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Article COLLECTANEA. ← Page 2 of 5 →
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Collectanea.
the varieties of stone , and the several metals , civilization would receive its death-blow , commerce ivould be destroyed , the arts of industry stopped , and man , without any of those materials with which he rears his now enduring habitations , or which he constructs into the various instruments for manufactures , science , and art , would relapse into a state of almost primitive barbarism ; and in the pitiable state to which such a calamity would reduce himwould there be afforded the strongest
demon-, stration of the absolute necessity which there was , that the physical constitution of the world should be in nice adaptation to the wants of the various organic beings which inhabit it , and especially to those of the human family . Now this adaptation , this suitableness , this nice and exquisite adjustment , does most incontrovertibly exist ; and therefore , when we contemplate the present order of things as the results of former epochs , and ponder over the harmonious adaptation between the world
and its tenants , of ivhich we have spoken , or reflect upon the hypothetical cases we have alluded to , in both can be derived most availing considerations and satisfactory proofs of the benevolence and foresight of our GOD . —Erom Francis ' s Lectures on Geology .
INFLUENCE OF THE MOON . —In considering the climate of tropical countries , the influence of the moon seems to be entirely overlooked ; and surely , if the tides of the vast ocean are raised from their fathomless bed by lunar power , it is not too much to assert that the tides of the atmosphere are liable to a similar influence ; this much is certain , that , in the low lands of tropical countries , no attentive observer of nature will fail to witness the power exercised by the moon over the seasons , and also over animal and vegetable nature . As regards the latterit may be
, stated that there are certainly thirteen springs and thirteen autumns in Demerara , in the year ; for so many times does the sap of trees ascend to the branches and descend to the roots . For example , the wallaba ( a resinous tree , common in the Demerara woods , somewhat resembling mahogany ) , if cut down in the dark , a few days before the new moon , it is one of the most durable woods in the world for house-building , posts , & c . ; in that stateattempt to split itandwith the utmost difficulty , it
, , , would be riven in the most jagged unequal manner that can be imagined ; cut down another wallaba ( that grew ivithin a few yards of the former ) at full moon , and the tree can be easily split into the finest smooth shingles of any desired thickness , or into staves for making casks ; but , in this state , applied to house-building purposes , it speedily decays . Again—bamboos , as thick as a man ' s arm , are sometimes used for paling , & c .: if cut at the dark moon , they will endure for ten or twelve years ;
if at full moon , they will be rotten in two or three years ; thus it is with most , if not all , the forest trees . Of the effects of the moon on animal life , very many instances could be cited . I have seen in Africa , the newly-littered young perish in a few hours , at the mother ' s side , if exposed to the rays of the full moon ; fish become rapidly putrid , and meat , if left exposed , incurable or unpreservable by salt;—the mariner , heedlessly sleeping on the deckbecoming afflicted with nyctolopia or night
, blindness , at times the face hideously swollen if exposed during sleep to the moon ' s rays , the maniac ' s paroxysms renewed with fearful vigour at the full and change , and the cold damp chill of the ague supervening on tbe ascendency of this apparently mild yet powerful luminary . Let her influence over this earth be studied ; it is more powerful than is generally known . —Martin ' s History of the British Colonies .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Collectanea.
the varieties of stone , and the several metals , civilization would receive its death-blow , commerce ivould be destroyed , the arts of industry stopped , and man , without any of those materials with which he rears his now enduring habitations , or which he constructs into the various instruments for manufactures , science , and art , would relapse into a state of almost primitive barbarism ; and in the pitiable state to which such a calamity would reduce himwould there be afforded the strongest
demon-, stration of the absolute necessity which there was , that the physical constitution of the world should be in nice adaptation to the wants of the various organic beings which inhabit it , and especially to those of the human family . Now this adaptation , this suitableness , this nice and exquisite adjustment , does most incontrovertibly exist ; and therefore , when we contemplate the present order of things as the results of former epochs , and ponder over the harmonious adaptation between the world
and its tenants , of ivhich we have spoken , or reflect upon the hypothetical cases we have alluded to , in both can be derived most availing considerations and satisfactory proofs of the benevolence and foresight of our GOD . —Erom Francis ' s Lectures on Geology .
INFLUENCE OF THE MOON . —In considering the climate of tropical countries , the influence of the moon seems to be entirely overlooked ; and surely , if the tides of the vast ocean are raised from their fathomless bed by lunar power , it is not too much to assert that the tides of the atmosphere are liable to a similar influence ; this much is certain , that , in the low lands of tropical countries , no attentive observer of nature will fail to witness the power exercised by the moon over the seasons , and also over animal and vegetable nature . As regards the latterit may be
, stated that there are certainly thirteen springs and thirteen autumns in Demerara , in the year ; for so many times does the sap of trees ascend to the branches and descend to the roots . For example , the wallaba ( a resinous tree , common in the Demerara woods , somewhat resembling mahogany ) , if cut down in the dark , a few days before the new moon , it is one of the most durable woods in the world for house-building , posts , & c . ; in that stateattempt to split itandwith the utmost difficulty , it
, , , would be riven in the most jagged unequal manner that can be imagined ; cut down another wallaba ( that grew ivithin a few yards of the former ) at full moon , and the tree can be easily split into the finest smooth shingles of any desired thickness , or into staves for making casks ; but , in this state , applied to house-building purposes , it speedily decays . Again—bamboos , as thick as a man ' s arm , are sometimes used for paling , & c .: if cut at the dark moon , they will endure for ten or twelve years ;
if at full moon , they will be rotten in two or three years ; thus it is with most , if not all , the forest trees . Of the effects of the moon on animal life , very many instances could be cited . I have seen in Africa , the newly-littered young perish in a few hours , at the mother ' s side , if exposed to the rays of the full moon ; fish become rapidly putrid , and meat , if left exposed , incurable or unpreservable by salt;—the mariner , heedlessly sleeping on the deckbecoming afflicted with nyctolopia or night
, blindness , at times the face hideously swollen if exposed during sleep to the moon ' s rays , the maniac ' s paroxysms renewed with fearful vigour at the full and change , and the cold damp chill of the ague supervening on tbe ascendency of this apparently mild yet powerful luminary . Let her influence over this earth be studied ; it is more powerful than is generally known . —Martin ' s History of the British Colonies .