Nappanee High School - Napanet Yearbook (Nappanee, IN)

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spring about sundown the air is filled with its croaking which can only be made pleasant by its association with the welcome advent of spring. There are about 440 species of this reptile and they are numerously abundant in all quarters of the globe. Frogs as shown by their distribution are capable of enduring a great amount of heat and cold, but they have their struggle for life. Of the millions of eggs offering in the pools and marshes each spring, only a small number in proportion are matured, and as they are developed into tadpoles in four days are often eaten by fish and fowl and have been found to kill and feed upon each other. Thus as the frog evolves from the egg through the tadpole to the fully matured frog, it has continually to struggle with its competitors for existence. Even after it has maintained its highest form of living it is often found the prey of snakes, fowls and fish. Now we find as we enter into the kingdom of the lower animals that the struggle for existence is constantly exchanging death for life with millions of animals every year and weeding out the weaker ones leaving the best, fitted for the attack of nature to survive and thus constantly generation after generation strengthens the species. Take if you will the life of a rat, one of our most common animals. It has a hard struggle for life, yet we see hundreds of them around barns and houses, and any old building is literally alive with them, yet how often are they seen in traps. The victims of poisoned food or the prey of a hungry cat: if they had no enemies to destroy them and if allowed to live, in five years one pair would produce 4,81 7.427,- 74,1)35,416 rats, thus we see if allowed at this rate in a few years the earth would be totally populated with rats. In the life of a polar bear we see this struggle for life. As it ascends the icy crags of the north in search of food it is often overtaken by the Eskimo or other animals and often following in a battle with its own kind. Nevertheless it too is fitted for its struggle by being the same color as its fleecy white surroundings, the ice and snow, making it ditlicult to be seen and enabling it to more easily glide up on its prey. Again we find this struggle constantly developing itself in the life of man. IIis struggles are various kinds, physical, social, moral, religious, and political. In all these realms there is a struggle in the life of man. and naturally in each realm the vigorous, well educated, refined and moral man will be found at the head as a leader to the weaker, thus helping them to become strong. For instance, in the earliest times we have recorded by history the events in the life of the cannibal, how they struggle with other tribes and even in their own tribe killing and feeding upon each other. Thus so on through the ages each tribe looking back and gaining by the experiences of those that have lived before. So we see civilization grows by comparing the present with bygone ages and recording the results for the coming generations. In the moral, social, religious and political struggle. our attention is called to the Dreyfus affair: how he was accused falsely and cast into prison on a lonely dismal island, for more than five years living in a dark cell where he fought with filth and disease until he was proven innocent, and afterward restored to his office at the head of the army, while his guilty accusers in the meantime met death. Thus we see in the life of man only the fittest survive. Also in the human body there is a constant struggle between tissue cells and the poisonous disease germs which are ever marauding our being. Which is to overcome? If the cells are in a healthy condition, the germs are attacked and destroyed and our health prevails: but if the germs of disease overcome cell life and action, our bodies must succumb to the ravages of disease. Thus in conclusion we see all nature is working toward a definite end, its purpose is the perfecting of each species. So we must agree with Tennyson when he said: “I doubt not that through the ages One increasing purpose runs: And that the mind of man is broading With the process of the suns.” t 10

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ahr uroittal nf thr Ifittrst. nr ahr trugglr fur txhitrnrr By HARRY E. PRICE A LL nature is one vast battle-field. Like vast op-posing armies are t lie various forms of life. All these various forms of life have their Marat lions, their Arbelas their Tours, and likewise their Water-loos. These vast armies and navies of nature are noted by the Scientist and studied by him under the title of “The Struggle for Existence” or “The Survival of the Fittest.” These two expressions are simply two views of the same workings of nature. They are like the American dollar, “The Struggle for Existence” being represented by the eagle in his defiant attitude, while “The Survival of the Fittest” can aply be represented by the head of liberty, for it is the larger liberty that “The Survival of the Fittest” represents. By these expressions we do not mean that life is entirely free from its race with destruction. We do not mean that each individual plant, reptile, fowl or animal, high or low, goes through life irrespective of heredity or environment: we do not mean that the plant, regardless of zone, climate or moisture goes on through life without some means of defense. Neither do we mean that the reptile kingdom, represented by the snake, the chameleon or the frog, creep along in the damp slimy jungle of tlie dark continent not armed for the dreaded attack of some enemy: nor do we mean that tlie fowls of the air, as they flit from tree to tree are free from being drawn to death by the cunningness of some creeping, crawling, glittering eyed serpent or becoming the prey of one of its own kind, or the mark of some wary huntsman. But by the term “Fittest ’ we do mean that life as it is manifested in various forms, plants, reptiles, fowls, higher or lower animals, is better fitted to survive than any other of its kind, because it has a greater power of resistance and endurance, also a greater ability to adjust itself to its environment. It is only natural therefore that we arrive at the conclusion that all life is constantly in peril, or that the keeping of life is a constant struggle between life and life and between life and death. To all forms of life there comes more or less of a battle against the shifting of tlie seasons, tlie hot fiery blast of summer, the chilling icy winds of winter, tlie rains, the floods, and the onward march of civilization; added to these life must also battle against famine, disease and against its own kind. Note the struggle that is going on irr the vegetable kingdom. All plants are struggling to adjust them-selves to the changing conditions of circumstances, and that a struggle for existence inevitably follows from the rapid rate at which all organic beings tend to increase. We understand that in all organic life, thousands of eggs, seeds or some form of life are produced that never mature, and all these at some period of their life must suffer destruction, as for instance when draught, frost or insects come that only the best fitted for life overcome in the battles and the weaker ones are destroyed. In plants there is a vast destruction of seeds, for instance in a piece of ground (2 ft. x 4 ft.) where there could be no choking by other plants, out of 357 seeds there were no less than 295 destroyed chiefly by insects and slugs. Let us look into the life of a morning glory which is only a moderately prolific plant. In ordinary soil it produces 3,000 seeds, if all these were allowed to mature each year in four years the surface of the earth would be totally covered. So we arrive at tlie conclusion that tlie reason the morning glory does not occupy more space than it does is due largely to its destructive elements, and consequently the value of tills struggle may be seen as it gives us tlie strong healthy plant. Let us turn our atu?nlion to tlie common grain, corn, which produces 7,000 grains of pollen on each stalk, each grain containing the life of an individual plant which in its turn produces 7,000 more grains, if it were not for the struggle that goes on and tlie destruction of the weak embryonic life we could readily see what a tremendous crop would be tlie result. May we not then conclude that in a short time all other plants would be totally destroyed and there would soon begin a plant suicide! This struggle is also observed in the kingdom of reptiles. Because they are more abundant in South America than in any other country the struggle is there more plainly seen: but sufficient evidence can be found at our own door. Look for instance at tlie rattlesnake, one of our most common reptiles as it winds its way through the meadow and marsh how often it is overtaken by man or some lower animal, or tlie eagle, and even by its own kind for it is a very common tiling for snakes to feed upon their own kind. But on tlie other hand note how it is fitted for its struggle; look if you will at its poisonous fangs which in an instant will cause the death of any intruder that it is forced to strike. Its color making it almost impossible to distinguish it from the ground. Tiius it is not only possible for it to defend itself but that it may escape detection and tiius secure its prey. Again notice the ability of the chameleon to meet its struggle for existence. Its power to change its color in accordance with its surroundings: should they be red or green it in a very short time becomes the exact counterpart of them. In this lies its defense and its power to secure prey. Take if you will tlie frog or the toad. In the 9

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 GRACE NEFF Grace, the poet of the class of 1907, was l)orn July 22, 1888, two and one-half miles south-east of Nappanee. She finished the grades and will soon finish high school in a very creditable manner. She never causes the teachers any trouble as to grades and deportment. She is an energetic member of the 1907 class and stands for advancement and success. She is a rising poet and no doubt will continue her future education in some university. We wish her splendid success.