Exmouth's Tiny Forest is recognised for its contribution to the environment and rural England.

Tiny Devon forest wins two Royal Horticultural Society awards - BBC News

Park Forest won the Government Finance Officers Association Award for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Annual Financial Reporting.

Park Forest Wins a Finance Triple Crown Award - eNews Park Forest

On Sunday, Nottingham Forest face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge - the ground where Anthony Elanga scored his first goal for Forest in a 1-0 win last season. The Sweden international is excited about returning to that corner of London and believes Forest can pull off a similar result.

'We're not the finished article' - Elanga - Yahoo Sports

Nottingham Forest defender Nikola Milenkovic says football was an "escape" for him as a child during the conflict happening around him. The defender, who signed for the Reds in July, came through the youth ranks at Partizan Belgrade, the city that he was born in.

'Football made us forget about everything' - Milenkovic - Yahoo Sports

Kelvin Wilson isn't convinced that Divock Origi is the man to fire Nottingham Forest to Premier League safety this season.

Kelvin Wilson doesn't think 28-year-old is good enough for Nottingham Forest - Nottingham Forest News

He's been crucial for Nottingham Forest since returning from injury.

Nottingham Forest struck gold on £17.5m gem who's worth more than Murillo

Supporting Nottingham Forest has never been easy. It is not supposed to be. If waiting 23 years for a return to the top flight was not bad enough, having two seasons of doubt about whether we would actually stay there is really all we can expect.

Nottingham Forest fan's voice: 'Our habit is gifting goals' - BBC Sport

Nottingham Forest have surprisingly named Richie Laryea in their 25-man squad for the remainder of the Premier League campaign.

Nuno names 29-year-old who hasn't played for Nottingham Forest since 2022 in 25-man Premier League squad - Nottingham Forest News

Anthony Taylor controversially failed to award Nottingham Forest a penalty against Newcastle.

Mark Clattenburg calls out Anthony Taylor over Liverpool and Forest penalty calls | Football | Sport | Express.co.uk

Forest

forest

MIAMI, Florida, August 15th, 2024, Chainwire/Floki has partnered with Nottingham Forest football club, which currently is playing the English Premier League (EPL). Announced on Thursday, Floki will be the official cryptocurrency partner of Nottingham Forest and have extensive marketing and promotional rights. “We are proud to join the ranks of the Premier League with a club that is an institution in world Football,” a media representative of Floki said. “Just as Nottingham Forest are building a future as a dominant force in world football, Floki is on the same journey to establish itself as one of the most successful brands in its sector, constantly challenging and innovating with brands like Valhalla.” https://www.youtube.com/embed/jwCh0CdGSEM During all home games, the Floki brand mark will be featured for three minutes on camera-facing LED boards from kick-off to the final whistle. This ensures that the Floki brand is seen by both stadium audiences and TV viewers. The Floki logo will also be prominently displayed. It will appear in four slots on official Premier League interview backdrops at each home match and in four spaces on press conference backdrops used throughout the season. Floki will have a strong presence on Nottingham Forest's social media channels. The brand will be mentioned in posts related to full-time scores for both the men’s and women’s senior teams and in all substitution announcements. Additionally, Floki will have a full-page presence in the matchday programmes distributed at each home game, and its logo will be displayed on the front cover. This helps connect Floki to the matchday experience and the fans. Fans can look forward to exciting offerings, such as signed merchandise. At the end of the season, Floki will offer fans the chance to participate in a ‘play on the pitch’ experience at the stadium. Paul Bell, Nottingham Forest's Chief Operating Officer (COO), said, “We are delighted to welcome Floki as an official partner and look forward to working closely with them as we head into the 2024/25 season. As one of the most innovative companies within this sector, we're excited to work collaboratively with the Floki community.” Popularity of EPL English Premier League (EPL) is the most popular sports league in the world. It has more viewers than both the UEFA Champions League and the Bundesliga combined. In the 2022/23 season, the EPL had a total audience of 3.23 billion people. These games were broadcast to 712 million households in 190 countries. According to Nielsen, 2.01 billion viewers watched live match broadcasts over the season. Additionally, 1.22 billion viewers tuned into highlight shows and other related programming. English Premier League clubs also have a massive following on social media with over half a billion followers spread across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and YouTube. Nottingham Forest's History Founded in 1865, Nottingham Forest is a club with a rich history. It is one of only eight clubs, including Liverpool, Ajax, Bayern Munich, and Real Madrid, to have won back-to-back European championships.Nottingham Forest also has a strong online presence, with over 4.5 million followers on various social media platforms. This includes one million fans on Facebook, 670,000 followers on X, one million followers on Instagram, 1.2 million followers on TikTok, and 184,000 subscribers on YouTube. About Floki Floki is the people’s cryptocurrency and utility token of the Floki Ecosystem. Floki aims to become the world’s most known and used cryptocurrency, focusing on utility, philanthropy, community, and marketing. Floki currently has over 490,000 holders and a strong brand recognized globally thanks to strategic marketing partnerships. Website | YouTube | Telegram | Instagram | TikTok | Discord | Facebook | Reddit | Twitch Contact Community Relations Officer Pedro Vidal Floki Marketing@floki.com This story was distributed as a release by Chainwire under HackerNoon’s Business Blogging Program. Learn more about the program here MIAMI, Florida, August 15th, 2024, Chainwire/Floki has partnered with Nottingham Forest football club, which currently is playing the English Premier League (EPL). Announced on Thursday, Floki will be the official cryptocurrency partner of Nottingham Forest and have extensive marketing and promotional rights. “We are proud to join the ranks of the Premier League with a club that is an institution in world Football,” a media representative of Floki said. “We are proud to join the ranks of the Premier League with a club that is an institution in world Football,” a media representative of Floki said. “Just as Nottingham Forest are building a future as a dominant force in world football, Floki is on the same journey to establish itself as one of the most successful brands in its sector, constantly challenging and innovating with brands like Valhalla.” “Just as Nottingham Forest are building a future as a dominant force in world football, Floki is on the same journey to establish itself as one of the most successful brands in its sector, constantly challenging and innovating with brands like Valhalla.” https://www.youtube.com/embed/jwCh0CdGSEM https://www.youtube.com/embed/jwCh0CdGSE M https://www.youtube.com/embed/jwCh0CdGSE During all home games, the Floki brand mark will be featured for three minutes on camera-facing LED boards from kick-off to the final whistle. This ensures that the Floki brand is seen by both stadium audiences and TV viewers. The Floki logo will also be prominently displayed. It will appear in four slots on official Premier League interview backdrops at each home match and in four spaces on press conference backdrops used throughout the season. Floki will have a strong presence on Nottingham Forest's social media channels. The brand will be mentioned in posts related to full-time scores for both the men’s and women’s senior teams and in all substitution announcements. Additionally, Floki will have a full-page presence in the matchday programmes distributed at each home game, and its logo will be displayed on the front cover. This helps connect Floki to the matchday experience and the fans. Fans can look forward to exciting offerings, such as signed merchandise. At the end of the season, Floki will offer fans the chance to participate in a ‘play on the pitch’ experience at the stadium. Paul Bell, Nottingham Forest's Chief Operating Officer (COO), said, “We are delighted to welcome Floki as an official partner and look forward to working closely with them as we head into the 2024/25 season. As one of the most innovative companies within this sector, we're excited to work collaboratively with the Floki community.” Paul Bell, Nottingham Forest's Chief Operating Officer (COO), said, “We are delighted to welcome Floki as an official partner and look forward to working closely with them as we head into the 2024/25 season. As one of the most innovative companies within this sector, we're excited to work collaboratively with the Floki community.” Popularity of EPL English Premier League (EPL) is the most popular sports league in the world. It has more viewers than both the UEFA Champions League and the Bundesliga combined. In the 2022/23 season, the EPL had a total audience of 3.23 billion people. These games were broadcast to 712 million households in 190 countries. According to Nielsen, 2.01 billion viewers watched live match broadcasts over the season. Additionally, 1.22 billion viewers tuned into highlight shows and other related programming. English Premier League clubs also have a massive following on social media with over half a billion followers spread across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and YouTube. Nottingham Forest's History Founded in 1865, Nottingham Forest is a club with a rich history. It is one of only eight clubs, including Liverpool, Ajax, Bayern Munich, and Real Madrid, to have won back-to-back European championships.Nottingham Forest also has a strong online presence, with over 4.5 million followers on various social media platforms. This includes one million fans on Facebook, 670,000 followers on X, one million followers on Instagram, 1.2 million followers on TikTok, and 184,000 subscribers on YouTube. About Floki Floki is the people’s cryptocurrency and utility token of the Floki Ecosystem. Floki aims to become the world’s most known and used cryptocurrency, focusing on utility, philanthropy, community, and marketing. Floki currently has over 490,000 holders and a strong brand recognized globally thanks to strategic marketing partnerships. Floki Floki Website | YouTube | Telegram | Instagram | TikTok | Discord | Facebook | Reddit | Twitch Website Website YouTube YouTube Telegram Telegram Instagram Instagram TikTok TikTok Discord Discord Facebook Facebook Reddit Reddit Twitch Twitch Contact Community Relations Officer Pedro Vidal Floki Marketing@floki.com This story was distributed as a release by Chainwire under HackerNoon’s Business Blogging Program. Learn more about the program here This story was distributed as a release by Chainwire under HackerNoon’s Business Blogging Program. Learn more about the program here

Floki Becomes Official Cryptocurrency Partner Of Nottingham Forest F.C.

ফ্লোকি নটিংহাম ফরেস্ট এফসি-এর অফিসিয়াল ক্রিপ্টোকারেন্সি পার্টনার হয়ে উঠেছে

Floki wird offizieller Kryptowährungspartner von Nottingham Forest F.C.

Floki se convierte en socio oficial de criptomonedas del Nottingham Forest F.C.

Floki devient le partenaire officiel de crypto-monnaie du Nottingham Forest F.C.

फ्लोकी नॉटिंघम फॉरेस्ट एफ.सी. का आधिकारिक क्रिप्टोकरेंसी पार्टनर बन गया है।

Floki がノッティンガム・フォレスト FC の公式暗号通貨パートナーに

플로키, 노팅엄 포레스트 FC의 공식 암호화폐 파트너가 되다

Floki se torna parceiro oficial de criptomoeda do Nottingham Forest F.C.

Floki становится официальным криптовалютным партнером футбольного клуба Nottingham Forest.

Floki, Nottingham Forest FC'nin Resmi Kripto Para Ortağı Oldu

Floki trở thành đối tác tiền điện tử chính thức của Nottingham Forest F.C.

Floki 成为诺丁汉森林足球俱乐部官方加密货币合作伙伴

Author:
(1) Anuar Assamidanov, Department of Economics, Claremont Graduate University, 150 E 10th St, Claremont, CA 91711. (Email: anuar.assamidanov@cgu.edu). Table of Links Abstract Background Data Methodology Results Discussion and Conclusion, and References A Appendix Tables and Figures 3 Methodology The identification strategy used in this study is Difference in Differences with Dummy Outcomes (Price and Wolfers, 2010), which focuses on coach and artist gender interaction. Specifically, we estimate the following linear probability model: The regression model in the difference-in-differences framework does not capture potential heterogeneous effects across covariates. There could be a positive effect on some groups in the covariates but a negative or no effect on other groups. For example, the coaches in the initial stage of the blind audition could elicit own-gender bias, but in the later stage, opposite-gender bias. The standard regression model will provide a weighted average of effect size, even if an effect varies across a population represented by different groups. One plausible solution is to estimate heterogeneous treatment effects. Instead of just estimating one effect, I estimate a distribution of effect size for a given unit with a given set of attributes and what their impact might be. To analyze this heterogeneous effect of own-gender bias, I incorporated the first difference approach into the causal forest approach. I will discuss the performance of the proposed causal forest approach and how to apply it to my empirical example. The causal forest approach is consistent and asymptotically Gaussian and provides an estimator for their asymptotic variance that allows us to construct valid confidence intervals (Athey and Wager, 2019). Causal forest utilizes a forest-based approach to calculate a similarity weight and then applies the local generalized method of moments to estimate based on a weighted set of neighbors. The authors also show that using the centered instead of the original outcome and treatment allows a forest to focus its splits on the features that affect the treatment effect instead of the primary outcome. Intuitively, a causal forest consists of regression trees (Athey and Imbens, 2016; Breiman et al., 1984), which estimate conditional average treatment effects (CATE) at the leaves of the trees instead of predicting the outcome variables. I utilize a two-step approach by incorporating the first-difference approach into the causal forest approach, the similar two-step approach in the standard differencein-difference method. In the first step, I estimate the first difference, which is the change in the selection of individual contestants from a male coach to a female coach. This step teases out the systematic differences between coaches in female and male coach groups. In the second step, I use the outcome variables obtained from the first step and apply the causal forest approach for heterogeneous treatment-effect analysis. This step teases out the effect of contestant gender trends that exist in both women and men. My methods rely heavily on the causal forest approach, a machine learning method that can estimate heterogeneous causal effect functions under the above assumptions. The main strength associated with the causal forest is that it provides a strategy for learning patterns of heterogeneity from the data. This method requires little researcher discretion compared to traditional subgroup analyses. For instance, one does not have to decide which cutoffs to use to analyze heterogeneity in effects along continuous covariates, nor do we require to define the functional condition of the heterogeneity; the causal forest algorithm is designed to automate this search and find the most appropriate model that best characterizes the heterogeneous effect in the data (Bonander and Svensson, 2021). This paper is available on arxiv under CC 4.0 license. Author: (1) Anuar Assamidanov, Department of Economics, Claremont Graduate University, 150 E 10th St, Claremont, CA 91711. (Email: anuar.assamidanov@cgu.edu). Author: Author: (1) Anuar Assamidanov, Department of Economics, Claremont Graduate University, 150 E 10th St, Claremont, CA 91711. (Email: anuar.assamidanov@cgu.edu). Table of Links Abstract Abstract Background Background Data Data Methodology Methodology Results Results Discussion and Conclusion, and References Discussion and Conclusion, and References A Appendix Tables and Figures A Appendix Tables and Figures 3 Methodology The identification strategy used in this study is Difference in Differences with Dummy Outcomes (Price and Wolfers, 2010), which focuses on coach and artist gender interaction. Specifically, we estimate the following linear probability model: The regression model in the difference-in-differences framework does not capture potential heterogeneous effects across covariates. There could be a positive effect on some groups in the covariates but a negative or no effect on other groups. For example, the coaches in the initial stage of the blind audition could elicit own-gender bias, but in the later stage, opposite-gender bias. The standard regression model will provide a weighted average of effect size, even if an effect varies across a population represented by different groups. One plausible solution is to estimate heterogeneous treatment effects. Instead of just estimating one effect, I estimate a distribution of effect size for a given unit with a given set of attributes and what their impact might be. To analyze this heterogeneous effect of own-gender bias, I incorporated the first difference approach into the causal forest approach. I will discuss the performance of the proposed causal forest approach and how to apply it to my empirical example. The causal forest approach is consistent and asymptotically Gaussian and provides an estimator for their asymptotic variance that allows us to construct valid confidence intervals (Athey and Wager, 2019). Causal forest utilizes a forest-based approach to calculate a similarity weight and then applies the local generalized method of moments to estimate based on a weighted set of neighbors. The authors also show that using the centered instead of the original outcome and treatment allows a forest to focus its splits on the features that affect the treatment effect instead of the primary outcome. Intuitively, a causal forest consists of regression trees (Athey and Imbens, 2016; Breiman et al., 1984), which estimate conditional average treatment effects (CATE) at the leaves of the trees instead of predicting the outcome variables. I utilize a two-step approach by incorporating the first-difference approach into the causal forest approach, the similar two-step approach in the standard differencein-difference method. In the first step, I estimate the first difference, which is the change in the selection of individual contestants from a male coach to a female coach. This step teases out the systematic differences between coaches in female and male coach groups. In the second step, I use the outcome variables obtained from the first step and apply the causal forest approach for heterogeneous treatment-effect analysis. This step teases out the effect of contestant gender trends that exist in both women and men. My methods rely heavily on the causal forest approach, a machine learning method that can estimate heterogeneous causal effect functions under the above assumptions. The main strength associated with the causal forest is that it provides a strategy for learning patterns of heterogeneity from the data. This method requires little researcher discretion compared to traditional subgroup analyses. For instance, one does not have to decide which cutoffs to use to analyze heterogeneity in effects along continuous covariates, nor do we require to define the functional condition of the heterogeneity; the causal forest algorithm is designed to automate this search and find the most appropriate model that best characterizes the heterogeneous effect in the data (Bonander and Svensson, 2021). This paper is available on arxiv under CC 4.0 license. This paper is available on arxiv under CC 4.0 license. available on arxiv

Using Causal Forests to Unveil Gender Bias in Hiring

Meet ForestVPN, Startups of the Year Winner in Dubai

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

On War by Carl Von Clausewitz, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . Defence of Forests Book VI: Chapter XXI. Defence of Forests Above all things we must distinguish thick tangled and impassable forests from extensive woods under a certain degree of culture, which are partly quite clear, partly intersected by numerous roads. Whenever the object is to form a defensive line, the latter should be left in rear or avoided as much as possible. The defensive requires more than the assailant to see clearly round him, partly because, as a rule, he is the weaker, partly because the natural advantages of his position cause him to develop his plans later than the assailant. If he should place a woody district before him he would be fighting like a blind man against one with his eyesight. If he should place himself in the middle of the wood then both would be blind, but that equality of condition is just what would not answer the natural requirements of the defender. Such a wooded country can therefore not be brought into any favourable connection with the defensive except it is kept in rear of the defender’s army, so as to conceal from the enemy all that takes place behind that army, and at the same time to be available as an assistance to cover and facilitate the retreat. At present we only speak of forests in level country, for where the decided mountain character enters into combination, its influence becomes predominant over tactical and strategic measures, and we have already treated of those subjects elsewhere. But impassable forests, that is, such as can only be traversed on certain roads, afford advantages in an indirect defence similar to those which the defence derives from mountains for bringing on a battle under favourable circumstances; the army can await the enemy behind the wood in a more or less concentrated position with a view to falling on him the moment he debouches from the road defiles. Such a forest resembles mountain in its effects more than a river: for it affords, it is true, only one very long and difficult defile, but it is in respect to the retreat rather advantageous than otherwise. But a direct defence of forests, let them be ever so impracticable, is a very hazardous piece of work for even the thinnest chain of outposts; for abattis are only imaginary barriers, and no wood is so completely impassable that it cannot be penetrated in a hundred places by small detachments, and these, in their relation to a chain of defensive posts, may be likened to the first drops of water which ooze through a roof and are soon followed by a general rush of water. Much more important is the influence of great forests of every kind in connection with the arming of a nation; they are undoubtedly the true element for such levies; if, therefore, the strategic plan of defence can be so arranged that the enemy’s communications pass through great forests, then, by that means, another mighty lever is brought into use in support of the work of defence. 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. Carl von Clausewitz (2006). On War. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1946/pg1946-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 .

Defence of Forests

Dick Sands the Boy Captain by Jules Verne, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . THROUGH THE FOREST here THROUGH THE FOREST. Although there was no obvious cause for apprehension, it cannot be denied that it was with a certain degree of foreboding that Dick Sands first entered that dense forest, through which for the next ten days they were all to wend their toilsome way. Mrs. Weldon, on the contrary, was full of confidence and hope. A woman and a mother, she might have been expected to be conscious of anxiety at the peril to which she might be exposing herself and her child; and doubtless she would have been sensible of alarm if her mind had not been fully satisfied upon two points; first, that the portion of the pampas they were about to traverse was little infested either by natives or by dangerous beasts; and secondly, that she was under the protection of a guide so trustworthy as she believed Harris to be. The entrance to the forest was hardly more than three hundred paces up the river. An order of march had been arranged which was to be observed as closely as possible throughout the journey. At the head of the troop were Harris and Dick Sands, one armed with his long gun, the other with his Remington; next came Bat and Austin, each carrying a gun and a cutlass, then Mrs. Weldon and Jack, on horseback, closely followed by Tom and old Nan, while ActÃ¦on with the fourth Remington, and Hercules with a huge hatchet in his waist-belt, brought up the rear. Dingo had no especial place in the procession, but wandered to and fro at his pleasure. Ever since he had been cast ashore Dick had noticed a remarkable change in the dog's behaviour; the animal was in a constant state of agitation, always apparently on the search for some lost scent, and repeatedly giving vent to a low growl, which seemed to proceed from grief rather than from rage. As for Cousin Benedict, his movements were permitted to be nearly as erratic as Dingo's; nothing but a leading-string could possibly have kept him in the ranks. With his tin box under his arm, and his butterfly net in his hand, and his huge magnifying-glass suspended from his neck, he would be sometimes far ahead, sometimes a long way behind, and at the risk of being attacked by some venomous snake, would make frantic dashes into the tall grass whenever he espied some attractive orthoptera or other insect which he thought might be honoured by a place in his collection. In one hour after starting Mrs. Weldon had called to him a dozen times without the slightest effect. At last she told him seriously that if he would not give up chasing the insects at a distance, she should be obliged to take possession of his tin box. "Take away my box!" he cried, with as much horror as if she had threatened to tear out his vitals. "Yes, your box and your net too!" "My box and my net! but surely not my spectacles!" almost shrieked the excited entomologist. "Yes, and your spectacles as well!" added Mrs. Weldon mercilessly; "I am glad you have reminded me of another means of reducing you to obedience!" The triple penalty of which he was thus warned had the effect of keeping him from wandering away for the best part of the next hour, but he was soon once more missing from the ranks; he was manifestly incorrigible; the deprivation of box, net, and spectacles would, it was acknowledged, be utterly without avail to prevent him from rambling. Accordingly it was thought better to let him have his own way, especially as Hercules volunteered to keep his eye upon him, and to endeavour to guard the worthy naturalist as carefully as he would himself protect some precious [Illustration: The way across the forest could scarcely be called a path.] specimen of a lepidoptera. Further anxiety on his account was thus put to rest. In spite of Harris's confident assertion that they were little likely to be molested by any of the nomad Indians, the whole company rejoiced in feeling that they were well armed, and they resolved to keep in a compact body. The way across the forest could scarcely be called a path; it was, in fact, little more than the track of animals, and progress along it was necessarily very slow; indeed it seemed impossible, at the rate they started, to accomplish more than five or six miles in the course of twelve hours. The weather was beautifully fine; the sun ascended nearly to the zenith, and its rays, descending almost perpendicularly, caused a degree of heat which, as Harris pointed out, would have been unendurable upon the open plain, but was here pleasantly tempered by the shelter of the foliage. Most of the trees were quite strange to them. To an experienced eye they were such as were remarkable more for their character then for their size. Here, on one side, was the bauhinia, or mountain ebony; there, on the other, the molompi or pterocarpus, its trunk exuding large quantities of resin, and of which the strong light wood makes excellent oars or paddles; further on were fustics heavily charged with colouring matter, and guaiacums, twelve feet in diameter, surpassing the ordinary kind in magnitude, yet far inferior in quality. Dick Sands kept perpetually asking Harris to tell him the names of all these trees and plants. "Have you never been on the coast of South America before?" replied Harris, without giving the explicit information that was sought. "Never," said Dick; "never before. Nor do I recollect ever having seen any one who has." "But surely you have explored the coasts of Columbia or Patagonia," Harris continued. Dick avowed that he had never had the chance. "But has Mrs. Weldon never visited these parts? Our countrymen, I know, are great travellers." "No," answered Mrs. Weldon; "my husband's business called him occasionally to New Zealand, but I have accompanied him nowhere else. With this part of Lower Bolivia we are totally unacquainted." "Then, madam, I can only assure you that you will see a most remarkable country, in every way a very striking contrast to the regions of Peru, Brazil, and the Argentine republic. Its animal and vegetable products would fill a naturalist with unbounded wonder. May I not declare it a lucky chance that has brought you here?" "Do not say chance, Mr. Harris, if you please." "Well, then, madam; providence, if you prefer it," said Harris, with the air of a man incapable of recognizing the distinction. After finding that there was no one amongst them who was acquainted in any way with the country through which they were travelling, Harris seemed to exhibit an evident pleasure in pointing out and describing by name the various wonders of the forest. Had Cousin Benedict's attainments included a knowledge of botany he would have found himself in a fine field for researches, and might perchance have discovered novelties to which his own name could be appended in the catalogues of science. But he was no botanist; in fact, as a rule, he held all blossoms in aversion, on the ground that they entrapped insects into their corollÃ¦, and poisoned them sometimes with venomous juices. New and rare insects, however, seemed hereabouts to be wanting. Occasionally the soil became marshy, and they all had to wend their way over a perfect network of tiny rivulets that were affluents of the river from which they had started. Sometimes these rivulets were so wide that they could not be passed without a long search for some spot where they could be forded; their banks were all very damp, and in many places abounded with a kind of reed, which Harris called by its proper name of papyrus. As soon as the marshy district had been passed, the forest resumed its original aspect, the footway becoming narrow as ever. Harris pointed out some very fine ebony-trees, [Illustration: Occasionally the soil became marshy.] larger than the common sort, and yielding a wood darker and more durable than what is ordinarily seen in the market. There were also more mango-trees than might have been expected at this distance from the sea; a beautiful white lichen enveloped their trunks like a fur; but in spite of their luxuriant foliage and delicious fruit, Harris said that there was not a native who would venture to propagate the species, as the superstition of the country is that "whoever plants a mango, dies!" At noon a halt was made for the purpose of rest and refreshment. During the afternoon they arrived at some gently rising ground, not the first slopes of hills, but an insulated plateau which appeared to unite mountains and plains. Notwithstanding that the trees were far less crowded and more inclined to grow in detached groups, the numbers of herbaceous plants with which the soil was covered rendered progress no less difficult than it was before. The general aspect of the scene was not unlike an East Indian jungle. Less luxuriant indeed than in the lower valley of the river, the vegetation was far more abundant than that of the temperate zones either of the Old or New continents. Indigo grew in great profusion, and, according to Harris's representation, was the most encroaching plant in the whole country; no sooner, he said, was a field left untilled, than it was overrun by this parasite, which sprang up with the rank growth of thistles or nettles. One tree which might have been expected to be common in this part of the continent seemed entirely wanting. This was the caoutchouc. Of the various trees from which India-rubber is procured, such as the Ficus prinoides, the Castilioa elastica, the Cecropia peltata, the Callophora utilis, the Cameraria latifolia, and especially the Siphonia elastica, all of which abound in the provinces of South America, not a single specimen was to be seen. Dick had promised to show Jack an India-rubber-tree, and the child, who had conjured up visions of squeaking dolls, balls, and other toys growing upon its branches, was loud and constant in his expressions of disappointment. "Never mind, my little man," said Harris; "have patience, and you shall see hundreds of India-rubber-trees when you get to the hacienda." "And will they be nice and elastic?" asked Jack, whose ideas upon the subject were of the vaguest order. "Oh, yes, they will stretch as long as you like," Harris answered, laughing. "But here is something to amuse you," he added, and as he spoke, he gathered a fruit that looked as tempting as a peach. "You are quite sure that it is safe to give it him?" said Mrs. Weldon anxiously. "To satisfy you, madam, I will eat one first myself." The example he set was soon followed by all the rest. The fruit was a mango; that which had been so opportunely discovered was of the sort that ripens in March or April; there is a later kind which ripens in September. With his mouth full of juice, Jack pronounced that it was very nice, but did not seem to be altogether diverted from his sense of disappointment at not coming to an India-rubber-tree. Evidently the little man thought himself rather injured. "And Dick promised me some humming-birds too!" he murmured. "Plenty of humming-birds for you, when you get to the farm; lots of them where my brother lives," said Harris. And to say the truth, there was nothing extravagant in the way the child's anticipations had been raised, for in Bolivia humming-birds are found in great abundance. The Indians, who weave their plumage into all kinds of artistic designs, have bestowed the most poetical epithets upon these gems of the feathered race. They call them "rays of the sun," and "tresses of the day-star;" at one time they will describe them as "king of flowers," at another as "blossoms of heaven kissing blossoms of earth," or as "the jewel that reflects the sunbeam." In fact their imagination seems to have shaped a suitable distinction for almost every one of the 150 known species of this dazzling little beauty. But however numerous humming-birds might be expected to be in the Bolivian forest, they proved scarce enough at present, and Jack had to content himself with Harris's representations that they did not like solitude, but would be found plentifully at San Felice, where they would be heard all day long humming like a spinning-wheel. Already Jack said he longed to be there, a wish that was so unanimously echoed by all the rest, that they resolved that no stoppage should be allowed beyond what was absolutely indispensable. After a time the forest began to alter its aspect. The trees were even less crowded, opening now and then into wide glades. The soil, cropping up above its carpet of verdure, exhibited veins of rose granite and syenite, like plates of lapis lazuli; on some of the higher ground, the fleshy tubers of the sarsaparilla plant, growing in a hopeless entanglement, made progress a matter of still greater difficulty than in the narrow tracks of the dense forest. At sunset the travellers found that they had accomplished about eight miles from their starting-point. They could not prognosticate what hardships might be in store for them on future days, but it was certain that the experiences of the first day had been neither eventful nor very fatiguing. It was now unanimously agreed that they should make a halt for the night, and as little was to be apprehended from the attacks either of man or beast, it was considered unnecessary to form anything like a regular encampment. One man on guard, to be relieved every few hours, was presumed to be sufficient. Admirable shelter was offered by an enormous mango, the spreading foliage of which formed a kind of natural verandah, sweeping the ground so thoroughly that any one who chose could find sleeping-quarters in its very branches. Simultaneously with the halting of the party there was heard a deafening tumult in the upper boughs. The mango was the roosting place of a colony of grey parrots, a noisy, quarrelsome, and rapacious race, of whose true characteristics the specimens seen in confinement in Europe give no true conception. Their screeching and chattering were such a nuisance that Dick Sands wanted to fire a shot into the middle of them, but Harris seriously dissuaded him, urging that the report of firearms would only serve to reveal their own presence, whilst their greatest safety lay in perfect silence. Supper was prepared. There was little need of cooking. The meal, as before, consisted of preserved meat and biscuit. Fresh water, which they flavoured with a few drops of rum, was obtained from an adjacent stream which trickled through the grass. By way of dessert they had an abundance of ripe mangoes, and the only drawback to their general enjoyment was the discordant outcry which the parrots kept up, as it were in protest against the invasion of what they held to be their own rightful domain. It was nearly dark when supper was ended. The evening shade crept slowly upwards to the tops of the trees, which soon stood out in sharp relief against the lighter background of the sky, while the stars, one by one, began to peep. The wind dropped, and ceased to murmur through the foliage; to the general relief, the parrots desisted from their clatter; and as Nature hushed herself to rest, she seemed to be inviting all her children to follow her example. "Had we not better light a good large fire?" asked Dick. "By no means," said Harris; "the nights are not cold, and under this wide-spreading mango the ground is not likely to be damp. Besides, as I have told you before, our best security consists in our taking care to attract no attention whatever from without." Mrs. Weldon interposed,- "It may be true enough that we have nothing to dread from the Indians, but is it certain that there are no dangerous quadrupeds against which we are bound to be upon our guard?" Harris answered,- "I can positively assure you, madam, that there are no animals here but such as would be infinitely more afraid of you than you would be of them." "Are there any woods without wild beasts?" asked Jack. "All woods are not alike, my boy," replied Harris; "this wood is a great park. As the Indians say, 'Es como el Pariso;' it is like Paradise." Jack persisted,- "There must be snakes, and lions, and tigers." "Ask your mamma, my boy," said Harris, "whether she ever heard of lions and tigers in America?" Mrs. Weldon was endeavouring to put her little boy at his ease on this point, when Cousin Benedict interposed, saying that although there were no lions or tigers, there were plenty of jaguars and panthers in the New World. "And won't they kill us?" demanded Jack eagerly, his apprehensions once more aroused. "Kill you?" laughed Harris; "why, your friend Hercules here could strangle them, two at a time, one in each hand!" "But, please, don't let the panthers come near me!" pleaded Jack, evidently alarmed. "No, no, Master Jack, they shall not come near you. I will give them a good grip first," and the giant displayed his two rows of huge white teeth. Dick Sands proposed that it should be the four younger negroes who should be assigned the task of keeping watch during the night, in attendance upon himself; but ActÃ¦on insisted so strongly upon the necessity of Dick's having his full share of rest, that the others were soon brought to the same conviction, and Dick was obliged to yield. Jack valiantly announced his intention of taking one watch, but his sleepy eyelids made it only too plain that he did not know the extent of his own fatigue. "I am sure there are wolves here," he said. "Only such wolves as Dingo would swallow at a mouthful," said Harris. "But I am sure there are wolves," he insisted, repeating the word "wolves" again and again, until he tumbled off to sleep against the side of old Nan. Mrs. Weldon gave her little son a silent kiss; it was her loving "good night." Cousin Benedict was missing. Some little time before, he had slipped away in search of "cocuyos," or fire-flies, which he had heard were common in South America. Those singular insects emit a bright bluish light from two spots on the side of the thorax, and their colours are so brilliant that they are used as ornaments for ladies' headdresses. Hoping to secure some specimens for his box, Benedict would have wandered to an unlimited distance; but Hercules, faithful to his undertaking, soon discovered him, and heedless of the naturalist's protestations and vociferations, promptly escorted him back to the general rendezvous. Hercules himself was the first to keep watch, but with this exception, the whole party, in another hour, were wrapped in peaceful slumber. [Illustration: Hercules himself was the first to keep watch.] 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. Jules Verne (2005). Dick sands, the boy Captain. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3250.html.images 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

THROUGH THE FOREST

Five Weeks in a Balloon by Jules Verne, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . Chapter XIV here CHAPTER FOURTEENTH. The Forest of Gum-Trees.—The Blue Antelope.—The Rallying-Signal.—An Unexpected Attack.—The Kanyemé.—A Night in the Open Air.—The Mabunguru.—Jihoue-la-Mkoa.—A Supply of Water.—Arrival at Kazeh. The country, dry and parched as it was, consisting of a clayey soil that cracked open with the heat, seemed, indeed, a desert: here and there were a few traces of caravans; the bones of men and animals, that had been half-gnawed away, mouldering together in the same dust. After half an hour’s walking, Dick and Joe plunged into a forest of gum-trees, their eyes alert on all sides, and their fingers on the trigger. There was no foreseeing what they might encounter. Without being a rifleman, Joe could handle fire-arms with no trifling dexterity. “A walk does one good, Mr. Kennedy, but this isn’t the easiest ground in the world,” he said, kicking aside some fragments of quartz with which the soil was bestrewn. Kennedy motioned to his companion to be silent and to halt. The present case compelled them to dispense with hunting-dogs, and, no matter what Joe’s agility might be, he could not be expected to have the scent of a setter or a greyhound. A herd of a dozen antelopes were quenching their thirst in the bed of a torrent where some pools of water had lodged. The graceful creatures, snuffing danger in the breeze, seemed to be disturbed and uneasy. Their beautiful heads could be seen between every draught, raised in the air with quick and sudden motion as they sniffed the wind in the direction of our two hunters, with their flexible nostrils. Kennedy stole around behind some clumps of shrubbery, while Joe remained motionless where he was. The former, at length, got within gunshot and fired. The herd disappeared in the twinkling of an eye; one male antelope only, that was hit just behind the shoulder-joint, fell headlong to the ground, and Kennedy leaped toward his booty. It was a , a superb animal of a pale-bluish color shading upon the gray, but with the belly and the inside of the legs as white as the driven snow. blauwbok “A splendid shot!” exclaimed the hunter. “It’s a very rare species of the antelope, and I hope to be able to prepare his skin in such a way as to keep it.” “Indeed!” said Joe, “do you think of doing that, Mr. Kennedy?” “Why, certainly I do! Just see what a fine hide it is!” “But Dr. Ferguson will never allow us to take such an extra weight!” “You’re right, Joe. Still it is a pity to have to leave such a noble animal.” “The whole of it? Oh, we won’t do that, sir; we’ll take all the good eatable parts of it, and, if you’ll let me, I’ll cut him up just as well as the chairman of the honorable corporation of butchers of the city of London could do.” “As you please, my boy! But you know that in my hunter’s way I can just as easily skin and cut up a piece of game as kill it.” “I’m sure of that, Mr. Kennedy. Well, then, you can build a fireplace with a few stones; there’s plenty of dry dead-wood, and I can make the hot coals tell in a few minutes.” “Oh! that won’t take long,” said Kennedy, going to work on the fireplace, where he had a brisk flame crackling and sparkling in a minute or two. Joe had cut some of the nicest steaks and the best parts of the tenderloin from the carcass of the antelope, and these were quickly transformed to the most savory of broils. “There, those will tickle the doctor!” said Kennedy. “Do you know what I was thinking about?” said Joe. “Why, about the steaks you’re broiling, to be sure!” replied Dick. “Not the least in the world. I was thinking what a figure we’d cut if we couldn’t find the balloon again.” “By George, what an idea! Why, do you think the doctor would desert us?” “No; but suppose his anchor were to slip!” “Impossible! and, besides, the doctor would find no difficulty in coming down again with his balloon; he handles it at his ease.” “But suppose the wind were to sweep it off, so that he couldn’t come back toward us?” “Come, come, Joe! a truce to your suppositions; they’re any thing but pleasant.” “Ah! sir, every thing that happens in this world is natural, of course; but, then, any thing may happen, and we ought to look out beforehand.” At this moment the report of a gun rang out upon the air. “What’s that?” exclaimed Joe. “It’s my rifle, I know the ring of her!” said Kennedy. “A signal!” “Yes; danger for us!” “For him, too, perhaps.” “Let’s be off!” And the hunters, having gathered up the product of their expedition, rapidly made their way back along the path that they had marked by breaking boughs and bushes when they came. The density of the underbrush prevented their seeing the balloon, although they could not be far from it. A second shot was heard. “We must hurry!” said Joe. “There! a third report!” “Why, it sounds to me as if he was defending himself against something.” “Let us make haste!” They now began to run at the top of their speed. When they reached the outskirts of the forest, they, at first glance, saw the balloon in its place and the doctor in the car. “What’s the matter?” shouted Kennedy. “Good God!” suddenly exclaimed Joe. “What do you see?” “Down there! look! a crowd of blacks surrounding the balloon!” And, in fact, there, two miles from where they were, they saw some thirty wild natives close together, yelling, gesticulating, and cutting all kinds of antics at the foot of the sycamore. Some, climbing into the tree itself, were making their way to the topmost branches. The danger seemed pressing. “My master is lost!” cried Joe. “Come! a little more coolness, Joe, and let us see how we stand. We hold the lives of four of those villains in our hands. Forward, then!” They had made a mile with headlong speed, when another report was heard from the car. The shot had, evidently, told upon a huge black demon, who had been hoisting himself up by the anchor-rope. A lifeless body fell from bough to bough, and hung about twenty feet from the ground, its arms and legs swaying to and fro in the air. “Ha!” said Joe, halting, “what does that fellow hold by?” “No matter what!” said Kennedy; “let us run! let us run!” “Ah! Mr. Kennedy,” said Joe, again, in a roar of laughter, “by his tail! by his tail! it’s an ape! They’re all apes!” “Well, they’re worse than men!” said Kennedy, as he dashed into the midst of the howling crowd. It was, indeed, a troop of very formidable baboons of the dog-faced species. These creatures are brutal, ferocious, and horrible to look upon, with their dog-like muzzles and savage expression. However, a few shots scattered them, and the chattering horde scampered off, leaving several of their number on the ground. In a moment Kennedy was on the ladder, and Joe, clambering up the branches, detached the anchor; the car then dipped to where he was, and he got into it without difficulty. A few minutes later, the slowly ascended and soared away to the eastward, wafted by a moderate wind. Victoria “That was an attack for you!” said Joe. “We thought you were surrounded by natives.” “Well, fortunately, they were only apes,” said the doctor. “At a distance there’s no great difference,” remarked Kennedy. “Nor close at hand, either,” added Joe. “Well, however that may be,” resumed Ferguson, “this attack of apes might have had the most serious consequences. Had the anchor yielded to their repeated efforts, who knows whither the wind would have carried me?” “What did I tell you, Mr. Kennedy?” “You were right, Joe; but, even right as you may have been, you were, at that moment, preparing some antelope-steaks, the very sight of which gave me a monstrous appetite.” “I believe you!” said the doctor; “the flesh of the antelope is exquisite.” “You may judge of that yourself, now, sir, for supper’s ready.” “Upon my word as a sportsman, those venison-steaks have a gamy flavor that’s not to be sneezed at, I tell you.” “Good!” said Joe, with his mouth full, “I could live on antelope all the days of my life; and all the better with a glass of grog to wash it down.” So saying, the good fellow went to work to prepare a jorum of that fragrant beverage, and all hands tasted it with satisfaction. “Every thing has gone well thus far,” said he. “Very well indeed!” assented Kennedy. “Come, now, Mr. Kennedy, are you sorry that you came with us?” “I’d like to see anybody prevent my coming!” It was now four o’clock in the afternoon. The had struck a more rapid current. The face of the country was gradually rising, and, ere long, the barometer indicated a height of fifteen hundred feet above the level of the sea. The doctor was, therefore, obliged to keep his balloon up by a quite considerable dilation of gas, and the cylinder was hard at work all the time. Victoria Toward seven o’clock, the balloon was sailing over the basin of Kanyemé. The doctor immediately recognized that immense clearing, ten miles in extent, with its villages buried in the midst of baobab and calabash trees. It is the residence of one of the sultans of the Ugogo country, where civilization is, perhaps, the least backward. The natives there are less addicted to selling members of their own families, but still, men and animals all live together in round huts, without frames, that look like haystacks. Beyond Kanyemé the soil becomes arid and stony, but in an hour’s journey, in a fertile dip of the soil, vegetation had resumed all its vigor at some distance from Mdaburu. The wind fell with the close of the day, and the atmosphere seemed to sleep. The doctor vainly sought for a current of air at different heights, and, at last, seeing this calm of all nature, he resolved to pass the night afloat, and, for greater safety, rose to the height of one thousand feet, where the balloon remained motionless. The night was magnificent, the heavens glittering with stars, and profoundly silent in the upper air. Dick and Joe stretched themselves on their peaceful couch, and were soon sound asleep, the doctor keeping the first watch. At twelve o’clock the latter was relieved by Kennedy. “Should the slightest accident happen, waken me,” said Ferguson, “and, above all things, don’t lose sight of the barometer. To us it is the compass!” The night was cold. There were twenty-seven degrees of difference between its temperature and that of the daytime. With nightfall had begun the nocturnal concert of animals driven from their hiding-places by hunger and thirst. The frogs struck in their guttural soprano, redoubled by the yelping of the jackals, while the imposing bass of the African lion sustained the accords of this living orchestra. Upon resuming his post, in the morning, the doctor consulted his compass, and found that the wind had changed during the night. The balloon had been bearing about thirty miles to the northwest during the last two hours. It was then passing over Mabunguru, a stony country, strewn with blocks of syenite of a fine polish, and knobbed with huge bowlders and angular ridges of rock; conic masses, like the rocks of Karnak, studded the soil like so many Druidic dolmens; the bones of buffaloes and elephants whitened it here and there; but few trees could be seen, excepting in the east, where there were dense woods, among which a few villages lay half concealed. Toward seven o’clock they saw a huge round rock nearly two miles in extent, like an immense tortoise. “We are on the right track,” said Dr. Ferguson. “There’s Jihoue-la-Mkoa, where we must halt for a few minutes. I am going to renew the supply of water necessary for my cylinder, and so let us try to anchor somewhere.” “There are very few trees,” replied the hunter. “Never mind, let us try. Joe, throw out the anchors!” The balloon, gradually losing its ascensional force, approached the ground; the anchors ran along until, at last, one of them caught in the fissure of a rock, and the balloon remained motionless. It must not be supposed that the doctor could entirely extinguish his cylinder, during these halts. The equilibrium of the balloon had been calculated at the level of the sea; and, as the country was continually ascending, and had reached an elevation of from six to seven hundred feet, the balloon would have had a tendency to go lower than the surface of the soil itself. It was, therefore, necessary to sustain it by a certain dilation of the gas. But, in case the doctor, in the absence of all wind, had let the car rest upon the ground, the balloon, thus relieved of a considerable weight, would have kept up of itself, without the aid of the cylinder. The maps indicated extensive ponds on the western slope of the Jihoue-la-Mkoa. Joe went thither alone with a cask that would hold about ten gallons. He found the place pointed out to him, without difficulty, near to a deserted village; got his stock of water, and returned in less than three-quarters of an hour. He had seen nothing particular excepting some immense elephant-pits. In fact, he came very near falling into one of them, at the bottom of which lay a half-eaten carcass. He brought back with him a sort of clover which the apes eat with avidity. The doctor recognized the fruit of the “mbenbu“—tree which grows in profusion, on the western part of Jihoue-la-Mkoa. Ferguson waited for Joe with a certain feeling of impatience, for even a short halt in this inhospitable region always inspires a degree of fear. The water was got aboard without trouble, as the car was nearly resting on the ground. Joe then found it easy to loosen the anchor and leaped lightly to his place beside the doctor. The latter then replenished the flame in the cylinder, and the balloon majestically soared into the air. It was then about one hundred miles from Kazeh, an important establishment in the interior of Africa, where, thanks to a south-southeasterly current, the travellers might hope to arrive on that same day. They were moving at the rate of fourteen miles per hour, and the guidance of the balloon was becoming difficult, as they dared not rise very high without extreme dilation of the gas, the country itself being at an average height of three thousand feet. Hence, the doctor preferred not to force the dilation, and so adroitly followed the sinuosities of a pretty sharply-inclined plane, and swept very close to the villages of Thembo and Tura-Wels. The latter forms part of the Unyamwezy, a magnificent country, where the trees attain enormous dimensions; among them the cactus, which grows to gigantic size. About two o’clock, in magnificent weather, but under a fiery sun that devoured the least breath of air, the balloon was floating over the town of Kazeh, situated about three hundred and fifty miles from the coast. “We left Zanzibar at nine o’clock in the morning,” said the doctor, consulting his notes, “and, after two days’ passage, we have, including our deviations, travelled nearly five hundred geographical miles. Captains Burton and Speke took four months and a half to make the same distance!” 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. Jules Verne (2002). Five Weeks in a Balloon. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/3526/pg3526-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

The Forest of Gum-Trees

Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . IN WHICH PHILEAS FOGG AND HIS COMPANIONS VENTURE ACROSS THE INDIAN FORESTS, AND WHAT ENSUED here CHAPTER XII. IN WHICH PHILEAS FOGG AND HIS COMPANIONS VENTURE ACROSS THE INDIAN FORESTS, AND WHAT ENSUED In order to shorten the journey, the guide passed to the left of the line where the railway was still in process of being built. This line, owing to the capricious turnings of the Vindhia Mountains, did not pursue a straight course. The Parsee, who was quite familiar with the roads and paths in the district, declared that they would gain twenty miles by striking directly through the forest. Phileas Fogg and Sir Francis Cromarty, plunged to the neck in the peculiar howdahs provided for them, were horribly jostled by the swift trotting of the elephant, spurred on as he was by the skilful Parsee; but they endured the discomfort with true British phlegm, talking little, and scarcely able to catch a glimpse of each other. As for Passepartout, who was mounted on the beast’s back, and received the direct force of each concussion as he trod along, he was very careful, in accordance with his master’s advice, to keep his tongue from between his teeth, as it would otherwise have been bitten off short. The worthy fellow bounced from the elephant’s neck to his rump, and vaulted like a clown on a spring-board; yet he laughed in the midst of his bouncing, and from time to time took a piece of sugar out of his pocket, and inserted it in Kiouni’s trunk, who received it without in the least slackening his regular trot. After two hours the guide stopped the elephant, and gave him an hour for rest, during which Kiouni, after quenching his thirst at a neighbouring spring, set to devouring the branches and shrubs round about him. Neither Sir Francis nor Mr. Fogg regretted the delay, and both descended with a feeling of relief. “Why, he’s made of iron!” exclaimed the general, gazing admiringly on Kiouni. “Of forged iron,” replied Passepartout, as he set about preparing a hasty breakfast. At noon the Parsee gave the signal of departure. The country soon presented a very savage aspect. Copses of dates and dwarf-palms succeeded the dense forests; then vast, dry plains, dotted with scanty shrubs, and sown with great blocks of syenite. All this portion of Bundelcund, which is little frequented by travellers, is inhabited by a fanatical population, hardened in the most horrible practices of the Hindoo faith. The English have not been able to secure complete dominion over this territory, which is subjected to the influence of rajahs, whom it is almost impossible to reach in their inaccessible mountain fastnesses. The travellers several times saw bands of ferocious Indians, who, when they perceived the elephant striding across-country, made angry and threatening motions. The Parsee avoided them as much as possible. Few animals were observed on the route; even the monkeys hurried from their path with contortions and grimaces which convulsed Passepartout with laughter. In the midst of his gaiety, however, one thought troubled the worthy servant. What would Mr. Fogg do with the elephant when he got to Allahabad? Would he carry him on with him? Impossible! The cost of transporting him would make him ruinously expensive. Would he sell him, or set him free? The estimable beast certainly deserved some consideration. Should Mr. Fogg choose to make him, Passepartout, a present of Kiouni, he would be very much embarrassed; and these thoughts did not cease worrying him for a long time. The principal chain of the Vindhias was crossed by eight in the evening, and another halt was made on the northern slope, in a ruined bungalow. They had gone nearly twenty-five miles that day, and an equal distance still separated them from the station of Allahabad. The night was cold. The Parsee lit a fire in the bungalow with a few dry branches, and the warmth was very grateful, provisions purchased at Kholby sufficed for supper, and the travellers ate ravenously. The conversation, beginning with a few disconnected phrases, soon gave place to loud and steady snores. The guide watched Kiouni, who slept standing, bolstering himself against the trunk of a large tree. Nothing occurred during the night to disturb the slumberers, although occasional growls from panthers and chatterings of monkeys broke the silence; the more formidable beasts made no cries or hostile demonstration against the occupants of the bungalow. Sir Francis slept heavily, like an honest soldier overcome with fatigue. Passepartout was wrapped in uneasy dreams of the bouncing of the day before. As for Mr. Fogg, he slumbered as peacefully as if he had been in his serene mansion in Saville Row. The journey was resumed at six in the morning; the guide hoped to reach Allahabad by evening. In that case, Mr. Fogg would only lose a part of the forty-eight hours saved since the beginning of the tour. Kiouni, resuming his rapid gait, soon descended the lower spurs of the Vindhias, and towards noon they passed by the village of Kallenger, on the Cani, one of the branches of the Ganges. The guide avoided inhabited places, thinking it safer to keep the open country, which lies along the first depressions of the basin of the great river. Allahabad was now only twelve miles to the north-east. They stopped under a clump of bananas, the fruit of which, as healthy as bread and as succulent as cream, was amply partaken of and appreciated. At two o’clock the guide entered a thick forest which extended several miles; he preferred to travel under cover of the woods. They had not as yet had any unpleasant encounters, and the journey seemed on the point of being successfully accomplished, when the elephant, becoming restless, suddenly stopped. It was then four o’clock. “What’s the matter?” asked Sir Francis, putting out his head. “I don’t know, officer,” replied the Parsee, listening attentively to a confused murmur which came through the thick branches. The murmur soon became more distinct; it now seemed like a distant concert of human voices accompanied by brass instruments. Passepartout was all eyes and ears. Mr. Fogg patiently waited without a word. The Parsee jumped to the ground, fastened the elephant to a tree, and plunged into the thicket. He soon returned, saying: “A procession of Brahmins is coming this way. We must prevent their seeing us, if possible.” The guide unloosed the elephant and led him into a thicket, at the same time asking the travellers not to stir. He held himself ready to bestride the animal at a moment’s notice, should flight become necessary; but he evidently thought that the procession of the faithful would pass without perceiving them amid the thick foliage, in which they were wholly concealed. The discordant tones of the voices and instruments drew nearer, and now droning songs mingled with the sound of the tambourines and cymbals. The head of the procession soon appeared beneath the trees, a hundred paces away; and the strange figures who performed the religious ceremony were easily distinguished through the branches. First came the priests, with mitres on their heads, and clothed in long lace robes. They were surrounded by men, women, and children, who sang a kind of lugubrious psalm, interrupted at regular intervals by the tambourines and cymbals; while behind them was drawn a car with large wheels, the spokes of which represented serpents entwined with each other. Upon the car, which was drawn by four richly caparisoned zebus, stood a hideous statue with four arms, the body coloured a dull red, with haggard eyes, dishevelled hair, protruding tongue, and lips tinted with betel. It stood upright upon the figure of a prostrate and headless giant. Sir Francis, recognising the statue, whispered, “The goddess Kali; the goddess of love and death.” “Of death, perhaps,” muttered back Passepartout, “but of love—that ugly old hag? Never!” The Parsee made a motion to keep silence. A group of old fakirs were capering and making a wild ado round the statue; these were striped with ochre, and covered with cuts whence their blood issued drop by drop—stupid fanatics, who, in the great Indian ceremonies, still throw themselves under the wheels of Juggernaut. Some Brahmins, clad in all the sumptuousness of Oriental apparel, and leading a woman who faltered at every step, followed. This woman was young, and as fair as a European. Her head and neck, shoulders, ears, arms, hands, and toes were loaded down with jewels and gems with bracelets, earrings, and rings; while a tunic bordered with gold, and covered with a light muslin robe, betrayed the outline of her form. The guards who followed the young woman presented a violent contrast to her, armed as they were with naked sabres hung at their waists, and long damascened pistols, and bearing a corpse on a palanquin. It was the body of an old man, gorgeously arrayed in the habiliments of a rajah, wearing, as in life, a turban embroidered with pearls, a robe of tissue of silk and gold, a scarf of cashmere sewed with diamonds, and the magnificent weapons of a Hindoo prince. Next came the musicians and a rearguard of capering fakirs, whose cries sometimes drowned the noise of the instruments; these closed the procession. Sir Francis watched the procession with a sad countenance, and, turning to the guide, said, “A suttee.” The Parsee nodded, and put his finger to his lips. The procession slowly wound under the trees, and soon its last ranks disappeared in the depths of the wood. The songs gradually died away; occasionally cries were heard in the distance, until at last all was silence again. Phileas Fogg had heard what Sir Francis said, and, as soon as the procession had disappeared, asked: “What is a suttee?” “A suttee,” returned the general, “is a human sacrifice, but a voluntary one. The woman you have just seen will be burned to-morrow at the dawn of day.” “Oh, the scoundrels!” cried Passepartout, who could not repress his indignation. “And the corpse?” asked Mr. Fogg. “Is that of the prince, her husband,” said the guide; “an independent rajah of Bundelcund.” “Is it possible,” resumed Phileas Fogg, his voice betraying not the least emotion, “that these barbarous customs still exist in India, and that the English have been unable to put a stop to them?” “These sacrifices do not occur in the larger portion of India,” replied Sir Francis; “but we have no power over these savage territories, and especially here in Bundelcund. The whole district north of the Vindhias is the theatre of incessant murders and pillage.” “The poor wretch!” exclaimed Passepartout, “to be burned alive!” “Yes,” returned Sir Francis, “burned alive. And, if she were not, you cannot conceive what treatment she would be obliged to submit to from her relatives. They would shave off her hair, feed her on a scanty allowance of rice, treat her with contempt; she would be looked upon as an unclean creature, and would die in some corner, like a scurvy dog. The prospect of so frightful an existence drives these poor creatures to the sacrifice much more than love or religious fanaticism. Sometimes, however, the sacrifice is really voluntary, and it requires the active interference of the Government to prevent it. Several years ago, when I was living at Bombay, a young widow asked permission of the governor to be burned along with her husband’s body; but, as you may imagine, he refused. The woman left the town, took refuge with an independent rajah, and there carried out her self-devoted purpose.” While Sir Francis was speaking, the guide shook his head several times, and now said: “The sacrifice which will take place to-morrow at dawn is not a voluntary one.” “How do you know?” “Everybody knows about this affair in Bundelcund.” “But the wretched creature did not seem to be making any resistance,” observed Sir Francis. “That was because they had intoxicated her with fumes of hemp and opium.” “But where are they taking her?” “To the pagoda of Pillaji, two miles from here; she will pass the night there.” “And the sacrifice will take place—” “To-morrow, at the first light of dawn.” The guide now led the elephant out of the thicket, and leaped upon his neck. Just at the moment that he was about to urge Kiouni forward with a peculiar whistle, Mr. Fogg stopped him, and, turning to Sir Francis Cromarty, said, “Suppose we save this woman.” “Save the woman, Mr. Fogg!” “I have yet twelve hours to spare; I can devote them to that.” “Why, you are a man of heart!” “Sometimes,” replied Phileas Fogg, quietly; “when I have the time.” 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. Jules Verne (1994). Around the World in Eighty Days. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/files/103/103-h/103-h.htm 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

IN WHICH PHILEAS FOGG AND HIS COMPANIONS VENTURE ACROSS THE INDIAN FORESTS, AND WHAT ENSUED

Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . A SUBMARINE FOREST here CHAPTER XVI: A SUBMARINE FOREST We had at last arrived on the borders of this forest, doubtless one of the finest of Captain Nemo’s immense domains. He looked upon it as his own, and considered he had the same right over it that the first men had in the first days of the world. And, indeed, who would have disputed with him the possession of this submarine property? What other hardier pioneer would come, hatchet in hand, to cut down the dark copses? This forest was composed of large tree-plants; and the moment we penetrated under its vast arcades, I was struck by the singular position of their branches—a position I had not yet observed. Not a herb which carpeted the ground, not a branch which clothed the trees, was either broken or bent, nor did they extend horizontally; all stretched up to the surface of the ocean. Not a filament, not a ribbon, however thin they might be, but kept as straight as a rod of iron. The fuci and llianas grew in rigid perpendicular lines, due to the density of the element which had produced them. Motionless, yet when bent to one side by the hand, they directly resumed their former position. Truly it was the region of perpendicularity! I soon accustomed myself to this fantastic position, as well as to the comparative darkness which surrounded us. The soil of the forest seemed covered with sharp blocks, difficult to avoid. The submarine flora struck me as being very perfect, and richer even than it would have been in the arctic or tropical zones, where these productions are not so plentiful. But for some minutes I involuntarily confounded the genera, taking zoophytes for hydrophytes, animals for plants; and who would not have been mistaken? The fauna and the flora are too closely allied in this submarine world. These plants are self-propagated, and the principle of their existence is in the water, which upholds and nourishes them. The greater number, instead of leaves, shot forth blades of capricious shapes, comprised within a scale of colours,—pink, carmine, green, olive, fawn, and brown. I saw there (but not dried up, as our specimens of the are) pavonari spread like a fan, as if to catch the breeze; scarlet ceramies, whose laminaries extended their edible shoots of fern-shaped nereocysti, which grow to a height of fifteen feet; clusters of acetabuli, whose stems increase in size upwards; and numbers of other marine plants, all devoid of flowers! Nautilus “Curious anomaly, fantastic element!” said an ingenious naturalist, “in which the animal kingdom blossoms, and the vegetable does not!” Under these numerous shrubs (as large as trees of the temperate zone), and under their damp shadow, were massed together real bushes of living flowers, hedges of zoophytes, on which blossomed some zebrameandrines, with crooked grooves, some yellow caryophylliæ; and, to complete the allusion, the fish-flies flew from branch to branch like a swarm of humming-birds, whilst yellow lepisacomthi, with bristling jaws, dactylopteri, and monocentrides rose at our feet like a flight of snipes. In about an hour Captain Nemo gave the signal to halt. I, for my part, was not sorry, and we stretched ourselves under an arbour of alariæ, the long thin blades of which stood up like arrows. This short rest seemed delicious to me; there was nothing wanting but the charm of conversation; but, impossible to speak, impossible to answer, I only put my great copper head to Conseil’s. I saw the worthy fellow’s eyes glistening with delight, and to show his satisfaction, he shook himself in his breastplate of air in the most comical way in the world. After four hours of this walking I was surprised not to find myself dreadfully hungry. How to account for this state of the stomach I could not tell. But instead I felt an insurmountable desire to sleep, which happens to all divers. And my eyes soon closed behind the thick glasses, and I fell into a heavy slumber, which the movement alone had prevented before. Captain Nemo and his robust companion, stretched in the clear crystal, set us the example. How long I remained buried in this drowsiness I cannot judge; but, when I woke, the sun seemed sinking towards the horizon. Captain Nemo had already risen, and I was beginning to stretch my limbs, when an unexpected apparition brought me briskly to my feet. A few steps off, a monstrous sea-spider, about thirty-eight inches high, was watching me with squinting eyes, ready to spring upon me. Though my diver’s dress was thick enough to defend me from the bite of this animal, I could not help shuddering with horror. Conseil and the sailor of the awoke at this moment. Captain Nemo pointed out the hideous crustacean, which a blow from the butt end of the gun knocked over, and I saw the horrible claws of the monster writhe in terrible convulsions. This accident reminded me that other animals more to be feared might haunt these obscure depths, against whose attacks my diving-dress would not protect me. I had never thought of it before, but I now resolved to be upon my guard. Indeed, I thought that this halt would mark the termination of our walk; but I was mistaken, for, instead of returning to the , Captain Nemo continued his bold excursion. The ground was still on the incline, its declivity seemed to be getting greater, and to be leading us to greater depths. It must have been about three o’clock when we reached a narrow valley, between high perpendicular walls, situated about seventy-five fathoms deep. Thanks to the perfection of our apparatus, we were forty-five fathoms below the limit which nature seems to have imposed on man as to his submarine excursions. Nautilus Nautilus I say seventy-five fathoms, though I had no instrument by which to judge the distance. But I knew that even in the clearest waters the solar rays could not penetrate further. And accordingly the darkness deepened. At ten paces not an object was visible. I was groping my way, when I suddenly saw a brilliant white light. Captain Nemo had just put his electric apparatus into use; his companion did the same, and Conseil and I followed their example. By turning a screw I established a communication between the wire and the spiral glass, and the sea, lit by our four lanterns, was illuminated for a circle of thirty-six yards. Captain Nemo was still plunging into the dark depths of the forest, whose trees were getting scarcer at every step. I noticed that vegetable life disappeared sooner than animal life. The medusæ had already abandoned the arid soil, from which a great number of animals, zoophytes, articulata, molluscs, and fishes, still obtained sustenance. As we walked I, thought the light of our Ruhmkorff apparatus could not fail to draw some inhabitant from its dark couch. But if they did approach us, they at least kept at a respectful distance from the hunters. Several times I saw Captain Nemo stop, put his gun to his shoulder, and after some moments drop it and walk on. At last, after about four hours, this marvellous excursion came to an end. A wall of superb rocks, in an imposing mass, rose before us, a heap of gigantic blocks, an enormous, steep granite shore, forming dark grottos, but which presented no practicable slope; it was the prop of the Island of Crespo. It was the earth! Captain Nemo stopped suddenly. A gesture of his brought us all to a halt, and, however desirous I might be to scale the wall, I was obliged to stop. Here ended Captain Nemo’s domains. And he would not go beyond them. Further on was a portion of the globe he might not trample upon. The return began. Captain Nemo had returned to the head of his little band, directing their course without hesitation. I thought we were not following the same road to return to the . The new road was very steep, and consequently very painful. We approached the surface of the sea rapidly. But this return to the upper strata was not so sudden as to cause relief from the pressure too rapidly, which might have produced serious disorder in our organisation, and brought on internal lesions, so fatal to divers. Very soon light reappeared and grew, and the sun being low on the horizon, the refraction edged the different objects with a spectral ring. At ten yards and a half deep, we walked amidst a shoal of little fishes of all kinds, more numerous than the birds of the air, and also more agile; but no aquatic game worthy of a shot had as yet met our gaze, when at that moment I saw the Captain shoulder his gun quickly, and follow a moving object into the shrubs. He fired;—I heard a slight hissing, and a creature fell stunned at some distance from us. It was a magnificent sea-otter, an enhydrus, the only exclusively marine quadruped. This otter was five feet long, and must have been very valuable. Its skin, chestnut-brown above and silvery underneath, would have made one of those beautiful furs so sought after in the Russian and Chinese markets; the fineness and the lustre of its coat would certainly fetch £80. I admired this curious mammal, with its rounded head ornamented with short ears, its round eyes, and white whiskers like those of a cat, with webbed feet and nails, and tufted tail. This precious animal, hunted and tracked by fishermen, has now become very rare, and taken refuge chiefly in the northern parts of the Pacific, or probably its race would soon become extinct. Nautilus Captain Nemo’s companion took the beast, threw it over his shoulder, and we continued our journey. For one hour a plain of sand lay stretched before us. Sometimes it rose to within two yards and some inches of the surface of the water. I then saw our image clearly reflected, drawn inversely, and above us appeared an identical group reflecting our movements and our actions; in a word, like us in every point, except that they walked with their heads downward and their feet in the air. Another effect I noticed, which was the passage of thick clouds which formed and vanished rapidly; but on reflection I understood that these seeming clouds were due to the varying thickness of the reeds at the bottom, and I could even see the fleecy foam which their broken tops multiplied on the water, and the shadows of large birds passing above our heads, whose rapid flight I could discern on the surface of the sea. On this occasion, I was witness to one of the finest gun-shots which ever made the nerves of a hunter thrill. A large bird of great breadth of wing, clearly visible, approached, hovering over us. Captain Nemo’s companion shouldered his gun and fired, when it was only a few yards above the waves. The creature fell stunned, and the force of its fall brought it within the reach of dexterous hunter’s grasp. It was an albatross of the finest kind. Our march had not been interrupted by this incident. For two hours we followed these sandy plains, then fields of algæ very disagreeable to cross. Candidly, I could do no more when I saw a glimmer of light, which, for a half mile, broke the darkness of the waters. It was the lantern of the . Before twenty minutes were over we should be on board, and I should be able to breathe with ease, for it seemed that my reservoir supplied air very deficient in oxygen. But I did not reckon on an accidental meeting, which delayed our arrival for some time. Nautilus I had remained some steps behind, when I presently saw Captain Nemo coming hurriedly towards me. With his strong hand he bent me to the ground, his companion doing the same to Conseil. At first I knew not what to think of this sudden attack, but I was soon reassured by seeing the Captain lie down beside me, and remain immovable. I was stretched on the ground, just under the shelter of a bush of algæ, when, raising my head, I saw some enormous mass, casting phosphorescent gleams, pass blusteringly by. My blood froze in my veins as I recognised two formidable sharks which threatened us. It was a couple of tintoreas, terrible creatures, with enormous tails and a dull glassy stare, the phosphorescent matter ejected from holes pierced around the muzzle. Monstrous brutes! which would crush a whole man in their iron jaws. I did not know whether Conseil stopped to classify them; for my part, I noticed their silver bellies, and their huge mouths bristling with teeth, from a very unscientific point of view, and more as a possible victim than as a naturalist. Happily the voracious creatures do not see well. They passed without seeing us, brushing us with their brownish fins, and we escaped by a miracle from a danger certainly greater than meeting a tiger full-face in the forest. Half an hour after, guided by the electric light, we reached the . The outside door had been left open, and Captain Nemo closed it as soon as we had entered the first cell. He then pressed a knob. I heard the pumps working in the midst of the vessel, I felt the water sinking from around me, and in a few moments the cell was entirely empty. The inside door then opened, and we entered the vestry. Nautilus There our diving-dress was taken off, not without some trouble; and, fairly worn out from want of food and sleep. I returned to my room, in great wonder at this surprising excursion at the bottom of the sea. 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. Jules Verne (1994). Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/files/164/164-h/164-h.htm 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

A SUBMARINE FOREST

Field, Forest and Farm by Jean-Henri Fabre is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. Read this book online for free on HackerNoon! : Field, Forest and Farm Title : Jean-Henri Fabre Author : Florence Constable Bicknell Translator : April 11, 2022 [eBook #67813] Release date : English Language Table of Links Chapter﻿s I. The Staff of Life II. The History of Tobacco III. The Origin of Fertile Soil IV. Different Kinds of Soil V. Different Kinds of Soil (Continued) VI. Potash and Phosphorus VII. Phosphates and Nitrogen VIII. Vegetation and the Atmosphere IX. Lime X. Lime in Agriculture XI. Plaster of Paris XII. Plaster of Paris in Agriculture XIII. Natural Fertilizers—Guano XIV. The Stalk of the Plant XV. The Root XVI. Buds XVII. Adventitious Buds XVIII. Bulbs and Bulblets XIX. Tubers—Starch XX. Uses of Starch XXI. History of the Potato XXII. Ascending Sap XXIII. Descending Sap XXIV. Tree-Pruning XXV. Pinching—Bud-Nipping XXVI. Making Fruit Trees Bear XXVII. The Seed XXVIII. The Seed’s Food-Supply XXIX. Germination[vi] XXX. The Blossom XXXI. Pollen XXXII. The Grain of Wheat XXXIII. Cultivated Plants XXXIV. Different Ways of Propagating XXXV. Layering XXXVI. Slipping XXXVII. Grafting XXXVIII. Grafting (Continued) XXXIX. Grafting (Concluded) XL. Rotation of Crops XLI. Rotation of Crops (Continued) XLII. Land-Drainage XLIII. Paring and Burning XLIV. Wine-Making XLV. The Stag-Beetle XLVI. Sheath-Winged Insects XLVII. The June-Bug XLVIII. Caterpillars and Butterflies XLIX. Ants L. The Ant-Lion LI. Venomous Animals LII. The Phylloxera LIII. The Phylloxera (Continued) LIV. Nocturnal Birds of Prey LV. The Smaller Birds LVI. Birds’ Nests LVII. Migration of Birds LVIII. Carrier-Pigeons LIX. Some Prehistoric Animals LX. The Origin of Coal LXI. The Farmer’s Helpers LXII. The Farmer’s Helpers (Continued) 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). Field, Forest and Farm. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/67813/pg67813-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.

Stories, News & Mentions about FOREST

Forest’s Stories on HackerNoon

Forest's News & Mentions