VOL. XXVII.
y,
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., JAN. 9,1892.
NO. 2
j     Written for the Indian* Farmer.       W>'1 f ^
j Life In. Winter.    ^***—«-
BY W, 8. BLATCHLEY.
■i
One of the greatest problems which each
ot the living forms about us has had to
solve, during the years of its existence on
earth, is how best to perpetuate its kind
during tbat cold season which once each
year, in our temperate zone, is bound to
come. Many are the solutions to this
problem. Each form of life has, as it
were, solved it best to suit its own peculiar case, and, to the earnest stndent of
nature, there is nothing more interesting
than to pry into these solutions and to
note how varied, strange, and wonderful
they are.
To fully appreciate some cf the facts
mentioned below it must be borne in
mind that there is no such thing as "spontaneous generation" of life. Every cell is
the offspring of a pre existing ceil. Nothing but a living thing can produce or
nourish a living thing. Hence every
weed that next season will epring up and
provoke the farmer',, ire, and every insect which will then make life intolerant
' for man or beast, exists throughout the
winter in some form.
If we {begin -with the lowly plants
such *as the fresh water algre or
"frog syittle," of our ponds and
many, of the rusts and fungi which are so
injurious to onr crops, we find that they
form in autumn "resting spores." These
are very small and globular bodies, one-
celled bodies having a much thicker coat
and denser protoplasm or contents than
are found in the spor-s often produced ln
summer by the same plants, and. which
are destined for immediate growth. The
power of life within these winter resting
spores is proof against the severest attacks
of frost, and they lie snugly ensconsed in
the mud at the bottom of pond or streams,
or bar led beneath the leaves in some
sheltered nook, until the south winds of
March or April fornlsh the key to unlock
the castle of the ice king. Then the spirit
of growth within them begins to assert
Itself once mote and, bursting their walls,
the contents soon produce the parent or
summer form of the plant with which we
are most familiar.
Higher in the scale of plant life we find
the flowering annuals bending all their
energies daring the cummer to produce
that peculiar form, the "seed," which in
only a little plant boxed up to success
fully withstar-d tbe rigors of winter. The
great sue fl *twer, that grows into a giant in
a single Beason and defies the summer
sun and storm, falls an easy victim to the
frosts of autumn. It, however, piepares
the way formany successors In the ripened
seed1*, each one of which nnder favorable
conditions will germinate, grow, reproduce its kind, nnd thus finish another
cycle in the realm of vegetable life. Within its two protective coats and surround, d
by a large store of food, in the form of
seed leaf or nucleus, to be used when
growth begins again, the little plantlet
lives and survives the coldest blasts of
king Boreas and his cohorts.
Note, too, the buds and underground
stems which will furnish the beginning
of next season's growth of onr biennials
or perennials. Ss-e how they are protected
by heavy overcoats In the form of bud
scales. Oftentimes, too, as in the hickory,
these scales have a coat of resin or gum on
the outside to render them water proof;
and some, as those of the pawpaw, are
even fur lined or rather fur covered with
a coating of soft black hairs. Were these
scales not present the tender shoots within them, which will furnish the nucleus
of next season's foliage, would < be seared
and withered by the first frost, as quickly
as though touched w ith a red hot iron.
These ue some of the princlrsl ways in
which our plants, ln the course of ages
and many changes of environment, have
solved the problem of surviving the cold
of winter. Moreover they always prepare
for this cold in time, the resting spores
and seeds being ripened and the bud
scales formed over the tender tips of the
branches long before the first severe frost
appears.
Lit us now glance at those higher forms
of life called animals—"hlgher,"|because
they are absolutely dependent upon plants
for all their food—and see bow tbey pass
a*"ay the time while their food producers,
the plants, are resting.
Beginning with the fishes we find that
they mostly seek some deep pool in pond
or stream, at the bottom of which the
water does not freeze. There the herbivorous formi eke out a precarious existence by feeding upon those Innumerable
diatoms and and other small plants
which are always to be found
in water, while the carnivorous ones prey
upon herbivorous, and so maintain the
struggle for existence.
Some of the fishes, as well aa the crayfishes and mussels, iand mo.t frogs,
turtles, and salamanders, burrow into the
mud, either at bottom of the streams and
'ponds or beneath logs near their margins.
There they live without moving about,
and with all the vital processes In a
partially dormant condition, thus needing
little if any food.
Snails, in late antumn, crawl beneath
logs and burrowing deep into the soft
mold they withdraw far Into their -sheila.
Tnere forming with a mucous secretion,
two thin, transparent membranes, one
across the opening of the shell and one a
little farther within, they make the interior where they lie perfectly air tight.
There they sleep free from the pangs of
hunger and the blasts of winter, and'when
the awakening comes in the milder days
of April, each one breaks down and devours the protecting membrane and goes
forth with his house on his back -to seek
fresh leaves for food and to find for himself a mate.
The box tortise or "dry land terrapin,"
the common toad, the earth worms, and
some salamanders barrow Into dry earth,
usually going deep enough to escape the
frost, while snakes seek some deep crevice
in the rocks or holes in the ground, where
they coil themselves together, oftentimes
in vast numbers and prepare for their
winter's sleep. If the winter bean open
one this hibernation ls oftentimes interrupted, and the animal issues forth fron.
his retreat on some wat m sunny day
thinking, no doubt, that spring has come
again. '"
Thus the writer has on one occasion
seen a soft shelled turtle moving gracefully over the bottom of a stream on a day
in late December, and has, in mid January, captured snakes and salamanders
frnm beneath a pile of drift-wood where
they had taken temporary refuge.
With frogs especially, this hibernation Is
not a perfect one, and there is a doubt if
some species hibernate at all.
For example, the little cricket frog or
"peeper" has been seen many times in mid.
winter along side the banks of flowing
streams, and, during tbe open winter of
1888 89, numerous specimen of le >pard
and green frogs were seen on different occasions in Dacember and January, and on
February 18, tbey, together with the
peepers, were in full chorus.
Of our mammals a few of the rodents, as
as the ground hog, gophers and chipmunks hibernate in burrows deep enough
to escape the cold, and either feed on a
stored snpply of food, or, like the snakes
and crayfish, donot feed at all. Others, as
the rabbits field mice, and squirrels
are more or less active and forage freely
on whatever they can find, eating many
things which ln    summer they would
spurn with scorn.
The bats pass the winter in cans, attics
or hollow trtJfN, hanging head downward
by their hind claws, eating nothing and
moving - not. All the carnivore, as"the
skunk, opossum, fox, mink, and wolf, are
ln winter active and voracious, neediog
much food to supply the necessary animal
heat of the body. Hence tbey aro then
much more bold tban in summer, and thn
hen yard or sheep pen of the'farmer is too
frequently called upon tofsupply this extra demand.
But of all onr animals, lt seems to us,
the birds have solved the problem best.
Possessing an enduring power of flight
and a knowledge of a sunny southern sky,
beneath which food is plentiful, they
alone of the living forms about us need
have little fear of the coming of the winter. True, 50 or more species remain with
us but they are hardy herds which feed ln
winter mainly on seeds, as the snow-bird
and song sparrow; on llesh'as the hawks
and crow; or on burrowing insects, as tbe
woodpeckers.
Having thus briefly noted the winter
habits of the larger animals we shall ln
our next, turn our attention to the many
cuious ways and places in which some of
the most familiar insects pass the winter.
Torre Haute.
LA GBIPPK.
There  is  no  More  Necessity   for the
People of tbe United States Having
Grippe Than There ls   ln Having:
 Fleas.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
That is a startling statement to make,
isn't it?
The basis of grippe is suppressed Becre
tlon and excretion. This 1, causod by
cold, which contracts or closes the pores
of the skin. The skin at 9S° eliminates
constantly, perspiration, either sensible
or insensible. The importance of this ex
cretlon is shown by the effects that often
follow its temporaryinterruption, namely,
headache, fever, and any other symptoms
that accompany "taking cold."
At the coronation of one of the Popes
in Rome, some years ago, a little boy was
chosen to act the part of an angel; and in
order that his appearance might be a->
as georgeous as possible, he was covered
from he<td to foot with varnish and then a
coat of gold foil. He was soon taken sick,
though every known means was em
ployed for his recovery, except the re
moval of his fatal covering, be died in
convulsions ln a few houra.
Tne pores in the skin number millions
This large number ls necessary to accommodate theexudation of waste matter, and
the number itself signifies the importance
of proper excretion.The blood carries heat
andmoisture to all parts ofthe body. If tbe
feet become chilled, more heat is being
radiated from them tban is proper, and
other portions ot th° body are being de
prived of their heat in order that the system may attempt to keep its normal temperature, 98° Fahrenheit. Tne same law
holds good when the throat is exposed or
when the hair has jnst been cut. Chilled
blood causes chilled lungs, and chilled
lnngs causes coughing.
When one has a cold, he should get
into a tub half filled with water as hot as
can be borne, adding soap and a hand full
of nshes. Keep [the room warm and
cleanse the skin thoroughly. Get into
bed with a very heavy covering; drink a
quart or more hot water, made pleasant to
the taste with sugar, milk or lemon. The
point is to git the pores open and heat and
moisture into the blood. This starts tbe
excretory glands of the skin, and free
sweating is the result. Sweat, sweat,
sweat, wring the sheets and sweat again.
It will debilitate some, but sweat, and
then gh e your assimilative powers  time
to recruit your strength. Da not expose
yourself to the cold air until you feel
normal again, and then do not expose one
portion of the body at the expense of any
other.
People say grippe Is an epidemic; so Is
carelessness. Grlppecsmes only ln winter when the air is cold and heavily- '
charged with moisture. Moisture ls the
best conductor of heat, consequently colds
are more prevalent. The air ought to be
purer in autumn and winter than at any
other time because it is more heavily
charged with oxygen. Try my remedy
for grippe. I charge nothing, only stand
by me If tbe doctors prosecute me for
prescribing without a license. Don't yell
"crank" but try lt.      K. F. CiiDitcniLr,.
Moore's Hill.
W»shtn?ton Letter.
From our -.'gular Corresponient.
There ls a decided lull of war talk, the '■
rumor mongers having about exhausted
all their ingenius theories on the Chilian
situation, and now everybody is doing
what the administration has been doing—
waiting to hear what the new Chilian administration will have to say for Itself.
G -»n. Nelson A. Miles, who came here to
attend the wedding of Mi«s Richel Sherman, daughter ofthe late Gan. Sherman,
to Dr. Thorndyke, of Baston, which took
place on Wednesday, quickly disposed of
the rumor that he had been ordered here
by the President to discuss the feasibility-
of invading Chili with an army, by stating that he was not ordered here, but
came to bring his wife to the marriage of
vlins Sherman, who  ls her cousin.
That there is a probability of war with
Chill no one deulei, and what adds danger to the situation is the sentiment
*hlch exists largely among our pnollc
men In favor of a foreign war with
somebody. Senator Morgan, of Alabama,
a prominent democratic member of the
Senate committee on Fariegn Affairs, is
one of the few who does not hesitate to
openly express such sentiments. It is
easy that .in the face of this sentiment
nothing short of acsedlng to the demands
of the administration for an apology for
tbe attack upon the s-llorsof the Bilti-
more and the payment of indemnity to
the families of the sailors killed will be '
accepted as satisfactory from Chill. It Is
Idle ta talk about submitting the matter
to arbitration. There Is nothin; to arbitrate. This G avernment has plainly stated
its demands and the answer must be yes
or no. If yes; everything will be all
right. If no; there will be war.- It Is now-
only a question of how much longer the
answer  will   be waited for.
The New Year reception at the White
House was as interesting as usual, and
was enjoyed by a much larger crowd than
usual. Tais the one day in the year when,
by patiently standing for a couple of hours
outside the White House, the humblest
citizen cm see all of the men prominent
ln politics, diplomacy, the judiciary
branch of the Government, and the army
and navy, a sight well worth seeing to
those who like to observe the kind of men
who get on top in life's struggle; and at
no otber time can all of the foreign ministers and the attaches of foreign legations
be seen in their gaudy offl.iai  uniforms.
The schedules of the articles included
In the reciprocity treaty with the British
West India Islands which was made public
this week, appears to give general satisfaction, although there ls some regret tbat ~
wheat and corn was not put upon the free
list, in place of being git en a reduction of
25 per cent from ths present duties.
. » .
Mrs. Maria VanDauventer, of New
Albany, ill of la grippe, fell dead while
walking about her room. She was aged
seventy-six, and she was am.ng the first
white children born in that city, whtre
her entire life was spent.