Part 17
When the plumber gets ready to put in the radiators in the home he figures the cubic measurements of the room and then puts in a radiator, the outside surface of whose pipes, is in the right proportion to throw off sufficient heat to fill the room or heat all the air in the room. It requires a certain number of square inches of radiator surface to heat each cubic foot of air space and a good plumber can figure this to a nicety. If he puts in a radiator however that has not sufficient number of square inches on the outside of the pipes, the room will not be heated properly. In the same way, the trees, require that their leaves have a certain amount of square inches of surface space in proportion to the size of the tree, to enable them to do what is required of them and this is arranged by nature so that the trees grow naturally, and no doubt the shape of the leaves has something to do with this.
What Makes Roses Red?
All roses are not red. Some are white and others pink or of still another color. The color of the rose, and in fact the color of all flowers is due to the way they absorb and reflect the sunlight. In the case of the red rose, the something in the plant that determines the color, absorbs all the other colors in the sunlight and reflects the pure red rays and that makes the color of the red rose. You cannot see the color of any flower when it is perfectly dark. That is because they have no color of their own, but only the colors which they reflect when in the sunlight or some other light. The question of colors is more fully explained in another part of the book.
Why Do Plants and Trees Grow Up Instead of Down?
As a matter of fact plants and trees do grow downward as well as up. There is a part of each called the root whose business it is to grow down and take certain things necessary to the life of the tree out of the ground. But the part we see above the ground and which is the part we generally think of only when we think of plants or trees.
The tree or plant, in order to grow properly, and eventually produce flowers and perfect seeds, must have sunshine and carbonic acid gas, and it is the business of the leaves and other parts above the ground to get these out of the air for the good of the plant or tree. So they start to grow toward the sun. It is easy to prove how a plant will turn toward the light. Take notice of the plants in the flower pots at home. Set one of them on the window sill inside the window where the sun can shine on it and notice how quickly the leaves and branches will be bent over against the window pane. Turn it completely around then so that the plant leans away from the sunlight and watch it for a day or two. Before long you will find that it has not only straightened itself completely out but started to lean toward the window glass again so as to get as near the sun as possible. Most plants, if kept where the sunlight cannot touch them, will die. The sunlight is a necessary part of their lives.
What Becomes of the Plants and Flowers in Winter?
A great many, in fact the large percentage of plants, live only during one season. This kind of plant actually dies completely after, in the natural course of growth and flowering, it has produced its seed which is the method by which such plants are reproduced. Other plants only appear to die in the winter. Parts of them, such as the leaves and flowers actually die, but the roots and stalks of such plants do not die in winter. The part that represents the life in them goes to sleep and lies dormant until the light and warmth of summer bring forth the leaves and flowers again.
The flowers, however, always die and the same flowers never appear again but others just like them appear in their places.
Even in hot countries where there is no winter, the plants must go through a period of rest or sleep, although this change is not so marked in plants which grow in these hot countries.
How Can Some Plants Climb a Smooth Wall?
To get at the answer to this question, we should pick out one kind of plant like the creeping ivy vine. If we examine same as it climbs a brick wall, we find that it sends out little shoots which attach themselves around the little rough places in the bricks of the wall which, if examined under a microscope are quite large apparently--at least they are large enough for the tiny creepers of the ivy to hold on to. Of course, if there were only one little “shoot” to reach out and take hold of the rough spots in the wall, the vine could not cling to the wall, but the vine puts out a great many of these shoots--which it would perhaps be best to call “clingers” and as each helps a little to hold on, the great number all holding on together enable a quite heavy vine to hang on to an apparently smooth wall.
Some vines have actually the ability to send out little suckers which are made on the same principle as the boys’ sucker (a circular piece of leather with string attached to the middle with which a boy can pick up stones) and such plants can cling to and climb up an almost perfectly smooth wall.
What Are the Thorns on Roses and Other Plants Good For?
The thorns of roses and other plants which have thorns originally grew for the purpose of enabling the plants to fasten themselves on to other things thus helping them to climb. Many plants with thorns are permitted to grow now in places where they can use their thorns for climbing but many others with thorns are cut down by the gardener to make the plants shapely and to make them produce more flowers and less branches, but they keep on growing their thorns just the same.
Do Plants Breathe?
Yes, indeed, plants do breathe. To breathe is just as important to the life of a plant as it is to a boy or girl. Plants do not have lungs like boys and girls and grown up people, but they find it necessary to breathe. You know, of course, that fishes breathe, but they haven’t any lungs either, even though they belong to the animal kingdom. Fishes do not, however, breathe the air in the same form as we do because they must use the air which they find in the water. That is why we say fishes drown when on the land. They cannot breathe air in the form in which we are able to use it any more than people can breathe the air in the water.
Breathing, however, is necessary to all living things and the gas which we take in when breathing is oxygen. There is oxygen in the water as well as in the air. Things which live in the air take their oxygen out of the air and things which live in the water get their oxygen out of the water. For this purpose it is necessary for plants and animals that live under the water to have a breathing apparatus especially adapted for getting oxygen out of the water.
What Happens When Breathing Occurs?
The act of breathing consists really of two actions. Taking something into the body and expelling something. Every living thing inhales and expels in breathing. We take in oxygen and expel it again but when it comes out it has added something to it and the combination or result is carbonic acid gas--so we take in oxygen and expel carbonic acid gas.
How Do Plants Breathe?
The lungs of a plant, or what the plant breathes with corresponding to our lungs, are located in the leaves of the plant. Under a magnifying glass we can see the lungs of the leaf quite clearly. In addition to this we know that plants breathe, because if we put them in a vacuum where there is no air they die very quickly. The plant needs air or it will suffocate just as any animal will suffocate under similar conditions. Plants, however, do not make use of the oxygen as they find it in the air. They live on the carbon which they find in the air mixed with oxygen. What happens then is this. The plants take in through their lungs in the leaves carbonic acid gas from which they take the carbon and use it as food, and throw off the oxygen which they cannot use. Human beings and other animals take the oxygen into their lungs and use it and expel carbonic acid gas. The result is that each kind of life is dependent upon the other. If it were not for the plant life, men and other animals would find it difficult perhaps to find sufficient oxygen in the air to keep them alive, and if it were not for the carbonic acid gas which the animals throw off, plants and other vegetable life would have great difficulty in finding sufficient carbonic acid gas to go around.
Why Do Plants Need Sunlight?
Most plants, if placed where no light from the sun can reach them, will die very quickly. To prove that a plant needs the sunlight we have only to place it in a dark corner of the cellar and notice how soon it dies. In fact if it were not for sunlight there would be no life on earth at all. The plant or tree drinks in sunlight through the surface of the leaves. In fact the ability to take in sunlight constitutes the real life of the tree or plant. Leaves grow thin and flat in order that as much surface as possible may be exposed to the sunlight. If a leaf were curled up like a hoop only a part of the outside surface would be exposed to the sunlight and the amount of life that a leaf could supply to the rest of the tree would be much less. The leaf is so constructed that when the sunlight strikes down upon its green surface, it changes the carbonic acid gas which it drinks in, into its elements, i.e., it takes out the carbon which goes into the body of the plant and combining with other food and water supplied by the roots causes the plant or tree to grow and then returns the oxygen part of the carbonic acid gas to the air.
Why Does Milk Turn Sour?
The milk turns sour because a little microbe, known as the milk microbe gets into it, and being very fond of the sugar which is in the milk, turns this sugar into an acid.
If we could keep milk entirely away from the air after the cow is milked, it would not turn sour, but as soon as it is exposed to the air these microbes which are constantly in the air, drop into the milk. They are alive, although invisible to the naked eye. If when they drop into the milk it is warm enough for them to get in their work so to speak, they fall upon the sugar in the milk and turn it into the acid. Their attempt to sour the milk can be overcome by keeping the milk at a low temperature in the refrigerator, but as soon as the milk is taken out of the refrigerator and left out long enough to become warm, the microbe begins to work and the milk cannot be made sweet again. If the milk is boiled as soon or shortly after the cow is milked, the sugar in the milk is changed in such a way that the microbe cannot feed upon it.
[Illustration: A PERSIAN RUG WEAVER AT WORK.[3]]
[3] Pictures and descriptions by courtesy of Hartford Carpet Co.
The Story in a Rug
What Are Carpets and Rugs Made Of?
The choicest wool of the world is used in the manufacture of carpet. In order to give satisfactory service carpet must be made of wool that is of a tough quality and has a long fiber. Such wool is not produced in America, and the markets of the distant lands that supply it are practically exhausted to supply the American manufacturers. Most of the wool used comes from Northern Russia, Siberia and China. It is shipped in bales. When it arrives at the mill there is much to be done before the wool is ready for any process of manufacturing.
How Long Have People Used Carpets?
The art of weaving stands foremost among the ancient industries. It came into being in the sunrise lands of the East where color has endless charm and variety and where figure is made to serve the purpose of fact and fancy. The art of weaving rugs is older than Egyptian civilization. Stone carvings made when Egypt was yet unborn were reproduced in rugs.
At what period the loom was first used is impossible to tell. An ancient Jewish legend claims that Naamah, daughter of Tubal-Cain, was the inventor of the process of weaving threads into cloth. There are other indications that the ancient Hebrews were the first weavers. Mythology also tells of beautiful maidens weaving exquisite patterns for the gods. Most of us are familiar with the story of Jason who set sail on the Argo in search of the Golden Fleece, arrived at the kingdom of Aeetes, won the hand of Medea, the daughter of Aeetes, who eloped with him after he had secured the coveted fleece.
The first hands busy at the weaving craft undoubtedly were those of women. Chaldean gossip, repeated in history relates that Sardanphulees, an ancient Greek king, was often seen in woman’s garb carding purple wool from which his wives wrought rugs for floor coverings for the palace. Homer shows Helen of Troy setting the tale of her people’s war in the woof of her web, and also tells with Virgil of rugs that were laid under the thrones of kings or upon chariot horses. Ancient Hindu hymns show that these people made their textile fabrics studies of great beauty. The woman in the Proverbs of Solomon says: “I have woven my bed with cords; I have covered it with painted tapestry from Egypt.” One learns from the writings of Pliny of the large money value of rugs in ancient times. He wrote at length of a vast rug displayed at a banquet of Ptolemy Philadelphius, the value of which was placed at a fabulous sum.
A later writer tells of the love of Cleopatra for rich rugs and tapestries that were woven in her palace or in the countries to the East. On the occasions of her meeting with Cæsar and Antony, the Egyptian queen enveloped herself in a superb rug which she had woven especially for the purpose of showing her renowned beauty to the best advantage. Akhar, emperor of Hindostan, spread a knowledge of the art of weaving throughout India.
The earlier phases of the art of weaving may be traced through the land of the Pharaohs to Northern Africa, Southwestern Asia, and finally into the dawn of the Aryan civilization. The loom has not been materially changed, and it may be seen to-day as it was in the time when the priests of Heliopolis decorated the shrines of their gods with magnificent carpets and when Delilah wove the hair of Samson with her web and fastened it with a wooden pin. The ancient weavers attained high artistic standards in their fabrics. Pliny tells of Babylonian couch covers that had all the beauty of paintings and sold for great fortunes to the ancient Asiatic kings.
In all ages fine rugs have been used for religious purposes. Early writings describe the use of rugs on the holy cars of pilgrimage to Mecca, at the tomb of the prophet at Medinah and throughout the mosques of the Orient. The abbot Egelric gave to the church at Croyland, before the year 892, two large rugs to be laid before the high altar on great festivals. At later periods rugs were used for similar purposes in the cathedrals of Southern Europe.
The Oriental people ever have been devoted to symbols and naturally wove them into their fabrics. Their textiles were made to reproduce mythological stories in which the fauna and flora of a country figured prominently. There was the symbolism of form, color and animal life, of trees and flowers, of faith, and earthly and heavenly existence. The symbols were made to illustrate the conflict between light and darkness, the evolution of life, the decay of death and the immortality that awaits the blessed in paradise.
What Do the Designs in Rugs Mean?
Since many of the figures of ancient rug-weaving are retained in modern rug designs, the following list of meanings of ancient Oriental symbols used in rug-weaving may be interesting as a key to the stories that are said to appear in many rugs of Oriental design:
Asp--intelligence Bat--duration Bee--immortality Beetle--earthly life Blossom--life Boat--serene spirit Butterfly--soil Crescent--celestial virgin Crocodile--deity Dove--love Eagle--creation Egg--life Feather--truth Goose--child Lizard--wisdom Palm tree--immortality Sail of vessel--breath Wheel--deity Lion--power Ass--humility Butterfly--beneficence of summer Jug--knowledge Ox--patience Hawk--power Lotus--the sun Pine-cone--fire Zigzag--water Leopard--fame Sword--force Serpent--desire Bird--spirit Owl--wisdom Pig--kindness
Such are the traditions that the makers of modern rugs must live up to. The art of the centuries has been revealed in the rugs of many nations, and the rug-maker of to-day must uphold the standards of an art that undoubtedly takes rank with the great arts. Where a valuable painting goes into the home of one millionaire, thousands of rugs made from an original design of unquestioned art and beauty go into homes the country over to give warmth, comfort and beauty, delighting housewives and imparting a sense of coziness and elegance.
According to students of the art of weaving, the perfection of this art was attained about the sixteenth century, after many centuries of slow growth. Since then weaving as an art has been broadened and given a wider scope by means of processes invented for a cheaper production of rugs in all the beauty of their original designs. But there also has developed a modern school of rug and carpet designing that in itself represents no mean standard of art. Many of the less expensive grades of American rugs and carpets, for example, are of designs created by artists of this modern school of weaving designs whose work is of a high degree of artistic excellence.
[Illustration: HOW OUR GRANDMOTHERS MADE RAG CARPETS
MAKING THE OLD RAG CARPET.]
A quarter of a century ago many homes had rugs woven by the housewives with their spinning-wheels, or no floor coverings, except crude cloths made of rags. These homes, of course, were those of families in moderate circumstances, which to-day can have their attractive and comfort-giving rugs of the less expensive grades of tapestry carpet, Axminster or of the various other grades of carpet manufactured at a range of prices within the financial reach of people of modest means.
It is only a step from the ancient weaving of rugs, with all the color, glamor and romance that attached to rug-weaving in the ancient days, to the manufacture of rugs in America to-day. There is no romance attached to the making of rugs and carpets in America, except the romance of industrial achievement; but the American rug-maker is as careful of the quality and beauty of his product as was the ancient weaver, and the best standards of ancient weaving have been realized in the manufacture of rugs and carpets in America to-day.
Why Did the Ancients Make Rugs?
It is only a rug, several yards of woven threads, a design that few can understand--a simple thing, to be sure; yet what a lot of history and memories and traditions it carries! Merely a strip of carpet, with strange figures, beautiful though meaningless, a product of modern invention like many another, some may think. But the story of a rug may go back through many centuries to ancient times of opulent splendor, when wars were waged and kingdoms created and shattered for the beauty of a woman; when gorgeous palaces were raised and great spectacles of art were shown to inspire the world for thousands of years.
Only a rug, but a relic of a rich and glowing past! For in those distant days of war and pageantry, an era more classic than our own, history and romance were woven into the rug. The patterns and designs told great stories of wars and loves that swept nations away and created great new empires and related vivid accounts of intrigue and tragedy that determined history and inspired the immortal works of poets and dramatists. The rug in the ancient times was also used for religious symbolism, and sacred doctrines were inscribed in the woven figures.
Of all the arts none has been as close to the lives and history of the peoples of the earth as the art of weaving. Songs and stories of these peoples and their national achievements have been immortalized through their woven fabrics. Generations have learned of the great deeds of their forefathers through the historical accounts woven into rugs. And in the days of the early Greeks, Hebrews and Egyptians and on through the succeeding centuries until the middle ages the rug was used as a symbolical part of state, religious and romantic ceremonies.
What Makes Some Rugs so Valuable?
The reason many rugs are valued at so high a price in money is largely due to the skill of the artist or designer, just as a painting becomes valuable because the artist who painted it has succeeded in producing a remarkable result. The question of rarity also enters largely into the value of rugs. The great artist weavers of the past who worked for love of their art rather than for the money they might secure by disposing of their masterpieces, are dead, and they have had no successors. Then, also, the rug becomes valuable by reason of the amount of time and labor put into it. Many valuable rugs take years to produce, because the artist must do all his work by hand practically and tie his different colored yarns together just so, or the pattern will not come right. These knots may occur every inch or sometimes even less than an inch, and there will be thousands of hand knots in one rug.
[Illustration: MAKING TURKISH RUGS.]
[Illustration: THE OLDER THEY ARE THE MORE HIGHLY PRIZED
The above is a typical Chinese rug, containing symbolical emblems.
This is an antique and is of a class that sells sometimes as high as $5,000, its rarity of design, beauty in colors, and scarcity enhances its value.]
[Illustration: This is an American machine-made interpretation of a Chinese rug. The ground is a rich gold coloring, the figures being in ecru, dark blue, terra cotta and light blue. It is a beautiful rug, and one of the finest examples of loom-tufted goods ever produced.]
[Illustration: WHERE THE BEST PERSIAN RUGS ARE MADE
This antique Persian was made in the district of Kurdistan, in Western Persia. The general effect is handsome, although the design is crude. The ground is of a deep rich red, and top colors of dark blue and ecru.