ment is no less than twenty-five thousand miles. In the
hope of reducing it, the earth takes unceasing and violent exercise, but
though she spins round on one toe at the rate of a thousand miles an
hour every day, and round the sun once a year, she does not succeed in
taking off a single mile or keeping even comfortably warm all over.
No wonder the globe is giddy!
_QUESTIONS_
_Explain the Nebular Hypothesis._
_State briefly the electromagnetical constituents of the Aurora
Borealis, and explain their relation to the Hertzian Waves._
_Define the difference between the Hertzian Wave and the Marcel Wave._
CHAPTER IV
THE USE OF THE GLOBE
What is the Earth for? Nobody knows. Some say the Earth was made to
supply the wants of Man, but as Man is part and parcel of the Earth
herself, dust of her dust, mould of her mould, it does not answer the
question.
[Illustration: THE FRIENDLY COW.
From an instantaneous photograph of animal cracker.
Owing to the high price of living the cow was partially eaten by the
author before the photograph could be taken.]
To be sure the Earth produces the Tobacco Plant, and many other things
that we classify among the needs of Man, including the "Friendly Cow"--
_She walks among the flowers sweet_
_And chews and chews and chews,_
_And turns them into friendly meat,_
_And pleasant boots and shoes._
But the "Friendly Cow" may in her secret heart regard the classification
as anything but friendly. For all we know, in the hidden scheme of
Creation, the Cow may herself be the subject for ultimate evolution into
the Perfect Being, and Man (to reverse Darwin), descending through the
Ape to ever lower planes, only a discarded experiment.
And the Tobacco Plant? In the course of time there may be no Tobacco
Plant.
Should the American People be again tempted to wage a World War for
Freedom, they may find on their return that the Tobacco Plants have gone
to join the Grape Vines of California!
Our only hope will then be that smoking is permitted in Hea----*
* The Author _is_ digressing.
_The Reader._
_QUESTIONS_
_What is "Friendship"?_
_Why is the Cow "friendly"?_
_Is the Oyster friendly?_
_When Prohibition is applied to tobacco will cigars containing less than
one-half of one per cent tobacco be permitted?_
CHAPTER V
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