The Mysterious Island Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Captain Grant's Children

Chapter 135 The Mysterious Island (20)
"No, Pencroft. Ten, and do you know how many grains of wheat there are on an ear?"

"Honestly, I don't know."

Cyrus Harding said: "The average is eighty grains, so if we sow this grain, we shall reap eight hundred grains the first time, and these eight hundred grains shall yield 64 grains the second time, and 400 grains the third time. It can produce [-] million grains, and the fourth time can produce more than [-] billion grains. That’s the ratio.”

These figures surprised everyone so much that the big guys just listened and didn't answer.While the numbers are staggering, the numbers are spot on.

The engineer continued: "Yes, my friends, this is the arithmetic progression of productive nature. Besides, compared with nature, the multiplication of ears of wheat is nothing, although it is said that one ear of wheat produces eight hundred grains of wheat, one A poppy plant bears 3 seeds, and a tobacco plant produces 36 seeds, but there are many destructive factors in nature to prevent their prolific growth, otherwise, within a few years, such plants will cover the entire earth. .”

Even after saying so much, the engineer didn't finish his little question.

He added: "Now, Pencroft, do you know how many bushels are 400 grains of wheat?"

Pencroft replied honestly: "I don't know, all I know is that I'm an idiot!"

"It's like this. Based on 13 grains per bucket, 400 billion grains are about more than 30 buckets."

cried Pencroft involuntarily. "30!"

"30."

"After four years?"

Cyrus Harding replied: "Four years from now, or two years from now, as I wish, we may be able to harvest twice a year in this place."

Hearing this, Pencroft applauded.It was his habit when he was unable to respond. "So, Harbert," continued the engineer, "your discoveries are of great importance to us. All things considered, my friends, we shall make use of all that is available to us in our present situation. Please bear this in mind."

Pencroft replied: "Yes, Mr. Cyrus, yes, we will not forget, and I assure you, if I find a tobacco seed that bears 36 seeds, I will not throw it away." ! But now, do you know what we're going to do?"

Hubbert replied, "We shall plant this grain of wheat."

Jardin Splane added: "Yes, it will bring us future harvests, not only grow but also take good care of it."

"I wish it would grow!" cried the sailor.

Cyrus Harding was confident: "It will grow!"

This day happens to be June 6th, which is a good time to plant this unique and precious grain of wheat.At first, they wanted to plant it in a pot, but after some consideration, they decided to plant it in the ground and let it grow naturally.They went ahead and took every precaution in order to make the cultivation of wheat a success.

When the weather turned fine, everyone climbed to the top of the "Granite Palace".On the high ground there, they chose a leeward place. At noon, this leeward place can get all the heat of the sun, which is very suitable for the growth of plants.

They cleared the lee, cleared weeds, and dug to get rid of larvae or insects.In addition, they added a layer of loamy soil modified with a little lime and fenced it in.Next, the grains are buried deep in the moist soil.

It was as if a very important foundation-laying ceremony had been held, and Pencroft was reminded of the moment when he had lit the only match, and how cautiously he had been then.But this time, things are more important.It is true that, by one way or another, one can always get fire, but if the grain of wheat should suffer misfortune, no one can do it!
will go back
Every day after that Pencroft visited the field, and he began to call it "the Corn Field" in all seriousness.Those insects who dare to patronize the "corn field" will be in bad luck, as long as Pencroft sees it, they will be guaranteed to die.

It's almost the end of June, and after several days of continuous rain, the weather is noticeably colder. On the 29th, if you have a Fahrenheit thermometer in front of you, it will definitely show that the temperature is only 20 degrees above zero and 6.67 degrees below freezing.

June 6 is equivalent to December 30 in the northern hemisphere, which is Friday.Neb warned that today was the last unlucky day of the year, but Pencroft replied that the first day of next year must be a good one--and it was better this way.

In short, the new year started off very cold.The mouth of the Thanksgiving River is completely frozen, and Grant Lake will soon be completely frozen.

They figured out how to refuel multiple times.Before the river froze over, Pencroft had brought back a great deal of wood by means of rafts.The water is always flowing, like an engine that never knows how to get tired, and it is used to discharge water until the temperature drops, the cold current visits, and the river is frozen.In addition to using firewood as fuel, they also brought back a good amount of coal, which was found at the foot of the "Franklin Peak" ridge branch.The strong heat given off by the peat is very welcome in such weather, and their rooms can be warmed up quickly. On July 7, when the temperature dropped to 14° Fahrenheit and minus 8° Celsius, the immigrants installed the second fireplace in the dining room, where everyone worked together.

In this cold winter, Cyrus Harding was fortunate to have led a small stream of water from "Grant Lake" to "Granite Palace".The surface of the lake is covered with a layer of hard ice, and the water is taken from under the ice, and then flows through the original drainage channel, and has always remained liquid.Lead it to the indoor cistern dug out in the corner of the storehouse at the rear, and the overflow can pass through the well—straight to the sea.

The weather is extremely dry, and the big guys dress as warmly as possible, and plan to spend a day exploring the southeast of the island.It lies between the Thanksgiving River and the Cape Claw, a large swamp, possibly suitable for hunting.Because there is a lot of water there.Eighty-nine nautical miles each way, so the day was well used.Because everyone has never been to this place and is very unfamiliar, so everyone participated.

At six o'clock in the morning on July 7th, Cyrus Harding, Jardin Splain, Harbert, Neb, and Pencroft, armed with spears, holsters, bows and arrows, and prepared ample food, left the "Granite palace".Top skipped and skipped, leading them as usual.

The river is full of ice floes, so they have a shortcut, which is to cross the "Thanksgiving River" from the ice floes.

The reporter pointed out: "However, this is not a substitute for a real bridge!" His words sounded reasonable.

Therefore, building a "real" bridge is included in the future grand plan.

It was the first time for everyone to come to the right bank of the "Grateful River" and explore among the beautiful tall coniferous trees covered with snow.

They hadn't gone half a mile when they spotted a litter of quadrupeds bursting out of a thick undergrowth.It turned out that the dense undergrowth was their home, and it was Top's cry that scared them away.

"Look! It looks like some foxes!" cried Hubbert, and the whole pack of quadrupeds was running away.

Sure enough, they were foxes, and they were all large foxes.They uttered a cry so loud that even Top, surprised by it, stopped the pursuit, and the four-legged beasts quickly fled.

Dogs can be surprised that they don't understand natural history.But the cries of these gray-red foxes with a small white knot on the tip of their black tails let a sensible person know their origins as soon as they hear them.Therefore, Hubert immediately said their names: white foxes.This kind of arctic fox often lives in Chile, the Falkland Islands and all American waters at latitude 30°~40°.Hubbert regretted that Top had failed to catch even one of these predators.

asked Pencroft, "is the animal edible?" "He has always looked at animals from this perspective.

Hubbert replied: "No, but what zoologists have not yet figured out is whether the pupils of these foxes are open during the day or at night, and whether they should be classified as dogs."

Cyrus Harding could not help smiling a little at the young man's reflections.His thinking showed a cautious attitude.Since these foxes cannot be classified as edible, the matter has nothing to do with the sailors.He cautioned, however, that when Granite House had built a poultry farm, it would be necessary to take some precautions against the visitation of these four-legged thieves.Everyone agrees on this.

Rounding the headland where the flotsam piled up, we found a long beach bordering the sea.It was eight o'clock in the morning.The sky was very pure, and even though it was a very cold day, Cyrus Harding and his companions were still hot from walking, and they didn't feel the cold weather obviously.Also, there was no wind, which made the weather seem very warm.At this time, the warm and brilliant sun rose from the ocean, swaying on the sea level like a huge disc.The blue, clean sea is as pure as the sky.The top of the swamp curves like the "clawed promontory" of a Turkish machete.Tapering noticeably to the southeast, this distance is about four nautical miles.The marsh was abruptly interrupted by a promontory at the edge, and from a distance, the sun outlined it with fiery red lines.Apparently, this part of "United States Bay" was unobstructed by anything, not even a sandy beach.Ships battered by a southeasterly wind could find no shelter here.The water here is calm and uniform in color, without any khaki, without any shoals to stir up, and without any reefs.From this we can know that this piece of sea water is unfathomable.Behind, to the west, beyond the four seas, there was a smear of green, the first row of trees of the Far West Forest.It looked like it was on the coast of some isolated island in the frozen Antarctic region.Everyone stopped and started eating.They set fire to the dry brambles and seaweed, and Neb prepared cold cooked meats and cups of Oswego tea.

Everyone looked around while eating. This part of "Lincoln Island" is very barren, in stark contrast to the entire fertile west.This caused the reporter to lament: If everyone was thrown on this beach at the earliest, they might not be so optimistic about their future.

The engineer said: "I even think that because the sea is very deep and there is no reef to hide, we may not even be able to come to the shore. In front of the 'Granite Palace', there are beaches and small islands, which increases There is no chance of salvation. And there is nothing here but the abyss!"

Jardin Splane said: "It is very strange that although this island is small, it has changed a lot. The characteristics of this lot seem logically to be land rather than islands. The 'Lincoln Island' The west is fertile and rich, and seems to be close to the warm current of the Gulf of Mexico, but the coasts to the north and southeast seem to extend from the Arctic Ocean."

Cyrus Harding replied: "My dear Spilett, you are quite right, and I have observed that too. It is so strange, both in its nature and in its shape. It seems to contain all the features of a continent. If it was once land, I would also believe it."

Pencroft exclaimed: "What? Is it a land in the Pacific Ocean?"

Said Cyrus Harding: "Why not? New Ireland, Australia, and all the land which the English geographers called Australasia, and included in the Pacific Islands, did they not form the sixth part of the world? And isn't this part as important as Asia, Europe, Africa, or the two Americas? In the bottom of my heart, I think that all the islands out of this vast sea should be the peaks of a now submerged continent, and it is likely that this Continents were above water in prehistoric times."

Hubbert went on: "Like the old Atlantis. This is the legendary island."

"My child, yes...if it ever existed."

Pencroft asked: "Perhaps 'Lincoln Island' is also part of this land?"

Cyrus Harding replied, "It is possible, and it proves why the island is so rich."

Hubbert added: "It also explains why so many animals can now live on the island."

The engineer replied: "Yes, my boy, you have given me a new argument for my point of view. We have also seen that there are many animals on the island, which is true, but it is strange that their species are extremely different. The reason, I think, is that 'Lincoln Island' used to be part of a continent which is now sinking under the Pacific Ocean."

Pencroft continued: "Then, one day, this small island will also disappear? Will the distance between America and Asia also disappear?" He seemed to have some doubts about this point of view.

Cyrus Harding replied: "No, there will be new continents, and billions of tiny animals are building them."

asked Pencroft. "Who are these builders?"

Cyrus Harding replied: "The class of ciliates to which the coral polyps belong, they are constantly busy, and thus form the Cleumont-Tornell Islands, the atolls, and many other coral islands in the Pacific Ocean. There are 700 The efforts of ten thousand coral polyps can get one grain, the ancient French unit of weight, 1 grain = 53 milligrams. These tiny animals absorb sea salt and solid substances in the water, and then produce calcium. And these calcium forms Great underwater structures, as hard and solid as granite. Formerly, in the early days of creation, nature used fire to create land by uplift; now she replaced this motive force with tiny animals. For it is obvious that the motive force in the interior of the earth Weakened—as evidenced by the vast number of extinct volcanoes on the surface of the earth at present. I believe that with the continual progress of time, and the efforts of the generations of this tiny animal, the Pacific Ocean will eventually become a continent, and new generations will be in the world. live on it and develop it into a beautiful continent."

"It will be a long process," said Pencroft.

The engineer replied, "Nature has plenty of time to wait."

Hubbert asked: "What's the use of these new continents? I think there are already many continents that are currently suitable for human habitation. However, having said that, nature does not make garbage, and everything is meaningful and meaningful." indispensable."

The engineer added: "That's right, it's all useful. I think this explanation is reasonable. Let's now listen to how people in the future explain the meaning of creating a new continent. It happens that the new continent will be in the tropical area where Coral Island is located." Appear."

"Mr. Cyrus Harding," replied Herbert, "we are all ears."

"I think so: Scholars have formed a consensus that our earth will eventually be destroyed, specifically because the earth has encountered a strong drop in temperature, and animals and plants cannot survive. It is precisely because of the drop in temperature that they There was a disagreement. Some believed that the cooling was mainly due to the cooling of the sun in millions of years, while others believed that it was due to the internal fires of our planet that were dying out. The internal fires affected the earth more than people thought. Imagine. I agree with the latter theory. I have observed that although the sun keeps pouring an equal amount of heat onto the moon's surface, it is still getting colder and uninhabitable, mainly because the moon's internal fire has been completely exhausted. And the origin of all the planets in the star world is internal fire. In short, our earth will also become colder for one reason or another one day, but this change will be slow. What will happen then? By then - and that will be very far away - the temperate zones will no longer be habitable, as the poles are now. Humans and animals will therefore migrate to latitudes where the sun's action is more direct. This means A large-scale migration will be completed. Central Asia, Europe, and North America will gradually be abandoned, and the offshore areas of South America or Australasia will also be abandoned. Plants will also not grow, and will migrate like animals and humans , while retreating to the equator, South America and central Africa will become the most suitable continents for human habitation. The Samoans live in the lower reaches of the Ob River and the Yenisei River in northern Russia. And the Lapps in the northern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula will rediscover the climatic conditions of the Polar Sea on the Mediterranean coast. Perhaps you would think that the equator would then be too small? Because all the people of the earth would have to pass over and feed them. However, to provide for all the animals and plants Shelter is the sacred mission that nature wants to accomplish, but nature has done so, and just below the equator, a new continent has been opened up with magic power unimaginable by human beings. Who will be the builder of the new continent? Nature I have chosen a tiny animal. I have often thought about these questions, dear friends, and I believe that one day our earth will completely change its appearance, new continents will rise, and old ones will be submerged by sea water. And in the distant In the future, the Columbuses will discover the islands of the Himalayas, Cimborazo, or Mont Blanc, as well as submerged remnants of Asia, America, and Europe. Eventually, these new continents will also lose heat and become uninhabitable. Heat disappears, Just as the soul leaves the body; the extinction of life, though not permanent, will take place temporarily. Perhaps, by then our earth will be silent, gathering strength in death, and regrouping when the time is right! Friends, all of these , are the secrets of the Creator. I have talked a little bit more about the topic of tiny animals busy building, so I have explored the secrets of the future."

Jardine Splane said: "My dear Cyrus, these prophecies will one day be fulfilled."

Pencroft, who was listening intently, said: "I believe all of this is true, but Mr. Cyrus, are you going to tell me that 'Lincoln Island' was also built by those tiny animals?"

Cyrus Harding replied, "No, it is volcanic."

"Then will it be destroyed one day?"

"Maybe."

"Bless us we won't be on the island then."

(End of this chapter)