If anything is worse than a pasture rooted up by feral hogs, it’s a pasture that dries and hardens after hogs leave damaged areas the size of tractor tires.Freddie Leroux’s damaged pastures need to be repaired and reseeded.

Partnership helps southern Missouri landowner stave off feral hogs

Catch up quick: El Niño winters in the U.S. tend to feature a split jet stream flow across the country. A southern branch brings above-average precipitation from central California to Florida, while a northern branch of the jet stream brings cold Arctic air.

D.C.'s winter weather outlook: Warmer but snow still likely

A potted sapling, gathered, sown, and nurtured by your own hand, could mark a special birthday, a new baby, an anniversary, a new home — or without any excuse at all

Anja Murray: Plant more saplings — it's fun now and beneficial later

Fight back against scammers who have reportedly stolen over $500,000 from Lincoln residents in 2023 alone “Protect Yourself from Fraud & Identity Theft”on Friday, Nov. 3 at 12:30 p.m. in Bemis Hall. Knowledge is power. This talk looks into how scammers think and how to safeguard against identity theft, and offers first hand accounts from those victimized. Presented by former Lincoln resident Alice Diamond, volunteer with AARP Fraud Watch Helpline and the AARP Mass Speakers Bureau. On Sunday, Nov. 5 at 5 p.m., the St. Anne’s choir will perform Fauré’s “Requiem” at St. Anne’s in-the-Fields Church. This dramatic and moving choral work, beloved by listeners and singers alike, will be offered in remembrance of all those we love but see no longer. The choir, with soloists soprano Meghan Zuver and baritone Greg Mancusi-Ungaro, will be accompanied by a chamber orchestra and organist Frederick A. MacArthur, all under the direction of Jay Lane.

News acorns

BLACK ENTERPRISE presents the best apps for budgeting, investing, and wealth-building to help you achieve financial freedom

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The gum contains a gum base and flavoring. The base refers to substances like vinyl acetate and ester gum. When you chew gum, the sugar and flavor dissolve in your saliva and disappear, but the gum base does not dissolve and remains.

Top 5 Must-Try Dishes for a Spooky Feast, Halloween

Iceberg Robotics – hosted an open house on Oct. 3 for the community to meet members and learn more about their robots. Iceberg Robotics demonstrated last year’s robots “Sid” and “Granny” – named for the movie “Ice Age” – and the models of this year’s robots.

UAA Robotics Open House shows off robots and a 3D printer

Freeze-up — or “ice-in” — as it’s sometimes called, is likely weeks rather than months away, though the timing will depend a lot on lake size, depth and the wild card of weather, with its unpredictable temperatures and winds.

Inside the Outdoors: Like the landscape, our lakes are changing, too

November is a traditional month for gathering. As the days get shorter and colder, people traditionally surround themselves with items that bring them comfort. Art Center Ukiah is encouraging local artists to consider all aspects of the harvest season as they ponder a list of questions.

Art Center Ukiah presents ‘Harvest’ show for November

Nut-bearing trees, like black walnuts, beeches and those acorn-producing oaks, have “on” and “off” years. “On” years, called mast years, see vigorous production of nuts across an entire species throughout a region.

If it seems like there are a lot of acorns this fall, you might be seeing a `mast' year

Acorns

acorns

Scientific American Supplement, No. 711, August 17, 1889, by Various, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . GIBRALTAR AND NEIGHBORHOOD. here GIBRALTAR AND NEIGHBORHOOD. REPORT BY CONSUL SPRAGUE. Notwithstanding that the political situation of Europe seems to be less threatening among its leading powers, still the uncertainty prevalent among those who are generally considered the arbiters of public affairs has had its influence in contracting the limits of speculative adventure, thereby circumscribing the general course of trade throughout the Mediterranean. In renewing to the department my reports upon the navigation and general commerce of Gibraltar, I beg to state that there has been a tolerably fair current business prevailing in American produce during the past quarter, consisting chiefly in flour, tobacco, and refined petroleum in cases, imported direct from New York. The steady demand for American petroleum confirms the fact that Russian petroleum so far receives but little attention in this market from the regular traders and consumers, so long as supplies from the United States can be regularly imported at reasonable prices. It, however, remains an open question, in the event of lower prices ruling in the Russian petroleum regions, whether American supplies may not later on experience some greater competitive foreign interference. According to the statistical data, steam vessels of all nationalities have continued to make Gibraltar their port of call, not only for orders, but also for replenishing their stock of fuel and provisions, and in larger numbers than ever before, the number in 1888 having reached 5,712 steam vessels, measuring in all 5,969,563 tons, while in 1887 the number was only 5,187 steam vessels, with an aggregate tonnage of 5,372,962. This increase cannot but result in considerable benefit to the coal and maritime traffic, which now forms the most important portion of the general commerce of Gibraltar, in spite of the keen competition it experiences from other British and foreign coaling ports. Freights have also advanced in favor of steamship interests, which, with higher prices in England for coal, have also caused an advance in the price of coal at this port, to the benefit of the coal merchants and others interested in this important trade. At present the ruling price for steam coal is 24 per ton, deliverable from alongside of coal hulks moored in the bay. As near as I have been able to ascertain, the quantity of coal sold in this market during the past year for supplying merchant steam vessels has amounted to about 508,000 tons, which is an increase of about 20,000 tons over the year 1887. s. Notwithstanding that plans have already been submitted to the British government for the construction of a dry dock in Gibraltar, the matter remains somewhat in suspense, since it meets with some opposition on the part of the British government, which, in face of the European fever for general arming, seems more inclined to utilize in another form the expense which such a work would entail upon the imperial government, by replacing the obsolete ordnance recently removed from this fortress and substituting new defenses and guns of the most approved patterns, a matter which has evidently been receiving, for some time past, the special attention of the British military authorities, not doubting that the recent visit to the fortress of the Duke of Cambridge has had some connection with it. In fact, it is reported that the duke has already expressed the opinion that this fortress requires a larger number of artillerymen than are quartered here at present to man its batteries, and it would seem that this recommendation is likely to be carried out. It is yet somewhat too early to venture an opinion regarding the growing crops of cereals in this Spanish neighborhood, but the agricultural and manufacturing interests in Spain have suffered so much in the past years that the general feeling in Spain continues to tend toward establishing increased restrictions against foreign competition in her home markets. There is every probability that the provinces of Malaga and Granada may shortly be granted the privilege of cultivating the tobacco plant under government supervision, as an essay. If properly managed, it may form an important and lucrative business for those interested in land and agricultural pursuits. After many consecutive years of heavy outlays, difficulties, and constant disappointments, a new English company has recently succeeded in commencing the construction of a railway from the neighboring Spanish town of Algeciras to join, via Ronda, the railway station of Bobadilla, on the railroad line toward Malaga. It is presumed that when this railroad will be in running order it will greatly benefit this community, especially if the Spanish government should decide to establish custom houses at Algeciras and the Spanish lines outside the gates of this fortress, similar to those existing on the frontiers of France and Portugal. That some idea may be formed of the constant important daily intercourse which exists between this fortress and Spain, I may state that late police statistics show that 1,887,617 passes were issued to visitors entering this fortress on daily permits during the year 1888, 1,608,004 entering by the land route and 279,613 by sea. I must, however, observe that the larger portion of these visitors consists of laborers, coal heavers, market people, and others engaged in general traffic. A new industry in cork has lately sprung up, in which leading Spanish and native commercial firms in Gibraltar are directly interested to a considerable extent. Extensive warehouses for the storing of cork wood and machinery for the manufacture of bottle corks have recently been established at the Spanish lines, about a mile distant from this fortress, in Spanish territory, where large quantities of cork have already been stored. The cork is obtained and collected from the valuable trees, which are owned by the representatives of some of the oldest nobility of Spain, who have sold the products of their extensive woods to private individuals for periods reaching as far on as ten years, for which concession large cash advances have already been made. The woods commence at a distance of about twelve miles from Gibraltar, and are of considerable extent. The railway now in course of construction passes through these woods, which may ere long offer quite picturesque scenery for travelers, especially when the cork trees are bearing acorns, which form the principal food for the fattening of large herds of swine during certain seasons of the year, in this way, also, contributing to the value of this tree, which, like the other kinds of oak trees, is of long and tardy growth. The tree from which the cork is obtained is somewhat abundant in the mountainous districts of Andalusia. It grows to a height of about 30 feet, and resembles the , or evergreen oak, and attains to a great age. After arriving at a certain state of maturity it periodically sheds its bark, but this bark is found to be of better quality when artificially removed from the tree, which may be effected without injury to the tree itself. After the tree has attained twenty-five years it may be barked, and the operation is afterward repeated once in every seven years. The quality of the cork seems to improve with the increasing age of the tree, which is said to live over one hundred and fifty years. The bark is taken off during July and August. Quercus ilex Cork dust is also obtained from this cork wood, and is much used in the packing of grapes, which fruit is largely shipped from the eastern coast of Spain, especially from Almeria, during the vintage seasons, for the American and British markets.— Reports of U.S. Consuls. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Various (2004). Scientific American Supplement, No. 711, August 17, 1889. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/16972/pg16972-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

GIBRALTAR AND NEIGHBORHOOD

Scientific American Supplement, No. 711, August 17, 1889, by Various, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . SUCCESSION OF FOREST GROWTHS. here SUCCESSION OF FOREST GROWTHS. The following is from an address delivered by Mr. Robert Douglas before the Association of American Nurserymen at the meeting in Chicago recently. It is the prevailing and almost universal belief that when native forests are destroyed they will be replaced by other kinds, for the simple reason that the soil has been impoverished of the constituents required for the growth of that particular tree or trees. This I believe to be one of the fallacies handed down from past ages, taken for granted, and never questioned. Nowhere does the English oak grow better than where it grew when William the Conqueror found it at the time he invaded Britain. Where do you find white pines growing better than in parts of New England where this tree has grown from time immemorial? Where can you find young redwoods growing more thriftily than among their giant ancestors, nearly or quite as old as the Christian era? The question why the original growth is not reproduced can best be answered by some illustrations. When a pine forest is burned over, both trees and seeds are destroyed, and as the burned trees cannot sprout from the stump like oaks and many other trees, the land is left in a condition well suited for the germination of tree seeds, but there are no seeds to germinate. It is an open field for pioneers to enter, and the seeds which arrive there first have the right of possession. The aspen poplar ( ) has the advantage over all other trees. It is a native of all our northern forests, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Even fires cannot eradicate it, as it grows in moist as well as dry places, and sprouts from any part of the root. It is a short-lived tree, consequently it seeds when quite young and seeds abundantly; the seeds are light, almost infinitesimal, and are carried on wings of down. Its seeds ripen in spring, and are carried to great distances at the very time when the ground is in the best condition for them. Even on the dry mountain sides in Colorado, the snows are just melting and the ground is moist where they fall. Populus tremuloides To grow this tree from seed would require the greatest skill of the nurseryman, but the burnt land is its paradise. Wherever you see it on high, dry land you may rest assured that a fire has been there. On land slides you will not find its seeds germinating, although they have been deposited there as abundantly as on the burned land. Next to the aspen and poplars comes the canoe birch, and further north the yellow birch, and such other trees as have provision for scattering their seeds. I have seen acorns and nuts germinating in clusters on burned lands in a few instances. They had evidently been buried there by animals and had escaped the fires. I have seen the red cherry ( ) coming up in great quantities where they might never have germinated had not the fires destroyed the debris which covered the seed too deeply. Prunus Pennsylvanica A careful examination around the margin of a burned forest will show the trees of surrounding kinds working in again. Thus by the time the short-lived aspens (and they are very short-lived on high land) have made a covering on the burned land, the surrounding kinds will be found re-established in the new forest, the seeds of the conifers, carried in by the winds, the berries by the birds, the nuts and acorns by the squirrels, the mixture varying more or less from the kinds which grew there before the fire. It is wonderful how far the seeds of berries are carried by birds. The waxwings and cedar birds carry seeds of our tartarean honeysuckles, purple barberries and many other kinds four miles distant, where we see them spring up on the lake shore, where these birds fly in flocks to feed on the juniper berries. It seems to be the same everywhere. I found European mountain ash trees last summer in a forest in New Hampshire; the seed must have been carried over two miles as the crow flies. While this alternation is going on in the East, and may have been going on for thousands of years, the Rocky Mountain district is not so fortunate. When a forest is burned down in that dry region, it is doubtful if coniferous trees will ever grow again, except in some localities specially favored. I have seen localities where short-lived trees were dying out and no others taking their places. Such spots will hereafter take their places above the timber line, which seems to me to be a line governed by circumstances more than by altitude or quality of soil. There are a few exceptions where pines will succeed pines in a burned-down forest. grows up near the timber line in the Rocky Mountains. This tree has persistent cones which adhere to the trees for many years. I have counted the cones of sixteen years on one of these trees, and examined burned forests of this species, where many of the cones had apparently been bedded in the earth as the trees fell. The heat had opened the cones and the seedlings were growing up in myriads; but not a conifer of any other kind could be seen as far as the fire had reached. Pinus Murrayana In the Michigan Peninsula, northern Wisconsin and Minnesota, , a comparatively worthless tree, is replacing the valuable red pine ( ), and in the Sierras and are replacing the more valuable species by the same process. P. Banksiana P. resinosa P. Murrayana P. tuberculata In this case, also, the worthless trees are the shortest lived. So we see that nature is doing all that she can to remedy the evil. Man only is reckless, and especially the American man. The Mexican will cut large limbs off his trees for fuel, but will spare the tree. Even the poor Indian, when at the starvation point, stripping the bark from the yellow pine ( ), for the mucilaginous matter being formed into sap wood, will never take a strip wider than one third the circumference of the tree, so that its growth may not be injured. P. ponderosa We often read that oaks are springing up in destroyed forests where oaks had never grown before. The writers are no doubt sincere, but they are careless. The only pine forests where oaks are not intermixed are either in land so sandy that oaks cannot be made to grow on them at all, or so far north that they are beyond their northern limit. In the Green Mountains and in the New England forests, in the pine forests in Pennsylvania, in the Adirondacks, in Wisconsin and Michigan—except in sand—I have found oaks mixed with the pines and spruces. In northwestern Minnesota and in northern Dakota the oaks are near their northern limit, but even there the burr oak drags on a bare existence among the pines and spruces. In the Black Hills, in Dakota, poor, forlorn, scrubby burr oaks are scattered through the hills among the yellow pines. In Colorado we find them as shrubs among the pines and Douglas spruces. In New Mexico we find them scattered among the piñons. In Arizona they grow like hazel bushes among the yellow pines. On the Sierra Nevada the oak region crosses the pine region, and scattering oaks reach far up into the mountains. Yet oaks will not flourish between the one hundredth meridian and the eastern base of the Sierras, owing to the aridity of the climate. I recently found oaks scattered among the redwoods on both sides of the Coast Range Mountains. Darwin has truly said, "The oaks are driving the pines to the sands." Wherever the oak is established—and we have seen that it is already established whereever it can endure the soil and climate—there it will remain and keep on advancing. The oak produces comparatively few seeds. Where it produces a hundred, the ash and maple will yield a thousand, the elm ten thousand, and many other trees a hundred thousand. The acorn has no provision for protection and transportation like many tree seeds. Many kinds are furnished with wings to float them on the water and carry them in the air. Nearly every tree seed, except the acorn, has a case to protect it while growing, either opening and casting the seeds off to a distance when ripe or falling with them to protect them till they begin to germinate. Even the equally large seeds of other kinds are protected in some way. The hickory nut has a hard shell, which shell itself is protected by a strong covering until ripe. The black walnut has both a hard shell and a fleshy covering. The acorn is the only seed I can think of which is left by nature to take care of itself. It matures without protection, falls heavily and helplessly to the ground, to be eaten and trodden on by animals, yet the few which escape and those which are trodden under are well able to compete in the race for life. While the elm and maple seeds are drying up on the surface, the hickories and the walnuts waiting to be cracked, the acorn is at work with its coat off. It drives its tap root into the earth in spite of grass, and brush, and litter. No matter if it is shaded by forest trees so that the sun cannot penetrate, it will manage to make a short stem and a few leaves the first season, enough to keep life in the root, which will drill in deeper and deeper. When age or accident removes the tree which has overshadowed it, then it will assert itself. Fires may run over the land, destroying almost everything else, the oak will be killed to the ground, but it will throw up a new shoot the next spring, the root will keep enlarging, and when the opportunity arrives it will make a vigorous growth, in proportion to the strength of the root, and throw out strong side roots, and after that care no more for its tap root, which has been its only support, than the frog cares for the tail of the tadpole after it has got on its own legs. There is no mystery about the succession of forest growths, nothing in nature is more plain and simple. We cannot but admire her wisdom, economy, and justness, compensating in another direction for any disadvantage a species may have to labor under. Every kind of tree has an interesting history in itself. Seeds with a hard shell, or with a pulpy or resinous covering which retards their germination, are often saved from becoming extinct by these means. The red cedar ( ) reaches from Florida to and beyond Cape Cod; it is among the hills of Tennessee, through the Middle States and New England. It is scattered through the Western States and Territories, at long distances apart, creeping up the Platte River, in Nebraska. (I found only three in the Black Hills, in Dakota, in an extended search for the different trees which grow there. Found only one in a long ramble in the hills at Las Vegas, New Mexico.) Yet this tree has crept across the continent, and is found here and there in a northwesterly direction between the Platte and the Pacific Coast. It is owing to the resinous coating which protects its seeds that this tree is found to-day scattered over that immense region. Juniperus Virginiana About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Various (2004). Scientific American Supplement, No. 711, August 17, 1889. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/16972/pg16972-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

SUCCESSION OF FOREST GROWTHS

OUT OF TUNE.

Mark Twain's Speeches by Mark Twain, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book .  TAMMANY AND CROKER here TAMMANY AND CROKER Mr. Clemens made his debut as a campaign orator on October 7,
          1901, advocating the election of Seth Low for Mayor, not as a
          Republican, but as a member of the “Acorns,” which he described
          as a “third party having no political affiliation, but was
          concerned only in the selection of the best candidates and the
          best member.” Great Britain had a Tammany and a Croker a good while ago. This Tammany was in India, and it began its career with the spread of the English dominion after the Battle of Plassey. Its first boss was Clive, a sufficiently crooked person sometimes, but straight as a yard stick when compared with the corkscrew crookedness of the second boss, Warren Hastings. That old-time Tammany was the East India Company’s government, and had its headquarters at Calcutta. Ostensibly it consisted of a Great Council of four persons, of whom one was the Governor-General, Warren Hastings; really it consisted of one person—Warren Hastings; for by usurpation he concentrated all authority in himself and governed the country like an autocrat. Ostensibly the Court of Directors, sitting in London and representing the vast interests of the stockholders, was supreme in authority over the Calcutta Great Council, whose membership it appointed and removed at pleasure, whose policies it dictated, and to whom it conveyed its will in the form of sovereign commands; but whenever it suited Hastings, he ignored even that august body’s authority and conducted the mighty affairs of the British Empire in India to suit his own notions. At his mercy was the daily bread of every official, every trader, every clerk, every civil servant, big and little, in the whole huge India Company’s machine, and the man who hazarded his bread by any failure of subserviency to the boss lost it. Now then, let the supreme masters of British India, the giant corporation of the India Company of London, stand for the voters of the city of New York; let the Great Council of Calcutta stand for Tammany; let the corrupt and money-grubbing great hive of serfs which served under the Indian Tammany’s rod stand for New York Tammany’s serfs; let Warren Hastings stand for Richard Croker, and it seems to me that the parallel is exact and complete. And so let us be properly grateful and thank God and our good luck that we didn’t invent Tammany. Edmund Burke, regarded by many as the greatest orator of all times, conducted the case against Warren Hastings in that renowned trial which lasted years, and which promises to keep its renown for centuries to come. I wish to quote some of the things he said. I wish to imagine him arraigning Mr. Croker and Tammany before the voters of New York City and pleading with them for the overthrow of that combined iniquity of the 5th of November, and will substitute for “My Lords,” read “Fellow-Citizens”; for “Kingdom,” read “City”; for “Parliamentary Process,” read “Political Campaign”; for “Two Houses,” read “Two Parties,” and so it reads: “Fellow—citizens, I must look upon it as an auspicious circumstance to this cause, in which the honor of the city is involved, that from the first commencement of our political campaign to this the hour of solemn trial not the smallest difference of opinion has arisen, between the two parties. “You will see, in the progress of this cause, that there is not only a long, connected, systematic series of misdemeanors, but an equally connected system of maxims and principles invented to justify them. Upon both of these you must judge. “It is not only the interest of the city of New York, now the most considerable part of the city of the Americans, which is concerned, but the credit and honor of the nation itself will be decided by this decision.” At a later meeting of the Acorn Club, Mr. Clemens said: Tammany is dead, and there’s no use in blackguarding a corpse. The election makes me think of a story of a man who was dying. He had only two minutes to live, so he sent for a clergyman and asked him, “Where is the best place to go to?” He was undecided about it. So the minister told him that each place had its advantages—heaven for climate, and hell for society. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Mark Twain (2004). Mark Twain's Speeches. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/3188/pg3188-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

TAMMANY AND CROKER

FinTech, or financial technology, is a booming industry that uses cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, data analytics and cloud computing to transform and improve financial processes and services. FinTech companies offer innovative solutions for various financial needs, such as payments, lending, investing, insurance, wealth management and more. They challenge the traditional financial institutions and create new markets and opportunities. However, FinTech companies also face significant challenges in terms of cost optimization, which is essential for their profitability and sustainability in a highly competitive environment. Cost optimization means strategically controlling and reducing expenses, improving financial efficiency and maximizing the return on investment. Inefficient operations can result in high costs, unhappy customers, low competitiveness and slow economic growth. In this article, we will examine the main types of costs that FinTech companies have to cope with, the strategies they can employ to optimize them and the future trends that will influence the cost optimization landscape. The Cost Structure of FinTech Companies FinTech companies have different types of costs depending on their business model, target market, product portfolio and technology stack. According to Toptal, some of the : main cost categories are These are the costs of running the essential backstage operations that keep the main business functions smooth and secure, such as handling transactions, assisting customers, updating systems, stopping fraudsters and managing risks. These costs are crucial for ensuring cost-effectiveness and customer satisfaction. Operational costs can vary depending on the volume and complexity of transactions, the quality and availability of customer service, the reliability and security of systems and the effectiveness of fraud and risk management. For instance, Revolut, a digital banking platform that delivers banking, payments, investing, budgeting and crypto services, has operational costs associated with handling millions of transactions per day, offering round-the-clock customer support in various languages, sustaining its cloud-based architecture and adhering to anti-money laundering rules. Operational Costs: These are the expenses related to the infrastructure that enables the delivery of FinTech services, such as cloud platforms, software licenses, hardware devices, cybersecurity tools and network connectivity. These costs are often high for FinTech companies as they invest heavily in innovation and security to provide seamless, reliable and secure financial services. Technology costs can vary depending on the type and scale of technology used, the level of customization and integration required, the frequency of updates and maintenance needed and the degree of protection against cyberattacks. For example, Stripe, a global payment platform that enables online businesses to accept and manage payments, has technology costs related to using cloud platforms such as AWS, software licenses such as Ruby on Rails, hardware devices such as card readers, cybersecurity tools such as Stripe Radar and network connectivity such as internet service providers. Technology Costs: These include salaries, benefits, training and recruitment expenses related to hiring and managing skilled talent. This type of costs is a key driver for FinTech companies as they need to attract and retain finance and technology experts who can develop, implement and maintain cutting-edge solutions. Human resource costs can vary depending on the number and quality of employees hired, the level of training and development provided, the turnover rate and retention rate of employees and the compensation structure and incentives offered. For instance, Acorns, an investment app that helps users save and invest their spare change, has human resource costs related to hiring and managing over 200 employees, providing online courses and training programs, offering referral bonuses and stock options and maintaining a low turnover rate. Human Resource Costs: These significant expenses are related to complying with the legal and regulatory requirements of the jurisdictions where FinTech companies operate. Regulatory costs include compliance monitoring systems, legal and regulatory filings, audits, fines and penalties. FinTech companies need to adhere to complex and evolving regulations that aim to protect consumers, ensure financial stability and prevent money laundering and terrorism financing. Regulatory costs can change based on the range and difficulty of regulations, the regularity and rigor of compliance audits performed, the quantity and harshness of fines or sanctions enforced and the assets and proficiency required to comply with regulations. As an example, to obey the insurance laws and regulations in different states, Coalition, an insurance app that provides cyber insurance and security tools for businesses, faces regulatory costs. These costs include using compliance monitoring systems such as Plaid, filing legal and regulatory reports with authorities, undergoing audits by regulators and insurers, adhering to regulations and dodging fines or penalties for non-compliance. Regulatory Costs: These are the less obvious expenses that can accumulate over time and impact the bottom line. Hidden costs include customer acquisition costs, system downtime costs, inefficiency costs, opportunity costs and reputation costs. FinTech companies need to be aware of these hidden costs and take measures to avoid or minimize them. Hidden costs can vary depending on the effectiveness of marketing strategies used to acquire customers, the availability and reliability of systems and services, the level of operational efficiency and productivity, the potential revenue lost due to missed opportunities and the impact of negative feedback or reviews on brand image and customer loyalty. Hidden Costs: For example, ZestFinance, a lending app that uses machine learning to provide fair and transparent credit, has hidden costs related to acquiring customers through online channels such as Google Ads or Facebook Ads, experiencing system downtime due to technical issues or cyberattacks, losing efficiency due to manual processes or errors, missing opportunities due to limited market reach or product range and damaging reputation due to customer complaints or lawsuits. The Cost Optimization Strategies for FinTech Companies FinTech companies have a range of options to fine-tune their costs and boost their bottom line. Some of the popular strategies are: These technologies can help FinTech companies improve their efficiency, enhance their customer experience and reduce their labor costs by automating repetitive tasks, streamlining workflows, providing personalized recommendations, detecting anomalies and optimizing decisions. For instance, FinTech companies can use automation to speed up transaction processing, AI to provide tailored financial advice and machine learning to prevent fraud losses. A recent example of a FinTech company that leverages automation, AI and machine learning is SpdLoad, a FinTech app development company that uses these technologies to create custom FinTech solutions for its clients. SpdLoad uses automation to reduce development time and costs, AI to provide data-driven insights and machine learning to improve user experience and security. Leverage automation, AI and machine learning: Lean principles are a set of practices that aim to streamline processes, eliminate waste, increase efficiency and deliver value to customers. By applying lean principles, FinTech companies can identify and remove non-value-added activities, reduce errors and defects, simplify complexity and increase agility. They can use lean principles to reduce paperwork, minimize rework, standardize procedures and empower employees. A recent example of a FinTech company that implements lean principles is Revolut, a digital banking platform that offers banking, payments, investing, budgeting and crypto services. Revolut applies lean principles to simplify its processes, automate its customer verification, outsource its card issuance, use cloud computing to scale its infrastructure and use data analytics to monitor its performance. Implement lean principles: FinTech startups can reduce expenses by outsourcing non-essential services to external providers. Specialized firms that focus on specific functions can offer accounting, legal, marketing or IT support at lower costs and/or higher quality. Outsourcing allows FinTechs to access top-tier capabilities without having to build in-house teams for non-core activities. This allows them to concentrate resources on their core products and innovations that drive value for customers. A recent example of a FinTech company that outsources non-core support activities is Square, a financial services company that provides payment solutions, point-of-sale systems, e-commerce platforms and business tools for small businesses. Square outsources some of its accounting, legal, marketing and IT services to external providers. For instance, Square uses Stripe as its payment processor, AWS as its cloud provider, Zendesk as its customer service platform and Mailchimp as its email marketing tool. Outsource non-core support activities: RegTech is a subset of FinTech that focuses on using technology to automate compliance processes. FinTech companies can adopt RegTech solutions to reduce their regulatory costs by automating data collection, reporting, validation, analysis and audit. RegTech solutions can also help FinTech companies stay updated with regulatory changes and avoid fines or penalties. FinTech companies can utilize RegTech solutions to monitor transactions for suspicious activity, generate reports for regulators and verify customer identity. An example of a FinTech company that adopts RegTech solutions is Coalition, an insurance app that provides cyber insurance and security tools for businesses. Coalition uses RegTech solutions to automate its compliance processes, such as data collection, reporting, validation, analysis and audit. Coalition also uses RegTech solutions to stay updated with regulatory changes and avoid fines or penalties. For example, the company uses Plaid to verify customer identity, Stripe Radar to monitor transactions for fraud and AWS Config to audit its cloud infrastructure. Adopt RegTech solutions: Using effective HR management practices, FinTech companies can optimize their human resource costs. These practices include remote work arrangements that can save on office space and travel expenses, continuous training programs that can improve employee skills and performance, strategic hiring processes that can find the best talent for the job and performance-based incentives that can motivate and reward employees. These practices can help FinTechs boost their productivity, enhance their employee engagement and retention and reduce their turnover and recruitment costs. A recent example of a FinTech company that implements effective HR management practices is Acorns, an investment app that helps users save and invest their spare change. Acorns adopts various HR management practices that enhance its employees’ productivity and satisfaction. For example, Acorns allows its employees to work remotely from anywhere, saving them time and money on commuting and office space. Acorns also provides its employees with online courses and workshops to improve their skills and performance. Moreover, Acorns uses referrals, assessments and interviews to find and hire the best talent for each job. Furthermore, Acorns rewards its employees with stock options, bonuses and recognition based on their achievements and contributions. Effective HR management: FinTech companies can form partnerships with other entities to share resources, technology, expertise and customer bases, reducing their costs and increasing their reach. They can partner with banks, telecom operators, retailers or other FinTechs to offer complementary services, access new markets or leverage existing infrastructure. ZestFinance, a lending app that leverages machine learning to offer credit that is transparent and fair, is a recent example of a FinTech company that collaborates with other entities. ZestFinance forms partnerships with banks, telecom operators, retailers and other FinTech entities to share resources, technology, expertise and customer bases, reducing its costs and increasing its reach. For example, ZestFinance partners with Baidu to offer credit in China, with Ford Credit to offer car loans in the US, with JD.com to offer e-commerce loans in China and with LendUp to offer payday loans in the US. Partnerships: Cloud computing is a model of delivering IT services over the internet, where users only pay for the resources they use. FinTech companies can use cloud computing to avoid upfront infrastructure investments and reduce their technology costs by scaling up or down their resources according to their demand. Cloud computing also offers benefits such as flexibility, reliability, security and innovation. Finch, a consumer finance app that combines checking and investing in one account, is a recent example of a FinTech company that benefits from cloud computing. Cloud computing helps Finch to host its applications and data on the cloud, access software and hardware resources on demand, protect its systems from cyber attacks and try out new technologies. Finch uses AWS as its cloud provider, which provides it benefits such as scalability, reliability, security and innovation. Use cloud computing: Open-source software provides invaluable benefits to FinTech companies looking to optimize costs. By leveraging freely available open-source applications, startups gain access to innovative tools that can be customized, integrated, and shared. This promotes seamless compatibility across systems and enables transparency and adaptability. By tapping into these resources, FinTechs can focus their efforts on developing their core solutions rather than building foundational platforms from scratch. A recent example of a FinTech company that employs open-source software is Stripe, a global payment platform that enables online businesses to accept and manage payments. Stripe uses open-source software to build its platforms, integrate with other systems, access new features and customize its solutions. Stripe uses open-source software such as Ruby on Rails, React, PostgreSQL, Redis and Kubernetes. Leverage open-source software: Software robots or digital workers can copy human actions and do tasks automatically. This technology is called robotic process automation (RPA). FinTech companies can automate boring, fixed and low-value tasks such as typing data, matching data, checking data and approving data by using RPA. This can help them spend less on labor and work better. For example, paying bills, opening accounts, scoring credit and helping customers are some of the tasks that FinTech companies can automate with RPA. Coalition is one of FinTech companies that uses RPA. Coalition uses RPA to automate invoice processing, account opening, credit scoring and customer service. Coalition uses RPA tools such as UiPath, Automation Anywhere and Blue Prism. Implement RPA: Data analytics transforms raw data into valuable insights that can guide decision making. It involves collecting, processing, analyzing and visualizing data to reveal patterns, trends, opportunities and risks. FinTech companies can leverage data analytics to enhance their performance and profitability by optimizing their resource allocation, minimizing their wasteful spending and maximizing their return on investment. For instance, Acorns, an investment app that helps users save and invest their spare change, uses data analytics to fine-tune its pricing strategies, target its marketing campaigns, improve its customer retention and manage risks. Acorns uses data analytics tools such as Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude and Segment. Use data analytics: Future Trends The cost optimization landscape for FinTech companies will continue to evolve as new technologies, regulations, customer expectations and competitive forces emerge. Some of the future trends that will shape the cost optimization landscape are: These technologies will enable FinTech companies to further improve their efficiency, enhance their customer experience and reduce their costs by automating more tasks, streamlining more workflows, securing more transactions and enabling more flexible work arrangements. Greater adoption of AI, automation, blockchain and remote work: FinTech companies will need to adopt sustainability practices to reduce their environmental impact, comply with green regulations and meet the growing demand for sustainable finance. Sustainability practices can also help FinTech companies optimize their costs by reducing their energy consumption, waste generation and carbon footprint. Greater focus on sustainability practices: Constant innovation is crucial to create new value propositions, offer new solutions and differentiate themselves from the competition. Innovation can also help FinTech companies optimize their costs by creating new revenue streams, improving customer loyalty and enhancing operational efficiency. Greater innovation and differentiation: Conclusion FinTechs experience fierce competition and need to optimize costs to succeed. They can cut expenses and grow profits by adopting technological innovations, simplifying operations, following regulations, and creating novel business models. They can gain a cost advantage and a profitability surge by innovating quicker than competitors. Cost optimization through operational excellence and forward-thinking strategy is the key to becoming a market leader in FinTech. Sources FinTech App Development in 2023: Cost Breakdown [Examples] - SpdLoad Methodologies for How to Value a Fintech Startup | Toptal® Cost to Develop a FinTech App in 2023 [Major Cost Drivers] - MindK.com Ten Business Cost Optimization Ideas - Gartner What Is Cost Optimization? 8 Best Practices To Use ASAP - CloudZero

How to Cut Costs and Boost Profits in the FinTech Sector

Queen Mary had known the decree of the commissioners

Our Humble Helpers: Familiar Talks on the Domestic Animals by Jean-Henri Fabre, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . THE PIGEON CHAPTER XV. THE PIGEON “The strong resemblance that the tame pigeon often bears to the wild one known as the rock-pigeon makes us suspect this latter to be the ancestor of the bird that inhabits our dove-cotes. The rock-pigeon has ashy-blue plumage with black-spotted wings and pure-white tail. The neck and breast are changeable in color according to the light in which they are seen, and shine with a metallic luster, in which sometimes purple and sometimes golden green dominates.” “That is exactly the ordinary plumage of our pigeons,” said Emile. “When they come and peck the bread that I crumble for them in the sun, I like to see their magnificent breasts shining first with one color and then with another, every time the bird moves.” “Fond of traveling and endowed with a power of flight in accord with this predilection, the rock-pigeon is scattered over the greater part of the world. Nevertheless it is rare in France, where a few wretched pairs, always in dread of the talons of the bird of prey or the hunter’s shot, make their nests in the most sparsely settled cantons, on the shelves of high rocks. The rocky and mountainous regions [ ]of the Mediterranean islands are their chosen haunts in Europe.” 139 “But it is no uncommon thing,” Louis remarked, “to hear of wild pigeons being shot in this country.” “You confound the rock-pigeon, my friend, with another kind of wild pigeon, the wood-pigeon. This, as its name indicates, perches on the branches of tall trees, which the rock-pigeon never does.” “Yes, that’s so,” Jules interjected. “I have never seen pigeons that are descended from the rock-pigeon alighting on trees. They alight on rocks, on roofs, or on the ground.” “In its free state the rock-pigeon builds its nest in the hollows of rocks; the wood-pigeon, on the contrary, builds in trees, in the depths of dense forests, where it finds in abundance the acorn and beech-nut, its principal food. These habits are not the only difference between the two birds. The wood-pigeon is much larger; its breast has the color of lees of wine; its neck, gleaming with variegated metallic glints like that of its brother, is further adorned on each side with a white spot in the shape of a cross. Its flight is sustained and rapid, its cooing sonorous, its sight piercing. It feeds on all sorts of seeds, especially acorns, which it swallows whole. “Wood-pigeons like to perch on dead branches at the tops of trees. During the cold winter mornings they stay there motionless, waiting for a little warmth to come with the rising sun and arouse them from their torpor. In summer they frequent full-grown forest-trees, and their cooing may be heard in [ ]the very midst of the dense foliage. Their nesting place is by preference at the junction of several forking branches. The male goes forth and gathers from neighboring trees, never from the ground, the building material of dry twigs. If he sees a dead twig attached to the branch on which he is perching, he seizes it with his claws, sometimes with the beak, and tries to break it either by leaning on it with all his weight or by pulling it toward him. Possessed of his prize, he returns at once to his mate, who contents herself with putting the materials into place without taking part in getting them. In building the nest, therefore, the male is the worker and the female the architect; but an architect without talent, we must admit, for the structure is nothing but a mass of intertwined sticks without lining of feathers and flock, and, worse still, without firmness. Hence it is not unusual for this nest to fall to pieces before the brood has taken its flight; fortunately the strong branches on which it rests save the young ones from a disastrous fall. 140 “Wild and mistrustful, the wood-pigeon has never been willing to accept the calculated hospitality of the pigeon-house; it prefers the perilous life of the woods to the full-fed existence of servitude. This is the wild pigeon that frequently falls before the hunter’s fire. In certain defiles of the Pyrenees it is caught with large nets, hundreds at a time. The rock-pigeon, on the contrary, has from time immemorial been dependent on man; and in return for the shelter of the pigeon-house which protects it from [ ]birds of prey it has been willing to forget so completely the rocks where it first nested that to-day one seldom finds, at least in our country, any wild pairs. 141 “Not all our pigeons, however, show the same degree of tameness; far from it. Some, voluntary captives rather than real prisoners, are faithful to the pigeon-house only as long as they find suitable food in the neighboring fields, whither they go in flocks. If the house is not to their liking, or if food is lacking, they seek another abode, the more adventurous sometimes even returning to the wild life. The others, thoroughly enslaved, have completely lost their desire for independence. Seldom do they leave their roof, and some are such stay-at-homes that the most pressing hunger could not make them go out and try to find a little food for themselves in the neighboring furrows. Food must always be given them, for they are incapable of procuring it themselves. Domestic Pigeon “Those first mentioned, the pigeons that venture afield and find food for themselves, are called rock-pigeons, after the wild pigeon whose ways, and frequently whose plumage, they have retained in part. They are also known as flighty pigeons (fuyards), either on account of their occasional distant expeditions, or because they sometimes take flight from the pigeon-house and never return. They are the least costly to raise, but they are small and not very productive, as they lay only two or three times a year. The second kind, those that scarcely ever leave the pigeon-cote and cannot do without our care, are [ ]called cote-pigeons. Their maintenance costs more because they must be fed all the year round; but in compensation they do not ravage the neighboring harvests, which cannot be said of the rock-pigeons; and beside they are much more productive, their periods of laying numbering as many as ten a year. Modified from the earliest times by man’s intervention, the cote-pigeon includes a number of varieties in which the traits of the primitive species are often no longer recognizable. Let us mention some of these. 142 Pouter Pigeon “First of all are the pigeons with feathered legs and feet, looking as if they wore gaiters. This growth of feathers reaches to the very tips of the [ ]claws, forming a cumbersome and unsightly sort of footgear which is found to be due to captivity, the wild bird never having anything of the kind. Then come the pouter pigeons, which have the faculty of swallowing air and inflating the crop in a large ball, so that the base of the neck seems to be affected with the deformity known as goiter. That is their way of showing off: the larger the ball, the prouder they are of their figure.” 143 “What a queer idea,” Emile exclaimed, “to think it improves one’s looks to have a frightful goiter or to wear those feathered leggings that trail in the mud and interfere with walking!” “A life of idleness, my friend, engenders many caprices: examples abound in man even more than in pigeons. But let us get on; these things do not concern us. “Now, here are some pigeons that have their heads adorned with a crown of feathers, are shod like the preceding, and imitate in their cooing the roll of a drum.” “Then they ought to be called, from the roll of the drum, drummer-pigeons,” declared Emile. “You have hit it exactly: that is precisely their name. Here are others with trailing wings, tail erect and expanded like a fan, and the body in an almost continual state of trembling. You would say they had a fever. The spread tail gives them the name of fan-tails, while from their ceaseless shaking they are sometimes called shakers. Ruffled pigeons [ ]have the neck encircled with a ruff of disordered feathers. Jacobins wear a sort of hood resembling a monk’s cowl. The turbit carries on the nape of its neck a tuft of feathers thrown back and hollowed out like a shell. Tumblers are remarkable for their strange evolutions in the air: in mid-flight they will suddenly let themselves fall and turn a somersault as if shot in the wing. This recreation is their favorite pastime.” 144 Jacobins “The pleasure of a vertical fall,” remarked Jules, “accompanied by a somersault, must carry some fear with it. Perhaps that is what gives zest to this exercise.” “But the pigeon pulls up in time?” queried Emile. “Whenever it wishes to,” his uncle replied, “it brings to an end its downward hurtling from these airy heights, ordinary flying is resumed, and presently the tumbles begin again finer than ever. Here let us pause, without exhausting the list of varieties, amounting to twenty-four, counting only the principal ones. These few examples show you sufficiently what diversity pigeon-house life has stamped on the form, habits, and plumage of the primitive bird. “All pigeons, wild as well as tame, lay never more than two eggs to a hatching, from which generally spring brother and sister. The cares of brooding [ ]are shared by the father and mother alike, a practice found in no other tame bird. In the morning, when hunger makes itself felt, the female calls the male by a peculiar cooing and invites him to come and take her place on the eggs, which he does with alacrity. About three or four o’clock in the afternoon the rôles change. If the pigeon which until then has remained on the nest does not see its mate coming, there follows an anxious search, with admonitory cooings and, in case of need, admonitory peckings; and the laggard is brought back to the serious business of brooding. But as a rule the mother is irreproachably punctual; she returns to the nest at the hour agreed upon and does not leave it again until the next morning. Incubation takes seventeen or eighteen days. 145 “The little ones are born naked, blind, ungraceful. The father and mother, sometimes one, sometimes the other, feed them from the beak. This beak-feeding method of the pigeons is exceptional and deserves special consideration. I need not tell you how other birds feed their brood; any one that has ever raised a sparrow will know that.” “The little sparrow,” Jules hastened to explain, “opens its beak as wide as it can and the parents put into it the food they have brought, just as I put a grasshopper into it, or a piece of a cherry, or a soaked bread-crumb.” “Jules forgets,” said Emile, “that it is well to tap the little bird on the tail to excite its appetite and make it open its beak.”[ ] 146 “Emile’s improvement is not indispensable,” Uncle Paul replied. “If it is hungry the bird will open its beak without being asked. Into this beak that gapes so wide the parents put the point of theirs and drop whatever prize they have found; but if the little bird is very young the father and mother begin by half-digesting in their own stomach the food destined for the little one. Then they put their beak into the little one’s and disgorge the nutritious pap that they have prepared. “Well, pigeons do exactly the reverse: it is the father and mother that gape, and the little ones that plunge their beak deep down into the throat of the parent bird. The latter is then seized with a convulsion of the stomach accompanied by a rapid trembling of the wings and body. Little plaintive cries denote that the operation is perhaps not quite painless. From the crop thus done violence to, the half-digested nutritive matter comes up in a jet that passes into the half-open beak of the nursling. Twice a day the little pigeons receive their food in this way; twice a day, but no more, so painful to the nurses seems this mode of feeding from beak to beak.” “I should think,” said Jules, “that the parents would feel rather uncomfortable when the young pigeon tickles their throat, deep down, with its beak. If we can judge by what would happen to us, the stomach would rebel and would throw up its contents painfully.” “That is apparently the way of it. The disgorged [ ]food is a pap of seeds all ground up fine in the crop; but for the first three or four days after hatching a special food is given, fine and strengthening, suited to the weakness of the little one. It is a white substance, almost liquid, having the appearance of real milk. It does not come entirely from digested food; for the most part it consists of a sort of milkfood that is distilled by the stomach on this occasion only. So for the first days of the brood’s rearing the pigeons have, deep down in the throat, a sort of milk factory, or what one might call the equivalent of an udder.” 147 “That reminds me,” Jules interposed, “of a joke common enough among us fellows. When we want to gull some poor innocent, we tell him that pigeons suck. This jest comes nearer the truth than is commonly thought. Pigeons do not suck the breast, it is true, but it might well enough be said that they are suckled, since what they are fed on has so much resemblance to milk.” “Little pigeons stay in the nest a long time,” resumed Uncle Paul. “Entirely covered with feathers and almost as large as their parents, they still continue to receive parental care. To induce them to shift for themselves and give up their place when the time for a new laying approaches, some cuffs have to be given to these spoiled children that are so reluctant to leave home. But at last they consent, though not without returning from time to time to torment the mother with their lamentations and to beg her for something to eat. The father, less weak [ ]on the side of his affections, thenceforth receives these importunate lazy-bodies with a peck of the beak. 148 “Let us consider certain other details of the pigeon’s habits. I will not tell you, these things being pretty well known to you, of the cooings of the pigeon when it puffs out its throat, of its ceremonious salutations, its bowing to the very ground, its pirouettes when it shows off before its mate. I shall interest you more by acquainting you with its gregarious instinct, which impels it to assemble in immense flocks when it travels, in its wild state, to find food.” About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Jean-Henri Fabre (2022). Our Humble Helpers: Familiar Talks on the Domestic Animals. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/67073/pg67073-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html .

THE PIGEON

The Story-book of Science by Jean-Henri Fabre, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . IN THE WOODS here CHAPTER LXIV. IN THE WOODS THE history of mushrooms reduced to a rule for cooking which will save us from grave dangers was enough for Simon, Mathieu, Jean, and the others, who lacked time to hear more; but Emile, Jules, and Claire were not satisfied: they wished to extend their knowledge on these strange vegetables. So their uncle took them one day to a beech wood near the village. The trees, several hundred years old and with their branches meeting at a great height, formed an arch of foliage through which, here and there, shone a ray of sunlight. Their smooth trunks, with white bark, gave the effect of enormous columns sustaining the weight of an immense building full of shade and silence. On the lofty summits crows cawed while smoothing their feathers. Occasionally a redheaded green woodpecker, surprised at its work, which consists of pecking the wormy wood with its beak to make the insects come out that it feeds on, gave a cry of alarm and flew off like a dart. In the midst of the moss with which the ground was carpeted were here and there numbers of mushrooms. Some were round, smooth, and white. Jules could not admire them enough; he likened them in his imagination to eggs laid in a mossy hollow by some wandering hen. Others were glossy red, others bright fawn-color, and still others brilliant yellow. Some, just coming out of the ground, were enveloped in a kind of bag that tears open as the mushroom grows; some, more advanced, spread out like an open umbrella. Finally, there were many that had already begun to decay. In their fetid rottenness swarmed innumerable grubs, which later would become insects. After picking a number of the principal kinds, the party sat down at the foot of a beech, on the soft moss-carpet, and Uncle Paul spoke thus: “A mushroom is the blossom of a plant that lives under ground and is called by learned men mycelium. This subterranean plant is composed of white, slender, fragile threads, resembling in their entirety a large cobweb. If you pull up a mushroom carefully you will see at the base of its stalk, in the earth that clings to it, numerous white threads of the mycelium. Let us imagine a rosebush planted so as to leave nothing but the roses above ground. The buried bush will represent the subterranean mycelium; the roses, open to the air, will represent the blossoms of the mycelium, that is to say the mushrooms.” “A rosebush,” objected Jules, “has stout branches covered with leaves; the mushroom-plant, according to what I see, has nothing of the sort. It is a kind of moldiness that branches out in the ground in white veins.” “Those white veins, so delicate that one can hardly touch them without breaking them, form the subterranean plant, without leaves or roots. They lengthen little by little in the ground to a pretty good distance from the point of departure. Then, at a favorable moment, they produce little swellings which grow under ground, become mushrooms, and burst open their bed of earth to expand in the air. This structure explains to us why mushrooms grow in groups. Each group, with the mycelium that produces it, constitutes one and the same plant.” “I have seen groups of mushrooms in a perfect circle,” Claire remarked. “If the ground is of uniform character and nowhere hinders the propagation of the subterranean vegetable in one direction rather than in another, the mycelium spreads equally on all sides, and so produces circular groups of mushrooms, which the country people sometimes call witches’ circles.” “Why witches’ circles?” asked Jules. “The ignorant and superstitious think they see an effect of witchcraft in this curious circular arrangement, whereas it is but the natural result of the uniformly equal development of the subterranean plant.” “Then there are no witches?” said Emile. “No, my dear. There are rogues who abuse the credulity of others; there are simpletons disposed to listen to them; but no one has preternatural powers.” “Since a mushroom is the blossom of a subterranean plant, of the mycelium, as you call it, must it not have stamens, pistils, ovaries?” Jules inquired. “A mushroom is in its way the blossom of a kind of vegetable, but its structure has nothing in common with that of ordinary flowers. It is a structure of a special sort, very complicated, very curious, which I shall pass by in silence so as not to overcharge your memory. “The chief function of a flower, you know, is to produce seeds. Well, the mushroom too produces seeds, but so small, so different from others, that they have a special name,—spores. Spores are the seed of the mushroom, just as acorns are the seed of the oak. That is worthy of some further explanation. Mushrooms “The mushrooms most familiar to us are composed of a sort of dome supported by a stalk. This dome is called the cap. The under side of the cap takes various shapes, of which the principal are these: Sometimes it is composed of gills which radiate from the center to the border; sometimes it is pierced by an infinity of little holes, which are the orifices of as many tubes joined together in a common mass; sometimes it is covered with fine points like those of a cat’s tongue. “Mushrooms that have the under side of the cap formed of radiating gills are called agarics; those pierced with little holes, boleti; those covered with little points, hydnei. Agarics and boleti are the most common.” Here Uncle Paul took, one by one, the mushrooms they had gathered and showed his nephews the gills of the agarics, the holes of the boleti, and the points of the hydnei. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Jean-Henri Fabre (2018). The Story-book of Science. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/56795/pg56795-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html.

IN THE WOODS

The Story-book of Science by Jean-Henri Fabre, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . POISONOUS PLANTS CHAPTER LVIII. POISONOUS PLANTS THE death of poor Joseph had spread consternation through the village. If children left the house and went off into the fields, there was constant anxiety until they returned. They might find poisonous plants that would tempt them with their flowers or their berries, and poison them. Many said, with reason, that the best way to prevent these terrible accidents was to know the dangerous plants and teach the children to beware of them. They went and found Maître Paul, whose great knowledge was appreciated by all, and asked him to teach them the poisonous plants of the neighborhood. So Sunday evening there was a numerous gathering at Uncle Paul’s. Besides his two nephews and his niece, Jacques and Mother Ambroisine, there were Simon, who had come upon the two unfortunate children on his way home from the mill, Jean the miller, André the plowman, Philippe the vine-dresser, Antoine, Mathieu, and many others. The day before, Uncle Paul had taken a walk in the country to gather the plants he was to talk about. A large bunch of the principal poisonous plants, some in blossom, others with berries, were in a pitcher of water on the table. “There are people, my friends,” he began, “who shut their eyes so as not to see danger, and think themselves safe because they wilfully ignore peril. There are others who inform themselves about what may be a menace to them, persuaded that one warned person may be worth two unwarned. You belong to this latter class, and I congratulate you. Countless ills lie in wait for us; let us try to diminish their number by our vigilance, instead of giving ourselves up to lazy carelessness. Now that a frightful misfortune has overtaken one of our families, who does not realize the extreme importance of our all knowing, so as to avoid them, these terrible plants that claim victims every year? If this knowledge were more extended, the poor lit Belladonna Uncle Paul, whom thunder never caused even to knit his brows, had tears in his eyes and his voice trembled. The good Simon, who had seen the two children in each other’s arms under the hedge, felt more moved than the others at this recollection. He pulled down the broad rim of his hat to hide the big tears that were rolling down his rough cheeks bronzed by the sun. After a few moments of silence Uncle Paul continued: “The death of the unfortunate little boy was caused by belladonna. It is a rather large weed with reddish bell-shaped flowers. The berries are round, purplish-black, and resemble cherries. The leaves are oval and pointed at the end. The whole plant has a nauseous odor and a somber appearance, as if to announce the poison it conceals. The berries particularly are dangerous because they may tempt children by their resemblance to cherries and their sweetish taste. Enlargement of the pupil of the eye and a dull, fixed stare are the characteristics of belladonna poisoning.” Paul took from the bouquet in the pitcher a sprig of belladonna, and passed it around in the audience so that each one could examine the plant closely. “What do you say that is called?” asked Jean. “Belladonna.” “Belladonna; good. I know that weed. I have often found it near the mill, in shady places. Who would believe those pretty cherries held such a frightful poison.” Here André asked: “What does the word belladonna mean?” “It is an Italian word meaning fine lady. Formerly, it seems, ladies used the juice of this plant to keep their complexion white.” “That is a property that does not concern our brown skin. What concerns us is this confounded berry which may tempt our children.” “Are not our herds in danger when this weed grows in pastures?” Antoine next inquired. “It is very seldom that animals touch poisonous plants; they avoid browsing what might harm them, warned by the odor, and above all by instinct. “This other plant with large leaves, whose flowers, red on the outside and spotted on the inside with white and purple, are arranged in a long and magnificent cluster almost as high as a man, is called digitalis. The flowers have the form of long, tun-bellied bells, or rather of glove-fingers; therefore it is called by different names, all referring to this peculiarity.” Fox-glove “If I am not mistaken,” said Jean, “it is what we call fox-glove. It is common on the edges of woods.” “We call it fox-glove on account of its resemblance to the thumb of a glove. For the same reason it has elsewhere the name of gloves of Notre-Dame, gloves of the Virgin, and finger-stall. The name digitalis, borrowed from the Latin, also refers to the finger-shaped flower.” “It is a great pity that fine plant is poisonous,” commented Simon; “it would be a pleasure to see it in our gardens.” “It is, indeed, cultivated as an ornamental plant, but in gardens under stricter vigilance than ours. As for us, my friends, who hardly have time to watch over flowers, we shall do well not to put digitalis within reach of children by introducing it in our gardens. The whole plant is poisonous. It has the singular property of slowing up the beating of the heart and finally stopping it. It is unnecessary to tell you that when the heart no longer beats, all is over. Hemlock “Hemlock is still more dangerous. Its finely-divided leaves resemble those of chervil and parsley. This resemblance has often occasioned fatal mistakes, all the easier, because the formidable plant grows in the hedges of enclosures and even in our gardens. A plain enough characteristic, however, enables us to distinguish the poisonous weed from the two pot-herds that resemble it: that is the odor. Rub that tuft of hemlock in your hands, Simon, and smell.” “Ouf!” said Simon, “that smells very bad; parsley and chervil have not that horrid odor. When one is warned, no mistake can be made, in my opinion.” “Yes, when one is warned; but those who are not take no account of the smell and mistake hemlock for parsley or chervil. It is in order to be warned that you are listening to me this evening.” “You are doing us a great service, Maître Paul,” said Jean, “by putting us on our guard against these dangerous plants. Every one at home ought to know what you have just taught us, so as not to gather a salad of hemlock instead of chervil.” Arum “There are two kinds of hemlock. One, called the great hemlock, is found in damp and uncultivated places. It is very like chervil. Its stems are marked with black or reddish spots. The other, called the little hemlock, resembles parsley. It grows in cultivated fields, hedges, and gardens. Both have a nauseating odor. “Now here is a poisonous plant very easy to recognize. It is the arum, or, as it is commonly called, cuckoopint or calves’-foot. The arum is common in hedges. The leaves are very broad and shaped like a large lance-head. The blossom is shaped like a donkey’s ear. It is a large yellowish trumpet, from the bottom of which rises a fleshy rod that might be taken for a little finger of butter. This strange flower is succeeded by a bunch of berries as large as peas and of a splendid red color. The whole plant has an unbearable burning taste.” “Let me tell you, Maître Paul,” put in Mathieu, “what happened one day to my little Lucien. Coming home from school, he saw in the hedge those large flowers you are speaking of, like donkey’s ears; the fleshy rod in the middle looked to him like something good to eat. You have just compared it to a little finger of butter. The thoughtless creature was taken with its looks. He bit into the deceitful finger of butter. What had he done! In a moment his tongue began to burn as if he had bitten a red-hot coal. I saw him come home spitting and making faces. He won’t be taken in again, you may be sure. Luckily he hadn’t swallowed the piece. The next morning he was all right.” “A similar burning flavor is found in the white milk-like juice that runs from the euphorbia when cut. The euphorbia are plants of mean appearance, very common everywhere. Their flowers, small and yellowish, grow in a head, the even branches of which radiate at the top of the stem. These plants are easily recognized by their white juice, their milk, which runs in abundance from the cut stems. This juice is dangerous, even on the skin alone, if it is tender; its acrid, burning taste is its sufficient characteristic. Aconites “The aconites, like digitalis, are fine plants which for their beauty have been introduced in gardens, notwithstanding the violence of their poison. They are found in hilly countries. Their blossoms are blue or yellow, helmet-shaped, and grow in an elegant terminal bunch of the finest effect. Their leaves, of a lustrous green, are cut out in radiating sprays. The aconites are very poisonous. The violence of their poison has given them the name of dog’s-bane and wolf’s-bane. History tells us that formerly arrow-heads and lance-heads were soaked in the juice of the aconites, to poison the wounds made in war and to make them mortal. “There is sometimes cultivated in our gardens a shrub with large shiny leaves, which do not fall in winter, and with black, oval berries as large as acorns. It is the cherry-bay. All its parts, leaves, flowers, and berries, have the odor of bitter almonds and peach kernels. The leaves of the cherry-bay are sometimes used to give their perfume to cream and milk products. They should be used only with great prudence, for the cherry-bay is extremely poisonous. They even say one has only to remain some time in its shade to become indisposed from its exhalations of a bitter-almond odor. “In autumn there is seen in abundance, in damp fields, a large and beautiful flower, rose or lilac in color, that rises from the ground alone, without stem or leaves. It is the colchicum, called also meadow saffron, or veillotte, also veilleuse, because it blossoms on the eve of the cold season. If you dig a little way down, you will find that this flower starts from a rather large bulb, covered with a brown skin. Colchicum is poisonous; so cows never touch it. Its bulb is still more poisonous. “But we have talked enough about harmful plants for to-day. I should be afraid of befogging your memories were I to enter into more details. Next Sunday I will expect you again, my friends, and will talk to you about mushrooms.” About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Jean-Henri Fabre (2018). The Story-book of Science. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/56795/pg56795-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html.

POISONOUS PLANTS

Our Humble Helpers: Familiar Talks on the Domestic Animals by Jean-Henri Fabre, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . THE PIG CHAPTER XXXIV. THE PIG “There is every reason to believe that the domestic pig is descended from one or another of the numerous kinds of wild boar scattered over Asia—perhaps even from several of them. But the Asiatic wild boar bears so close a resemblance in shape and habits to the European that it will suffice for me to acquaint you with the latter in order to give you a correct idea of the former, and thus show you what the pig must have been in its primitive state. “Though very numerous in early times throughout the forests of France, wild boars are from day to day diminishing in number with us, and are destined sooner or later to disappear altogether, as they have already disappeared from England, where they have now been exterminated to the last one, as is the case also with wolves. This complete extermination is explained by the situation of the country. England is entirely surrounded by the sea. If then the wolf and boar, hunted down as two undesirable neighbors, are at last entirely destroyed, the two species are forever annihilated in the island, since the sea interposes an impassable barrier against new arrivals.” “That is perfectly clear,” assented Emile. “As soon as the last wolf and boar have been killed, the English, protected by the sea that surrounds them, are rid of these animals once for all.” “If we could only rid ourselves of wolves like that!” Louis exclaimed. “Gladly would I see the skin of the last one stuffed with straw and paraded from farm to farm. I will say nothing of the boar, as I don’t know its manner of living.” “The wild boar is also a formidable foe, not to flocks, but to cultivated fields, where it does great damage; besides, it is a brutal beast, rather dangerous to meet in the depths of a forest. In size and shape it closely resembles the common pig, the chief difference being in the boar’s coarse, blackish-red coat; its dorsal bristles, stiff and strong and standing up in anger in a horrible looking mane; its head, longer and more curved; its ears, smaller, more erect, and very mobile; its thick and shorter legs; and, finally, the great stockiness of the body as a whole. The eyes are small but not without expression, becoming quite fiery and ferocious in anger. The eye-teeth of each jaw project in a threatening manner beyond the lips, the lower ones being very long, with a backward curve, sharp edges, and pointed ends, the upper ones shorter and rubbing against the first in such a manner as to serve them as whetstones. From this peculiar function the upper tusks are in fact sometimes likened to grindstones and hence go by the name of grinders, while the lower tusks, terrible in combat, are called defenders. [ ]With its powerful muzzle or snout the boar strikes and overthrows an opponent; with its sharp tusks it rips open and disembowels. The female, or sow, has no tusks, but her bite is most formidable; she accompanies it with a ferocious gnashing of the teeth and an infuriated stamping of the hoofs that would alone prove fatal to the trampled adversary. The cry of both consists in an obstreperous snort, a signal of alarm and surprise; but except in case of danger the brute is usually silent. 326 “The wild boar is fond of vast forests, in which it seeks the darkest and most retired spots where it will not be disturbed by man’s presence. In the daytime it lies in its retreat or lair amid the thickest of brushwood and bushes. In the neighborhood there is generally some sort of muddy pool where it wallows with delight. Toward nightfall it leaves its retreat in search of food. With its snout it plows the ground, always in a straight line, to unearth fleshy roots; it gathers the fruit fallen to the ground, the kernels of cereals, also chestnuts, beech-nuts, hazel-nuts, and acorns, especially the last, its favorite food. But a vegetable diet fails to satisfy its voracity. If it knows of a fish-pond, it plows up the banks to get the eels lurking in the mud; if it knows of a rabbit-burrow, it ransacks it by hollowing out a deep ditch and upturning stones with its powerful snout. It surprises the partridge on its nest and devours mother and brood; it crunches young rabbits in their snug retreat; it lays hold of young fawns in their sleep. Finally, if live prey is wanting, [ ]it gorges itself with carrion. The whole night is passed in predatory raids of this sort, after which the beast regains its lair at the dawn of day. 327 “A wild sow’s litter numbers from three to eight little ones, sometimes called grice. They are white, with tawny or brown stripes running lengthwise. At the age of six months their hair becomes darker, a sort of dirty gray, and they outgrow the name of grice. When two years old their tusks begin to be dangerous, and at an age ranging from three to five years the animal attains its maximum size and strength and is entitled to the name of wild boar. After this, until twenty-five or thirty, the ordinary limit of its life, it is called an old boar or an old hermit, on account of the isolation in which it lives. Then the tusks become blunted and turn in toward the eyes. “Boar-hunting is not without its dangers. If the boar finds itself hard pressed by the pack of hounds pursuing it, the animal takes refuge in some dense thicket of brambles and holly, and forces a passage through the thorny rampart where no other would dare to penetrate. Through the opening thus made rush the dogs, vying with one another in ardor and in barking. There are eight, twelve, fifteen of them; no matter, the boar awaits with firmness its numerous assailants. Backing up against a gnarled stump which protects it in the rear, it sharpens its tusks and works its drivelling jaws. Its mane stands erect on head and back; its little eyes, inflamed with fury, resemble two glowing coals. The boldest dogs [ ]rush to seize it by the ears; it disperses them with a few vigorous blows from its snout, dealt with startling promptness. Some fall back with belly split open, from which the entrails protrude and catch on the bushes; others have a leg broken, a shoulder dislocated, or at least one or two flesh wounds. The dying stretch their legs in the last convulsions of agony, the wounded howl with pain, the least crippled beat a hasty retreat. But reinforcements arrive, bringing back the fugitives to the charge. Then, from the midst of the thicket, an indescribable uproar is heard. To the cries of the pack, howling, barking, and growling in various keys, and to the wild boar’s grunts of rage, are added the crashing sound of underbrush broken in the fierce scrimmage and the shrill notes of the magpies that have flown in all haste to the scene of tumult and from the surrounding tree-tops noisily discuss the event. Finally the boar emerges from the thicket and, drunk with carnage, takes its turn as pursuer. Woe then to the inexperienced hunter who loses his presence of mind or whose shot misses its mark: he might forfeit his life for his unwariness and lack of skill. But let us hope that a bullet, cleverly aimed between the beast’s eyes, will put an end to a battle that has already cost the lives of the best dogs in the pack.” 328 “I see that this is no tame rabbit-hunt,” said Jules. “If any one should come within reach of the fierce brute that the dogs are worrying, he would not, as they say, have much of a picnic.”[ ] 329 “Nevertheless there are men of dauntless courage who go straight for the furious beast and plunge their hunting knife into its heart. But usually the thing is attended with less peril and with no such atrocious ripping-up of the dogs, a sport for the grand seigneurs. Ambushed in a safe place, the hunter awaits the boar and gives it a couple of bullets as it passes; and that is the end of it. If the attack is less spectacular, at least it spares the life of the dog and does not endanger man’s.” “Then I give it preference,” Jules declared, “to that in which a whole pack might be killed. I don’t like that slaughter of dogs, with the boar’s tusks ripping them open there in the underbrush.” “And what do they do with the beast after they have killed him?” asked Louis. “It is a piece of game,” replied Uncle Paul, “that surpasses anything else to be found in our woods. Such a boar, old hermit-boar, as we call him, may weigh as much as two hundred kilograms. That is enough for a feast, I should hope, and all the more so as the flesh is excellent. The piece of honor is the head, the famous boar’s head. “The Asiatic wild boar, from which the domestic pig descends, does not differ from ours in its habits; it is, like ours, a ferocious, coarse, vigorous, bold, voracious animal, a formidable creature to encounter in the dark woods. How has this intractable beast become the pig that we raise? By what care, what gentle treatment, has it been made to lose its ancient savagery? To these questions there is no further [ ]answer than in the case of the dog and the ox. After centuries and centuries of domestication, the first steps in this process of redemption from the wild state have become lost in oblivion. 330 “Despite all its improvement the pig still remains a coarse animal, resembling the wild boar in more than one trait. Like the latter, it feeds on anything and everything; and even more than the latter is it addicted to gluttony. The perils attending its wild state no longer existing, it devotes itself unreservedly to the gratification of its voracious appetite. The pig is a fat-factory: it lives only to eat, digest, and fatten. Its gluttony extends even to the devouring of kitchen refuse, greasy dishwater, nasty leavings, garbage; in fact everything even to excrementitious matter. Ill effects can result from its nosing about in filth to satisfy its gluttony, since it is thus liable to a horrible disease of which we will speak later. Not satisfied with acorns and other viands that go to fill its trough, it turns up the earth with its snout in quest of roots, worms, and fat larvæ. It is always either sleeping, stretched out on its side in the full enjoyment of digestion, or rooting in the ground in the hope of some chance additional tidbit, however small. In the cultivated fields, in prairies and grass-lands, devastation makes rapid progress with such a miner tearing up the ground. To check this mania for excavating, the end of the snout is pierced with two holes through each of which is passed a piece of iron wire, which is then bent into a ring.”[ ] 331 “Oh, I know,” cried Jules. “I have often seen little rings of iron wire at the end of a pig’s snout. I didn’t know what they were for, but now I see. If the pig wants to dig, the iron wire is pressed against the earth and bruises the raw flesh through which it passes; and the pain forces the animal to stop.” “Yes, that is the part played by the rings fixed in the end of the snout.” “And we see pigs, too, with a kind of large wooden triangle around the neck,” Emile put in. “As the pig is not very tractable and pays little heed to the drover’s voice, it is customary, when a number of these animals are taken to the fields, to put around their neck a large triangular wooden collar, which prevents their getting through hedges and overrunning the neighboring cultivated fields. “The pig’s gluttony is proverbial. But let us beware of reproaching it for this. Its voracious appetite transmutes into savory meat and fat quantities of refuse that none of the other domestic animals would eat, and that would be wasted but for its intervention; out of otherwise worthless scraps its strong stomach, which turns at nothing, makes those delectable articles of food so much enjoyed by all of you when they appear in the form of sausages and sausage-cakes. Let us not reproach it, either, for its passionate love of mud, in which it wallows to reduce its temperature. In that it simply inherits the habits of its ancestor, the wild boar, which also delights in the luxury of a mud-bath. Besides, it is more our fault than the pig’s taste. The pig likes a cold bath; [ ]it submits with every indication of satisfaction to being washed and brushed by its keeper. So fond is it of cleanliness that it alone of all the domestic animals hesitates to soil its bed with its excrement. Why then does the word pig suggest the idea of dirtiness? Here we are to blame, more often than not. Let the pig be given clean water for its bath, and it will turn its back on the foul mud that it contents itself with for want of something better; let its premises be kept clean, and the poor animal will be highly delighted, much preferring a sanitary straw bed to a filthy hole. By these attentions to cleanliness the animal will be the gainer, and we shall profit likewise. 332 “In lifetime the pig is of no use to us, unless it be in hunting for truffles, an exercise in which it excels by reason of the extraordinary development of its nose and the keenness of its scent. Yet even for this service the dog is preferred, as being better fitted for exploring uneven ground, more active, and more intelligent. It is after its death that the pig pays us for the care bestowed upon it. Let us be present at this event, a festive occasion for the family. “Fattened for a long time on potatoes, excellent for making flesh, and on acorns, which give firmness and savor to the meat, the porker can hardly stand on its short legs. It sleeps and digests in a reclining posture, lying lazily on its side. From its neck hang three and four great cushions of fat; under its belly are seen ponderous masses of lard; the [ ]rump is well rounded, the back padded with fat. The animal is ripe for the knife. At the break of day it is aroused from its sweet repose and sacrificed in the midst of piercing cries of protest against so cruel a fate. With torches of burning straw the bristles are burnt off, after which the body is well scraped and washed, then opened and cut up. Now the housewife proceeds to the work of salting and curing this rich store of provision. Every member of the family comes to her aid. Here, over a big fire, in a resplendent copper kettle, the lard is tried out and poured into pots, where it hardens and turns as white as snow. Yonder the black puddings are hardening in boiling water. Over there some one is busily plying a big chopping-knife, mincing the meat that is to go into sausages, which will be wound in a long garland about two laths and hung from the ceiling opposite the fireplace to get a good drying. In still another place the ham is being made ready for wrapping in linen and hanging in a corner under the chimney mantel to assure its preservation. On a screen are spread the most important parts of the animal, the chine and flanks, covered with a layer of salt. And the housewife’s heart is filled with content as she views her cupboards and larders stored with provisions for a year to come. 333 “Now, these provisions, on which the housekeeper’s hopes are based, would speedily decay and become unfit for food without the use of salt. A piece of meat left to itself soon gives out a bad smell and undergoes putrefaction. The higher the temperature [ ]and the damper the air, the more rapid the rate of decay. That is why the approach of winter and as far as possible a dry time are chosen for the annual pig-killing. Salt in liberal quantities is used for preserving the meat, lard, and fat. Salted meat dries without becoming tainted, and keeps for a long time, though not indefinitely, since sooner or later it turns rancid. Nevertheless salting is the best way to preserve meat. 334 “Another process, discovered long ago and very efficacious, consists in exposing the meat to the action of smoke from burning wood. That is why salted hams are hung in the chimney-corner. But on the farm it usually happens that too little attention is paid to this method of curing: it is deemed sufficient to place the hams within reach of the smoke from the fireplace without any covering to protect them. Hence the meat becomes covered with soot, black juices permeate it, and putrefaction sets in. To avoid this mishap it is enough to wrap the hams in two layers of linen, which sifts the smoke, keeps out the soot, and admits only the vapors really adapted to the preservation of the meat without blackening it and giving it a disagreeable taste. “In various countries, Germany and England for example, smoking is practised on a large scale for curing beef as well as pork. Three or four rooms with low ceilings and communicating with one another by means of openings are connected with a fireplace at some distance, in which oak shavings and aromatic plants are burnt. The largest pieces are [ ]hung in the first room on poles or iron hooks, the medium-sized pieces are hung in the second, and the smallest are relegated to the last room. The smoke, on account of the comparative remoteness of the fireplace, is cold when it reaches the first compartment, where it acts with full force on the large pieces of meat, the hardest to penetrate. Thence it passes to the second compartment, and finally to the third, thus in proportion to its loss of strength encountering pieces less resistant to its action. As food, smoked meat is preferable to salted: it tastes better and is easier to digest. 335 “Smoking is also applied to fish. You have a well-known example in the herring. This fish, as it comes from the grocer, is sometimes silvery white, sometimes golden red. In the first state he calls it white herring; in the second, red herring. The difference is in the way it is cured. Directly after being caught, the herrings are opened, cleaned, washed, and put to soak in brine, that is to say in a strong solution of salt. About fifteen hours later they are taken out, put to drip, and finally packed in casks in regular layers. The product of this process is the white herring, so named because the fish, simply salted and put up in casks, keeps its beautiful silvery color. Smoking produces the so-called red herring, recognizable from its golden-yellow tint and smoky smell. The fresh fish are first of all strongly salted by being left thirty hours in the brine; then they are attached to small twigs or branches passed through the gills, after which they are hung in a sort of fireplace [ ]where green wood is burnt, which gives out little flame and torrents of smoke. It is here that the herring takes on its red color and its slightly smoky smell.” 336 About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Jean-Henri Fabre (2022). Our Humble Helpers: Familiar Talks on the Domestic Animals. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/67073/pg67073-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html .

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