An army surgeon, discussing the nature of cholera and the sort of precautions to take against the plague, says:
Our greatest defense against this disease is, as usual, provided by Nature herself. These organisms can not live in an acid medium; they soon perish in the stomach, when exposed to the action of the gastric juice, because of its acidity.
Thus is nature kindly. Thus is the kindness to man of nature’s God.
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NATURE’S CUNNING WORKS
Excellent natural pottery is manufactured by nature in the case of a certain cactus. Woodpeckers are apt to excavate nests in the trunk and branches, and, in order that it may protect itself against these incursions, the plant exudes a sticky juice, which hardens, forming a woody lining to the hole made by the birds. Eventually the cactus dies and withers away, but the wooden bowl remains.
As a weaver, nature is an exceedingly neat worker. Certain tree-barks and leaves furnish excellent cloth, such as, for instance, the famous tapa cloth used in the South Sea islands.
Nature is also a glass-maker. By discharging lightning into beds of quartz sand she forms exquisite little pipes of glass.
Nature does a bit in the rope-making line, too. These products of her handicraft may be seen in the shape of various tropical vines and creepers; and her skill as a lace-maker may be seen in the case of the lace-tree of the West Indies.—Harper’s Weekly.
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