OCTOBER x, 1886. ry i Teo Da ae ae La re Mt iy | La thi ef layne ‘Nisik fil ae j a a it it ‘il ita ve ap 7 tie igh Tall pe ill a" i at uti! ' we a cll Ae, ge A | Ba tals rere ThE He : ae aMbal Susman Mh aigonamiey ls sl sf sal Entered at the Postoffice at Agricultural College, Michigan, as Second-Class Mail Matter. Laust Teowrson's Stew PRaTiIEG Hover, LANdind, Boor. BROAS the one-Price Clothier, Undersells them all on Clo ing, Hats, Caps, and Gents’ Furnishing Goods. CORNER MICHIGAN AND WASHINGTON AVENUES, LANSING. R. B. SHANK & CO., THE GROCER OLD LAND OF.-ICE, LANSING, MICHIGAN. For All Kinds of Staple and Fancy Groceries. wrutts and Vegetables a Specialty. The largest Wholesafe and Retail Grocery Fouse in Central Michiga ‘ CASSEY & WHITNEY, OVER LANSING NATIONAL BANK. Special Rates to Students! . U. H. FORESTER, FRANK WELLS, HEADBUARTERS FOR WHOLESALE AND RETAIL | AMERICAN WATCH JEWELRY, AND PRESENTATION AARTICL Books, Stationery, Toys, Fancy Goods. LANSING HOU CORNER STORE, OPERA BLOCK, TERMS $2.00 PER DAT... LANSING, = - MICHIGAN, J. ABERLE, = - - Lawnsine, Mi CROTTY BROS., LAUNT THOMPSON, DEALEES [IN STATIONERY xD rtistice, Jobe Prin 100 WasHinaton Avinmue AN., LANSING, MIGHIGA Blank Books, Periodicals, Wallets, Pocket Books, Albums, Bibles, Prayer Books, Law Blanks, Scaside Library for sunimer Reading, Ink, Pens, Frames, Visiting Cards, S E D| N A Be L | C IH T E, : School Books, etc, . —=T I} E——— Subscriptions taken for any Magazine or Paper published in . ie NOBBY TAILO Two Doors North of Postoffice, Have the Finest Selection of Suitings in the G LANSING. MICHIGAN. 214.0, Washington Ave. SPEQIAL INDUCEMENTS TO 00 THE COLL: EGE SPECULUM. Vou. VI.—No. 2. oa eee —— es AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, MICH., OCTOBER 1, 1886, Wuore No, 22, — The Natural Development of the Mind. GEORGE J. HUME, UNION LITERARY SOCIETY, | Emerson, as a college student, was not famous. Although every college curriculum is arranged with | a view to satisfying the needs of the majority of stu- dents, yet few find any course just what they want, or in fact just what they need. Many times a young man, in order to get a degree, or to have the advantage of college libraries and laboratories, passes through a course in which one half the studies are at the time dis- tasteful to him. Who can blame such a one if he neg- lects a part of the regular work for what he believes to be more conducive to his welfare, and what is certainly more agreeable? As we read in the Scriptures, “ What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboreth?” How easily some of us may grasp this thought and take it home to ourselves! Many a student can recall to his mind a hundred profitless hours that were spent at poring over algebra when he longed to throw the hated book aside and take up his more inviting history, or to be searching out some valuable law in natural science. They were profitless hours because a great part of his mental force was wasted in the vain effort to hold his mind upon the works, or, as the Scriptures say, because he was working in that wherein he labored. No man has any foree to waste. For the most profit- able work, the mind must act as one power, whose constituents are bound together by the strong ties of interest. Who is there but has often felt such a desire to know the character of some statesman or author, to understand the cause of the rise and fall of some nations, to learn the habits of some plant, or to | solve some problem, that no ordinary power could draw his attention from the coveted object? Knowledge obtained at such atime washes not away with the first shower, but is stamped forever on the tablet of the mem- ory. Morover, when the mind feels a gnawing hunger for any branch of useful knowledge, that hunger should, if possible, be satisfied with the proper food; for like hunger of the body, it indicates a real need. It is the voice of nature urging the development of the mind in the proper way; and in order to obey that voice, other work may well be neglected. Many renowned men, because they evaded certain college work, are said to have been indifferent students; but if the whole truth were known, we should doubt- less find that nearly all of them were as studious and thoughtful as their more brilliant fellows, Sir Walter Scott, while in school, was called an idler; but his so- called idle hours were spent in the dreaming and medi- tation that made him a writer of poetry and romance. The class work in philosophy and mathematics was all hard for him, and he gave it little attention. We see a still more familiar and striking example of natural develop- ment in the mind of Abraham Lincoln, who probably owed his sturdy manhood and practical philosophy to the very fact that his mind was not encumbered with superfluous learning. most eminent men have begun in early youth to follow their own inclinations. In like manner, all of the world’s In every child, are born pure desires, a tendency toward self improvement, and a fitness for some good work. The all wise Creator has planned the develop- ment of every mind. From early childhood, the poet shows a capability of strong feeling and imagination; the young orator is apt in speech and quick in thought; the good merchant is known in his school days by his shrewdness in bargains; and the preacher is early indi- cated by his fervency of spirit, The foundation of the man is laid in early life; and like a work of art, in which there must be but one artist, the mind, in its develop- ment, should be continued, as begun, by the best of all artists—nature. | The Advantage of Debate in a Literary Society. E, A. BURNETT, ECLECTIC SOCIETY. The literary society in a college, no less than the society of the outer world, meets a great want in college life; and its intrinsic value depends largely upon its influence over its individual members. This influence is in every way an educator, In its associations, its social manners, its literary culture,its parliamentary dis- cipline, and in its moral influence, the society is ever teaching, ever suggesting. Great as are the social benefits derived from the com- munication, and interfusion, of humane interests and humane passions raising men inthe “scale of knowledge and of virtue” through contact with men superior to themselves; yet for the greatest and most lasting influ- ence of society life, we look to the improvement acquired by earnest, careful literary work, Associations must change, the bonds which draw us together, SCOMET OF later must be broken; and individual excellencies and defects stand out as indications of real worth. Though former associations are not without their influence, yet the pursuit of certain lines of literary work gives one an 2 THE COLLEGE SPECULUM, ie added power, an increased capacity and capability which cannot fail to be recognized. Varied as are the forms of literary work in a society, each having its proper place and contributing towards an interesting and instructive program, we cannot consider each of equal value, For the greatest individual improvement we look to the debate. It cultivates all of the mental facul- ties. It trains the observing, the discriminating, the constructing, and the reasoning powers; bringing them into action so as to develop them most symmetrically. The practice of debate encourages and develops self- confidence. Inherent in the nature of every young person as he enters school or college life is a feeling of diffidence which tends to retard his speaking in public. Whatever thoughts he may possess, or may ordinarily be able to express, are, upon his appearing before the public, either forgotten or so confused that they can fir no utterance until practice has enabled him to overcome his embarrassment. He who would lead his fellow men to great and noble deeds, must not be obstructed by any bartier which will retard his powers of thought or of expression; the man who can make the best five min- utes’ speech on any subject or upon any occasion, will win the confidence of men, where the person who can only exhibit himself on certain occasions, with fine displays of studied oratory would fail. The continued practice of speaking before an audicnee enables one to concentrate his thoughts and to present them in a systematic manner, It does away with a ver- bose, long-winded class of men, who talk simply for the sake of talking, and seldom establish a point or even touch the subject. A few contests with an opponent will either remedy the evil or silence the victim. The publie will not long submit to be bored by one who fails to present good arguments in a clear and forcible man- ner; and its stinging criticism cannot fail to strike those who are too conceited or too negligent to obey its rules. No discipline or education gives a broader or more correct idea of any subject. must study both sides of the question. he know how to arrange skillfully the arguments in his favor and be able to present them in an interesting andl forcible manner; but he must know with equal precision the arguments of his opponent, and study to defeat them without giving them undue prominence, As the constant use of any faculty stimulates its growth, so through practice are the powers of pereep- tion and discrimination developed and matured. Dy practice one learns to see and meet the various tricks so common in debate, and to detect the schemes of oratory intended to entrap and to convince the unwary listener, Through the steady and concentrated action of the mine on one idea, or one series of ideas, collecting in one point the rays of thought as they search and penetrate each argument, carefully reasoning out and weighing each conclusion, man’s judgment is made more reliable and his reasoning powers are strengthened and brought wonder control, Not only must To debate well a person | [allel of latitude, seventy-five miles due north of the The process of debate is an intelligent contest for superiority, The arguments presented by the opponents are placed side by side for comparison, and the effort required in preparing and presenting the discussion, the mutual strife for leadership, cultivates and strengthens thought. Mind copes with mind, and each is benefitted. Equals in age or in ability, people sellom meet in de- bate; but each is able to teach the other. We are ridiculed by Europeans as being a nation of tspouters ” and yet we pride ourselves in the fact that nowhere is there found a people so enlightened, and so capable of deciding for itself the questions which con- cern a nation’s wellfare. Unlike the powers of Europe, our strength lies, not in scarlet robes, in flashing ensigns, ar in martialed hosts, but rather in the fact, that, scat- tered all over this broad land,on every hill and in every valley, wherever civilization has penetrated the primeval forest to build for itself a home, there may be found men whose education has fitted them to argue questions of national importance. Representing as we do a gov- ernment “of the people by the people, and for the peo- ple,” the only safeguard of our national rights and national prosperity, rests in the ability of each citizen, intelligently to meet, to argue, and to decide the great issues Of the time. America has possessed her share of great men. Alike in her hours of peril and of defeat, of triumph and of prosperity, their voices have guarded and guided her foot-steps. Looking back to the early education and carly influences of these men, we find that their charac- ters, their powers of thought and of expression were largely acquired in the debating school and the lyceum. A Trip Northward. as L. H., BAILEY, JR. Eprron CoLLeGE Specutum:—Vermilion Lake lies in the northeastern part of Minnesota, on the 43th par- western extremity of Lake Superior, Near this Lake the village of ‘Tower has sprung up during the last three years, and a railway has been constructed to it from Two Harbors, on the north shore of Lake Supe- rior, The oceasion of this settlement is the iron mining interest, which is now assuming great proportions, The Geological and Natural History Survey of Min- nesota, under the direction of Prof. N. H. Winchell, inaugurated this year a scientific exploration of the country adjacent to Vermilion Lake, and your sub- scriber was one of three persons who were engaged to study the botanical features, The 17th of July, a cool, clear morning, found us upon Lake Superior, e rowte from Duluth to Two Harbors, The hich and monotonous line of bluffs. which rose gradually from the water's edge are clothed with a pristine vegetation, giving us a first sense of that charming wildness of nature which we were seeking THE COLLEGE SPECULUM. and which we afterwards found without the effort of looking for it, It is a dreary const, Even the white glaring trunks of the paper birches scattered im the dull background of spruces reminded me more of skeletons than of living trees. of the trees, and reminded, as well, that | was approach- ing the region of dwarf vegetation, .A sense of the absence of all animated life seemed to be thrust upon me; and even when a wreath of smoke curled above the trees and wave evidence of human beings who were burning for a roadway, this sense was only intensified. The very contrast of the signs of human presence with the dull wild monetony increased the feeling of loneli- ness. ™ where we took the train for Tower. railway journey we appeared to be plowing a great fur- row into the heart of a wilderness, For sixty-cight miles we found no settlement, unless we apply the term to the single house at a water-tank or two. I found opportunity to jump from the train three or four times and to grab the first plant which attracted me, first “find was a rare sedge, doubly interesting as it was discovered by the unfortunate Douglas Hough- ton, our first State Geologist, on his exploration of the source of the Mississippi. The plant bears his name, Carex Houghtonii. My second “find” was a plant similar to the first, a sedge first found in Greenland, and now for the first time detected within our limits cast of the Rocky Mountains. My third was an ok acquaint. ance, a plant which I had namie) and described some three years ago from two dried specimens, one from New Brunswick, the other from the Saskatchewan. Surely, I had found a country where rare things are common and common things are rare. It was for- tunate that I had such inspiration upon my setting-out, otherwise [ should have been disheartened entirely. The night found us four miles beyond the lean village of Tower, encamped upon a low headland on the lake, The morning brought a cold rainstorm, following a night of exasperating frost. The rainstorm brought shivers, and had not wikl nature charmed us with nov- elty it would have brought blues as well. No one enjoyed the long day but three: these three were Pashatonegweb, Mrs. Pashatonegweb and Pashatonegweb, Here let me explain that the camp was that of the geological portion of the survey, three persons strong, besides the Indians, upon our arrival, Pashatonegweb, a short Chippewa of middle age, acted as cook, achieving more success in the acting than in the cooking. A small light tent supplied the botan- ists shelter, and a corduroy of spruce and mountain ash boughs, inhabited by spiders, supplied the necessary sleeplessness, For a week I rode and rocked upon the crooked lake in the inimitable birch bark canoe with Pashatonegweb atthe paddle. The canoe is the gondola of the Indian Venice, carrying one in and out among the two hundred | I was impressed with the lowness | | paper birch and arbor-vitae, the last known everywhere, islands of this rugged lake without imparting a feeling of motion, The space of my letter will not allow me to detail our wanderings. The country is rough, although the hills seldom exceed one or two hundred feet in hight. The timber is mostly rec pine, although erroneously, as white cedar, The pine is the largest timber and yet it is not often large enough for sawing into boards, This smallness is due in part to the dwarfing tendency of the short summers and in part tothe fires whichevery century ortwo, according to Indian traditions, sweep over the country. I was well aware of the fact that the numbers of species, either of animals | or plants, decrease as one goes northward, but I did not During the whole | My | | excecd twenty. A ride of a few hours brought us to Two Harbors, | fully realize its effect upon the aspect of a country until L studied it here, The species of flowering plants about Lansing number about a thousand; about Wermilion Lake they number five hundred, Conse- quently the flora is net so varied there as here. I took pains to count the number of species which grew upon small areas, such as produce from fifty to sixty species of plants at Lansing, and found that they did not often But while I found this northern dearth of variety, I found the southern species: the plants about Vermilion Lake are very similar to those about Lansing. Seventy-five miles to the southward, along Lake Supe- rior, | found a more northern flora. The explanation of this apparent anomally lies in the fact that Vermilion Lake is protected from the cool summer breezes of Lake about Superior. The second week I spent in the almost endless chain of lakes which stretch away to the International Bound- ary. With an Indian, a young man and a canoe, we began a voyage which took us into the very heart of nature. Our ultimate point was Hunter's Island, | queen's land, lying in the boundary chain. The development of the nose of Minnesota lying north of Lake Superior must depend entirely upon the mining The iron ore is equal to the best of that in Some thirty miles north and east interests, Northern Michigan. of ‘Tower mines have been located, but want of commu- nication prevents their being opened. The agricultural | capabilities of the country de net extend much beyond Little potatoes and turnips. How the M. A. C. Cadets Went to the State Fair. ———— Jj. A. LOCK Woon, LT. OU. Ss. Ae a “ Like the leaves of the forest when Summer is green, That host with their banners at sunset were Seen. Like the leaves of the forest when Autumn hath blown, That host on the morrow lay withered and strown,”* BYRON. The edict went forth that the cadets should @o to the State Fair, They were no longer to hide their light under a bushel, but were to shine forth in all thew splendor in the prize drill. 3 THE COLLEGE SPECULUM. _ It was an extraordinary occasion and demanded extra- ordinary preparations. Each cadet polished and rubbed his brass buttons until they shone like bald heads in the sun. Regardless of expense, white gloves were pur- chased in fabulous quantities. Shoe blacking was pro- fusely lavished on leather surpriged at such unusual treatment, Necks, unused to the novelty, became rigid in stand-up collars four inches high. Lastly, rifles and belts underwent an inspection unexampled in its severity. | About sixty strong, they boarded the train for Jack- son. The Commandant counted each file as they entered the cars. “ He counted them at break of day, But when the night came where were they ?" The French had their Waterloo, The Union army its Bull Run, The cadets have had their Jackson. Not to weary the reader by enumerating in detail the varied experiences incident to arriving in Jackson in the rain, bold sallies ew masse on the Methodlist Church lunch room (where the pretty waitresses completely | succumned to the cadets and presented each one with a | boutonniere), passing the night like veterans, on cots in the guard armory, where excitement prevented sleep, and other interesting circumstances, we will record the arrival of the cadets on the bloody field, after an adventurous march through the mud, at precisely 2 P. M., Friday, Sept. 17th. They were drawn up “in battle’s magnificently stern array.” The drill began. They came, they saw, they were conquered, It is useless to enumerate the causes which prevented the cadets from “downing” the Detroit Greys, the Jackson Rifles, and other inferior organizations. If their “fore sight” had only been as good as their “ hind sight” the result might have been different. They feel, however, that “*Tis better to have drilled and lost Than never to have drilled at all." They met the enemy and they are his. They marched | off defeated but not dismayed. The retreat was in good order. The engagement although severe and lasting for 30 minutes, was not fatal to any of the participants. The only wound reported is a wound on Cadet Capt. Bates’ right edr inflicted by his own sword (which was not to be wondered at considering the short time he had been carrying the dangerous weapon), The enemy captured some of the cadets baggage in the heat of the engagement. An imitation leather valise and ai rubber coat are the missing articles upon which the Cadet Quartermaster demands a Board of Survey. The cadets threatened to kill their Mascot—/* the little boy with the gun”), but subsequently decided to let him off with his life on the promise of better luck next time. Tue horticultural department is getting a great many different klnds of fruit from all over the country, also a large variety of huckleberries, the cultivation of which by the department will be something entirely mew in that line NATURAL HISTORY. Galls and Gall Producing Mites. c, PB, GILLETTE. One of the most interesting topics presented to the i student of entomology is that of galls and their archi- | tects. It seers strange indeed that the sting of a living insect upon the leaves or twigs of a tree should cause abnormal developments of the parts, and that these growths should take such definite forms. The ralls produced by any insect are as regular in position and shape as are the apples on a tree. But wh&t seems still more wonderful than this is the fact that the insect when ready to lay its eggs will always go to exactly the same variety of tree as the one from which it came, and to a similar location upon the tree. ‘Certain galls, for exam- ple, are always found upon the petiole of a leaf, others are always upon the midrib or some of the main veins, while others are never upon a vein at all. There are a number of gall producing insects that always attack the buds, and each produces a gall peculiar to itself. One would not mistrust that there areso many differ- ent kinds of galls until he had endeavored to see how many he could find, I have taken not less than twenty different varieties from oak trees alone during the past summer. The gall-nuts of commerce,so much used in the man- ufacture of ink and for coloring purposes, are produced by a litthe four winged fly upon a species of oak in western Asia. We speak of galls as being abnormal developments, but nature does not build in vain; even galls are pro- | duced for a purpose, Every one of these peculiar growths is a storehouse of food in which one or more | insects or mites feed until fully grown, and then, if no opening is already provided, they gnaw their way out and escape. Conspicuous among the gall producers are the Phy- topti or four legged mites, and I presume the readers of the Specutum would be glad to be able to detect these ravagers of our foliage. So far as I know, the Phytopti in this country confine their depredations to the leaves of plants. There is a European species that sometimes does much harm to currant bushes, by de- stroying the buds, but I do not think it has yet been introduced into this country, The gall mites are very small and make exceedingly interesting objects for microscopic study, They vary from five to eight thousandths of an inch in length, and are about four times as lone as thick. The galls pro- duced by these mites were known and studied for nearly a hundred years before their true cause was discovered. The mite gallsare found upon alarge number of our most common trees, and may be very conveniently separated into three classes according to their forms; nail galls, warty galls, and velvety or dust galls, THE COLLEGE SPECULUM. 5 The nail galls are very common upon the upper sur. face of the leaves of the sugar maple, the basswood, the wild plum, and the American elm. The leaves appear, as some one has said, as if a large number of tacks had been driven through from the underside with their points projecting above, The warty galls differ from the foregoing by being. more globular in form, and are not drawn out in slender teat-like projections, These are very common upon the leaves of the soft maple, and are often so crowded to- gether as to occupy nearly the whole surface of the leaf. These, and the nail galls as well, are hollow and con- tain a large number, sometimes a hundred or more, Phytoptus mites. There are -everal hymenopterous insects that produce calls very éumilar to these just LET - tioned, but they may be distinguished from the mite galls, by being entirely inclosed, while the latter always have an opening upon the underside of the leaf where the inmates Thay HISS cuit arial im set pleasure. This opening is enough to enable one to distinguish the mite | zalls except in case of calls produced by plant lice, but the lice are large enough to be readily seen by the naked eye, while the mites cannot be detected without a glass. The velvety or dusty appearance upon leayes caused by mites can hardly be called galls. They are the re- sultofan abnormal development of the leaf hairs, probably caused by the irritation of the mites while feeding. On the leaves of the beech the dusty appearing patches are | often of a brown color and are very apt to be mistaken for a fungus, but they are not, The Phytopti offer a very interesting field for orig- | inal research, a5 only a few species have been described in this country, and they are very common upon a large tumber of our trees, shrubs, and vines. Ar the meeting of the Natural History Society Sept. roth, Mr. George Crandall presented a series of experi- ments in progress, on the effect of certain substances upon the bacterial life of tomato infusions with the VIEW of ascertaining the most effective preservative and best disinfectant, . Salicylic acid, carbolic acid and coffee were among the substances used. The methods of experiment and some partial results were given. We hope that at the next meeting a full report of the experiments may be presented. The study of these lowest forms of vegeta- ble life has in recent years attracted scientific minds all aver the civilized world. Though observed and mentioned over two hundred years ago, little is recorded of them until within the last thirty years, and until within fifteen years the literature concerning them has mostly been in some language other | than English, There are now quite a number of American anid English works, which with the translations, place the whole history of the subject, as far as it is known, Within the reach of the American student. The heated discussions ovor the spontaneous penera- | corn plants? tion theories which a few years ago involved so many eminent scientists, called for much investigation and experiment, which materially advanced the knowledge of these low forms, and though the advocates of spon- taneous generation were effectually quicted by the mas- terly researches of Pasteur and Tyndall, the new field of investigation proved so attractive to those who had been drawn into it that they did not relinquish it, and are still at work on the life histories, and ralations to higher lifé of these lowest of living forms. Insect Eccentricities. Ae J. CONOR Few among the unsolved problems of science are nore interesting wt worthy attention than that con- nectedl with the anomalous appearance of insects; often The cotton moth, which is indigenous to the South, 1s occasionally taken in New York, Canada, Michigan and Wisconsin, The Cotton Boll Worm, or more properly Caterpillar, is for the most part confined to the South, where it in regions far qutsuie them usual limits. often does most serious harm to their staple crop, though it thrives as far north as Southern Ulinois aud Kansas, where it becomes the Corn Worm, and attacks the corn while yet in the milk, In 1580, and especially in 1581, this insect came in force upon the corn fields of Mich- gan and other nerthern States, In the latter year it dic very considerable damage, since which time it has not put in any appearance at all. During the past season (1586), 1 received from several counties of this State hairy Bombyeil caterpil- lars, which were reported to be eating the green corn plants, They fed about the middie of May, and in some localities were reported so numerous as ta do much damage. Specimens of these Caterpillars which were bred in our laboratory, proved to be one of the handsomest of the harness moths,