderful instincts of the hive-bees
and among ants  could not possibly have been
acquired by  habit.  A  little 'dose  of reasoning
or judgment,' as Pierre Huber expresses it, often
comes into play."
  Also at 'the present time there  are persons who
claim that the remarkable characteristics of ani-
mal activity are the result of inheritance  and may
be improved by reflection  and conscious effort.
                     126 
WONDERS OF INSTINCT
This point of view leads to the further assertion
that the activities of animals can be placed in the
same  category with those of man,  in  fact there
is no  essential difference in this  regard between
man and  the animals;  whatever  difference  does
exist is only one of degree.  However, in these
pages examples  will be furnished  to  show that
such opinions do not agree with facts, if rightly
interpreted,  and that whatever  the  animal does,
is to be ascribed to instinct alone,  which, as Wal-
lace states, is a  "capacity to perform some com-
plex act without teaching or experience."  This
quality is  innate and  comes from a Superior
Intelligent Mind, which  has created all things and
has endowed the animal with a wonderful mode
of action.   Furthermore a "little  dose  of reason-
ing or judgment" on our part will lead to the
understanding of St. Paul's statement that  "the
invisible things of Him, from the creation  of
the world are clearly seen, being understood by
the things that are  made" (Rom. i, 20).
  The feathery creatures at the time of incubation
will serve  as the first example.   The hen during
the hatching season will  sit on  the eggs for a
certain  definite  length  of  time.   This may be
three weeks, or even more,  or less, depending on
the species  of fowl.  But  how should the hen
                     127 
  NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

know that exactly  three weeks, say, are required
to bring about the wonderful change  from an
apparently structureless  mass  into  a  chick  of
greatest complexity?  The knowledge could not
have come from its mother-hen, because she also
came  from  an egg, and therefore she had no
opportunity of receiving the necessary instruction.
It does not seem  plausible that the embryonic
chick within the egg shell employed a  "little dose
of reasoning or judgment" and  calculated that
exactly three weeks were required for its own
development.  Yet, somehow, this characteristic
has passed on from one generation to the  other,
just as it is found today.   A  fictitious goddess
could not have employed her magic wand and
bestowed the power upon the species, because such
goddesses have only  fictitious influences.   Nor
could any "Force" of itself in Nature have done
so,  because this would  only  be  able to  act  in
virtue of some one or something that caused it
to be active.  The  only way to solve the difficulty
is by  giving credit  for this characteristic incubat-
ing quality to an  Allwise Creator Who planned
all these things from the very beginning.   This
is the only plausible explanation of  the  whole
problem.
  There is also the significant activity of nest-
                     128 
         WONDERS OF  INSTINCT

building of certain animals.   This work is  not
limited to birds.   The reptiles make holes in the
ground, wherein they lay  their eggs,  and then
leave the hatching process to  the  heat  derived
from decomposing vegetable matter or from  the
sun.  The squirrels build nests of moss, leaves
and grass in the forking portions of trees, or in
the hollow of a branch.   Spiders, as will be seen
presently, make nests  of silk by simply joining
together the edges  of leaves with silk thread or,
as in the case of the Tarantula, dig an irregular
burrow which is lined with silk.  However, it is
among  the  birds  that the most wonderful  ex-
amples  of nest-building  are to be found, though
Fabre claims this distinction for the spiders.
  In the construction of  bird-homes there is
always  something  purposeful,  even though  the
winged  architect may not  be  conscious  of this
fact.  The nest is usually built in a secure place,
concealed and inaccessible to other creatures, thus
giving safety to the eggs  and the young birds that
come forth from the shell.  Since the eggs require
a certain temperature to be hatched, without which
development cannot take  place,  it is noticed that
a good many birds  construct the nests so that  the
heat of the sitting hen  is  retained within.   When
the  young forms finally  appear,  the nest  acts as
                      129 
  NOTES OF A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

a convenient place for feeding them, and also  as
a  comfortable  abode until  they can fly away.
The same activities  and the same form  of con-
struction are observed by each subsequent genera-
tion.
   All nests are not  alike, they do not show the
same elaborate  arrangement or complexity   of
structure.  However, each  nest  is characteristic
of some typical kind of bird.  The terns, or sea-
swallows, that gracefully sail over the surf-beaten
shore and the wind rippled bays,  make only
slight  depressions   on  sandy   beaches.  Near
Woods  Hole, Massachusetts, an entire  island
forms the  nesting  center for these birds.  The
eggs that lie in these  simple nests are surprisingly
similar  in shape and color to  the  pebbles that
surround them.   The sea-gulls show a more elab-
orate arrangement  in their nests.   Sandy   or
marshy  soil is chosen,  but the  depressions are
lined with weeds, grass, and leaves.  The ducks
and  geese employ fine soft plumage for the pur-
pose. The same may be said of the ground-nest
of the eider-duck,  although here a covering  of
down is furnished, which can be drawn over the
nursery  whenever  the  mother bird goes  off  in
search of food.
  Other  birds  build mounds.   In the Tropics,
                     130 
WONDERS OF INSTINCT
 some of them place heaps of decaying leaves over
 the eggs, a procedure similar to that employed by
 the reptiles.  The heat produced by the decompos-
 ing matter is sufficient to hatch  the eggs.  The
 swallow chooses a place against a chimney or
 rafter, and its nest is made of mud and strength-
 ened with pieces of straw.   The interior furnish-
 ings  consist  of feathers  and  soft  grass.  The
 long-tailed tit-mouse  builds an open-topped nest
 in the branches and employs a coarse material for
 the exterior and moss and feathers for  the inside.
 In  one of their nests 2,379 feathers  have been
 counted.  The  tailor-bird sews together the edges
 of leaves with  a  thick  vegetable fibre.   Many
 other types of nests could be mentioned, but the
 above suffice  to show  that the various birds build
 their abodes according to some plan and that they
 are guided by  instinct.   In each case the nest
 is complete when the  offspring creeps  out of the
 egg-shell, and, when its own time comes,  the bird
 is able to construct a similar abode.
  However, the Darwinist will  not ascribe this
 to instinct, and in the present case the following
 would  most likely be the "possible mode of  ex-
planation."   The young  birds, upon coming  out
of the  shell, look around and see what sort of a
place they are in.  They notice that they are up
                     131 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

 in  a tree  and in something  growing  on trees.
 This is noted down, since memory will help them
 when their time comes.   But after a while, when
 they examine the situation  more closely, and  a
 "little  dose of reason or  judgment" is employed,
 they realize their mistake.  The nest was built
 there, and  since they too at  some future day will
 be obliged to build a nest, they "observe its form,
 its size and the materials out of which it is con-
 structed."  These facts  are impressed on their
 memories.   This  is indeed an interesting expla-
 nation. But no facts have been furnished to show
 that such is really the case.   Until  a better  ex-
 planation is forthcoming, the  theory of instinct
 is quite satisfactory, as instinct  means the God-
 given  "capacity to perform some  complex  act
 without teaching or experience."
  The flying habit of the birds is also remark-
 able.   Five young swallows were once placed in
 a small box and  the front  portion screened  off
with wire.   This  box was placed near their own
nest.   Each day  the parents were wont to feed
the young through the openings, and all but one
survived the test.  One  day the screen  was  re-
moved, whereupon the fledglings, unsteady for the
moment, soon took to the wing.  In  their first
attempt they  flew  about ninety yards.  After
                     132 
WONDERS OF INSTINCT
having been kept in the cage again for a few days,
they were  once  more set free.  This  time, they
were stronger and one of them immediately took
to flight and  soared over the beech trees.  The
box had been of such  small dimensions  that the
birds could not even stretch their wings, much less
receive  any training while  imprisoned,  yet they
knew how to fly  the very  first  time  they were
placed in the open.  Could a "dose of reason or
judgment"  have given them this facility?
   In the insect  world there are also many won-
derful  evidences of instinct.  One creature, the
caterpillar  eater, or ichneumon fly, places its eggs
on the caterpillar and calculates, from  the size of
the individual, just how  many eggs are to be de-
posited.  When  the maggots appear, they devour
only certain definite portions of the caterpillar,
so that this animal can still continue to live.   If
the more vital portions were removed in the early
stage, both  the caterpillar and the grub  would die.
Later on, however, the immature flies devour the
other portions  and in time construct small cocoons
alongside their victim.   These maggots are then
further  protected by a silk covering,  which the
dying caterpillar weaves for them.   A "possible
explanation" of this phenomenon,  according to
Darwinists, would be that the maggots  had taken
                     133 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

up a course in anatomy, since they know just
what parts of the caterpillar are to be eaten first.
The final act of "Brotherly love" apparently re-
mains unexplained, unless perhaps the "theory of
instinct" is accepted.
   There are two species of beetles, which in their
mature  state, are usually found in the nests  of
small ants, called Myrmica.   They live in these
nests from September till the following May, and
from October to March they are found in a deep
sleep.  However, the larval beetles appearing in
the early summer, do not live with these ants, but
in the  community of another species called the
Formica.   A migration  from one  camp  to the
other takes place each year and it is twofold.  In
May the female beetles leave the  Myrmica and
lay their eggs in the nests of the Formica.  In
September  the developed beetles leave the latter
and go to the Myrmica.  The change of abode is
for the purpose of protecting the Myrmica species.
If the beetle-eggs were  to be laid in the Myrmica
nests, the larval beetles would devour with avid-
ity the young unprotected ants.  Thus,  instinct
impels the female beetle to go to another com-
munity  where the  young offspring can  do no
harm.   When the mature beetles  come back  to
the Myrmica, they are  accorded every considera-
                     134 
         WONDERS  OF INSTINCT

 tion by their hosts.  The ants feed them and in
 return they  give nourishment to the  ants.  Ap-
 parently the very existence of the beetles  depends
 on the feeding methods of the ants.   If  this did
 not occur, the beetles would die of starvation.   In
 return they  furnish the ants  with some highly
 appetizing juices,  which  they secrete, and  thus
 a sort  of "mutual friendship"  exists.   It has
 never been noticed that the ants  harm the guests
 in  any way.  But it has been observed, that a
 beetle evidently outside  of the colony was dragged
 to the interior by the ants.  However, the fact that
 the migration takes place with regularity can only
 be explained as an arrangement of Divine Provi-
 dence.
   It has been mentioned above that the  ichneu-
 mon fly provides  caterpillars for its  young and
 treats the prey so  as to be inert  but not  lifeless.
 The solitary  digger-wasp shows similar traits.
 The female of each species of this wasp  digs its
 own peculiar burrows in the  earth with its strong
 jaws and first pair of  legs.   In the  interior it
 hollows out a storage chamber and then  goes  in
 search of food.   Its own food consists  of  ripe
 fruit and nectar, but that of the young is  entirely
 different.   This depends  on the  species  of the
digging-wasp.  Some require flies, others beetles,
                     135 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

grasshoppers,  spiders, caterpillars  or  bugs.   In
the case of the  caterpillar variety, the  female
wasp, when it has found the prey,  swoops down
upon it and endeavors to bite and  sting the vic-
tim.  A short struggle ensues, but eventually the
wasp grips the prey and stings it in definite nerve-
centers, so that the caterpillar is paralyzed.  By
means of its teeth and forelegs  the wasp  then
drags it to the burrow.  In its backward locomo-
tion the wasp at times travels over sixty feet over
all kinds of obstacles.  Upon arriving at the bur-
row, the  wasp  seizes  the  caterpillar  with  its
mandibles  and backs  in.  The victim is made
fast in  the storage chamber and a  single egg is
attached to its  skin.   The wasp  then  goes  in
search of another caterpillar and the same process
is repeated.  Usually two caterpillars  are found
in a storage chamber.  The burrow is then filled
in lightly  by the  female wasp and  a similar one
is made elsewhere.
  It is  to  be remembered that the offspring,  in
this case,  never  sees the activities  of the parent
form.  But it can do the same when its own time
arrives.   The storage room is constructed and the
caterpillar  is  stung in three nerve centers in the
front  part  of  the body as well as in the hind
portion.  Here again, if the idea  of instinct  be
                     136 
         WONDERS OF INSTINCT

 rejected, a  "little dose of reason or judgment"
 must have been employed.  As an example of the
 latter view,  the remarks of Eimer may be quoted.
 This eminent scientist says:  "What a wonderful
 contrivance!  What  calculation  on the part  of
 the animal  must  have been necessary to discover
 it!   The larvae of the wasp require animal food.
 Dead food enclosed in the cell would soon putrify,
 living active animals would disturb the egg, and
 accordingly the wasp paralyzes grubs and packs
 them like sacks of meal one  after another in the
 cell.  How  did she arrive at this habit?  At the
 beginning she probably killed larvae by stinging
 them anywhere and then placed them in the cell.
 The bad results of this showed themselves; they
 putrified before they could serve  as food for the
 larval wasps.  In the meantime, the mother wasp
 discovered that those larvae which she had stung
 in particular parts of the body, were motionless,
 but still alive, and then she concluded that larvae
 stung in this particular way  could be kept for a
long time unchanged, as living motionless food.
It may be suggested that the wasp only paralyzed
the larvae in order  to carry them more easily;
but even if this were  the case, she  must,  since she
now invariably acts  in this way, have  drawn a
conclusion by deductive reasoning. ... In this
                     137 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

 case it is absolutely impossible that the animal
 has  arrived at its  habit otherwise than by re-
 flection upon  the facts of  experience."   ("Or-
 ganic Evolution.")
   These are the words of a  professor of Zoology
 and Comparative Anatomy  at the University of
 Tubingen.  According to him the wasp has ac-
 quired  a  habit by  "reflection  upon the facts of
 experience."   If  the insect were as old as  some
 of the  Redwood  Trees of  California,  it surely
 would have had experiences.   But the wasp does
 not live that  long  and, furthermore, it has no
 opportunity of relating its experiences to the off-
 spring buried beneath the soil, which it never sees.
 Perhaps some astral body, evolved according to
 du Prel's idea, comes back when the young wasp
 appears above the surface of the ground and im-
parts the necessary information from the "facts of
experience."   But why enhance  Eimer's theory?
 Such an assertion can only be made by one  dis-
 regarding or denying the  work of the Creator,
 Who  foresaw  and  arranged  all  things.  The
power is inborn and experience has nothing to do
with it.  Each wasp digs  a  burrow just like its
parent before it, and each wasp knows just where
to sting the prey for storing  purposes.  There is
not the  same anatomical arrangement in the  dif-
                     138 
         WONDERS OF  INSTINCT

 ferent creatures used as food: beetles,  grasshop-
 pers, spiders,  and bugs.   Yet each  species of
 wasp  stings definite nerve centres  and  causes
 paralysis.   No one has ever observed that experi-
 ments are first made, but the very first attempts
 bring  the desired results.   A  wasp's  life is too
 short for experimental stages.
   Another  solitary  wasp  shows  an even  more
 remarkable  instinctive  quality.  It constructs  a
 vase-like' nest of clay and stones.   The cement-
 ing fluid is  furnished by a secretion coming from
 the mouth.   When all  is in readiness, the e^gs
 are* deposited within, and five small caterpillars
 are procured as food.  In this case, the prey does
 not seem to  be  completely paralyzed by the wasp
 and if simply laid in the nest, these caterpillars
 by  their movements would perhaps  crush the
 tender eggs.  To obviate the difficulty, the wasp
 suspends the caterpillars from the top of the nest
 by means of a thread.   Thus, the bending and
 tossing  will not  harm  the eggs.  The young
 wasp, emerging from the egg, climbs along the
 sides of the nest and  feeds  on  the caterpillar
provided by the  parent  form.  When all  the
arrangements are  complete, the opening of the
nest is  closed by  a cover made by the  female
wasp.   Having completed its task, it departs and
                     139 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

never visits the nest again.   No doubt, according
to Eimer, or Darwin, the young wasps in the nest,
study closely the elaborate arrangements made in
their behalf by the parent wasp and impress these
facts upon their memory.
   There are  certain  beetles which  possess  the
peculiar trait of burying decaying animals, whose
obnoxious odors would otherwise contaminate the
air.  They  are   concerned  with small  animal
forms like snakes or  moles, just as the vultures
prey on the larger decaying carcasses.  By dig-
ging away the soil underneath the dead  bodies
and by pushing and adjusting, the beetles are able
to bring about the burial.   A great  amount  of
exertion is required,  but they are equal  to  the
task.  The carcass is  used as food for the young
beetles that come forth from the eggs laid upon
it.  Never are there more than  five  maggots
found on one of the  buried animals.  If there
were more, the food material would not be suffi-
cient for all.
  The skill  of the garden-spider in constructing
its web is also noteworthy.   Even the preparatory
stages point to something purposeful.   The place
for the web must be carefully selected.  There is
the direction of  the wind to be considered,  the
amount of sunlight, and the abundance of insects
                     140 
WONDERS OF INSTINCT
in the neighborhood, and  furthermore, the web
must remain unmolested.   When the proper site
is found, there is need of attaching the frame  of
the net to suitable supports.  The work of spin-
ning the web then begins.
   The threads of silk, of which the net is made,
consist of  the finest and  strongest  of natural
products.   These threads come from  a gummy
fluid  that the spider produces in spinning tubes
near the end of the body.   All the  silk threads
of a web are not  alike.   One  kind is used for
the outer framework and radial lines,  a second
variety  is  found in the circular  lines, a  third
quality  is  employed to  entangle any insect that
happens to alight upon  the web, and a fourth is
used by the spider when it forms the cocoon.
   In building the web, the spider first  makes the
outline.   A long thread is  produced, and this  is
fastened to some object through the action of the
wind.  Then the creature proceeds to  some leaf
or twig, attaches the thread, and stretches it tightly
with its  claws.  By  means  of another thread,
which it produces, the spider  falls straight down-
ward and  so produces one of the vertical  lines.
The other sides of the outline are made in a simi-
lar manner.  The  lines  corresponding to the
spokes of a wheel are then produced.   When the
                     141 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

skeletal portion is complete, the spider returns to
the center and travels in ever larger circles, pro-
ducing thread as it does so, and forms a tempo-
rary spiral.  The other spiral lines are made of
more sticky threads, by means of which the insects
are entrapped.
  The pattern of the spider's web always remains
the same.  Professor Thomson remarks: "As the
garden spider grows older, the thread becomes
thicker and the web larger; there are a few more
radial rays and a few more loops in the spiral,
but these differences are connected with the in-
creased weight of the spider and the increased size
of the spinning organs.   There is more material
to work with and the web is more substantial, but
there is no real change or need of any."  Usually
the spider completes its net in about half an
hour.  Then it awaits the arrival of some victim.
Should a fly have the misfortue of alighting upon
the web,  the spider immediately  sets to work,
weaving  her most sticky threads around the in-
sect and fastening it securely.   Then it thrusts
its  poisonous  organ into the  fly  and kills  it.
After the spider has sucked the juice of the fly,
it  casts  off the victim's skin.  A similar fate
awaits  any butterfly that  may be entangled.
Even if an impetuous and dangerous wasp drops
                     142 
WONDERS OF INSTINCT
on the net, the spider will soon employ her meshes
to make it powerless and then devour the prey.
  The  honey-bee  furnishes another wonderful
example.   It  constructs cells in its honey comb,
that baffle even  the most  expert  architects and
builders.  "Each cell is a hexagonal tube, and it
has been  shown that, by adopting this form for
themselves, the bees have solved with mathemati-
cal nicety the problem of how most closely and
strongly  to fit  the  cells together.  But not  only
have  the  bees  combined these advantages  with
the greatest thrift  in  material, they have  also
bound the cells together in a comb, and attached
it to the hive-walls  in a way that combines sym-
metry  and  strength, whilst yet  permitting of
traffic,—incomings and outcomings—and  ventila-
tion  without  mutual  interference.  The  diverse
kinds of  cells are evolved from one  another so
as to exclude waste  of room."   (Gamble.)   The
ability to  produce such an elaborate arrangement
could only have come from Almighty God.   In
each creature there  is a certain directive power,
which becomes manifest each time the bees  con-
struct their hive.  The work is not done  at  ran-
dom, but in virtue of an instinct.  The bees simply
work according to the plans of their  Creator.
  One case might be  mentioned in which, alas!
                     143 
  NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

there was no sign  of a "little dose of reason  or
judgment."   It is taken from the writings of the
entomologist, Fabre, whom Darwin  has called
the "inimitable observer."   On one occasion  he
lined a number of caterpillars on the rim of a
palm-vase in his garden.   This rim was covered
with silk.  A closed circuit was formed and it
was a  game of "following  the leader."  These
caterpillars travelled around the improvised track
"for seven times twenty four hours" and covered
335 laps or somewhat over  a quarter of a mile.
Yet not one of them deviated in the test of en-
durance, nor profited by "reflection upon the facts
of experience."  Instead, "the caterpillars in dis-
tress,  starved,  shelterless,  chilled with  cold  at
night, cling obstinately to the silk ribbon covered
hundreds of times, because they lack the rudimen-
tary glimmer of reason which would advise them
to abandon it."
   Another instance of "unfathomable stupidity"
is recorded by Fabre in connection with a spider,
the "Narbonne Lycosa."   The  female, after
having rolled up the eggs in a silk mat prepared
by her, keeps the  egg-case attached to her spin-
nerets until hatching time.   She drags it around
at all times and defends  it with  great courage.
Fabre took the case from  one of them by means
                     144 
         WONDERS  OF INSTINCT

of forceps  and substituted a cork ball, which he
had polished with a file and cut to the same size
as  the egg-bag.  If her  spider brain had con-
tained the  least gleam of sense, she  could have
detected  the ruse.  But "the silly creature pays
no  attention.   Lovingly  she embraces  the cork
ball, fondles it with her  palpi, fastens  it to her
spinnerets  and thenceforth drags it after her as
though  she were dragging her  own  bag."  He
then placed the detached  egg-bag among four or
five cork balls to see  what  would occur.  The
animal rarely recovers  the bag and then it seems
only because it is the nearest.  "Attempts at in-
quiry,   attempts  at selection  there  are  none.
Whatever she snaps up at random, she sticks to,
be it good or bad.  As there are more of the sham
pills of cork,  these are most often seized by the
spider."  How easily the spider could have em-
ployed a "little  dose  of  reasoning," especially
since she made the egg-bag and had "ample time
and opportunities of observing its  form,  its size,
its  proportions, the materials out of which it is
constructed and the  manner in  which  it  is
arranged."
  Newly hatched chicks have also been observed.
The wonderful transformation from egg to chick
may now-a-days be brought about  without the
                     145 
  NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC  BIOLOGIST

aid of the incubating hen.   Mechanical contriv-
ances—incubators—can give the  same  results.
In this case, the chicks never see the mother hen
and they are never "taught" to seek food.  The
observations of Eimer himself will prove of in-
terest.   He placed some seed in front of newly
hatched chicks and they  took no  notice of it.
Then he took some of the seed in  his hand and
let it fall on the floor.  The chicks immediately
pecked at it and swallowed it.  At another time
a fly happened to  dart past the  eyes of a chick
that  had come out  of the shell only  one half
hour before.   The chick pecked at the fly as if
it had  always been accustomed to  catching flies.
All the movements were accurate and suited to the
purpose.   Had the fly been caught, the chick no
doubt would have enjoyed it as much as a mature
fowl.
  Eimer claims that the chick brought into the
world with it an "inherited mental image of the
flight of a  fly!"   He also remarks that  the be-
havior  of the  creature  towards the fly was  a
consequence of innate instinct like that of itself
and its brethren toward the seed.   The inherited
mental picture does not sound scientific,  but the
innate instinct will be accepted, and  this latter has
                     146 
WONDERS OF INSTINCT
come not by way of experience but from an all-
wise Creator.
   Chicks that had been hatched by a hen were
also observed by Eimer.  As he himself assures
us, they were  taken from  the  nest  and knew
nothing of the world, nor did they have any ex-
perience  whatsoever.  Yet when  food was placed
in front  of  them, they pecked at it, and one of
them in  the first attempt touched the food with
as much accuracy as if it had done so for ever
so long.   On the fourth  day they were placed
outdoors in the  gravel  in the garden.  For the
moment everything seemed strange to them.  Food
was  given  to them  on  a wooden tray, just as
happened in the indoor experiments, but they dis-
regarded it and soon began to peck at the gravel
for the purpose of obtaining  food.   They also
snapped at the most varied objects such as bits of
wood,  etc.,  and  threw  away what  was useless.
After a little while they acted as naturally as if
they had always been familiar  with their sur-
roundings.
  On  another occasion, while indoors, he hap-
pened to  make a noise that frightened the chicks.
But when he imitated the voice of  the mother
hen,  they ran toward him  "as if old memories
                     147 
  NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC  BIOLOGIST

were awakened in them" and sought  protection.
As a  result of these observations, Eimer thinks
that it is reasonable to ask whether  the sitting
hen may not chatter sometimes on her nest and
whether the chicks may not thus, even  in the egg,
hear something of the fowl's language!
   Mr. Douglas  Spalding  also  recorded  some
observations with  regard to young chicks.  He
writes: "When one of my pupils was twelve days
old, while it was running about near me, it uttered
the peculiar cry with which fowls denote the ap-
proach of danger.   I looked up and saw a hawk
which  was circling at a great height above us.
Equally striking was the effect of the voice of the
hawk for the first time.   A young turkey which
I  took possession of, when he  began to chirp
in the still unbroken egg-shell was, on the morning
of the tenth day of his life, just engaged in taking
his breakfast out of my hand, when a young hawk
in his box close by, uttered a clear 'cheap, cheap';
the poor  turkey  shot like an  arrow to the other
side of the room and stood there motionless  and
paralyzed with terror, till the hawk gave a second
cry, when he  ran out of the  open door to the
farthest end of the lane, and  there remained for
ten minutes, crouched in  a corner.   Several times
more in the course of the day he heard that  dis-
                     148 
WONDERS OF INSTINCT
 torting sound and each time with the same symp-
 toms of  fear."  It would be  difficult to explain
 this fear of  the hawk on  the part of the chick
 and turkey unless the "theory of instinct"  were
 accepted.
   To  enumerate all the instances of purposeful
 activity as found in the animal kingdom would
 fill volumes.   In each case, however, they are to
 be ascribed to an Allwise Designer, Who arranged
 the internal structure of every animal and had the
 external  world  brought into  harmony with  it.
 For example, it is seen how each  animal  is able
 to find and  choose  its own particular kind  of
 food.  It is  able to discern the  beneficial from
 the poisonous herbs and berries.   This is owing
 to the sense of smell that the Almighty has given.
 As places of  habitation, the beaver, the fox, etc.,
 build their lairs, the various kinds of bees, ants,
 and birds, their peculiar  nests.  The deer  in
 time of danger employs his antlers for the pur-
 pose of defence.  Thus any number of examples
 could be described.
  But it is claimed, according to  another group
 of men, that all these  phenomena are  the result
 of intelligence in the animals.  All living crea-
 tures, we  are told, possess  a "psyche" which  is
provided with faculties of recognition, conscious
                     149 
  NOTES  OF A CATHOLIC  BIOLOGIST

effort,  and decision.  The faculties are not  of
the same perfection in man, animals and plants,
but essentially the faculties are not different one
from  the other.  There is only a  difference  of
degree of perfection.  Such statements appear  in
books on animal psychology written in popular
style for the unwary and gullible.  In these books
the human spirit and the soul of the animal are
placed in the same category.
  This neo-Lamarckian view mistakes sensation
for spiritual life and instinct for intelligence.
The statement  that the animal possesses reason
and consciousness  of duty  and effort as well  as
man, is false.  The soul of man  and  the  souls
of the animals are substantial components of the
organisms.   There  is an essential  difference be-
tween a "psyche" that thinks  and shows a free
self-determination as manifested by man and a
"psyche" whose faculties do not extend  beyond
the provision of sensitive recognition and sensi-
tive endeavor, as found in animals.
  The many interesting  and momentarily  mys-
tifying phenomena of instinct cannot break down
the barriers existing between man  and the ani-
mals.  Hence,  the  endeavors  of certain  writers
"to follow up analysis with synthesis and general-
ize  the origin  of  instinct  in  an  all-embracing
                     150 
         WONDERS  OF INSTINCT

view"  do  not  meet with our  approval.   The
entomologist Fabre  remarks:  "Because I have
stirred a few grains of sand on the shore, am I
in a position to know the depths of the ocean?
. .  . Life  has unfathomable  secrets.  Human
knowledge will be erased from the archives of the
world before we  possess the last word that  the
gnat has  to say  to us."   Regarding those  who
seek to have their generalizations accepted every-
where, he  writes: "Success is  for loud talkers;
the self-convinced dogmatists.   Everything is  ad-
mitted on condition that it be noisily proclaimed.
Let us throw off this sham and recognize that, in
reality, we know nothing about anything, if things
were probed to the bottom.  Scientifically, Na-
ture is  a riddle  without a definite solution to
satisfy man's curiosity.  Hypothesis follows  hy-
pothesis; the theoretic  rubbish accumulates;  and
truth ever evades  us."   (From M. Maeterlinck's
"The Insect's Homer.")
  In  denying  the  essential difference between
the  psychic faculties of man and the animal,  the
above school of thought not only raises the brute
to the level of man, but also  degrades man to
the  level of the  brute.   The  interpretation  of
animal activities  according  to human  standards
has for its aim the overthrow of a sublime moral
                     151 
 NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

code established  for man by reason and divine
law.  Should such  views  ever be  accepted by
mankind in years to come, the rank and file of
humanity would resemble a herd of unreasonable
animals, whose "spiritual life" would consist in
the unbridled gratification of the  meanest  im-
pulses.  But it is to be hoped that man, made to
the image and  likeness of God and endowed
with the noblest of faculties, may see the insidious-
ness of this argument and counteract most strongly
its venomous influence on human thought.
152 
CHAPTER VIII
         ANIMAL CAMOUFLAGE

During the last great war, the various nations in
the strife employed many devices, with  which
they endeavored  to outwit the  opposing forces.
The forms of artifice and color-schemes were such
as to perplex at times the keenest observers.  On
the field of battle the soldier was clad in khaki to
resemble the field-grass and the soil; others wore
their  gray or  blue in order to  become  indis-
tinguishable  against the horizon.  The various
types of vehicles were provided with a grayish or
brownish  hue,  or were so  "spattered" with dif-
ferent colors as to be confusing.   Again, impro-
vised thickets and forests were arranged, behind
or  under  which  the troops could  march  with
greater security, or else lie in ambush.  Upon the
waters  the vessels  showed similar contrivances.
The colorations made  the  ships indiscernible at
relatively  short distances  and  very  often  the
direction of their  course remained  a  matter  of
conjecture, for some time at least.  Some of them
                     153 
  NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC  BIOLOGIST

had  their armament concealed behind sheets of
canvass and they were so cleverly disguised as to
appear  like   innocent-looking   sailing  vessels.
Every means was used either to allure or to evade
the  enemy.  Although  this  was  a  prominent
feature  during the late encounter,  phases  of it
were known to past generations.   In the writings
of the  ancients there is mention of the Trojan
Horse, and Shakespeare in his  "Macbeth" de-
scribes  how Malcolm  commanded  his soldiers
each to hew down a bough and carry it in front of
him.  The effect of this was to give the advancing
army  the  appearance   of   a   moving forest.
At the sight  of this singular spectacle, a sen-
tinel hastened to Macbeth and reported breath-
lessly:—
   "As  I did stand upon the hill,
    I looked toward  Birnam, and anon, methought
    The wood began to move."

  However, such deceptive methods  are not char-
acteristic of man only.  As  Dr.  Dendy of  Eng-
land states: "The  practice of bluffing is by no
means  an exclusively human institution."  It is
in the  animal world that many remarkable  in-
stances  of  deception and imitative resemblance
are in  evidence.   There they are used  for  the
purpose  of escaping from  some enemy or of
                     154 
         ANIMAL CAMOUFLAGE

approaching  some  prey  more easily.  Defence-
less animals  simulate  the  color,  form, attitude,
and even movements of  other animals that  are
naturally protected by certain characteristics.  In
many cases they may resemble  some  inanimate
object.  Non-poisonous snakes have the  appear-
ance of poisonous forms; beetles may be colored
like dangerous hornets; butterflies escape capture
because  of  coloration and traits possessed  by
others which find protection either  in offensive
odors or bad  flavors.   Individuals like the cater-
pillars  may  have the color of  green or dried
leaves.   Other  insects may resemble a piece of
wood, a twig, or the color of the sand.  This  im-
itative resemblance of one  animal to another or
to some inanimate  form  is commonly  known by
the term mimicry.   Some writers make a distinc-
tion and call the general imitation  a protective
resemblance,  whereas mimicry in the strict sense
is employed to denote the imitation of other ani-
mals.   For the present purpose the various facts
will  be  considered  under  the  following sub-
divisions :
             Protective  features;
             Aggressive features;
             Alluring features;
                      155 
  NOTES  OF  A CATHOLIC  BIOLOGIST

             Warning features;
             True mimicry.

            Protective Features

  The eggs of many animals especially of insects
and birds show a peculiar coloration and become
indistinguishable from their natural  surround-
ings.   A large  green grasshopper lays its eggs
in the  earth.   These are brown  exactly like the
soil in which they  are deposited.  The eggs of
some  insects  have  a  gray-brown  or  a whitish
color, and resemble the bark of the trees on which
they are laid.  The eggs of the Alpine ptarmigan
are ochre-yellow with brown  or reddish-brown
dots like the color  of its nest built  of the dry
parts  of plants.  The eggs  of the sea-gull are
yellow-brown and gray and resemble the sand in
which  they are deposited.  A  person  may often
tread  on them  before becoming aware of their
presence.
  Many animals living either in the ocean or in
fresh  water are discerned with difficulty  in the
water because they are quite colorless or possess
only a slight bluish or greenish tinge.   They are
usually known as the  "Glass animals" or "Crys-
tal  animals."   In  some fresh  water  lakes there
                     156 
ANIMAL  CAMOUFLAGE
 is a  small aquatic flea which moves along in
 jerky fashion and keeps all its claws extended in
 order to seize its prey.  This creature is almost
 crystal  clear and  if some  water containing  this
 variety  were taken in a glass,  no signs of  life
 would be noticed.  But if the water be strained
 through a fine cloth, a  small mass of gelatine-like
 substance remains on  the sieve, thereby showing
 that they are present.
   The  same  conditions  prevail  in  the  ocean
 waters.   Among  the  familiar forms  might  be
 mentioned  jelly-fishes  and  worms.   Their  in-
 conspicuousness serves as a means of  protection
 because they  are  not seen by  their   pursuers.
 However,  the protection  is  not absolute.   For
 there  exist many  predaceous animals in these
 waters,  which do not wait until they see the prey.
 They  swim   about,   constantly  opening   and
 shutting their mouths  as  they  go and in  this
 manner procure  the  invisible  forms   as  food.
 Their transparency protects them against the at-
 tacks  of some animals  but never against all.
   The  fishes  are  generally dark  colored above
 and of  light  color below.  To a sea-gull flying
about, their color causes them to harmonize with
the dark water.  Yet another fish looking at them
from below or from the side, would be  less likely
                      157 
  NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

to detect them, than if they had the same general
dark coloration.  The blue-fish, as an example,
possesses brilliant white sides and lower body
portions, whilst its back is a dark steel-blue.
   In  the Sargassum  Sea,  there  are  found two
species of small fish  which are colored like the
sea-weed in which they have their habitat.   The
sea-horse, exhibited at times in aquaria, is a small
fish so fashioned as to resemble the seaweed.  A
form related to it exists in the waters of Australia.
Both live amongst  sea-weed, to which they attach
themselves  by means of their tails.  The Austra-
lian variety has its body covered with outgrowths
of the skin, which float out in the water similar
to the leaf-like expansions of  sea-weed.
   The common British spider-crab protects itself
by breaking  off bits  of sea-weed  and attaching
them to the long hairs  of  its body.  This is a
clever disguise for the animal, which is slow and
sluggish in habits and forms an easy prey  to
fishes.   The stomach of a thornback ray was
once found entirely filled with them.   In Puget
Sound a crab appears so exactly like the pebbles
of the bottom along the shore, that it is not recog-
nized until  in motion.
   Snakes living on the ground have a dull  color,
either gray-brown or dull black, causing them to
                     158 
ANIMAL  CAMOUFLAGE
resemble the  shadows  that may prevail at the
bases of the grass-stalks.   One group existing in
the Eastern part of the United States displays
a bright green color.  For  the greater part of the
time it  lives in the branches of shrubs and  its
coloration  makes  it inconspicuous  against the
background.
   Rabbits, wild sheep, deer and  antelope  have
dull colors and  readily  harmonize  with  their
surroundings.   The gazelle varies from white  on
the great plains to a dark gray on the lava fields
of volcanic districts.  The  zebra is known for  its
peculiar stripes and seems to be protected by this
color scheme.   Its habitat  is in Africa.  Mr.  R.
Crawshay  remarks:—"They remain  out  in the
sun on  the plains all day long, not retiring into
covert  at  all.  They  are  then an  intolerable
nuisance to any one in pursuit of other game;
indeed this may be  said of  them at all times.  If
they once notice you, they draw in and mob you
in their curiosity—only, however when one takes
no interest in them—for  when they  fancy  they
are the  object of  the  intruder's attention,  no
animals are more  watchful or cunning in safe-
guarding themselves.  If only their curiosity were
manifested in silence,  it  would  not so much
matter, but it vents itself in snorts and thundering
                     159 
 NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

stampedes, which puts every beast within earshot
on the qui vive."  Theodore  Roosevelt remarks
that, at a little distance  away, the stripes of the
zebra become indistinct  and  it then appears a
uniform gray.
  Birds usually have  a  color  which blends very
well with their  surroundings.  Some,  like  the
gulls and the terns, are  steel  gray or are bluish
above and white beneath, so that they harmonize
with the sea when viewed from above and with
the sky when noticed from below.   The sparrows,
ordinarily found  in grasses  and bushes,  may
be speckled-brown or grayish-brown.   Tropical
birds, like the parrot,  have a  bright green  color.
In Jamaica, there is a small  green colored bird,
which is wont to remain motionless in the foliage,
when any one is near  it.  Some people have not
been able to discern it,  even though they were only
six feet away.
  Some birds  and  mammals, among them the
ptarmigan, Arctic fox, varying hare, and weasel,
show a change of color  from  summer to winter.
In the summer time they  are grayish  or brownish,
similar to the leaves and rocks among which they
live; in spring and autumn, when shedding their
feathers or hair,  they are spotted gray and white
or brown and white to  harmonize with the regions
                     160 
ANIMAL  CAMOUFLAGE
 where patches of snow may be found, whilst in
 winter  they  are  white in color, thus resembling
 the snow.
   A remarkable  fact is the readiness with which
 some animals can change their color to agree with
 their environment.  The chameleon, frogs,  and
 certain  fishes are familiar examples.  A shrimp-
 like animal   called Hippolyte  is  described by
 Gamble as follows: "The wakeful hours of Hip-
 polyte  are hours of expansion.  The red  and
 yellow pigments  flow out in myriads of stars or
 pigment-cells: and according to the nature of the
 background,  so is the mixture of pigments com-
 pounded to form a close reproduction both of its
 color and its pattern: brown on brown weed, green
 on Ulva or sea-grass, red on red Algae, speckled
 on the filmy  ones.  A sweep of the shrimp net,
 detaches a battalion of these sleepy prawns, and
 if we turn the motley  into  a dish and  give a
 choice of  sea weed, each variety  after its kind
 will select the one with  which it agrees in color,
 and  vanish.   At  night,  Hippolyte, of whatever
 color, changes to  a transparent azure blue:  its
 stolidity gives place  to  a  nervous restlessness;
 at the least tremor, it leaps  violently and often
swims actively from one food-plant to another.
 This blue fit  lasts till day-break  and is then suc-
                     161 
  NOTES  OF A CATHOLIC  BIOLOGIST

ceeded by  the prawn's diurnal tint.  Thus the
color of the  animal  may  express a  nervous
rhythm."
  In the locust group, there are certain insects
whose hind wings are of a brilliant red or yellow
color.  The front wings,  which cover the hinder
ones when  the animal  is at rest, as well as the
remainder of the body, are colored to harmonize
with the environment.  Those living in  the red-
shale regions of New Jersey are reddish brown,
while others of the same species found near the
shore have  a light gray color and bear a resem-
blance to the prevailing sands.
  Other insects appear exactly like sticks both in
form and color.   One of them is even known by
the name "Walking Stick."  In Nicaragua there
is a species  of  walking  stick which shows
peculiar outgrowths  on its body and legs and
resembles the moss on which it lives.
  Another  form  of protection  is  seen in the
caterpillars  of  the geometric moths.  In color,
shape, and  attitude these  animals resemble small
twigs in  a remarkable manner.  When at  rest
they stiffen themselves  up and stand out from a
branch at the exact angle of a twig.  The same
is true of the caterpillar  of the brimstone moth.
It attaches  its head to a branch by means of a
                     162 
ANIMAL  CAMOUFLAGE
 silken thread and can remain motionless for a
 long  time.  Very many of these caterpillars are
 rarely seen because of their perfect resemblance to
 the twigs of plants on which  they feed.  Other
 caterpillars imitate the ragged edges of the leaves
 of their food plants in both color and shape.
   Protective resemblances are also noticed among
 the leaf-insects.   In Ceylon a  member of the
 locust group has  a bright green color.   Its wings
 are shaped  and veined like leaves and the body
 and legs possess  leaf-like outgrowths.   The but-
 terfly, Kalima, of India also shows resemblance
 to a leaf.  This  becomes manifest, when the in-
 sect is at rest and has  its  wings folded together
 above the body, so that the under-surface is ex-
 posed.  It then  appears like  a  dried leaf and
 displays imitation of a stalk, midrib and the color
 pattern of the leaf.

             AGGRESSIVE FEATURES

  Animals protected by peculiar color  schemes
 and  resemblances  are  very often  benefited by
 these  features when  in pursuit of their prey.
 Birds, lizards, frogs, spiders,  and pebble crabs
escape detection by the foe on account  of their
colorations.   On  the other hand, they are able
                     163 
  NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC  BIOLOGIST

to remain unobserved by the unwary insects which
serve them  as food.   The  field sparrow  men-
tioned above has a color that harmonizes with its
surroundings and can evade the hawk.   Yet this
coloration is also of advantage, since the sparrow
can approach its insect-prey more easily.
  In some cases, though, the color seems to be
for aggressive purposes.  In the far North most
of the animals are pure white, or, approximately
so,  at least during the long winter.  The Polar
bear remains white as snow throughout the en-
tire year.  However, the Arctic fox and the great
snowy owl  display seasonal changes  of  color.
The animals of the desert are  colored a  sandy
yellow, a clayey yellow, or even have a mingling
of them all.   The lion is tawny and he can steal
along unobserved  as  he  crouches close to the
ground towards his prey.  The tiger, the ruler of
the  jungle, possesses the dark stripes, which re-
semble the vertical shadows of the reeds among
which it lies in wait for the antelopes as they come
to the waterside for drink.   Another  example of
aggressive coloration is seen in the leopard and
the  jaguar,  both  tree climbers.  These  have
peculiar blotches on their skins  which resemble
splashes of sunshine that come through the foliage
                     164 
ANIMAL  CAMOUFLAGE
or they are like the confused shadows among
the trees.


             ALLURING FEATURES

  In a work entitled "A Naturalist's Wanderings
in the Eastern Archipelago" by Forbes, a remark-
able instance  of allurement is mentioned.  In
Java there exists a  spider which simulates the
voidings of birds and lizards upon which butter-
flies usually alight.   The material is chalklike in
color, streaked  here and there with black, and
surrounded by  a thin border of the dried-up or
more fluid portions.  The spider imitating it has
a peculiarly  shaped body  and is of a whitish
color.  The underside of its  body is  generally
exposed and  is pure chalk  white.  The lower
parts of its first and second pairs of legs as well
as a spot  on  the head and on  the abdomen are
jet black.
  This species  does not weave  a web of the
ordinary kind  but  it arranges  an irregularly
shaped film of the  finest texture  on the surface
of some prominent dark leaf.   The film is drawn
out toward the  sloping margin of the leaf into a
narrow  streak  with only a slightly thickened
                     165 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC  BIOLOGIST

termination.   The creature rests on its  back on
this irregular patch  and holds itself in position
by  means of several strong spines, found on its
anterior legs, which it puts under the film.   The
other legs are then crossed over its body.  "Thus
resting with its white abdomen and black legs as
the central and dark portions of the excreta, sur-
rounded  by  its thin web-film  representing the
marginal  watery portion  become  dry,  even to
some of it trickling off and arrested in a thickened
extremity,  such as  an evaporated  drop would
leave, it waits in confidence for its prey—a living
bait so artfully contrived as to deceive a pair of
human eyes even intently examining it."
  The  Mantid  or  "Praying  Insect"   shows
peculiar   characteristics.   The  ancient  Greeks
considered it a  sort of prophet;  the Moham-
medans say that it prays constantly with  its face
turned toward Mecca;  the Europeans know it as
the preacher, saint,  mendicant,  soothsayer, etc.
In  reality, this creature is  not a saint, but the
tiger of the insect world.   Crickets of all kinds,
butterflies, bees and large  flies  form  its  food.
The South  American  type even attacks small
frogs, lizards, and birds.  As Fabre writes, if the
Mantis only had sufficient  strength,  "its blood-
thirsty appetite and its horrible perfection of
                     166 
         ANIMAL CAMOUFLAGE

concealment  would  make it  the  terror of  the
country side.  The Prego-Dieu would become a
Satanic Vampire."   Its body as  a whole has a
perfectly peaceful aspect, but its forelimbs  are
murderous.   This graceful  body may have  the
appearance of either a leaf or a flower depending
on the species, and it easily attracts flower-feeding
insects.   Some have the fore part of the body so
modified as to represent blossoms, and the decep-
tion is enhanced by a gentle swaying kept up by
the insect in imitation of the effect  of a lightly
blowing breeze.  The forelimbs are provided with
a double row of steely spines, in  what would
correspond to the thighs.  They  are really like
saws  with  two  parallel edges separated  by a
groove,  in  which the foreleg lies when folded.
The foreleg is also  like a saw, but the teeth  are
smaller.  It  terminates in  a strong hook,  the
point of which is as sharp  as the finest needle.
With these weapons it seizes  and kills  its prey.
When the victim is within  reach, the forelimbs
are shot  out, the  talons strike the prey,  which is
then dragged backwards  between the two saw-
blades of the thighs.   "The  vise closes with a
movement like that of the forearm upon the upper
arm and all  is over; crickets, grasshoppers and
even more powerful  insects once seized in this trap
                     167 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC  BIOLOGIST

 with its four rows of teeth, are irreparably lost.
 Their frantic struggles will never release the hold
 of this terrible engine of destruction."  But even
 on  other occasions these Mantids are quite pug-
 nacious as they fence with their limbs, "like hus-
 sars with sabres,"  the larger frequently devouring
 the smaller  and  the  females the males.  The
 Chinese keep them in bamboo cages and match
 them like other people would bull-dogs or fighting
 roosters.
  In Algiers is found a lizard having bright red
 folds  of skin at the corners  of  its mouth.   In
 color and form, it has the appearance  of blossoms
 of  desert plants.   These features enable it to
 ensnare the insects that go in search of nectar
 and pollen.
  Another form of allurement is  that manifested
 by the angling fish.  It is a large, flat, soft fish,
 about three feet in  length,  and  almost half as
 broad as it is long.  A soft  stumpy tail stretches
 out behind and by means of a kind of wrist-joint
 at the  fins,  it can creep along noiselessly.  Or-
 dinarily it lies  hidden in the sea-weed or sand.
The mouth gapes wide open and  the pointed
teeth are bent backward to allow its prey to enter.
 Around the head  and  body, the  skin is fringed
giving   the  appearance   of  sea-weed.  It  has
                     168 
         ANIMAL CAMOUFLAGE

several spines on the head and back, but the fore-
most is tapering  and long,  similar to a fishing
rod, with a lappet at the end like a bait.  When
the shallow water ripples over the head, the lap-
pet sways to  and fro and the unwary fish come
up to nibble at it.   The angling fish then gradu-
ally lowers  the  rod,  while  the nibblers follow,
until opening its wide gape, it gulps them down.
At times the  victims are as  large as the angling
fish itself.   It then lies passive with its swollen
stomach, until the food is digested.  One  of
these fish was once found with seventy herrings
in its stomach.

             WARNING FEATURES

  Animals at times are dangerous or disagreeable
to their pursuers, because they possess some means
of defence  or have an unpleasant odor or taste.
Bees, wasps, hornets or yellow-jackets are provided
with their characteristic sting.   In order that they
be recognized by birds,  lizards, frogs  or mam-
mals, they display prominent bands of yellow or
white colors or even metallic lustre as seen in the
blue wasps.   These  colorations also  afford  a
means  of protection,  because  if any  predaceous
animal had once endeavored to seize them, it felt
                     169 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

the effects of the sting and would not pursue them
in the future.  Experiments  have proven this.
The  peculiar color patterns  therefore act as  a
warning.  Besides, were  they not conspicuous,
other animals  would  mistake them  for  edible
forms, and even though not devoured,  they  would
be grasped and injured and finally rejected.
  As a  rule, bugs are disagreeable in taste and
odor.  Not only do they advertise themselves by
their  colorations,  but in many  instances they
possess a bodily construction that is easily  recog-
nized by  predaceous  forms.   Similarly  a great
many beetles prove  unpalatable on  account  of
their  hard shells, whilst  some of them have  a
disagreeable flavor.  These also possess peculiar
markings  and  protective  signs.  The Colorado
beetle has conspicuous stripes running down its
back, and even in the larval stage it is bright
colored  and noticeably spotted.  Birds,  lizards,
frogs, and toads  easily recognize them  and do
not seize such varieties.
  Doubtless there are numerous  insects  which
are protected in this manner,  and a great  many
are still to be  recognized and described by the
naturalist.   A.   R.   Wallace  mentions  three
families of butterflies found in three great  tropi-
cal regions: South America, Southern Asia, and
                     170 
          ANIMAL  CAMOUFLAGE

Africa.  Their  wings  are large,  but they  fly
slowly.  "They are  always  very abundant and
they all have conspicuous colors  or markings, so
distinct from those of other families, that  in con-
junction with their peculiar outline and mode of
flight, they can  be easily recognized at a  glance.
Other distinctive features are that their colors are
always nearly the same on the under  surface of
their wings as on the upper; they never try to
conceal themselves but rest on the upper surfaces
of leaves or flowers; and, lastly, they all have
juices which exhale  a powerful scent,  so that
when one kills  them by pinching the body, the
liquid that exudes, stains  the finger yellow and
leaves an odor,  that can only be  removed by re-
peated  washings."  To insect-eating  birds  or
lizards this odor must be quite offensive as they
have  not been noticed to go in pursuit of such
butterflies.   Furthermore, Wallace remarks that
their  wings  were not found strewn in the paths
of the forests where  numerous wings of edible
forms  had  been  left  behind by insect-eating
animals.
  Lizards, in general, have  a color that  makes
them more or less  inconspicuous for the purpose
of protection and  aggression.  Yet in Mexico
and Arizona  there is  found a species,  called the
                     171 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

 Gila monster, said to be the only known poison-
 ous lizard.   It differs from the ordinary forms
 in  displaying a conspicuous mingling of colors,
 namely,  tints  of blackish-brown,  yellow  and
 orange.
   Amongst  the  mammals warning features  are
 not much in evidence.  However,  the skunk  de-
 serves  mention.  It  is  amply  protected by  the
 secretion of  a  liquid of a very offensive odor,
 which it can eject at will.  To some extent, there-
 fore, it can  protect  itself from aggression and
 makes  known its  presence by its large bushy tail
 and its conspicuous black and white color.  Be-
 ing a nocturnal burrowing individual, it may also
 be  benefited  by these colors when  in search of
 prey by moonlight.  The black portions  of the
 skin would resemble shadows and the white mark-
 ings, blotches of light.  A  form  allied to the
 skunk  has been characterized as a "savage and
 diabolical-looking weasel."  It is  the  Grison,
 also known as the "Huron."   Its color  is gray-
 ish-yellow above  and blackish beneath.   "It  al-
 most rivals the skunk in the power of the odor
which  it can emit when enraged.  A  trapped
 specimen was placed in a cage 50 yards or so
 from the house, and  even at this distance it was
 disagreeably easy to tell when any one visited the
                     172 
ANIMAL CAMOUFLAGE
 animal—at least when the wind set in the right
 direction"  (Proc. Zool. Soc.,  1894).

                 TRUE MIMICRY
   Many animals advertise a  characteristic which
 they  do not really possess.  Such creatures  are
 innocuous  and  inoffensive, not  being protected
 by any stings,  disagreeable exhalations or flavors.
 Although palatable and readily eaten by the foe,
 they escape destruction by resembling other forms
 that are avoided.  According to Wallace, this is
 true when the  following conditions prevail:—

 1)  The imitative species must occur  in the same area
    and  occupy the  very same station as the imitated.
 2)  The imitators are always  the  more defenceless.
 3)  The imitators are always less numerous in individuals.
 4)  The imitators differ from the  bulk of their allies.
 5)  The imitation, however minute, is external and vis-
    ible only, never  extending to internal characters or
    to such  as do not affect the external character.

   It  is  noticed that  many  inoffensive  insects
 simulate  the warning colorations of  dangerous
 species.   The  wasps, bees, hornets, and yellow
jackets are  recognized by their characteristic dis-
play  of  colors  and  accordingly are  avoided.
They are imitated by many flies.   Thus the drone
                      173 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

 fly mimics the bee.  Although the two belong to
 widely different orders of insects, the one having
 two wings and the other four, the resemblance is
 very close.  When the fly is on the wing, it even
 has the same kind of buzzing sound as  the bee.
 This mimetic trait deceived the people of Roman
 times and led them  to the belief that bees  were
 generated spontaneously from the carcass of an
 ox.  It is now known that the drone fly deposits
 its  eggs on such animals.
  Ants are not palatable on account of their tough
 covering  and  acid flavor.  Some  of them are
 even dangerous, possessing, as they do,  a  sting
 like wasps and bees.  In the Tropics a variety
 of  ants cuts bits of leaves  from the trees  and
 carries them to the nest.   Very often they are to
 be  seen in great numbers,  marching from the
 trees to the nests, each one with a green leaf in
 its  jaws and hanging  over the head and back.
 In the Amazon basin there was discovered a bug
 which marched along with the leaf-carriers and
 imitated them  perfectly.   The lower  portion of
the  bug's body was brown, like that of the ants,
but the upper  section was bright green and had
the  irregular outline  of a leaf.  Its general ap-
pearance was similar to an ant carrying  a piece
of green leaf.   The  bug  is palatable and if  it
                     174 
ANIMAL CAMOUFLAGE
were not protected in the way  just indicated, it
would fall an easy prey to insect-eating animals.
   A peculiar form of mimicry  is noticed in  the
larva or  caterpillar of  the  puss-moth.  If this
caterpillar is disturbed,  it pulls back  its head
into the first body-ring  and inflates the margin
which is of a bright red  color.   On this margin
there are two black spots in the exact position  for
eyes and the general impression  given is that of a
large flat face.   "The effect is an  intensely  ex-
aggerated caricature of a vertebrate face, which
is probably  alarming  to the vertebrate enemies
of the caterpillar.   The terrifying effect is there-
fore mimetic.  The movements  entirely depend
on  tactile impressions:  when   touched ever  so
lightly, a healthy larva immediately assumes  the
terrifying attitude and turns so as to present its
full face  toward the enemy; if touched on  the
other side or on the back, it instantly turns  its
face in the  appropriate direction.  The effect is
greatly  strengthened by  two pink whips,  which
are swiftly protruded from the prongs of the fork
in which the body terminates.   The prongs rep-
resent  the last pair of  larval legs which have
been greatly modified from their ordinary shape
and use.  The end of the body is at  the same
time curved  forward over the back and so the
                     175 
 NOTES OF  A CATHOLIC  BIOLOGIST

pink filaments are brandished above the head."
(Poulton.)   Accordingly,  the caterpillar  in its
terrifying attitude resembles, in a way, the ap-
pearance of a feline form, when irritated.
  Another caterpillar discovered in South Amer-
ica  by an investigator  "startled  him and  every-
one to whom he showed it, by its strong resem-
blance to a snake and  it even possessed the fea-
tures which are characteristic of  a poisonous ser-
pent."  The  caterpillar of  the large elephant
hawk-moth acts  similarly.   It lives on the dead
brown leaves of the great willow-herb and can be
seen only with difficulty on  account of its color,
which harmonizes with  the background.  Two of
the  body rings have marks like eyes on each side,
but they are not conspicuous when the creature is
undisturbed.   "As soon,  however, as the  leaves
are rustled by an approaching enemy, the cater-
pillar draws its head and first three body  rings
into the next two rings bearing the eye-like marks.
These two rings are thus swollen and look like the
head of an animal upon which four enormous ter-
rible looking eyes are  prominent.  The effect is
greatly heightened by the suddenness of the trans-
formation, which endows an innocent looking and
inconspicuous  animal with a terrifying and ser-
pentlike appearance.   I well remember the  start
                     176 
ANIMAL  CAMOUFLAGE
with which I drew back my hand as I was going to
take the first specimen of this caterpillar I had
ever seen."   (Poulton, "Color of Animals.")
  Certain edible and imperfectly protected butter-
flies give evidence of mimicry.  In Africa the fe-
male  forms of one  kind imitate four different
species of a protected  variety which is unpalat-
able.   The prevailing  avoided form of each re-
gion is mimicked, and it is only in Abyssinia that
the  edible female butterfly preserves the primitive
features like that of the male.
  It is pointed out that only the  females display
the  mimetic characteristics  because, as  Darwin
and Wallace both  remark, these forms are  in
greater  need  of protection.   The males of this
particular group are considerably in the majority
and their elimination to some extent would  not
prove serious.  However, the females  must live
longer in order to lay their eggs and  thus pre-
serve the species.   Again,  these  females,  being
loaded down with eggs, are heavier and slower
in flight, and during the entire egg-laying period
they are exposed to the attacks of numerous  en-
emies.  It appears  immaterial, whether one  of
the  abundant males  is devoured  sooner or  later,
since one male can fertilize several females.   But
the  death of  a single female means the loss  of
                     177 
  NOTES OF A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

several hundred descendants to the species.  The
female therefore keeps  the species  from extinc-
tion and she imitates a most ill-flavored and pro-
tected butterfly.
  Finally a phase  might be mentioned which has
been called "Simulating Death." This character-
istic is so wonderfully manifested by the Ameri-
can opossum, that  the expression is often heard,
"playing 'possum."   The animal has the habit
of feigning death  when pursued and overtaken.
It is said that on such occasions the animal will
endure much pain before it will exhibit any signs
of life.  Some of the beetles with their tough body
coverings drop to the ground, when about to be
seized, and are uninjured  by the fall.  They re-
main  motionless where they have alighted and
due to protective colorations, it is difficult to see
them among the leaves and grass.
  Aside  from  noting the many instances of pro-
tective resemblance in color, form,  and  attitude
of  various  animals,  scientists have also  en-
deavored to give an explanation as to their origin.
Professor Lull states: "Whatever may be the in-
itial cause of color, its final perfection of adapta-
tion for concealment, warning or whatsoever serv-
ice  it  may render,  may  well be the  result of the
natural selection factor."   Again  in the  "In-
                     178 
ANIMAL CAMOUFLAGE
troduction to Biology" by C. B. and G. C. Daven-
port it is remarked: "The origin of protective re-
semblance and mimicry are both explained by the
Theory  of  Natural  Selection or  Darwinism.
Since either of  them  is of  great utility to the
organism, their possession even to a slight degree,
however  accidentally gained, will give their pos-
sessor  an advantage over its  neighbors  in the
struggle  for existence.   Consequently it will  be
more apt to survive and transmit its peculiarity
to its offspring.   By this means an adapted race
will arise and crowd out an unadapted."
   The terms "accidental" and  "chance" that oc-
cur  frequently in discussions  of  this  kind are
only subterfuges  in times of perplexity. Experi-
ence will tell us that  nothing ever occurs by
chance, even though  this expression is used  so
often in  ordinary conversation.  It may be that
the actions  of  two causes conflict so that the un-
expected  or what we call  an "accident"  arises,
but all can be traced to certain causes.   Simi-
larly the mimetic characteristics are  not  to be
classed among the accidental or isolated  cases.
They occur everywhere in the animal-world and
therefore a cause must be found.   To say that
they have been accidentally  acquired is neither
plausible nor scientific.  An analagous phenom-
                     179 
  NOTES OF  A CATHOLIC  BIOLOGIST

enon  was once  observed  by the writer whilst
climbing the Tyrolese Alps.   Along the moun-
tain-side and in the valley a heavy mist prevailed,
but at the summit there  was  sunshine and  a
clear blue sky.   From time to time, it could be
seen from the coign  of vantage that the fleece
of the clouds was thrown  asunder  as if a cur-
tain were drawn back,  so  that  for the  moment
the city hundreds of  feet  below became  visible.
The clouds also  gave  rise to many fantastic con-
figurations and  a person with a vivid imagina-
tion could discern weird forms such as mythol-
ogy mentions.   Moreover, they were enhanced by
the beautiful blue sky  in  the  background.  It
could be said that these peculiar outlines were
accidentally produced  according to a theory simi-
lar to  that of natural selection.  But this play
of the clouds was due to  causes and was to be
traced to  physical  and meteorological  forces.
   With regard to imitative resemblances, we are
to believe, according to Darwinism, that origin-
ally numerous animals appeared with indifferent
or disadvantageous colorations.   For example, in
the beginning the brown rabbit was  obliged to
flee and conceal  itself in the northern climes, on
account of its color.  The landscape was white
due to the prevailing snows, and the animal was
                     180 
ANIMAL  CAMOUFLAGE
 easily detected and destroyed by the indiscernible
 foe.   However, Natural  Selection was of assist-
 ance,  and gradually, the color of the fur was
 changed from brown to white.   At first the off-
 springs possessed only  white  patches; later on
 this color became more prominent, and now the
 progeny appears  like  the  snowy  surrounding.
 Owing to the great change, the predaceous ani-
 mals no longer recognized  the rabbit, and  the
 latter was able to survive in the struggle for ex-
 istence.  This description  is indeed  interesting
 but there are no facts to support it.  In fact, no
 Darwinist has ever  told  us, except by analogy,
 what Natural Selection really is or how it  oper-
 ates.
   A. R. Wallace writes:  "The  lion is tawny so
 as to hide in the desert.   The tiger hides himself
 among  the bamboo,  so that the vertical stripes
 with which his body is adorned, will assimilate
 with the vertical stems of the bamboo."
   It could be readily argued that before the lion
 had  acquired his  present tawny  color, he was
 compelled to  hide  somewhere  else than in the
 desert, if he and future generations were to sur-
vive.   But when Natural Selection made use of
the principles of color, light and shade and also
the fact that every  object  in  nature,  whether
                     181 
  NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

black, white, brown or tawny  casts exactly  the
same colored shade and shadow, the king of  the
desert gradually acquired the  tawny color and
sought the  desert.   There the sun had a chance
to cast his  shadow and he could crawl behind it
and  remain invisible to the prey.
   Natural  Selection dealt differently with  the
tiger.  He  received stripes that assimilated with
the shadows cast by the reeds.   But Huxley  re-
minds us that "the Siberian tiger has a longitu-
dinal stripe down his back."  How this could be
of advantage to the animal must seem difficult
for a Darwinist to  explain.  Yet one writer says
satirically:   "The tiger in  Siberia,  having ob-
served that  the Russian convicts who escape, and
are hiding,  have a  longitudinal  stripe down their
back, modified by the knout, came  to the con-
clusion that, if a Russian convict can hide with
that  kind of a stripe on his back, so could he."'
However, the  Darwinist as  well  as  any other
evolutionist admits that if man,  possessing su-
perior intellectual  powers and  having many  of
the elements of Nature under his  control, cannot
modify his corporeal arrangement,  then much
less is this  ability  present in the animal world.
Neither the tiger nor other animals can  modify
their  organs, color or traits  by the exercise  of
                     182 
ANIMAL  CAMOUFLAGE
any intelligence or will,  because  their behavior
is  instinctive.  Furthermore,  Darwinists  dis-
claim  that  Natural  Selection causes anything.
But Darwin says  that "Natural Selection is in-
tently  watching each variation or alteration on
its  way to perfection  and will pick out with un-
erring skill each improvement and preserve it."
  Hence, if neither Natural Selection nor the or-
ganisms can be the cause of variations, and these
do  occur, then there must be some other agent at
work.   Chance  will  not explain the  problem.
It is most  improbable to consider, for example,
that the spider mentioned above acquired re-
semblances to the voidings of birds or lizards  in
shape, coloration,  etc., merely by  accidental yet
beneficial  operations.  Furthermore,  all  these
animals  regularly  choose the surroundings that
agree with  their own coloration;  they adhere  to
objects which afford  protection or imitate some
peculiar  habit of a protected  form.   All  this  is
done for the purpose of  preserving their kind.
Since then  these changes  and modifications  in
animals  are  produced for a  purpose,  the  con-
clusion to be drawn is,  that there  must be some
agent with  the power to choose and cause them.
This agent cannot be Evolution, because we are
told that this is not a cause, but only the name
                     183 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

given  to an  assumed process.   It  cannot  be
Chance,  otherwise  the lion  might have  stripes
and the  tiger  a tawny color, whilst the leopard
could have remained destitute of spots.
   With this objective  purposefulness, as seen in
beneficial resemblances, there is joined  a purpo-
sive activity on the part of the animal.  Both
features are concomitant, otherwise the coloration
and the habits would be of no avail to their pos-
sessors.  They seek the environment, the regions
or the company where their protection is assured,
just to recall Hippolyte or the bugs living with
the leaf-carrying ants.  To assert that  all these
complexities are explained by the Natural Selec-
tion factor, does not bespeak  a scientific mind in
search of true causes and effects.  As no mundane
agency can be found to adaquately explain these
wonderful phenomena,  credit for them  must  be
given to the Creator above, who planned them all
for the welfare of the  individuals.  In the vari-
ous manifestations of protective resemblance and
mimicry, there  is not accidental adaptation, but
purposeful arrangement.
184 
CHAPTER IX
        HOW NATURE RESTORES

 One  of the remarkable powers that the Allwise
 Creator has given to living individuals, is that of
 effecting repairs or even replacements, if portions
 of the body have been injured, destroyed or re-
 moved.  The loss of a bodily substance, provided
 it does not cause immediate death,  tends to be
 remedied,  either by the reproduction of the lost
 tissues or by a compensatory overgrowth of other
 parts.  This  function  varies in  the different
 forms  of life.   In the  higher  backbone animals
 and in man there are some limited manifestations
 of this power, but it is in the lower animals  and
 in plants that the most marvellous examples oc-
 cur.   With regard to man, it might be mentioned
 that the outer covering or skin is constantly re-
 placed by younger  cells, that  are  always being
 formed.  This  is a fact which does not attract
 attention because no one is aware of the continual
 change.  However, in time of  injury, this power
may be realized.  The replacing  of an injured
                     185 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

 finger-nail is more manifest.  It  has also been
 noticed how  a wound is able to heal and after a
 time, no trace of  injury remains.  If the mishap
 was somewhat more serious, a scar will later be
 a  reminder.   But more wonderful  is  this fact
 after a surgical operation has taken place, espe-
 cially if there  were  internal  disorders.  The
 surgical instruments may sever the linings of the
 body, remove infected portions, even bone, but if
 the individual can endure the  ordeal and if the
 body can exercise its functions, the person in due
 time  will once more be hale and hardy.  It is
 true that external influence is employed to bring
 about the healing process, but all the extraneous
 means would be of no  avail, to unite the tissues,
 blood vessels, nerves, etc.,  if the person did not
 possess in his very being, some power that makes
 use of these various means, or rather is aided by
 them to readjust  disordered parts.   The  same
facts might be stated, to a certain degree, with re-
 gard to the animals that have been domesticated
by man.  Outside aid is employed to further the
healing process.
  In the world  of Nature there are  many  in-
dividuals that meet  with mishap  and yet their
wounds  are  healed  without  the  aid  of  man.
Many experiments  have been  made  with such
                     186 
        HOW NATURE  RESTORES

animals to ascertain this fact, not for the sake of
seeing them "suffer," but in order to apply the
results of these investigations to the  welfare of
mankind.  Many years ago a Catholic priest and
scientist, the Abbe Trembley, in the course of his
experiments, happened upon a little creature that
aroused his curiosity.   This was  a small form
living in the water and is called Hydra.   In the
beginning, he  did not know whether to call it an
animal or a plant, on account of its peculiar be-
havior.   He knew, as people do now-a-days, that
plants can be grown  from "slips" cut  from  a
parent form, and the experiment was tried with
the Hydra.  He cut it into two parts and both
pieces grew into perfect Hydras.  When he cut
it  into many parts  they all died.   It seemed to
be a plant, but when he observed how it procured
its food and moved about, he concluded that  it
was an animal.  He thus had made a wonderful
discovery, namely, that  the power of living parts
to  grow into entire  organisms was a property of
animal  and plant  forms alike.  Trembley ex-
perimented with these forms in various ways, but
they always manifested the power of mending
injuries  and could  live, even though  they were
considerably changed in aspect.  In one  case he
split the head  of the Hydra in two and a two-
                     187 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

 headed form developed.   These heads were again
 split  up  to the  stage when  eight  heads  were
 formed.   It now appeared like a cluster of roots,
 but it continued to live.
   At a later date, another Catholic priest, Spal-
 lanzani,  also  famous as a scientist, carried  on
 various experiments  with different animals, and
 he too observed this strange phenomenon.  He
 was  interested principally in the ordinary earth-
 worms.  He cut a worm  in two and noticed that
 the head-portion grew a new tail and acquired the
 normal size, whereas the tail-part received a new
 head but remained smaller.  A worm that was cut
 in twain lengthwise did not give rise to new forms.
 Another observation was made in the salamander,
 a form that has a backbone.   When one of the
 legs was  cut off and  the animal was deprived of
 food for  two months, a new leg was formed just
 as rapidly as in another salamander that had been
 fed all the while.   In  another experiment,  he
 removed  all four legs and  even the tail of a
 salamander.  These  limbs were rapidly  replaced
 by the animal inside of three months.  This par-
 ticular observation  is  noteworthy,  because  the
 animal possesses a backbone, and is therefore a
 creature more  highly developed  than the earth-
worm.  The animal, besides  regenerating  647
                     188 
HOW NATURE RESTORES
new  bones to replace the amputated limbs, also
supplied new muscles, nerves, and blood vessels,
where the original had been removed.  Regenera-
tive power is, therefore, possessed to a remarkable
degree by the salamander, and the restored por-
tions are similar in every detail to the original
limbs.   Spallanzani's own remark with respect to
the various experiments is significant: "You can
mutilate to an incredible extent; you can  cut off
the jaw, a part  of the head, leg or tail again and
again from snails and salamanders, and yet each
of these types will be produced according to the
primitive type.   Nature never fails; never makes
a mistake; never putting on a fresh kind  of leg,
head or tail."
   Since the days of Trembley and Spallanzani
very many  experiments and  observations  have
been made by scientists in all parts of the world.
A record of them all would fill books.   Only a
few of them can be cited to show that this power
is inborn  and could not be manifested, had not
a Superior Intelligence made  the necessary pro-
visions.
   In a form allied to Hydra  (tubularia) men-
tioned  above, Jacques Loeb, of the Rockefeller
Institute, cut off the head and foot-ends alternately
and placed it in an inverted position in the  sand
                     189 
   NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

 of the aquarium.   This may have been somewhat
 disagreeable to the animal but it soon overcame
 the difficulty by developing a head from the foot-
 end and vice versa a foot from the head-end which
 happened to be  embedded in  the sand.   These
 organisms are  so sensitive to polarity that if the
 position of the  entire  animal  in the water  be
 reversed, even though uninjured, the foot-end
 becomes changed to the head-end.
   Professor  Hans  Driesch  mentions  another
 form,  Clavellina, which  is rather complex and
 consists  of two quite different parts—the one the
 gill-arrangement  and  the other  the intestinal sac.
 If the two  portions are  cut asunder, each can
 complete itself  in a perfect form in three to four
 days.  So far  it  shows similarities to the  worm
 of Spallanzani.  But the  gill-arrangement pos-
 sesses  other powers.  If cut off entirely, it may
 lose  almost  all of the clefts, openings etc., and
 appear like  a small whitish sphere, as if it were
 deteriorating.   After about two weeks, activity is
 noticed again, and there appears a perfect Clavel-
 lina, somewhat smaller in  size.   What really
 happened was  that the gill-portion became  a
structureless mass,  from which  developed  a re-
 organized individual.    But this is not all.  If
the separated gill-portion were again cut in two,
                     190 
        HOW NATURE RESTORES

the parts thus obtained,  in many  cases, would
become structureless, as happened  to the entire
gill-apparatus, and  each part would become a
smaller but full-fledged individual.
  The tadpole, the  intermediate free swimming
stage between the egg and full grown frog, fur-
nishes another example.  Spallanzani long ago
recorded that  it could restore its tail if  the orig-
inal were cut off.   Even if a part of  the  new
tail were  cut  off, the missing portion would be
regenerated.   In one instance, the tail was re-
moved and  the animal was kept without  food.
Although the  tadpole did not grow larger  as a
result of the deprivation of food, the missing tail
was replaced.   All four legs of another tadpole
were amputated, but  in time others appeared.
  In the above cases, scientists were instrumental
in removing portions of the bodily forms of in-
dividuals  and noted  the outcome.  But there are
other instances where persons  are not concerned
in the removal of parts and yet the same  phenom-
ena  exist.   Some animals, in  a rather strange
manner, surrender their limbs and at a later  date
have them replaced.  This occurs among lizards.
In time of danger or injury they are able to cast
off  the tail of their  snake-like bodies.   As  they
hasten along,  the pursuers usually endeavor to
                     191 
  NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

seize them  by the  tail, and  if this happens,  the
animal  simply snaps  it off  and by the time  the
foe has recovered  from the surprise, the lizard
has escaped.  This group of animals possesses
a backbone, and scientists  upon investigation dis-
covered that from the  seventh  tail-vertebra  on
there  exist  special breakage-planes,  or grooves,
where the detachment takes place.  From such a
plane outward the new tail  is regrown.
  The animals without a backbone manifest this
power more remarkably.   Take, for example,  the
lobster and its allied forms.  The lobster has two
large claws in the front part of the body.  As can
be readily seen, they are not alike, the one being
arranged for crushing and the other  for cutting
purposes.   The  crushing-claw may be either on
the right or the left side of the individual.  The
lobster,  crawfish, and crab have the power  of
throwing off their powerful limbs if they are  in-
jured  or seized by  the  foe.   New  claws will
eventually  be developed.   These  animals also
possess a breakage-plane,  namely, a groove, into
which the skin is continued in the form of a mem-
brane.   After the lobster has thrown  off its leg,
the smooth, skin-like surface  is seen, with just
a small opening in the centre,  where  the nerves
and blood  vessels  had continued to the portion
                     192 
HOW NATURE RESTORES
given off.   This opening, however,  is  quickly
closed by a clot and loss of blood is prevented.
Should the limb be snapped off at any other point,
the loss of blood would be considerable and  in
some cases the animal would bleed to death.
  The process involved  in the surrender of the
claw is  of interest.  It is the result  of  a reflex
nervous act.   If, for example, a  person should
touch a very hot object with his finger unknow-
ingly, the  finger is quickly withdrawn, before
there is  any time for reasoning.   This is due to
an  involuntary  act and  no  deliberation is  de-
manded.  A nerve conveys the impulse from the
heated object to  the central nervous system, and
immediately  a message is sent back  by  way  of
another  nerve, which causes a muscle to  contract
suddenly,  so that the  finger is  removed.   A
similar  process is employed  by  the lobster.   If
the claw is held tightly or injured, a message is
sent to the ventral nerve cord, and from this point
an impulse is conveyed to the muscle of  the leg.
The muscle contracts with such violence  that the
leg is broken off.
  Even under  ordinary  conditions,  the lobster
might lose  its  claws  quite  frequently.   These
limbs are rather heavy,  especially in the male
form, and the breaking joint is  quite small  in
                     193 
  NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

comparison.   So it may happen that if the ani-
mal is out of the water,  the  weight of  the leg
would cause it to break off.   When lobsters are
taken out of the water or from vessels bringing
them to the markets, or even if the claw  be held
firmly by another lobster, the same very often
happens, because they endeavor to escape  danger.
The fact of surrendering the limb is remarkable,
but the arrangements inside the base of  the leg
consisting of the bandaging  flaps is of equal im-
portance.   These close and with the clot  prevent
loss of blood.   Furthermore,  beneath the scar,
which forms at  the breaking  point,  a bud-like
structure develops, which in time becomes a new
leg in miniature.  When the animal next "sheds
its  skin," the  newly formed leg straightens out
and by increasing in size at subsequent  moults,
it ultimately appears as a full-grown claw, similar
in every detail to that which had  been cast off.
  The  five-armed   starfish,  in  its  dry  and
hardened condition, is  an object  of interest in
many homes.  When living, this  also possesses
remarkable regenerative powers.   Like the lob-
ster, when endangered or injured, it can surrender
its arms.  It may even break off all  five arms in
succession,  if necessary, so that only the central
portion or  disc remains.  From this, new arms
                     194 
HOW NATURE RESTORES
will be developed, as long as the originals.  No
record, however,  has yet  been given of a  single
arm producing an entire star-fish, although it has
been  observed how  a perfect individual was
formed from an arm that still possessed a small
portion of the central disc.
  In the forms called brittle-stars, the arms seem
capable of detachment at  any point.  The break
may occur very close to the part that is held or
pinched.   If the  portion adhering to the body is
again seized, another fragment is surrendered and
in this manner the entire arm may be detached,
piece by  piece, up to  the central disc.  All these
arms can be regenerated.
  An interesting  specimen among the worms is
the palolo worm, which  has as its habitat the
coral-reefs.   At breeding time, the head is some-
how completely separated  from the body and this
latter portion sets free thousands of minute germ
cells into the water and then dies.   However, the
severed head remains concealed in the rocks and
provides  itself with a new  body.
  In time of danger, the  sea cucumber  ejects its
insides and makes its escape from the surprised
enemy.   On account  of its peculiar activities on
such occasions,  it has also  received the  name
"Cotton-Spinner."   If molested,  it causes  the
                     195 
  NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC  BIOLOGIST

muscles of the body-wall to contract and  these
then press on the liquid in the body cavity.  The
viscera  are thereby  discharged  and when they
come in contact with the water they split up into
a meshwork of white threads.   The enemy may
accordingly become  entangled in this  "cotton."
In one case a lobster was observed to be so com-
pletely enmeshed as to be unable to move.   That
this procedure does not prove fatal to the sea cu-
cumber, is seen from the fact that  after  about
ten days all the organs are again replaced.
  In the spider group, there  is one individual
called the daddy-long-legs, harvestman, or pha-
langid,  which possesses very long legs.  In the
autumn it  darts swiftly  among the herbage in
search  of small insects, which it kills and sucks,
or else it goes in quest of refreshment, that the
dew  drops provide.   Any one who  has caught
such an animal, is aware of  the fact, that it sur-
renders its  lank legs almost  instantaneously and
runs away.  A scientist relates that he  once saw
a harvestman "running with very fair speed and
facility, having lost all but two legs, an anterior
one on  one  side and a posterior one on the other."
This is another example  of an animal that is
able  to part  with  its limbs and to have  them
replaced in subsequent moults.   The same may
                     196 
HOW NATURE RESTORES
be said of various insects, such as the "walking-
stick," which,  besides  casting off its leg  at  a
definite breaking joint, can regenerate new limbs.
  Aside from the extraordinary instances of sur-
rendering and regenerative powers mentioned thus
far,  there   are other  phases  of  replacement
which  occur quite  regularly  in  many animals.
A typical example again is furnished by the lob-
ster.  As is well known, it possesses  a  hard
outer covering  which protects it  and gives sup-
port to the internal organs.   The shell is also a
point of attachment for the muscles, by means of
which  it moves.  In  a way it answers the same
purpose as the  skeleton of creatures with a back-
bone.  This outer  covering  is  continuous over
the entire body and limbs.  It is  composed of a
horn-like substance  called  chitin and,  for the
most part, it is hardened by different  salts  of
lime.   However, at the joints it is thin and soft,
so that the parts can move one upon the  other.
  Since this outer covering is not elastic, there
is no opportunity given to the animal to extend
itself during growth.   The difficulty is overcome
by the animal shedding its entire skin from time
to time,  which process is known as moulting.
About  five weeks before the covering is to be cast
off, there are to be seen in the food-canal,  sheets
                      197 
 NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

of calcified chitin, which  eventually are formed
into  smooth flat  stones.   Before the moult  ac-
tually occurs, these stones are given off into the
cavity  of  the  stomach and  are reduced to fine
particles by the grinding apparatus found  there.
As the stones are like the substance of the outer
covering, it seems that they have  been derived
from it.   It is furthermore  observed that in the
region  between the middle and hind parts of the
body, lines appear, along which the covering is
to split.  Similar lines of varying length and ex-
tent  appear along the various limbs.  So it may
be that the  lines  are  prepared  and  rendered
weaker and less resistant by the removal of the
calcified chitin into the food-canal.  How  the
process is  carried on by  the  lobster, is not yet
understood by biologists.   When  the moulting
takes place, the covering  breaks open along the
various lines and the body and limbs are gradu-
ally  worked  loose within.   Then,  through the
main opening the lobster withdraws, first the fore
part of the body with the limbs and later on the
hind part.  The old covering  with all its  ap-
pendages  is abandoned in  almost  perfect  form.
In the meantime the animal has provided itself
with a new skin, which at first is very soft,  and
for  about  six weeks it  is  helpless against the
                     .198 
        HOW NATURE RESTORES

attacks of other animals.   Very often it happens
that the unprotected crustacean falls an easy prey
to the predaceous  fish (sharks, skates, and cod)
that feed upon it.  After moulting, the lobster is,
therefore, in great need  of  lime  to harden the
shell and it has been noticed that for the purpose,
it  frequently devours its own cast-off skin.  By
way of interpolation, it might be mentioned that
a similar process goes on in the crab and there-
fore  the "soft shell  crabs" are individuals that
have cast off their old covering and do not as yet
possess  the new  one in  a  stiffened  condition.
Young lobsters are said to moult twice a year, so
also do the -adult  males.   A creature about two
inches long has shed  its skin about fourteen times,
a  five  inch individual, twenty times and when
ten inches long about twenty-five times.  Roughly
speaking, a ten-inch lobster  is about four years
old.
   Another group  of individuals  that show pe-
culiarities in moulting, is that of the  woodlice.
They seem to live chiefly on vegetable  food and
at times they do great damage to seedlings and
tender  garden plants.  Some of them live as
guests in the nests of ants.   When the moulting
period arrives, they  do not abandon their entire
skin at once.  On the contrary, they escape from
                      199 
  NOTES OF  A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

the hinder part first, and only after two or three
days, when the new skin has hardened, do they
cast off their front part.  Thus it  happens, that
these woodlice go about with the front part of the
body of one color and the hind portion of another
hue, because the moulting has not  yet been com-
plete.
  The spider shows a different method of moult-
ing.  Up to the time that  the first shedding of
the skin takes  place, this  creature can neither
feed nor spin, because the  mouth  and spinning
tubes are clogged by a membrane.   In this stage
it is pale-colored and it has less hair and  spines
than in the mature form.  The first moult  occurs
when the spider is still with the rest of the brood
either in or near the egg-bag.  When  the time
comes for the first escape, it holds on to the flossy
nest with the front and third pairs  of legs.  The
hind legs are drawn upward  and  forward and
these seize the sac-like shell  which  covers the
body.   The  feet push the shell downwards while
at the same  time the body is drawn upwards,
until the spider is liberated from  the skin.   In
the subsequent moults  the process is changed.
The creature collects its legs together and attaches
them with silk to the upper side of the web.  The
body is also attached, but hangs below.  The old
                     200 
        HOW NATURE RESTORES

skin covering then splits along the sides of the
body and  the  spider, by  incessant and  violent
wriggling,  frees itself.   It leaves behind  a  com-
plete cast, including the legs on the upper side of
the web.  In the two days preceding the moult it
takes no food  and for fifteen  minutes after the
process, it hangs in  an  apparently lifeless con-
dition, until the new skin has hardened.  If the
spider had been without any of its limbs before
the moult, substitutes appear  afterwards.  But
if endeavoring to escape from its  old covering,
any limbs  are broken off, the new  ones will not
be  forthcoming until the next  time that it  casts
off its skin.  In  the  different species of spiders,
there is a  difference  with regard to the number
and recurrence of the moults.  One form sheds
its  skin nine times  after leaving the  egg shell,
once within the first two months and  thereafter
about every three weeks.
  Among the insects, moulting is also of frequent
occurrence.  For example, when the butterfly is
still in the caterpillar stage, it causes the  skin
to become detached from the body by  the action
of an intervening liquid.   The skin dries up and
shrinks.  By  contracting  its  body,  the  larva
effects an  opening near the head,  from which
point it  crawls out.   The  old skin  is pushed
                      201 
 NOTES  OF  A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

back toward the tail until the entire covering has
been left behind.  This process is repeated, until
the caterpillar has reached full size, at which time
it enters the cocoon stage.
  The ordinary house mosquito undergoes moult-
ing in the early stages of its existence.  In a day
or two after the eggs  are laid, there emerge tiny
larvae, commonly called "wrigglers," from their
peculiar  motion in  the  water.   In this stage,
which usually lasts about  a week,  the mosquito
feeds on minute plants and animals found in the
stagnant water,  and grows rapidly.   This state of
affairs necessitates  the shedding  of  the  outer
covering and the formation of a new and larger
skin.   During  this time the  mosquito  appears
somewhat  like a  worm.  Later  it  enters  the
third or pupa  stage,  when the sucking mouth-
parts, the  long slender  legs,  and  the  delicate
wings are developed and can  be seen through a
transparent outer covering. When the develop-
ment is complete, it moults again and the insect
leaves  the pupal case in the water and flies into
the air as a mature mosquito.
   Birds  as a rule moult  their feathers  at least
once a year, often twice, and in some cases even
three  times.   The  wing-quills  and   the   tail
feathers  are  usually given off in  pairs.  But
                     202 
        HOW NATURE RESTORES

swans, geese, ducks,  and flamingos shed all the
wing feathers at one time and for a while they
are incapable of flight.   Some birds of the auk
group discard  the horny parts  of  the  beak.
Snakes shed their entire  outer covering even in-
cluding the portion that runs over the eyeball.
The mammals "lose  their hair"  at least once  a
year.
   In conclusion, an interesting example may be
taken from the plant-kingdom.   When the work
of the summer is over, it is to be observed that the
leaves fall from the trees  and plants, and prepa-
rations are made for the winter.  In the tropical
countries, the leaves  remain attached  for long
periods, but in the temperate zones  this can only
be said of the  "evergreens."  The severe win-
ters  and the snowfalls  prove detrimental to  the
other plants,  and for better protection the annual
dropping of leaves  takes place.   In the autumn,
the valuable materials in the leaf are absorbed by
the branches and roots,  with the result that the
foliage changes its  color.   Across the leaf-stalk,
which in summer is firm and tough, there now
grow soft spongy cells, which multiply and ex-
pand to  form a  separating  layer.   These deli-
cate cells may become changed into  cork cells, or
they may arrange themselves in  such  a way to
                     203 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

 permit water to collect between them.   The leaf
 is now only lightly attached and in the case of the
 cork  cells, the least gust  of wind would cause
 it to break off readily.   In the other case, if the
 water in  the intercellular  spaces  should freeze,
 an expansion takes place and the remaining cells
 would be snapped off.  This brings  about the
 fall of leaves as seen on certain mornings after a
 frost.  At the place where the leaf had been at-
 tached, a  waterproof scar is visible, produced by
 the cork cells or by the  drying  up of the other
 kind  of cells.   In this manner, the waste of sap
 is prevented and no living forms can gain admis-
 sion for  the purpose of  attacking the bark and
 bringing  about  decay.  The trees  and  plants
 that shed  their leaves are not endangered by this
 process.   In  fact, they are benefited, since the
 fluids are preserved within them and  the bare
 branches, protected by the durable outer covering,
 resist the cold, and in many cases they offer very
little landing place to the snow that may fall upon
them.  With the advent of Spring, new leaves
make their appearance and their characteristic
and important  functions are once more in evi-
dence.
  Accordingly,  there is in  living creatures a re-
markable  power, which  enables  them  to  make
                     204 
        HOW NATURE RESTORES

repairs and even reconstruct portions of the body
that must be renewed  or  have suffered harm in
one  way or the other.  However,  there  is this
limitation: in  the  case of injuries, there must
never be such  grave seriousness as to  result in
death.   But even here the living organism will
endeavor, to  the last moment, to use its forces
and bring  about restoration.   Wonderful as is
this power, it  cannot  be  fathomed and  by no
means should it be considered  a matter of  course.
Some would tell us that at the present time it is
part of the  inborn make-up of  creatures to  behave
in  this  manner.   Professor  Weisman remarks
concerning such phenomena: "This also appears
to us to be adaptive and does  not surprise us,
since we have long  been accustomed to recognize
that what is adapted to an end, will realize this,
if it be possible at  all."   We are also  told that
it must  have taken ages for living  beings  to
bring about these perfections, especially when we
consider  the  special and  intricate  arrangements
as found in breakage planes, etc.  It is the Dar-
winist who would  hold  that  all these  arrange-
ments  were   developed   gradually throughout
innumerable ages and that they are due to chance,
i. e., that  no guiding principle was  at work.
Step by step, these various provisions are believed
                     205 
  NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC  BIOLOGIST

to have come  about through some kind of me-
chanical action.  But in all these processes there
was  no plan to be followed, there was nothing
to guide the work of Nature.  Darwin in his
Autobiography tells us: "The old argument from
design in Nature  . . . fails  now that the Law
of Natural  Selection has  been discovered. . .  .
There seems to be no more design in the  vari-
ability of organic beings  and in the  action of
Natural Selection, than in the course the  wind
blows."  Thus, for example, the  breakage planes
in lobsters,  lizards,  and the  process whereby a
leaf  is able to  fall in autumn—just happened to
be developed by something.   In the course of ages
and  ages, accidental modifications set in, and at
the present  time they prove to be of  great ad-
vantage to  the possessor.  But this is  erroneous
speculation and, in the last analysis, runs con-
trary to reason  and experience.  Though  it is
true  that adaptations occur in Nature, these can
never be due to chance, even as Darwin interprets
it.  There  is  a guidance  in everything,  even
though at first sight it may not be apparent.  If
this line of argumentation be employed, then all
the various arrangements in the world, the works
of art, etc., have been brought about  in the same
manner.  The Duke of Argyll states: "It would
                     206 
        HOW NATURE RESTORES

 be just as rational to account for the poem of the
 Iliad  or  of  Hamlet,  by  supposing  that  the
 words and letters were adjusted to the conceptions
 by some process of  Natural Selection, as to ac-
 count  by the same formula for the intricate and
 glorious harmonies  between structure and  func-
 tion of organic life." Credit for these wonderful
 arrangements  and provisions in  man, animals
 and plants must be  given to a Superhuman In-
 telligence that has endowed living  creatures  with
 the remarkable powers.  Any other line of reason-
 ing, starting from a  different "point of view," is
 false and dangerous.
   "The example of the great apostle of evolution
 himself should warn us as to this.  Darwin, as
 he sits in marble on the staircase  of the British
 Museum, represents  a noble figure, made in the
 image  of God and capable of grasping mentally
 the heaven above as well  as earth beneath.   As
 he appears in his recent biography, we see the
 same man paralyzed by  a  spiritual  atrophy,
 blinded and shut up in prison and chained to
 the mill of materialistic philosophy, where,  like
 a captive Samson, he is doomed to grind all  that
 is  fair and beautiful in Nature, into a  dry  and
formless dust.   Would that he had lived to  pull
down the temple of Dagon with his own hands,
                     207 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

even if an ephemeral reputation had perished in
the ruins, and to avenge himself of cruel enemies
that had put out the eyes of his higher Nature."
("Modern Ideas of Evolution" by Sir J. W.
Dawson.)
208 
CHAPTER X
    THE LOCUST IN  ANCIENT AND
             MODERN TIMES

Among the  few insects known to mankind since
the days of great antiquity, the locust  reserves
to itself the right to  a very prominent position.
It was  considered  a certain  vile insect by  the
peoples  of old, and  attention was drawn to it
principally on  account of the  baneful effects re-
sulting from its activities.   This insect occasion-
ally influenced the  economic  conditions of  the
past, and  hence frequent  reference is made to it
in the writings and  utterances of  the  ancients,
either in literal or figurative  language.   In  the
Holy Bible, some seventeen Books  of the Old
Testament mention characteristics connected with
this insect, while in the Books of the New Law
it is referred to in three different writings.   The
observations made and recorded in the Sacred
Text  are  so remarkable  that, in the main,  the
results of present-day scientific investigations can
act only as  a complement to the facts cited.
                      209 
  NOTES  OF A CATHOLIC  BIOLOGIST

  The appellations  of the locust, of frequent oc-
currence in the Hebrew Text, are arbeh, the root
of which means to multiply, and this word is de-
scriptive of the fecundity of the insect. The word
occurs twenty times.  Then  there is the name
chagab, for "locust" or "grasshopper," the latter
interpretation  being applied  because they were
locusts that chirped like grasshoppers.   Another
term is gehim, also translated either as  "grass-
hopper"  or  "locust."   So  too,  the word solam
refers to the edible  leapers, and hargol is inter-
preted "galloper."
  For the sake of elucidation, some of  the strik-
ing passages of the Old Testament might be men-
tioned.  The first reference to the locust is found
in the Book of Exodus (x, 3-6) and is  as fol-
lows: "Therefore Moses and Aaron went in to
Pharao and said to him:   Thus saith the  Lord
God of the Hebrews:   How long refusest thou
to submit to me? let my people go, to sacrifice to
me.   But if thou  resist and wilt not let them go,
behold I will  bring in tomorrow the locust into
thy coast:  To cover  the  face of the earth  that
nothing thereof may appear,  but that which the
hail hath left  may be eaten:  for they shall  feed
upon all the trees  that spring  in the fields.   And
they shall fill  thy houses,  and the  houses of thy
                     210 
THE LOCUST
servants and of all the Egyptians: such a number
as thy fathers have not seen nor thy grandfathers
from the time they were first upon the earth until
this present day."
   Ibid.,  x, 12-15:   "And  the  Lord  said to
Moses:   Stretch forth thy hand upon the land of
Egypt unto the locust, that it come upon it and
devour every  herb that is left after the  hail.
And Moses stretched forth his rod upon the land
of Egypt and the Lord brought a burning  wind
all that day, and night: and  when it was morn-
ing,  the burning wind raised  the locusts:   And
they came up over the whole land of Egypt: and
rested in  all the coasts of the Egyptians innumer-
able, the like as had not been before that  time,
nor  shall  be hereafter.  And they covered the
whole face of the earth, wasting all things.   And
the grass  of the earth was devoured and  what
fruits soever were  on trees, which  the hail  hath
left: and there remained not anything that was
green on  the trees,  or in the herbs of the earth in
Egypt."
   Again, verse 19:  "And he [the Lord]  made
a very strong wind to blow from the  West, and
it  took the locusts and cast them  into  the Red
Sea: there remained not so much as one in all the
coasts of  Egypt."
                     211 
  NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

  A poetical description replete with pathos and
faithful touches is given  to  us by the Prophet
Joel (ii, 1-11):   "A  day of  darkness  and  of
gloominess,  a day of clouds  and whirlwinds: a
numerous and strong people  as the morning
spread upon the mountains the like to it hath not
been from  the beginning,  nor  shall be  after it
even to the  years  of generation and generation.
Before the face thereof a devouring fire,  and be-
hind it a burning flame: the land is like a garden
of pleasure  before it,  and behind it a desolate
wilderness, neither is there any one that  can es-
cape it.  The appearance of them is as  the ap-
pearance of horses, and they shall run like horse-
men.   They shall  leap like the noise of chariots
upon the tops of the mountains, like the noise  of
a flame of fire devouring the stubble, as a strong
people prepared to battle.   At their presence the
people shall be in grievous pains: all faces shall
be  made like  a  kettle.   They shall run  like
valiant men:  like men of war they shall scale the
wall: the men shall march every one  on his way,
and they shall not turn aside from their ranks.
No one shall press upon his  brother: they shall
walk every one in his path: yea, and they shall
fall  through the  windows, and  shall take no
harm.  They shall enter into the city: they shall
                     212 
THE LOCUST
run upon the wall, they shall climb up the houses,
and they shall come in at the windows as a thief.
At their presence the earth hath trembled and the
heavens are moved: the sun and moon are dark-
ened and the stars have withdrawn their shining."
  The people are threatened with the approach
of locusts in Deut. (xxviii,  38),  whilst  in  III
Kings (viii,  37), II Par. (vi, 28) (vii, 13) and
Psalms (Lxxvii, 46) (cxLiv, 34)  these  insects
are mentioned as a plague and punishment.
  Their flight and activity are used for compari-
son in Job  (xxxix, 20), Proverbs (xxx, 27).
Ecclesiasticus  (xLiii,  19)  and  Joel  (i,  4).
They disappear suddenly, Nahum (iii,  17) and
have  a gregarious  instinct,  (Isaias, xxxiii,  4).
Individually they are insignificant,  (Numbers,
xiii,  34;  Isaias, xl,  22) and feeble, (Psalms,
cviii,  23).
  The traits of  the locusts are also used  to  de-
scribe an invading  army (Judges,  vi, 5 and vii,
12), where it says:  "But Madian and Amalec,
and   all   the  Eastern  people  lay  scattered
in the valley as  a multitude of locusts."   In  the
Book  of  Judith  (ii, 11), there is related con-
cerning Holofernes:  "He went forth, he and all
the army, with  the chariots and horsemen and
archers who  covered the face of the earth like
                     213 
  NOTES  OF A CATHOLIC  BIOLOGIST

locusts."  Finally  Jeremias  (xLvi,  23)  pro-
phecies  against Egypt saying:   "They have cut
down her forest, saith the Lord, which cannot be
counted: they are multiplied above locusts  and
are without number."
  The above passages and references show that
the locust was well  known to the people of  old,
in Egypt, Palestine  and the neighboring coun-
tries.  Brogniart  opines that related forms even
existed in abundance during the great Mesozoic
Era, especially the  Carboniferous Period, long
before the  appearance of  man upon this earth.
However the fossil remains  do  not prove  this
conclusively .as they  are  fragmentary  and  ob-
scure.
  Not only in Biblical times, but also thereafter,
even to the present day, has this  insect appeared
not infrequently in various countries of the  two
hemispheres and has always effected some harm.
  The  name  "locust" has been erroneously
employed in popular language and does not con-
vey the  idea  of the individual that taxonomists
give in  their zoological systems.   In this coun-
try, the  term ordinarily refers to the periodical
Cicada or "Seventeen Year Locust," a form well
known by its shrill, trilling note.   This  remains
underground  for a very long time and only ap-
                     214 
THE LOCUST
 pears on the surface of the earth in full growth,
 every thirteen to seventeen years.   Similarly, the
 word "grasshopper" has been applied to certain
 species of true  locusts,  although  the  true grass-
 hopper,  together with the katydid, belongs  to a
 different subdivision of insects.
   True locusts are to be classed under the Acridi-
 idae,  a  family  of  the  leaping   Orthoptera
 ("straight-winged").  The  Acridiidae  are so
 named because  they feed on "ta akra," i. e., the
 tops of  the ears of  corn and plants.   They re-
 ceive the name  Orthoptera on account of the pe-
 culiarity of their two  pairs of  flying  organs,
 which differ in outline and construction.   The
 first are  long, comparatively narrow structures of
 a firm parchment-like texture and are marked off
 with several longitudinal veins,  which divide be-
 yond the middle so as to become more numerous
 as they  reach the extremity of  the wing.   Fur-
 thermore, this wing-organ shows a great network
 of nervures, which gives to the surface the ap-
 pearance of an  aggregation  of numerous small
 cells.  These  organs are known as  the wing-
 covers  or elytra, from the Greek  word meaning
 "cases."
  The hind wings are larger, of more delicate
texture and  more flexible.   They also possess
                     215 
 NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

longitudinal veins which  however bifurcate but
little.  Numerous  cross veinlets are  also present
in these wings.  When at  rest these  structured
fold together like a fan and are entirely concealed
by the elytra.   The longitudinal folding and the
position of the wings when  closed have  given
the name Orthoptera,  "straight winged," to the
Order, to which the locust belongs.
  The  locust  is protected by an external horny
skeleton, which is generally reddish-brown, or
dull-green, in color.   This integument exhibits a
series  of constrictions, dividing the  body  into
rings and  these rings are grouped into three re-
gions  separated  by a  soft,  pliable membrane.
The front region is the head, the enlarged middle
portion is called the thorax and the posterior end,
the abdomen.
   The head  is large  and  bent abruptly down-
ward in front, or even inward, so as to be placed
in  a plane at an acute  angle with the vertex.
To the head are attached  the antennae or feelers,
outgrowths,  that  are  usually shorter  than  the
body.  Rather far apart,  at the sides of the  head,
are two conspicuous eyes, that are  compound in
 structure.   In the young form, the eyes are not
 composite, but in their place exist simple organs
 of vision, which  during  the growth of the em-
                      216 
THE LOCUST
bryo, increase in number and finally unite to form
large,  many  faceted,  visual  organs.   Experi-
ments have been performed to ascertain the exact
mode of functioning proper to such a compound
eye.   Some investigators maintain that the insect
has  "mosaic vision,"  according  to which, each
facet or  unit of the organ perceives only a por-
tion  of the object, so that but one image  is pro-
duced.   Others aver that each facet sees the en-
tire  object,  so  that many images are thus re-
corded.
  To the large  middle region are attached the
wings  already  referred to, and  three  pairs  of
legs.  The front and middle legs are similar and
small, while the hind legs are quite large.  The
thighs of the latter are thicker toward the place of
attachment and  are generally peculiarly sculp-
tured, by having long  ridges and grooves, and
being  frequently  marked  with   short  parallel
lines, which  meet  a longitudinal  line running
along the centre.   The tibia or lower part of the
leg bears two rows of spines  on  the upper side.
By means of these legs the locust is able to leap
from place to place.  Aristotle, in "De Partibus
AnimaUum" says  in this  connection:   "They
first  bend, then extend their legs, and by doing
so,  are necessarily  shot  up  from the ground.
                     217 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

 Only the hind legs resemble the steering oars of
 a ship.   For this requires, that the joint shall be
 deflected  inwards.  The whole number of legs,
 including those used in leaping, is six in all these
 insects."
  The  Prophet Joel  (ii, 5) speaks  of a trait,
 "like the noise of a flame of fire devouring the
 stubble."   This statement is referable to the pe-
 culiar sounds  that the different species of locusts
 are able to produce.   The  mechanism for such
 sound productions differs conspicuously from that
 which  produces  the  "voice"  in  vertebrates.
 There are no lungs or breathing apparatus com-
 parable to that of beasts or birds, because in these
 it is an internal arrangement.  The locusts, how-
 ever,  produce  sounds or music in a  rather re-
 markable manner.  One species has high pitched
 and  somewhat strident notes, that are produced
 by rubbing the roughened inner surface  of the
 hindmost  thigh, possessing  a row of bead-like
projections, against the outer surface of the wing
case, which is especially enlarged and has a  sharp
edge.   Accordingly, the wing cover  serves as a
kind of "fiddle" and is thrown into a  state  of vi-
bration,  so that the  musical  sound  is heard.
Other forms are said  to use only the  wing-cases
for  this purpose.  One of these  covers bears a
                     218 
THE LOCUST
 file, the other  a sharp edge.  By slightly tilting
 the  wing-cases and vibrating them rapidly, the
 sharp edge passes under the file with the result
 that a  crackling sound is emitted.
   The music, produced by different species, is re-
 ported  by experts  to be remarkably uniform.
 One kind gives forth  about  six notes per second
 and continues them from one  and one half to
 two and one half seconds.  Another locust makes
 from nine to twelve notes in  about three seconds.
 In both cases  the notes  follow each other uni-
 formly  and are slower in the shade than in the
 sun.
   Situated a little over the hind leg, are organs
 which have the semblance of "ears" and are sup-
 posed by many to be  organs of hearing.  They
 are modified portions  of the  skin and produce a
 sort of  drum.  On  the inner side they are con-
 nected with structures  having the  appearance of
 rods,  which lead to a group of nerve cells and
 from these there is established a connection with
 the brain.   It  is  supposed by  those,  who  hold
 that these organs are ears, that  when a wave of
 sound strikes the tympanum,  the vibrations affect
the rod-like organs and are eventually transmitted
to the brain.   So,  perhaps, the  different individ-
uals are able  to recognize the  distinct  stridula-
                      219 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

 tions produced by members of their own species.
 Whether the locusts perceive the stridulations as
 sounds has not been proven.  One scientist thinks
 that they are felt rather than heard.  They are
 vibrations—"felt as in a  cathedral we  feel the
 vibrations of the organ-pipes in the bones of the
 chest and head or on the covers  of the hymn-
 books in our hands"—and may have the purpose
 of keeping the insects together.
  Another observation made in connection with
 these insects when in flight, is that,  at times, the
 wings appear motionless and the creatures  seem
 to float in the air.  This is ascribed to the sustain-
 ing power of the  wing surface, but mainly to the
 fact that the weight of the locust  is lessened by
 the prevalence of dilated sacs in the interior of
 the body.  Since an individual  insect  is of con-
 siderable weight,  it is more than probable that a
 true flight can only be accomplished when these
 sacs are  inflated,  and  through the buoyancy of
 the heated  air which they contain, the lightness
 of the body is increased.   By what process dila-
 tion is  accomplished, is  not  exactly  known.
 In the Rocky  Mountain locust of our own coun-
 try  there are two sets  of sacs, the  one being a
thoracic group—a pair of very  large size—con-
nected with  smaller ones in the  head.   Then
                     220 
THE LOCUST
there is  an abdominal set, which forms  a very
remarkable  series.   Besides,  there  are  pres-
sent many dilatable tracheae or air tubes,  where
there is no space for air sacs.  Hence, the locust
is able to fly by means of its  own wing  power,
or be sustained in the air by the inflated sacs so
that the wind may carry it along.
   The egg-laying process of these insects  is also
an item of  interest  and importance.  The fe-
male member possesses at the extremity  of the
abdomen  hard  structures in the form of  plates
which are suitable for digging purposes.  By
means of these  it excavates a hole in the ground
where the eggs are to be deposited.  The place
selected is dry  soil on  high  ground,  as, for ex-
ample, vineyards,  gardens, and warm hillocks
covered with  grass and bushes;  also pastures and
dry  localities  just  outside  of  forests.   Some
species even  make holes in fence-rails, logs and
stumps.  High dry  soil is selected, because the
lowlands  prove detrimental,  on  account  of the
prevailing dampness, which would cause the eggs
to mould.  Here again, the  Stagirite, "Historia
AnimaUum" remarks:   "The  eggs are subject
to destruction by the autumn rains, when rains
are unusually heavy.   In seasons of drought lo-
custs are exceedingly numerous, from the absence
                     221 
  NOTES OF A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

of any destructive causes."  The ovary of a fe-
male  locust contains  between  130  to  150 eggs,
and these are deposited in lots  of  25  to  50.
With the  eggs there is also  deposited a quantity
of fluid, which in time hardens and forms a pro-
tection for them.   When the egg-laying function
is complete, but little trace is left to mark  the
place of deposit.
  The time of oviposition  is, in  general, from
August to October, and in  some countries even
later.  As the eggs are  laid  at different times,
especially  if the insect  is  migrating, it  means
that the offsprings make their appearance in suc-
cessive periods.  The mode  of escaping from  the
protective mass has also been observed in some
species.   The  young forms creep out of the cap-
sule from  the end of May to June of the following
year.   One species was noticed to put into action
an  ampulla—a  dilatable membranous sac—ex-
isting between  the head and  middle region.  The
ampulla is thought to be inflated by a fluid com-
ing from  the body cavity.   Six or seven  impri-
soned locusts will dilate their ampullae at one
time and then  combine their efforts to break and
push  off  the  protective  covering.  Later,  the
sac serves as a kind  of  resevoir, by  the aid of
which the insect can diminish  other parts of  the
                     222 
THE LOCUST
 body,  which, as Fabre says,  are  almost like a
 fluid,  in order to emerge from the capsule and
 then penetrate the cracks in  the earth, so as to
 reach the surface.  Moulting occurs immediately
 after leaving the egg-case.  The ampulla reap-
 pears  at subsequent moults  and enables the in-
 sect to burst its  skin  and escape from it.  The
 species prevalent in  the western part of  the
 United States breaks the egg-shell by an  abrad-
 ing action of the spines on the tibiae against the
 covering.
   Immediately  upon  leaving  the egg-case,  the
 young locust after having cast its  skin, displays
 a  clear,  green  color.  This  rapidly  becomes
 brown  and in twelve hours, is  black.   It  is a
 small, weak form, scarcely noticeable and remains
 in sandy  indentations  and dry ditches,  to  pro-
 tect itself against the weather.  In about six days
 it  undergoes  a  second  ecdysis  or moult, after
 which it is black in the main, though spotted and
 banded with white and rose color.   Some six or
 eight days later, there  is a third moult, when the
 rose color  is more pronounced and the head  is
 brownish  instead of black.   Eight days after,
the insect  sheds its skin again and the rudiments
of the  wings appear.   During this period, it  is
quite  voracious.   In ten days it experiences a
                      223 
  NOTES OF  A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

fifth ecdysis and the hind body greatly increases
in size.   After  fifteen or twenty days, the sixth
moult occurs and now the insects appears in per-
fect  form.   These  facts  were  obtained  by  ob-
serving the species Schistocerca peregrina preva-
lent  in North Africa and  probably  one of  the
plagues of Egypt.
  A prominent fact  in  connection with certain
species  cff the Acridiidae is that they have  the
migratory instinct, but although such  individuals
are found in many parts of the world, investiga-
tions show that there are only about one dozen
of the migratory kind,  some  of which  are  the
following:

  Caloptenus-femur-rubrum—the   common  red-legged
    individual, which at one time was so abundant in
    New England and  Canada as to become  a public
    calamity;  not,  however, in  late years.   It  is  a
    widely  distributed  species  ranging from  Labrador
    to the Mississippi.
  Caloptenus  spretus or "Rocky  Mountain  Locust."
    This appears in immense numbers in the region be-
    tween the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains and
    from Saskatchewan  to Texas.  The native breeding
    place  of  this insect is therefore an  area of  some
    300,000 square miles covering the territory of Wy-
    oming, Montana, and Canada north  of  Montana.
    This  locust  resembles  Caloptenus-femur-rubrum,
                      224 
THE LOCUST
     except that it has longer wings.   In times of exces-
     sive drought it leaves its native breeding place and
     travels  southeast  into  the  lower and more  fertile
     regions of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  where it does
     great damage.  At one time it  almost  produced a
     famine in Kansas and  the neighboring States.  The
     young of  this insect, that  happen to  be hatched in
     the lowlands, are not healthy a'nd "die before  reach-
     ing maturity.  Hence the plagues caused  by their
     migration are of short  duration.   This is the chief
     migratory species of North  America.
   Pachytylus cin-erasceus is widely distributed in the Old
     World.  Its territory  extends from the Madeira  Is-
     lands to Japan, thence over the Fiji Islands to New
     Zealand, northward over Northern Australia to Java,
     Mauritius and Northern Africa to Kartum.   In this
     vast territory  the  insect is  annually  found in one
     stage  or  another  of development  and is also quite
     migratory.
Caloptenus italicus  is prevalent in  Spain,  Southern
     France,  Italy, Southern Russia,  Siberia and even
     Algiers.
Stauronotus cruciatus  exists in  Southern Russia, Asia
     Minor, Cyprus and Algiers.
   Schistocerca  peregrina is  the  chief  migratory species
     in  Northern Africa.
   Pachytylus migratorius seems to be limited to Turkes-
     tan and Eastern  Europe.

   Districts subject  to invasion  are  not  visited
every  year by  these migratory species.   In fact,
                         225 
  NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

such visitations may be renewed only after long
intervals of time.   The reasons given  for  the
migrations  are various.  It may be the  lack of
food at times when great numbers of superfluous
individuals are produced.   So also,  climatic con-
ditions  may have  some effect,  as the eggs may
remain  in the ground for more than a year  and
only hatch out when a favorable season occurs.
Again, they are said to be  due to the instinct of
finding a suitable place for the progeny, i. e.,
warmth for the eggs and food  for the immature
locusts.  However, one important reason seems
to be  that  the insects are molested by para-
sitic individuals, and seek  to escape the  torture.
The Russian  scientist  Rossikow undertook  in-
vestigations and found two groups of parasites
that prey on the locust.
  One  species of the  family Sarcophagineae,
"flesh flies," place their newly hatched progeny
on the bodies of the older nymphs and  mature
forms of the locust.   The parasites then bore into
the bodies of their hosts, consume the fatty masses
and  internal organs, and eventually effect their
destruction.   Rossikow proved that in one case
these parasites destroyed a swarm of locusts in
fourteen days.  Then there is a species of mites
that lives upon the body of this insect.   Some-
                     226 
THE LOCUST
times there are about five hundred mites on one
locust.  The tortures caused  by both  parasitic
forms are thought to be the chief  reason for the
great flights  of  this creature.  It  is  significant,
too, that only the older nymphs and mature forms
are affected,  not  the young  undeveloped indi-
viduals.
  Although several species of locusts are migra-
tory, not all of them leave their native breeding
places in  great  swarms.   For example, there is
a migratory species  always present in  Belgium,
but it never  migrates in  "vast  armies."  How-
ever, some facts  might be mentioned to show that
great swarms have  been  prevalent even in  our
own day.   These forms evince remarkable mani-
festations  of instinct.  Several generations  may
have passed without  any migration occurring, yet
a group, when migrating,  will go in the direction
of the home of its  predecessors.  The movements
depend to a  large extent on  the wind.  Hence,
trial flights are first  made to learn the direction.
When on  the wing,  there is  probably very little
muscular effort,  as the inflated air sacs keep them
aloft  and  the wind carries them along.  Should
the wind  become  unfavorable,  they  alight and
wait for a change.   When a  swarm comes to the
ground in any locality, all devour the leaves and
                     227 
 NOTES OF  A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

fruits, the female members deposit a number of
eggs, and then proceed in their course.  After a
season or two, few or no locusts may be present
in such a locality.  This may be due partly to the
lack of food after hatching, so that the young in-
dividuals died, or it may be that the  insects, after
full growth, migrated back to the land of their
ancestors, as has been observed  in the United
States.
,  The gregariousness  of locusts was observed
in  Europe  between- 1754-1757.  During that
period they had  so multiplied as  to cover the
entire Iberian Peninsula.  The insects devoured
all kinds of plants and  did not even spare the
poisonous  variety.   Even  linen  and woolen
clothes,  that had been hung  out to dry, were
eaten.   In  1780, the insects were  so numerous
near Zomora, in Spain, that three hundred per-
sons were engaged for about three weeks in sweep-
ing together the bodies of dead locusts and the
number of  bushels thus collected  amounted to
over four thousand.
  In  Eastern India a yellowish-red species once
appeared in such multitudes that they were spread
out some five hundred miles in the air and the
swarm was  so dense that it shut out the light of
the sun, and caused monuments at  a distance of
                     228 
THE LOCUST
 170  yards to  become invisible.   A traveller by
 the name of Temple while living in Peru observed
 one evening that at some distance from him the
 landscape seemed  to have  a peculiar color.  It
 was  not the green of the grass and foliage but
 rather a  reddish-brown just as if the  sun were
 shining upon a pasture.   The color, he soon dis-
 covered, was due to the presence of locusts, that
 had  covered the  earth, the  trees and bushes, as
 far as he  could see.  The branches of the trees
 were bent under the weight of the numerous in-
 dividuals.  He then proceeded  to  travel right
 through the invaded area and his  impeded prog-
 ress took over one hour.
   In November, 1899, a flight of locusts passed
 over the Red Sea.   The swarm was  said to have
 been  about two thousand miles  in extent and it
 was  estimated  that the  group weighed  about
 42,850 millions of tons, each  locust weighing
 about Vie  of an ounce.   The following day an-
 other swarm, thought to  be even  larger, passed
 in the same direction.
   Official accounts  in Cyprus for  the year 1881
 record that up to the end of October of that year,
 1,600,000  egg-capsules  had  been  collected and
destroyed.   Since   each  egg-case  harbored  a
number  of  eggs,  the total  weight of the eggs
                     229 
  NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

collected and destroyed, must have amounted to
about 1,300 tons.   Nevertheless, in 1883, some
5,076,000 egg-cases are believed  to- have been
deposited on the island by the offsprings that sur-
vived.
  Such swarms are indeed surprisingly great, but
the destruction caused by these insects is also a
matter for serious  consideration.   It is said that
in Arabia they devour the corn when it is ripe and
what they do not eat, is infected by their touch
and by  the moisture coming from their body.
  A certain Dr. Linecum describes  the  ravages
of Coloptenus  spretus  in  Texas.   The  young
escaped from the egg coverings in early March,
and by the middle of the month had destroyed
one-half of the vegetation,  although they were
very small  and   wingless.   The  first  winged
specimens were seen in the air one  day at 3 p. m.
A light northerly wind arose and they dropped to
the ground in millions and  began  to  destroy
everything  green.   During  the  night they  re-
mained quiet, but  with the break of day they
began to eat again and continued their destruction
until ten o'clock in the morning, when they took
to the  wing  and flew southward.  At  three
o'clock that afternoon, another horde arrived, ten
times more numerous than  the first.   These left
                     230 
THE LOCUST
the place on the following afternoon.  This pro-
cedure continued day after day, new swarms ap-
pearing and depositing their eggs and devouring
all kinds of vegetation.   Their visitation spread
over many hundred miles.
   Reliable accounts  are given by persons travel-
ling in Africa and America.   Adanson, in 1750,
came to  the  River Gambia in Africa.   Whilst
traversing the stream, around 8 o'clock one morn-
ing, he noticed a thick cloud, which darkened the
heavens.   This cloud was in reality a swarm of
locusts, flying some ten to twenty yards above the
earth and  extending  over several square miles.
The insects  suddenly  descended like  a cloud-
burst, and  whilst resting,  devoured all the grass,
fruits and leaves, as well as the slender striplings.
Even the reeds, with which the huts were covered,
although dry, were not spared.
   Barrow,  in relating  his experiences  in South
Africa, mentions that  on  one occasion  a district
ten miles wide on either side of the Senegal River
for a distance of eighty or ninety miles, that is,
an area of about 1,600 to 1,800 square miles, was
covered with locusts.   Those that happened to
be in the river at the  time  were there to such
number that  they almost blotted out the appear-
ance of water.  The  insects devoured every blade
                     231 
  NOTES OF  A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

of grass and every plant in that region.   Their
departure  from that place was  also noteworthy.
The mature locusts flew into the  air but were
driven into the  sea by the wind.  Their remains
were later thrown on the shore and  for  about
fifty miles they formed a mound about three feet
in height.  The immature forms journeyed north-
ward and  passed  the dwelling place of two men
belonging  to Barrow's  party.  The procession
past the house continued for over a month with-
out interruption.
  An Englishman happened to acquire a splendid
tobacco plantation at Conohos in South America.
He had heard that swarms of locusts frequently
visited that  locality, and  so he caused all the
tobacco plants to be placed nearer  his house for
better protection.   The  plants,  about  40,000 in
number, thrived and  had reached a good size,
when one day the  cry was heard that locusts were
approaching.  The owner went out of his  house
and  found himself in  a  thick cloud, that de-
scended round about him.   The cloud—a swarm
of locusts—concentrated  over the tobacco field and
before long  they  attacked the plants.   After  a
short time,  the swarm  rose and  continued its
flight.  As a result of  their activities,  not one
                     232 
               THE LOCUST

tobacco plant remained and the field appeared to
have been swept clean by a broom.
  Great harm was done by locusts in Galicia, in
1828.   The environs of Brzeganer had not been
visited by locusts in forty-five years.  Then  the
news  came that great  hordes  were approaching
Galicia by way of  Odessa.   They  crossed  the
border line about the beginning of August.  The
people endeavored to save  the harvest, but time
was wanting,  so that a good  portion could  not
be gathered in.  This was  devoured down to  the
roots.
  The swarm reached Brzeganer on August 26th.
By shouts and noises and firing off of mortars  the
inhabitants tried to drive them  away  as they
approached.  It proved successful with regard to
the first group that arrived around ten o'clock in
the morning.   A second array over four miles in
width  appeared north of  Brzeganer at eleven
o'clock.  The  inhabitants  became worried about
their own plantations, and as they gradually with-
drew to their fields and gardens, the noise, shout-
ing and shooting grew weaker.  The entire swarm
of locusts, not greatly frightened,  alighted on  the
forest  and neighboring fields to the north.  Be-
tween  twelve and one o'clock the  main group of
                     233 
 NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

insects arrived.  When  still over a  mile away
the crackling sound, like that of a forest during
a storm, became  audible.  At  one o'clock, the
city and the horizon were in darkness,  and ex-
cepting  a few short  intervals,  the phenomenon
perdured about six hours.  The swarm extended
between 30 and 40 miles in width and devastated
the entire region.   However, they met their fate
at  Brzeganer.  The locusts remained about six
weeks, but the rainy conditions  gradually de-
stroyed  them.  The remains were so numerous
that on one day the inhabitants buried over 1,900
bushels  and yet there appeared to be  no  appreci-
able decrease in the amount.
  Swarms and ravages of like nature have been
recorded in  the  writings  of   the  Greeks and
Romans.  Pausanias, a  Greek  author of the first
century  of our era, states that outside the temple
at  Athens there stood  a  bronze  statue of Apollo,
ascribed to Phidias.  This Apollo  was  called
"Parnobion," because he set to flight the "Par-
nobes,"  or locusts.  Pausanias also writes that he
himself  knows that  locusts were  destroyed  on
Mt. Sipylus on three occasions:  once by a violent
wind, then by noxious vapors  caused by exces-
sive heat immediately following a rainfall, and
again by sudden coldness.
                     234 
THE LOCUST
   Pliny,  the Roman naturalist (a. d.  23-71),
 records that at one time a great swarm of locusts
 came over  the Sea  from  Africa,  so that the
 Romans were frightened and consulted the Sibyl-
 line Books—a procedure only resorted to when
 the city was in danger and no means of defense
 known.  At  another time a swarm coming from
 Africa  was driven into  the  ocean  by the wind.
 The waters threw the  dead locusts  on the shores
 of Cyrene and their putrefaction caused vapors to
 poison  the atmosphere,  so  that  80,000 persons
 died from disease.
   In Cyrene, there was an ordinance requiring
 that the locusts be destroyed three times a year:
 by crushing  the eggs, later by annihilating the
 immature forms that  appeared,  and finally, by
 killing  the  mature insects  which  had  escaped
 detection.  Any one disregarding this regulation
 was considered the same as a deserter and dealt
 with accordingly.   On the Island of Lemnos it
 was officially prescribed how many locusts each
 inhabitant was obliged to kill and deliver to the
 proper authorities  as proof of his endeavors.
  Evidence  is  also available to show that these
migratory creatures can travel great distances.
The ocean often proves to be a source of destruc-
tion, especially if they encounter  contrary winds.
                      235 
  NOTES  OF  A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

However, they have been known to traverse seas
of considerable width.  They have even travelled
from  the mainland of Europe to  the Balearic
Islands.
   On Nov. 21st,  1811, the ship Georgia,  while
sailing from Lisbon to Cuba, happened to be two
hundred  miles  from  the Canary  Islands, the
nearest land.  At the time, a light southeast wind
was blowing.  Suddenly  there was a  calm and
then a mild breeze came from the northeast.  At
the same time, a swarm of locusts appeared and
alighted on the ship.  They covered the decks,
masts and all parts that  gave a foothold.  Yet,
they  did not  seem  fatigued  after their  long
journey, because,  when  the men tried to  drive
them away they jumped from place to  place and
sought to evade the pursuers.  The breeze lasted
for about an hour, during which time  more and
more locusts descended.
   On November 2nd, 1865, a sailing vessel was
proceeding  from  Bordeaux to  Boston. When
1,200 miles fom the nearest land, the  ship was
invaded by  a swarm of locusts.  They remained
on and  about the ship for two days  and then
departed.
  Sir  Hans Sloane, in the "History of  Jamaica"
(1649), relates  that locusts had devastated the
                    236 
THE LOCUST
 Island of  Teneriffe.   They were seen to come
 from Africa and were carried along by the wind.
 They flew as far as they could, then alighted on
 the waters, one on the other, and formed  an im-
 mense mass.  Being  refreshed by the sun  the
 next day, they took flight again and  landed  in
 clouds at Teneriffe.
   What  Barrow remarks concerning the  migra-
 tions of  immature  locusts,  finds its parallel  in
 other accounts.   Hastings'  "Dictionary  of  the
 Bible" says  that in  the  East  the undeveloped
 creatures spread like a pall  over the land, eating
 everything green, and even stripping the bark off
 the trees.  In order to arrest the march  of  the
 devastators, the natives  dig trenches  along  the
 line of march, and when these are full of locusts,
 they turn back the soil to bury them, or direct
 water into the excavations  to drown them.  At
 times they also kindle fires in their pathway and
 drive them into the flames.
   In "Locusts and Locust Birds in South Africa,"
 Mrs. Barber mentions that these insects manifest
 the gregarious and migratory instinct when quite
 young and travel along on foot.  After hatching,
 various groups unite, so  that great numbers are
present in a swarm.   They lay waste a  neighbor-
hood  and then travel onward to fields of fresh
                     237 
 NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

crops.  These immature forms make use of the
roads and often travel a good many miles a day.
Their progress is made by short  leaps that are
rapidly  repeated.  Such swarms   travel  north-
wards to the home of their progenitors, and no
obstacles can arrest their march.
  In the year 1871, a swarm attempted to cross
the  somewhat swollen Vaal  River.  The young
locusts travelled  back and forth along the river
for  several  days, seeking a  suitable place for
traversing.   Finally they returned to  a bend in
the  river, where rocks were  cropping out,  and
they plunged into the stream in vast numbers.  A
favorable current as well as the sedges and water
plants growing on the rocks, were  of great assist-
ance,  and thus they made a successful crossing.
  Locusts have also attempted to cross the Orange
River in Africa when  it  was  several hundred
yards in width.  Great numbers plunged into the
flooded  stream until they became heaped upon
each other in large masses.   Groups of them were
swept from the banks by strong currents, and as
they grasped each other tightly and held together,
they gave the appearance of  floating  islands.
The individuals continually hopped  and  crept
over each other as they drifted away.  Whether
they reached the other shore is not known.
                     238 
THE LOCUST
   These insects are not rapid swimmers, but when
 found in the water in great masses they do not
 easily perish.   In their struggle, they are con-
 tinually changing places by hopping and creeping
 round and round upon each other.  It is known
 that they are exceedingly tenacious of life  and
 have the ability to remain under water for a con-
 siderable time without suffering injury.  A locust
 may appear  drowned, but the warm rays of the
 sun will revive  it, especially if it  should  be able
 to reach the bank of a river, or is  cast  ashore.
   On one occasion, as Mrs.  Barber relates, the
 undeveloped  creatures met with a disaster.  They
 had leaped into a stream from a steep sandy bank,
 only  to find another similar straight wall  on
 the opposite  side, which  gave them no footing.
 All their attempts were nugatory and in the  end
 they perished in the river.   There they putrefied
 and poisoned the waters so as to cause the death
 of the fish, which then floated on the  surface.
 The noxious vapours arising were so powerful,
 that they prevented everybody from approaching
 the river.
  After having  noted the characteristic traits of
 the locust, the reader might  ask the  question:
 Is there anything advantageous to be  remarked
concerning this insect?   A  few  facts  can   be
                     239 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

brought in its favor but in the  main it  must be
viewed in the light of the Biblical Writers  and
Prophets.
  Travellers in Africa relate, that places covered
with bushes, perennial plants, and hard and half-
withered grass,  have suffered  devastation from
migratory  locusts.  Later, new  herbs,  lilies,
fresh grass, and  new shoots of  perennial plants
appeared, so that the areas were  transformed  into
good pastures for cattle.
  The locust has been and is used  as food.  The
edible species are enumerated in the Pentateuch,
for as St. Jerome states: "The locust, because it
leaps, was counted as a  clean  animal  and  was
allowed by God  to be eaten by the Israelites."
The New Testament (Matth.  iii, 4  and  Mark
i, 6) mentions that this was the  food of St. John
the Baptist in the Desert.  "Because  clouds of
locusts are found thoughout the  vast solitudes of
the burning deserts,  they  are used as food,  and
this is what St. John the Baptist ate."  (St. Jer.)
  These insects were considered delicacies by the
Assyrians, and even at the present day, in all the
cities of Arabia  they are  exhibited for purchase
in the booths and are to be seen arranged in
strings.   In preparing them for meals the head,
                     240 
THE LOCUST
 wings,  and  legs are removed,  and the body  is
 fried in samn or clarified butter.  However, the
 Turk in Arabia, Egypt and Africa abhors them.
 In Syria only the poorest people employ them as
 food.
   The  Bedouins,  excepting those  around  Mt.
 Sinai, gather  these creatures  in vast  numbers.
 They scald them in salt water, dry them in the sun
 or roast them in oil or butter in iron vessels, strew
 flour over them, and then partake of what is for
 them a palatable preparation.
   Sparrmann, a physician, travelled into Central
 Africa in 1775.  He relates that the Hottentots
 were beside  themselves  with joy whenever the
 locusts arrived, even though they brought desola-
 tion to the land.  For the  locusts were used as
 food and the natives even prepared some kind of
 brown soup  from the eggs.  Another  traveller,
 Jackson, who visited the  Barbary Coast in  1779,
 says that everywhere locusts were offered to him
 as an appetizing and rare dish.
  Strabo, the Greek traveller and writer, tells of
 a race in Africa that started fires in trenches and
in the valleys whenever the locusts traversed that
region.  By  means of the  smoke issuing  from
these fires they stupefied the locusts and caused
                     241 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

them to fall to the earth.  The natives would then
collect them,  crush them in salt water, and from
the mixture prepare some sort of cake.
   Herodotus  narrates  of the  Nasomones,  who
were related  to the Libyans, that they dry the
locusts in the sun, then crush  them, and, after
pouring milk over the mash, enjoy the prepara-
tion.
   Thus the locust has manifested the self-same
characteristics from the days of yore, when the
Chosen People were held in bondage  in the Land
of Egypt,  down  to this twentieth century.  In
olden times  it proceeded in battle  array  and
brought desolation to  the  land it visited.   Its
mighty hordes have invaded regions in modern
times and caused hardships and misery to man-
kind.  As one poet (Southey) writes:
    "Onward they come,  a dark continuous cloud
     Of congregated myriads, numberless."

   Its dense masses could shut out  the light of
the sun as told  by the Prophet Joel, even as
Major Moore experienced   in  Eastern  India.
Yet  its destructive influence was felt only when
it  appeared in multitudes, showing  that  united
effort gave it strength.   For its feebleness and in-
significance was  observed in the past, when it
                     242 
THE LOCUST
pleased the Almighty to send a powerful wind to
drive it from the land, just as happened in modern
times in sections  of Africa.  Peculiar stridula-
tions, compared by  the Holy  Seer of the Old to
the  "noise of a  flame of fire  devouring  the
stubble," find their  counterpart in the  crackling
sounds,  "like  the noise  of a  forest  during a
storm," heard  by the inhabitants  of Brzeganer.
Or as Whitman says:
"I hear  the rustling pattering  of locusts, as  they strike
The  grain and grass with the  showers  of their  terrible
   clouds,"
   At times human beings may stem the onslaught
of this individual, but  its name is "arbeh," and
even  man's  endeavors, may come  to naught.
Then he must  acknowledge the wisdom and  the
providence of the  God  above, Who created both
this insect and  its  parasitic enemies: Who has so
arranged that  when the locust  appears in vast
multitudes, the parasitic torturer also multiplies
in order to bring about its downfall.   In  this
way there is once more established an equilibrium
in Nature.
243 
CHAPTER XI
          SALT OF THE EARTH

One of the many articles employed in the prepa-
ration  and seasoning of our food and also an
item important in the manufacture of chemicals
salutary to mankind, is that known  as ordinary
table-salt.  In spite of its importance and neces-
sity there are probably but few who have  ever
considered the interesting facts that could be cited
in its favor.   As a condiment to food,  salt has
come  into  such  general use  among civilized
nations as  to  be  regarded  as indispensable.  A
similar fact is noticed among various individuals
of the  animal kingdom.   To them,  salt is  also
beneficial and acts  as  an antiseptic  and a  pre-
ventative of intestinal disorders.  Wild animals
as well as domestic cattle feel its necessity.   The
latter may receive it in the form of brine or have
it strewn on the hay they eat, but the former must
seek it  for  themselves in Nature.  The  great
herds of the  North American  bisons  satisfied
their natural  craving  for it  by making long
                     244 
SALT OF THE  EARTH
journeys to "salt licks," usually places where
saline springs rose to the surface of the ground.
The bisons would  lick  the  ground  that  was
covered with the incrustations.  At times such
regions would give way under the weight of these
"Rulers of the Plains," so that the animals were
mired.  Accordingly, one of the most remarkable
areas in Boone County,  Kentucky, has received
the name "Big Bone  Lick" on  account of  the
many individuals that  were entrapped there.
  Among the ancient writings that make frequent
mention of this product are  the Holy Scriptures,
especially of the Old Testament.   The writer of
the Book of Ecclesiasticus (xxxix, 31) considers
it one of the  main  necessities of life.   In  the
prophecy of Sophonias  (ii, 9) and in  I Mac-
cabees (xi, 35) salt-pits are mentioned.  Because
the Jews supported Antiochus the Great against
Ptolemy  Philopater,  they received as a  reward,
gifts for their sacrifices:  wine, oil and 375 med-
imni of salt.  The Book of Leviticus  (ii,  13)
prescribes: "Whatsoever  thou offerest thou shalt
season it with salt."   The Prophet Ezechiel says:
"And the priests shall  put salt  upon them," i. e.
calf and ram for the sacrifices,   (xliii, 34.)
  Besides using it for food and the sacrifices,  the
Chosen People employed salt for  other purposes.
                     245 
  NOTES OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

 Ezechiel  (xvi, 4), mentions a religious rather
 than hygienic custom of rubbing new-born babes
 with salt.  In the Mischna it is recorded that a
 grain of salt, placed in a hollow or decayed tooth,
 was considered  a universal cure  for toothache.
 Salt was also used for preserving  fish and pick-
 ling olives, vegetables, etc.  Although no refer-
 ence to it is found in the Bible,  a custom existing
 among modern Jews may probably have obtained
 in olden times, namely that of laying all meat
 in salt and thus draining it more  thoroughly of
 its blood.
  A symbolical  significance of salt is found in
 both the Old  and New Testaments.  "To have
 eaten of his  salt" and thus enjoyed  a  person's
 hospitality was regarded as a  pledge of eternal
 friendship.  Again,  it was an emblem  of the
 Covenant: "a covenant of salt"  between God and
 His Chosen People.  Our Lord makes use of the
 expression when He said to His  disciples:   "You
 are the  salt of the earth."   Among other things
 He signified that the disciples  were emblems of
 wisdom.   Just as salt seasons food and makes it
 savory,  so does  wisdom season the  mind  and
make it wise.   This was the mission of His elect.
 The Latins said  of a  foolish man that  he  was
without salt or unsalted, and concerning this de-
                     246 
SALT OF THE EARTH
feet  the  poet  Catullus writes:   "Not one grain
of salt in so  big a  body!"  Lastly, salt was  a
symbol  of  barrenness,  desolation,  and  death.
Since an excess of  saltness  in  the  ground pro-
duced sterility, or as a city when destroyed was
sown with salt—a sign  that it  was never again
to be restored—so the idea was used in the ab-
stract.   The Book of Judges relates that  Abimi-
lech destroyed Sichem and sowed salt over the
ruins.
   Other  ancient writers have references  to this
important product.   Homer in the Odyssey writes
of inland peoples who have no knowledge of the
sea,  nor  do they use salt.  The  Numidian  no-
mads in  the  time  of Sallust,  just like  certain
modern Bedouins, did not season their food with
this  ingredient.  In  some parts of America and
India,  the inhabitants did not  use salt until  it
was introduced by Europeans. In Central  Africa,
where the natives live on milk and raw meat, the
saline quality of the food is not lost.  Accord-
ingly, the condiment was not needed to make the
food pleasant  and wholesome.   In such places
salt is a  luxury and enjoyed only by the  rich.
  Wherever  human  beings  partook of cereals,
vegetables, and boiled meats, there salt  proved
to be of necessity.   If it did not exist in their
                     247 
  NOTES  OF A CATHOLIC  BIOLOGIST

own localities, they manufactured it in a crude
manner, or else had it brought to them from the
seacoast or from places where salt  incrustations
were to be  found on  the surface  of the soil.
Aristotle relates  that  the Umbrians  produced
some such  condiment from the  ashes  of plants
that contained salt  qualities.   Tacitus  in his
Annals mentions that the ancient Germans poured
the water of a brackish stream over a fire of salty
wood and  employed  the  residue  for  flavoring
purposes.   The same is told by  Pliny of the in-
habitants of Spain and Gaul.
  By some  of the peoples of old salt was con-
sidered  a gift  of  the  gods.  According to the
Stagirite, the Chaonians of Epirus  possessed in
their country a spring that flowed into a stream
destitute of fish.  Although the  fish were greatly
sought and  desired,  nevertheless the  Chaonians
felt that the gods had amply rewarded them by
giving  the salt ingredients to the river.  To the
ancient  Germans  a  salty soil  was sacred  and
they chose it as the most fitting  place to offer up
prayers to the gods.   Even the  Greeks and Ro-
mans considered the gods as the givers of salt,
and so we find Homer calling  it "divine" and
Pliny wrote that it was a  "substance dear to the
gods."
                     248 
          SALT OF THE  EARTH

  As time elapsed and  the  cities became more
populated, so that local supplies of salt no longer
sufficed, the various nations found it necessary to
open trade  routes and  obtain this  article from
distant regions.   In ancient times this trade was
carried on extensively along the caravan routes
of Syria, Palestine, and Northern Africa.   Simi-
lar trade routes were established in Europe.   One
important road of commerce  existed between the
ports of Phoenicia through Palmyra to the Per-
sian Gulf.  The Phoenicians traded in salt,  as
well  as,  in  that  valued  delicacy—salt  fish.
Herodotus mentions a caravan route that united
the salt oases of the Libyan desert.   The modern
caravan trade of the Sahara  largely consists  in
this  product.   The  ancient  commerce between
the Aegean Sea  and Southern  Russia included
this article from the salt-pans at the mouth of the
Dnieper, and the fish coming from the same local-
ity.   In olden times there was also to be found a
trade route, the  Via Salaria  or salt highway,
which ran from Rome by way of Reate and As-
culum to the modern Porto d'Oscoli on the Adria-
tic coast—a distance  of  about 151  miles.  Por-
tions of the road are quite well preserved and
may be seen in the Apennines at the present time.
Along this route, the Sabines shipped the prod-
                     249 
  NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC  BIOLOGIST

ucts of the salt-pans  of  Ostia  into  their own
country.
  Bearing  on  this question is our modern word
"salary," which comes  from the Latin for "salt"
and dates  back to ancient Rome.  At  first the
word meant an allowance of salt to the officers
and men of the army.  Later on the "salarium"
denoted an allowance of money to buy salt,  and
in post-Augustan  times, the term included  any
allowance, pension or stipend.  In Abyssinia and
other parts of Africa, cakes of salt were formerly
used  as  money.   The economic  importance is
also seen in the taxes  on  the article and  in the
government monopolies.   In Palestine this gov-
ernment monopoly existed under the Seleucids,
in Egypt the Ptolemies  had control, and in Rome
the  rulers also exercised this right.  In the East
and in  the certain countries of  Europe  heavy
taxes are still  levied and  as a result the  "salt"
reaches the consumer in a very impure condition,
being very often  mixed with earth.   This is  a
practice similar to that existing in certain sections
of South America where  cocoa  is tainted with
fireclay.
  The manner of manufacturing  salt  has in
general been the same since ancient times.  The
Phoenicians obtained it by the evaporation of sea-
                     250 
SALT OF THE EARTH
water.   The Jews procured it from pits dug into
the sand or slime on the shore  of the Dead Sea.
Into these  pits the salt-water was admitted and
allowed to  evaporate.  Again, salt was obtained
by  mining  it.  According to Strabo,  the  great
salt mines  of  Northern India  were  worked be-
fore the time of Alexander the Great.   In Pales-
tine the chief source of supply was and is found
in the  hill  called Kashm  Usdum,  on the south-
west shore  of  the Dead Sea.   This is a cliff of
almost solid rock-salt,  some 30 to 60  feet  high,
and extending for  a distance of about 7  miles
along the shore  of the  lake.  Salt can here be
obtained for many generations to come.
  In our own day this article of trade comes
from sea-water or from inland salt lakes.  The
ocean carries an abundant supply of it in  solu-
tion.  It has been estimated according to stand-
ard measurements, that if the entire ocean were to
dry up, the total amount of salt furnished would
be about 4J million cubic miles, or,  about 14J
times the land  of  Europe now existing  above the
high-water   mark.  From this  vast  storehouse
man obtains salt by means  of evaporation, a  proc-
ess employed in countries  that have a  sea-board
as well as a long and dry summer, as  in Spain,
Portugal, France, and Italy.  A strip of land is
                     251 
  NOTES  OF A CATHOLIC  BIOLOGIST

levelled off and even banked by means of clay.
It is then divided into larger and smaller basins
so arranged that water can flow slowly from one
level to the other.  The  salt-water is first admit-
ted  into  the  larger  receptacles and allowed to
evaporate to  a certain extent.  Being somewhat
concentrated,  it  enters the smaller  basins, until
in the final troughs it has become so saturated as
to form a sediment.   The deposit is brought to-
gether  into small heaps  and  permitted to drain.
Later,  it is  gathered into larger  masses  and
further drainage continues until the sediment or
salt  has  become  quite  pure.  By  means  of
wooden scrapers it is then collected  and in many
cases finds its way to the market in this state.
In other localities,  the  product is  first sent to
refineries, where it is washed and dried by heat,
or is dissolved in fresh  water, boiled down and
put into  trade as a  pure, sparkling commodity.
  Salt  is also obtained from inland  salt lakes by
the same process.  Supplies of it come  from the
great salt lake of Sambur in Rajputana, India,
from the waters of the Dead Sea, and  from the
Great  Salt Lake of  Utah  in the United States.
The Dead Sea or the Salt Sea, as it is known in
the Biblical account, is  an inland lake  about 47
miles long  and from 2 J to 9 miles wide.  It is
                     252 
          SALT OF THE EARTH

1,293 feet  below the sea-level, the lowest body
of water on the surface of the earth.  Its waters
come from the River Jordan, and to all  appear-
ances there  is no outlet.   Hence, the only mode
of escaping is  by  evaporation, with the result
that  it contains an immense  amount  of saline
material in solution.  100 pounds of water from
the Dead  Sea are said to yield 24\  pounds of
salt, whereas the same  amount of water from the
Atlantic  Ocean  would  give  only 6   pounds.
Similarly, the Great Salt Lake of Utah is rich in
the saline ingredients.   In fact it is 24%  salt.
The writer,  while   making observations there,
noticed that the water, after being  pumped and
raised  from  the lake,  is caused to flow along
troughs and trenches,  until it  reaches the level
places.  These act  as  immense basins,  and the
shallow water  evaporates readily.   The sedi-
ment  or salt is then  amassed  into extensive
mounds,  and when completely  dried,  is put
aboard railroad cars and shipped.
   Geologists tell us that inland  salt  lakes, like
the Dead  Sea,  Lake Elton in  Russia, the Cas-
pian Sea, and the Great Salt Lake of Utah, were
arms of the  ocean  in  the far distant past, and
that  now they  are  but small  concentrated  por-
tions, having no connection whatsoever with the
                     253 
  NOTES  OF A  CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

large bodies  of  the water.  Upon investigation,
it is seen that these lakes are the final basins to
receive water from other sources and they  alone
are saline in character.  Thus Lake Tahoe flows
into Pyramid Lake, Nevada, and only the  latter
is salt.  The Sea of Galillee is a fresh water lake
and empties  into  the Dead Sea—a salt  lake.
Lake Utah is also a body of fresh water and it
has its outlet into  the Great Salt Lake.   These
final  reservoirs are said to have received their
first great  supply  of  salt when they were con-
nected with the ocean, but in the course of geologi-
cal  time, the land rose  higher around them, bring-
ing  about  isolation.   Due  to  the   evaporation
they shrank to insignificant remnants  and became
highly concentrated. The rivers and other bodies
of water that appeared in the  regions later  on,
supplied  these lakes  with a certain amount of
water and also with salt material that was pro-
cured from the  soil,  and thus the salinity was
retained.
  To illustrate the manner in which such a body
of water may have come about, the Great Salt
Lake will serve  as an example.  Scientists say,
that it is a small remnant of an immense ancient
lake,  which they  have  for  convenience  called
Lake Bonneville.   To the North it was connected
                     254 
          SALT OF THE EARTH

with the Pacific Ocean.   At its maximum, it was
1,000 feet deep and covered an area of about 17,
000  square miles.  Terraces which marked the
former levels of this great lake are seen from Salt
Lake City  and outlying districts and are several
hundred feet above the level of the present shore-
line.  In pre-Glacial times it was a  salt lake.
However, great amounts of fresh water emptied
into  this lake from  rivers and springs,  so  that
from salt water it changed to fresh and the ex-
cess  flowed over the banks and found an outlet
into  the Pacific.   In time, an arid climate  pre-
vailed and  this caused a rapid evaporation of the
water.  By shrinking, it reduced its  area  and
carried  with it  the  soluble salts of  the  larger
lake.   Of this immense lake, there now remains
but a small body of water 2,400 square miles in
area,  with  a maximum  depth of only 50 feet.
Since all rivers and lakes contain a small amount
of salt, it means that the Great Salt Lake is still
receiving an additional supply.
  For comparison, another body of water may be
mentioned,   which according  to  geologists  has
changed from saline to fresh water and remained
in that  condition.  This is  Lake Champlain in
the northern part of New York.  At a period
when the immense Ice Sheets  were retreating in
                     255 
  NOTES  OF A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

North America and the Great Lakes were being
formed, the northeastern coast along the Atlantic
was low, so that the  ocean  spread  over the St.
Lawrence Valley, Lake  Ontario, Lake Cham-
plain, and  the Hudson River.  This caused the
entire territory now known as New England to
be  one large island.  The ocean carried  many
strange objects into the inundated areas, and these
relics  are still unearthed today.  Among them
are to be mentioned the shells of animals  living
in the ocean  and even the skeletons of whales.
One of these  skeletons  has  been found  in  the
Lake Champlain terrace and another in the  Ot-
tawa Valley.   As time went on, the waters depos-
ited an  immense amount of sediment,  which
filled in the low places and also caused the ocean-
waters to recede.  The salt  character  of  Lake
Champlain gradually  diminished, owing to  the
small  amount  of evaporation.  However,  the
principal reason given is that  fresh water has
poured into the lake in such quantities as to pre-
vent concentration, so that the excess volume over-
flowed and  now finds an outlet into the  St.  Law-
rence River.
  A condition similar to  that of Lake Cham-
plain would also exist if in some  manner  the
Black  Sea were  separated  from the  Mediter-
                     256 
SALT OF THE EARTH
ranean, the Baltic  from the Atlantic Ocean,  or
the  Bay  of  San  Francisco  from  the  Pacific.
The supply of fresh water brought from the land
by  the rivers  would be so great as  to overcome
the loss by evaporation.  The waters in such an
event would rise until they found an outlet and
in time they would be fresh  in character.   On
the other  hand, if Mediterranean Sea were ever
to be cut off  from the Ocean at the Straits  of
Gibraltar, it would not only remain a salt-water
lake, but  would gradually diminish in size and
finally deposit salt, like the  inland salt  lakes
mentioned above.
  It has  been stated  that commercial salt was
obtained from the Great Salt Range  of India  be-
fore the days  of Alexander the Great, and that
the Jews had recourse  to the great supply found
in the hill bordering on the Dead Sea.  It was
procured from the rock-salt in the earth by min-
ing processes.   It is remarkable that Nature has
furnished  an  abundant supply  of salt in  rock-
form in many parts of the world.  The investiga-
tions of the  geologists have made known the fact
that rock salt is found  in nearly all the stratified
groups of  rock upon this earth * and in some cases
at a very great depth.  The  Great  Salt Range
  1 See Geological time table on page 263
                     257 
 NOTES OF  A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

of the Punjab in India dates back to the Lower
Silurian Period.  In Northern New York, Mich-
igan and Ontario, Canada, there are  Upper
Silurian  deposits.   The  important salt-forma-
tions of  England,  France and  Germany come
from  the Permian  and  Triassic.  The most
noted rock-salt  of Spain belongs to the Cretace-
ous and  Tertiary.  The  famous salt-beds  of
Wielizka near Cracow were deposited during the
Pliocene.
  From all  these petrifactions,  salt is obtained
either by mining or by boring and bringing it to
the surface  in  the  form  of  brine.  In several
States of the Union, like New York, Kansas, and
Louisiana, a process similar to that of coal min-
ing is  employed.   But  most of  the  American
salt is obtained from brine.  Here a  bore is
made through the earth down to the salt layers.
This bore is lined  with  tubing  and  where the
tube passes  through the  salt it  is pierced with
holes.  A smaller tube is  let  down into the first
and between the two there exists  an appreciable
space, into which fresh water is allowed to flow.
The salt  at great depths is thus dissolved and it
rises to the surface in the  form of brine through
the inner tube.  After evaporation there remains
but the salt  itself.
                     258 
SALT OF THE  EARTH
  The conditions  bringing  about the  formation
of rock-salt  are  said  to  have been  not unlike
those  that caused  the  inland  salt lakes.  There
existed bodies of  salt  water,  there was an arid
climate  of  long duration, and,  furthermore, all
the moist winds were shut off by high lands.  In
the various  geological eras  mentioned  above,
arms  of the sea were either partly or completely
shut off from the  ocean by land barriers.  The
evaporation of the  water wasv great and  con-
centration could not be prevented by waters of
the rivers nor by  quantities that perhaps flowed
over  the land barriers.  Thus,  the  waters be-
came  saturated  with salt and when the basins
had completely dried  up, only  the  deposit re-
mained.   If  the barriers were  not  too high,  a
fresh  supply of ocean water would be  admitted,
especially,  at high-tide and  in  times  of  storms.
This  would account for the thicknesses of many
layers of salt.   Beds of salt  from 40 to 80 feet
in thickness  imply  the evaporation  of 3,000 to
6,000 feet of normal sea-water.
   Just  as  the Mississippi  at the present  time
carries immense quantities of granulated rock to
be deposited  at its mouth, so in  the past geologi-
cal ages, streams and other bodies  of water
brought  sediments  with  them   and  completely
                      259 
 NOTES OF  A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST

covered the  salt formations.   In many regions
the rock salt now lies at great depths and it is
almost  impossible to  ascertain  how extensive
these  layers may be.  Knowledge, can  only be
obtained by  boring  into the earth in different
places.  In  Northern New York,  for example,
the salt beds occur at depths ranging from  800
to  3,000 feet.  The farther  south the  borings
have been made, the greater has been the depth
of the rock  salt.  In Livingston and Wyoming
Counties, New  York, these beds exist  between
1,000 to 2,500  feet below the surface and they
have  a thickness of  50 to  100 feet.   Around
Ithaca,  New York, several layers of  salt having
a thickness of about 250 feet are  found at depths
between 1,900 and 3,130 feet in the earth.
   Common  salt is considered one  of the indis-
pensable articles for our diet,  and Almighty God
has made  wonderful provision  of  it for  His
creatures.   Throughout  the ages of  the  past  it
has existed  either in soluble or hardened form
and man from  antiquity to the present has been
given power over it.  "All the works  of the Lord
are good and he will furnish every work in due
time.   Now therefore with the whole heart  and
mouth praise ye Him and bless the name of the
Lord."  (Ecclesiasticus xxxix, 39).
                  the end
                     260 
GLOSSARY
 abiogenesis,  same as  Spontaneous  Generation or the theory  that
     life can  arise in  some  other  manner than  from previously
     existing life.
 albumen, a life food-substance,  as  illustrated for example, in the
     white of an egg.
 ampulla,  small  bladder-like organ.
 animalculae, microscopic organisms commonly found in water  or
     prepared fluids.
 antennae,  elongated appendages with sensory functions found on
     the  head of certain animals; "feelers."
 anthropomorphic,  relating to the conception of Nature,  animals
     and plants by analogy with man.  The word commonly im-
     plies an unscientific use  of  such analogy.
 Archean Complex, the oldest rock  formation of the earth, usually
     found at very great depths.
 calcified, made  like stone, due to the presence of lime salts.
 calcined, treated so as  to be  easily  crumbled.
 Caloptenus (Greek: kalos, beautiful, petnos, winged), a genus  of
     locust.
 carbohydrates, a group of compounds containing carbon combined
     with hydrogen and oxygen;  starches  and sugars are the best
     known examples.
 cellulose,  a  material  related to starch  and  forming the  wall-
     membrane  of many plant cells; cotton and  some paper are
     almost pure cellulose.
 chitin, a horny material  forming  the  hard  covering  of  insects,
     lobsters, etc.
 Clavellina,  a small animal   having heart, respiratory apparatus
     and digestive organs and attached  to ah object  by means  of
     a  footstalk.
 cosmogony, an  explanation or theory of  the  origin of the world
     or universe.
 dilatation,  act of expanding or swelling.
 ecdysis, the process of shedding the skin;  moulting.
fertilization, union of male and female reproductive elements.
geometric  (moths), insects, which in caterpillar stage move along
     with a looping characteristic.  Also called "measuring worms"
     and belong to the  family Geometridae or  "land measurers."
gills, thin organs used for breathing the  air in water.
gregarious, congregating.
                              261 
   NOTES  OF  A  CATHOLIC  BIOLOGIST

grub, equivalent to caterpillar-stage of an  insect; the first stage
     after leaving the egg.
Ice Sheets, the immense glaciers of the Pleistocene, which covered
     extensive portions of  North America.  They came  as  far
     south as Illinois and Kentucky.
ichneumon fly (Greek: ichneuo,  to hunt),  an insect that goes in
     search of larvae, upon which  it lays its  eggs, so that the young
     will be provided with food.
impregnation, union of egg nuclei with sperm nuclei; fertilization.
integument, an outer protective covering.
larva, first stage of an insect after leaving  the egg; caterpillar or
     grub.
mandibles, the jaw-like teeth of animals like insects, lobsters,  etc.
meteoritic, pertaining to  an  object or mass similar  to  that  oc-
     casionally falling to the earth from space.
moult, the process of casting off skin, hair or feathers; ecdysis.
nebula,  a luminous  cloud-like  arrangement  in the heavens, like a
     distant star-cluster.
nebular, referring to a nebula as above.
nectaries,  organs or parts of a plant, that produce "honey."
Orion,  one of the  great clusters  in the heavens, containing three
     bright stars in a row (Swordbelt)  and a nebula.
ovary, an organ or part where seeds and eggs are formed.
oviposition, egg-laying process.
Pachytylus  (Greek:  pachus, thick; tulos, knob  or knot), Cinera-
     seus:  ash,  a species of  ash-colored  locust.
Pentateuch, name given to the first five books of the Bible.
Perseus, a constellation located in the  Northern Sky.
pistil, part of a  flower containing the  female reproductive organ
     and later holding the seed.
planetesimals. minute particles that are supposed to have moved
     nearly independently  like planets.
polarity, quality whereby the properties of a mass are attracted to
     one pole and repelled  from the other.
pollen, the fine powder produced  by flowers.
pollination, the  process whereby  pollen or  the male reproductive
     element in plants is brought to the female portion.
psyche,  the soul.
Schistocerca  (Greek:  schistos, cloven;  kerkos,  tail),  a  genus of
     locust.
Sipylus, Mt., a mountain near Smyrna.
spheroids, bodies having almost the form  of a ball or globe.
Spiral Nebula, a cloud-like object in the heavens,  which  winds or
    circles round  a centre  and  gradually recedes  from  it  in
     streams.
Stagirite, a title given to Aristotle, who was born in the  Macedo-
    nian town, Stageira.
                             262 
GEOLOGICAL  TIME  TABLE
stamens,  modified leaves of a  flower that contain pollen.
stigma  the roughened  or sticky  surface at the  end of a pistil
    which  receives the pollen.
stridulations, shrill, creaking sounds made by certain insects.
tibia,  the portion of the  leg between the thigh and  "ankle"; en-
    larged  in locusts.
turgid, unnaturally swollen,  due to the  pressure of liquids within
    the cells of plants.
viscera, organs in the abdominal cavity.  The term is also used to
    signify the intestines.

  Division  of Time  and  Rock-formation According to Geologists
ERAS AND
 GROUPS
    PERIODS
      AND
    SYSTEMS


' Quaternary .
Cenozic
  (Recent
    life)
Tertiary
         EPOCHS AND SERIES

Recent
Pleistocene—time of the great glaciers.
Pliocene—Skeletal  remains of  the
  camel in the rocks,  show that  it
  once lived in North America.   The
  camels are said to have attained a
  larger size than any existing spe-
  cies. Evidence seems to show that
  Japan was colder during this time
  than in the Pleistocene.
Miocene—The  valuable  phosphate
  deposits  of  Florida,  the  oil  of
  Louisiana and  the  diatomaceous
  earth of the  Atlantic coast, come
  from this epoch.  The diatomace-
  ous earth is  used in  manufactur-
  ing  preparations  for   polishing
  silver,  nickel, etc.  In this  epoch
  the  rhinoceros   lived  in   North
  America.
Oligocene—Workable lignite beds in
  Germany, Switzerland and south-
  ern  France  are  found  in this
  series of rock.   Around Paris are
  found Oligocene  salt  deposits.
Eocene—The ancestor of the  mod-
  ern horse—no larger than a  sheep
  —is supposed  to have  lived  at
  this  time.
263 
NOTES  OF  A CATHOLIC BIOLOGIST
             PERIODS AND SYSTEMS
'Cretaceous—"Age of Chalk."   The Cretaceous sys-
   tem  of  rocks  is  prominent  in  northwestern
   Europe and consists  of  a  thick  mass of  whit:
   chalk.   The Cretaceous  rocks  are  also  rich  in
   organic remains.
 Jurassic—named  after the important  rock-forma-
   tions  in the  Jura Mountains.  Among the ani-
   mal-remains of this period  found in the United
   States  is  the  Atlantosaurus, supposed to have
   been 100 feet long and 30 or more feet in height.
   The Petrified  Forests near Adamana, Arizona,
   are said to date back to this time.
 Triassic—named after the three well-marked  series
   of rocks found especially in northern Germany.
   Various footprints  in Triassic  sandstone  point
   to the presence of  the  dinosaurs ("terrible rep-
   tiles").  The footprints are found in great abun-
   dance in the Connecticut Valley.
 Permian—named  after a district  in Russia.  Dur-
   ing this period the thickest known salt deposits
   were  accumulated; one formation  near  Berlin
   has been penetrated 4,000 feet.
 Carboniferous—The   greatest  coal  deposits  now
   found  in  England,  France, Germany and  the
   United  States  come  from  this  period.  There
   was an abundance and variety  of vegetation.
 Devonian—named   after   Devonshire   England,
   where  the "Old Red  Sandstone" is prominent.
   The important  oil  and gas-bearing  strata  of
   West  Virginia,  Pennsylvania  and  southwestern
   New  York are found in Devonian  rock.  This
   period has also been called  the "Age of Fishes."
 Silurian—The name is  given  to  a  series of  rocks
   found  in  England and Wales where formerly
   lived  the  ancient tribe  of  the  Silures. Silurian
   rocks  are  also found  in the northeastern Atlan-
   tic States  and in the Mississippi Valley.
 Ordovician—named after  the  Ordovici, an ancient
   British  tribe.   The  marble coming  from Ver-
   mont  and Massachusetts is Ordovician.  Some
   remains of fishes  have been discovered in Or-
   dovician rock  of Wyoming  and Colorado.
 Cambrian—derived   from  Cambria,   the  ancient
   name  for  North Wales.  The  rocks  found there
   are equivalent  to  those of the  Potsdam  lime-
   stones  of  New  York  and  they  contain  among
   other  animal-remains: sponges,  corals and tracks
   of worms.
               264 
GEOLOGICAL TIME TABLE
                   ERAS AND  GROUPS

Pre-Cambrian—The  rocks comprise  the Archean Complex.   It
  is a series of crystalline layers and massive  rocks that lie under-
  neath  the most  ancient  fossil-bearing formations.   The series
  is  also called Azoic,  because thus far no  traces of life have
  been found  in them.   A  very good  example is found in  the
  Grand  Canyon of Arizona.  At a depth of  6,000 feet below  the
  rim, where the Colorado River  flows, the  writer saw walls of
  gneiss and granite said to  be part  of the original crust of  the
  earth.   This  is the  oldest rock known to geologists.
  The  above table  has been arranged  so  that  the  most ancient
times  are at the  bottom  and the  latest  at the top.  Nothing
definite is known concerning the  age of the Pre-Cambrian rocks.
The Sacred  Writings simply tell  us that "in the beginning  God
created heaven and earth>"  Likewise "So  the heavens and earth
were finished and all  the furniture of them."  (Genesis).  Hence
the age of the earth is a matter  of  speculation.  The manner  of
determining  this  age is by observing the rate with which material
is  deposited  or  accumulated  by rivers, streams, etc.  (e.g. the
Mississippi)  as  well as  the rate of erosion  or  wearing  away  of
rocks and earth  by  weather conditions, water, etc. as may be seen
at  Niagara Falls.  Scientists differ in their calculations but accord-
ing to  Dana's Manual  of  Geology  "the safe conclusion  from all
geological and physical facts is that Time is long, very long;  long
enough for the  development  of  all the earth's rocks, mountains,
continents and life."
265 
                        INDEX
OF  PROPER NAMES AND SUBJECTS
 Aberdeen University 8
 abiogenesis  66, 74, 261
 Abyssinia 98, 177, 250
 "accidental"  179
 Acridhdae 215, 224
 Adaman Islands 20
 Adanson  231
 adaptations  in  Nature 206
 Aegean Sea  249
 aerial  roots  102
 Africa 159,  171, 177, 231, 240,
  241, 247,  249
 African  lotus 111
 a Lapide, Cornelius 49
 Alexander the Great 251, 257
 ALGAE  161
 Algiers 98,  168
 Alpine  flowers 84;  ptarmigan
  156
 Amazon  Basin  174;  River  110
 America  99,  111, 112, 121, 170,
  231,  247,  250
 American Opossum  178
 Ampere 8
 ampulla of locusts 222
 anatomy  7,  134, 138
 anemone 101
Angelic Doctor 9,  61
 angling fish  168, 169
 ANIMALCULAE 65
 animals as seed-carriers 144
 antagonism (Religion and Sci-
   ence)  8, 9
 antelope 159
 Antiochus  the  Great 245
 antlers  149
 ants 91, 93, 126, 174
 Apollo  (Parnobion) 234
 apples  118
 Arabia  230, 240
 Archean Complex 37,  45,  261,
   265
 Arctic Ocean 99; fox 160, 164
 Areopagus  23
 Aristotle 58, 217, 221, 248
 Arizona  109, 171
 Ash trees 95,  105
 Asia 98, 120, 122, 170
 Assyrians 240
 astronomers 7,  52
 Athenagoras 23
 atmosphere 43,  44
 St. Augustine  28,  60, 96
 Augustus (Emp.) 22
 Australia 7, 20, 158
 Avicenna 61, 63

 Bacon 8
 bacteriology 7
 Balearic  Islands 236
Baltic Sea  257
Barber,  Mrs. 237, 239 
INDEX
Barrow 231, 237
Bastion Ch.  72
bear,  Polar 164
beauty of  Creation 27
Bedouins 241
bed-straw  116
bees 85, 93, 126, 143, 166, 169,
  173
beetles  85, 93,  134,  140, 155,
  170,  178
Belgium 99,  227
Berlin 99,  264
Bernard, Claude 67
berries  117
berry,  pigeon-  118
Berzelius 66
Bichat 55
Big Bone Lick  245
birches 105
birds 89,  117,  126,  156, 160,
  163, 165, 169, 202
Birnam 154
bisons 244
bitterweed  122
Black Sea  256
blackberries 102
blood circulation 7
blue fish 158; blue jay  118
Bologna University 9
Bonneville, Lake 254
Bordeaux 118,  236
Boston  236
botany  7
breakage-plane  192,  193,  206
briars  102
brimstone-moth  162
British spider crab 158
brittle-stars 195
Brzegana 233
Bukowina  115
Buenos Ayres 99
Buff on 65
bugs 135, 170, 174, 184
burdock  115
Burke, John 72
burrows  129, 135
buttercup 86
butterflies 83, 85, 155, 166, 170,
   177, 201

Cactus 116, 121
Caloptenus   femur-rubrum
  224; spretus 224, 230; ital-
  icus 225, 261
Cambridge University 8, 72
Camouflage in war 153
Canada 99, 224; fleabane  122
Canary Islands  122, 236
Candelifera 22
Canyon of the Yellowstone 108
car,  electrical 7
Caspian  Sea,  253
catchflies 85, 91
caterpillar  90,  136,  139,  144,
  155, 162,  175-176; -eater 133
Cato 22
Catullus  247
Censer mechanism of plants 105
centipedes 90
century-plant  89, 121
Ceylon 20, 98, 163
Chamberlin 38, 41
chameleon  161
Chamisso 110
Champlain, Lake 255
chance 48, 94, 179, 183
Chaonians  248
chaos 32
chicks 146-148
Chili 99,  110
chitin  197
cholera-thistle 115
Christianity 5, 8
St.  Chrysostom 23 
INDEX
church towers 108
Cicada  214
Cicero 21, 31
Clavelltna  190
clotbur  115
clouds of  locusts 232, 236
clouds, play of 179
cocoa-nut  palm 113
Cologne 118
colors, in Nature 27; of flowers
  83; of fruits 117
Colosseum 118
compound  eye  216
Columbia  99
conflagration  at  end  of  the
  world 49-50
Congo 20
Conn 74
Conohos, S. America 232
core,  inedible  118
cotton 89; -seed  106
crab 158,  192,  199
crawfish 192
Crawshay   159
Creation, days of  32, 97; "His-
  tory of 4
Creator  58, 95, 97
creeping plant-stems 100-101
cress 98, 111
crickets  166
crystallography 7
crystals  24
crystal animals 156
Cuba 236
cucumber, sea- 195; squirting-
  104
Curie, Mme. 7
current,  ocean 112-113
Curtis 26
Cuvier 7
Cyprus 229
Cyrene 235
Daddy-long-legs 196
Daimler  12
dandelion 106
Danube  115
dark  bodies  in space  52; ap-
  proaching  earth 53
Darwin,  G. H. 41
  144, 183, 206
Darwin G. H. 41
Davenport 179
Dawson  208
Dead Sea 251, 252,  257
deer 159
Delitsch  20
Dendy 154
Denmark 123
density of nebulae 39
design in the universe 206
Diesel engine 12
Divinity  6, 20
Driesch  129
drone fly 59, 174
Duke of Argyll 206
ducks 130, 203; eider  130
Dutchman's pipe  85, 88

"Ears of locusts" 219
ecdysis 197-203, 223, 261
Educa 22
eels 59
eggs 156
egg-laying of locusts 221
Egypt 211, 224, 241, 242
eider-duck 130
electricity 7,  56
elephant-hawk moth 176
elms 105
Elton, Lake  (Russia) 253
elytra  215
embryonic development 4
end of the world 48ff.
England  72,  99,  121 
INDEX
English  Channel 121
Europe 98, 115, 119,  122,  228
Evolution  183

Fabre 2, 7, 104, 143,  151, 166,
  222
fairy  ring  101
fall of a leaf 203
Farinus  22
Faust  {Goethe's)  54
Faye  7, 34
Fechner  73
fertilization 88, 89, 261
fig-tree 87,  102
finger-nail  186
fir 95
fishes 157,  161, 248
flamingos 203
flea, aquatic  157
fleabane, Canada 122
flesh flies 226
flies 60, 83, 85, 135, 166, 174
flight of  locusts 220, 235
floating seeds  111
flying habit of birds 132
Forbes 165
forest-fires 98
forget-me-not 84
fox, Arctic 160, 164
fragrance of  flowers 84
France 118, 251
French explorers 119
frogs  64, 161, 163,  169, 191
fruits 112; color 117
Futa-Dialon  119

Gabriel 54
Galapagos  Islands 111, 112
Gambia River  119, 231
Ganot 15
gazelle 159
geese  130, 203
Genesis, Book of  32,  56,  78,
  265
geometric moths 162, 261
Georgics of Viigil 59
Germans, ancient 248
Germany 99
germs  67, 73
Gibraltar 257
Gila monster 172
Glasgow University 8
glass-animals  156
God, idea of 5, 20, 76, 96,  100
Goethe's Faust 54
Grand Canyon of  Arizona 109,
  265
grappling plant 115
grasses 80, 102
grasshoppers 136,  156, 215
gravity,  force of 43; origin of
  48
Great  Lakes of  N.  America
  256
Great  Salt Lake of Utah 252,
  254
gregariousness  of   locusts 228,
  261
Grison 172
Guerney 24
Guernsey 122
Gulf Stream  113
gull 157, 160

Haeckel  3-5,  9,  75
Hamlet 207
hare 160
harvest-man 196
Harvey 7
Hastings 237
hatching time of birds 127
Haiiy 6"
Hatiy's  law 24
hawk 148, 164 
INDEX
 hazels 80
 Hecquard  119
 heredity, law of 7
 Herodatus 242,  249
 Herschel 7
 Hertwig, Oscar 71
 hierogliphs, Egyptian 2
 Hippolyte  161, 184
 His 4
 Holmes 55
 Holofernes 213
 Homer 247
 honey 81
 honey-comb  143;  suckle 85
 hooks of  seeds  115
 horizontal  plant-roots  101
 hornets 155,  169,  173
 Hottentots 241
 Huber 126
 Humboldt  124
 Hungary 115
 "Huron"  172
 Huxley 72,  182
 Hydra  187,  189

 Iberian Peninsula  228
 Ice Sheets 255, 262, 263
 ichneumon fly 133, 135, 262
 Iliad 207
 incubation  127,  146
 India 98,  113,  163, 228,  247,
  251, 257
 Indian corn 80-81
 Indians,  American 121
 inedible core  118
 insects 81,  82-83,  89, 133,  155,
  162, 201
 instinct 30,  85
 intelligence of animals 150
Ireland 99, 113
irreligion 6
Italy 122
 Jack-in-the-pulpit  89
 Jackson 241
 Jaguar 164
 Jamaica 160,  236
 Japan 123, 263
 Java 165
 jelly-fishes 157
 Jerome,  Saint 240
 Joel, Prophet  212, 213, 218, 242
 John the Baptist, Saint  240
 Jupiter 36, 53

 Kalima  (insect)  163
 Kansas 225
 Kant 33
 Kashm Usdum 251, 257
 katydid  215
 Kircher  Rev.  A. 61

 Lake Bonneville 254
 Lake Champlain 255
 Lake Elton (Russia) 253
 a Lapide, Cornelius 49
 Laplace 34, 37
 La  Plata River 110
 Laudon 121
 laws of Nature 14, 16, 24
 lava 45, 110
 leaf, structure  and function 25-
  26, 104
 leopard 164
 Le  Roy, Bishop 20
 Leuckart 66
 Libyians 242
 Liebig  66
 life,  definition of 56
 lily  27, 111
 Linecum 230
Linnaeus 7
lion  115, 164,  181
Lisbon 236
270 
INDEX
 lizards  163, 165, 168, 169  171
   191
 lobster,  192-194, 197-199
 Lockyer 41
 locomotion of plants 100
 locust  162, 163; as  food 240;
   clouds 232,  236; "ears" 219;
   egg-laying  221;   flight   220,
   235;  gregariousness 228 238;
   parts 215-220; seventeen-year
   214;  sounds 218
 Locutinus 22
 Loeb 189
 lotus, African  111
 Louvain University 9
 Lucina  22
 Lucretius 60
 Lull 178

 Macbeth  154
 Maeterlinck 151
 maggots 133
 Mahabharata  49
 Malcolm 154
 Malpighi  7
 man, plant-seed carrier 119
 mangrove tree  114
 Mantid  166-168
 maples  105
 Mardochai 76
 marestail  (plant)  122
 Mars 36, 38, 43
 materialistic tendencies 6
 Martha's Vineyard  98
 Mauritius (island)  98
 Mayflower 85
 meanings of facts 3
 Mecca  166
 Mendel  7
Menge  3,  7
Mercury (planet) 36, 39, 40, 4<
Mesopotamia 20
 meteorites 41, 73, 262
 meteoritic hypothesis 28
 Mexico  171
 microbes 67, 69
 microscope 25, 28, 65
 migration of  locusts 227
 mimicry  155; conditions 173
 mind, limitations of 18
 Mississippi River 99, 110, 224,
   259
 mistletoe 116
 molecules  25, 41, 43, 76; ori-
   gin of 48; velocity of  39
 moment of momentum 40
 Monism 3
 Montana 224
 Montpelier 123
 moon 48, 52; origin 37; size
   43
 Moses 210
 mosquito 202; "mosquito dope"
   122
 moths 83, 85, 120, 162,  175
 motor (oil)  12
 moulting 197-203, 223,  262
 Moulton  38, 41
 mountain streams 110
 Mount  Sipylus 234
 Mutter, John 7
 mushrooms 101
 music of locusts  219

Napoleon's grave  120
 NARBONNE LYCOSA 144
narcissus 122
 Nasamones 242
nasturtium 84
Natural Selection 178, 181, 183,
  206
Nature, meaning of 13, 18, 30
nebular hypothesis 33, 37, 47;
  difficulties 38 
INDEX
 nebula, spiral 41; parts of 42,
  262
 nectar 81,  135;  quantity of 81
 Needham 65
 neo-Lamarckism  150
 Neptune (planet)  36, 38
 nests 126,   139;  building  129-
  132
 nettles of seeds 95
 New England 224,  256
 New Jersey 162
 Nicaraugua 162
 North America 99,  118, 122
 Numidians  247
 Nunlina  22
 nuts 118

 Obelisks, Egyptian 2
 ocean-waters 111
 odd  places for plants 108
 Odessa 233
 odor  of  butterflies  171;  of
  flowers 84; of  Grison 172;
  of skunk  172
 Odyssey  247
 Old  Testament on locusts 210-
  213
oleander  89
opossum  178
oranges 118, 119
Orange River (Africa)  238
orchids 104
"Origin of  Species"  13
Orinoco River 110
Orion  nebula 46, 262
ORTHOPTERA 215
Ottowa Valley 256
Ovid 59
Oxford University 8

pachytylus cineraceus  225;
  migratorius 225,  262
Padua 119
palalo worm 195
Palestine  249, 250
Palmyra 249
Panama Bay  112
pansies 84,  103
parachute plumes 106
Paris 9, 122
parrot 160
Pasteur 7, 67, 68, 70
Patagonia 99
"path  finders"  for  insects  84,
  92
St.  Paul 23, 28, 86
Pausanias 234
Payen 67
pea 85;  sweet 103
Perseus 51, 262
Persian Gulf 249
Peru  112, 229
St. Peter 49
petunias 85
PHALANGID 196
Pharaoh 210
phenomena,  physical 15
Phobus 38
Phoenicians 249, 251
PHOTOSYNTHESIS 27
physiology 7
pigeon-berry 118
pinks 92
Planetesimal hypothesis 41,  47,
  262; difficulties 45
plant-isolation 91
plant-locomotion 100
Pliny 59,  63, 235, 248
plumed seeds 106
Plutarch 21
Polar bear 164
pollen,  protection 82;  quality
  80,  262; quantity  80 
INDEX
 pollination  importance 79; self
   and cross 88, 89
 polytheism  5, 22
 Pompey 22
 Popes 9
 Pope, Alexander (poet)  120
 poplars  106
 poppy 86,  103
 Porta 63
 Port  Juvenal 123
 Portugal 251
 Potina 22
 Pouchet 66, 68, 72
 "Praying insect" 166
 Preyer 73
 primrose 89, 105, 119
 Prosper  Albinus 119
 ptarmigan,  Alpine  156,  160
 Ptolemy Philopater 245
 purposefulness  184
 puss-moth 175
 Pyrenean Valleys 118

 de Quartrefages 67

 Rabbits  159, 180
 "radiobes" 72
 rarefaction  of nebulae 35,  40
 Ratisbon 115
 Red Sea 211, 229
 Redi  62
 reflex action 193
 regeneration 185 ff.
Reinke 75
reptiles 129, 131
 resemblance, protective 155
Resurrection plant 108
Riddle of the Universe 4
ring-formation of nebulae 35
rings,  secondary, for planets 35
rivers, 58, 110
 rock, molten 37
 rock-salt 257 ; origin 259; depth
   and thickness  260
 Rocky  Mountain  Locust 223,
   224
 Romanes 14
 Roman  Empire 22
 Romans 118, 174, 234, 248, 250
 Roosevelt  160
 roots, horizontal 101;  under-
   ground  102;  aerial 102
 rose 86; of Jericho 108
 Rosetta  stone 2,  3
 Rossikow  226
 runners  of  plants 101
 Russia 115, 182,  249
 Russian thistle 108
 Rutimeyer 4

 Sabines  249
 Sahara Desert 249
 Saint Helena  (island) 120
 Saint Jerome  240
 Saint John the  Baptist 240
 "Saladin" 5
 Salamanca University 8
 salamander  188
 salary,  meaning  of, 250
 Sallust  247
 Salt Lake of Sambur 252
 Salt Lake of  Utah  252,  253,
  254
salt   manufacture  251,   257;
  money 250;  necessary  244;
  in Old Testament 245;  sym-
  bolism 246; trade routes 249
SARCOPHAGINEAE  226
Sargassum Sea  158
Saskatchewan 224
satellites  (planetary) 36,  38 
INDEX
 Saturn (planet) 35, 38
 savages 20
 scent of butterflies  171; flowers
  84;  Grison 172;  skunk  172
 6CHIST0CERCA  PEREGRINA  225,
  262
 Schultze 66
 Schwann  7, 66
 sea-cucumber  195;  -grass  161
 sea-gulls 130,  157;  -horse  158;
  -weeds  100,  158, 168
 sedges 80
 seeds 79, 102, 105,  118
 seed-pod 103
 Seneca 14
 Senegal River 119,  231
 Seventeen Year  locust 214
 Shakespeare 154
 ships,  plant distributors 122
 Siberia 182
 Sibylline Books  235
 Sicily  122
 Sipylus, Mt. 234, 262
 skunk  172
 slime-moulds 100
 slinging devices  of  plants  104
 Slipper Animalcule  28
Sloane 236
slugs 90, 92
snails 89, 91, 189
 snakes 63,  155,  158, 203
snap-dragon 86,  103
Society Islands 113
solitary digger-wasp 135,  139
soft  shell crabs 199
sounds  of locusts 218
South  America 99,  113
Southey 242
South  Seas 111
Spain  225, 228,  247, 257
Spallanzani 64, 188
Sparrmann 241
sparrows  160,  164
Spencer 55
spiders 129, 140, 163, 165, 196,
  200
spider-crab 158
spiny clotbur  115
spinnerets 144, 200
spiral nebula 41, 46,  262
spores, swimming 100
squirrels  118,  129
squirting  cucumber 104
stagirite 58, 217, 221, 248, 262
star fish 194
STAURONOTUS  CRUCIATUS  225
steam 11
Steno (Bishop)  7
storage-chamber of wasps 135-
  137
Strabo 241, 251
Strawberry plant 101
sun 27, 35, 42, 48, 50 129
sun-birds 89
Sunset Mountain,  Ariz.  109
surgical operations 186
swallows  130,  131
Swammerdam  62
Swan,  John 61
swans 203
swarms of locusts 229-230, 233,
  238
sweet-pea 103
Switzerland 118
Syria 120, 241, 249

Tacitus 248
tadpole  191
tailor-bird 131
tear-thumb 116
Telloh, ruins  of 20 
INDEX
Temple 229
Teneriffe  237
terns 130, 160
Tertullian  23
Texas 224, 230
Thomas, Saint 9, 60
Thomson  142
Thorwaldsen 123
tibia of locusts 217,  223
tiger 164, 182
tobacco 85, 89
touch-me-not 104
TRACHEAE of locusts 221
Trembley  126,  187,  189
Trojan  Horse  154
trumpet-creeper 89
TUBULARIA 189
tumble-weeds  107
turgid fruits 104, 263
turkey 148
turtles 64
Twickenham Park 121
Tyndatt 71
Tyrol 118, 180

Umbrians 248
unicorn plant 115
"unknowable First Cause" 95
Uranus (planet) 36, 38,  53
Ur-Nina 20

Vaal River (Africa) 238
Van Beneden  66
Van Helmont 62
Van Siebold  66
variable stars  51
Varro 59
varying hare 160
Veddahs 20
velocity of  gases 39
Venus (planet)  36
Vesalius  7
Via Salaria 249
violets 86,  103
Virchow  71
Virgil 59
Virginia  creeper 85
voidings  of animals 165, 183
volcanic  activity 45, 50, 109
Volta  8
vultures  140

Waftage  by winds 104
"walking stick" 162, 197
Wallace,  A. R. 126, 170,  173,
  177, 181
Wallachia  115
Walnut  Canyon, Ariz. 109
wasp 142,  169,  173
wasp, solitary-digger  135,  139
waste in Nature 80, 109
watch, intricacies of 77
water of the earth 44
water 39,  81,   110; condensa-
  tion 24
water-lily 91,  116; -soldier  91;
  -plants 116;  -thyme 99
Watt  11
weasel 160, 172
web of the spider 140
Weismann  205
West Indies 113
white  water lily 111
Whitman 243
wild-sheep  159
willow   92,  106,  120;  herb
  176
wind  79, 103,  104
Windle  14, 54
wing-covers 215
winged-seeds 105
wood-lice 199 
INDEX
wool as seed carrier 123
Woolworth Building 17
worms 157, 188, 195
"Wrigglers" 202
Yellow-jackets 169
Yellowstone  Canyon 108
yuccas 87

Zebra 159
276 
 
NATIONAL IIBRARY OF MEDICINE
NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE
NATIONAL LIBRARY C
NATIONAL IIBRARY OF  MEDICINE
NATIONAL LIBRARY < 

jaw jo Aavaan ivnoi*
Aavaan ivnouvn
3NOiaav\ jo Aavaan ivn