The Natural Sun
Announcements about our sun and its natural conditions
- Chapter 29 -
Land cultivation and the animal kingdom upon the first sub-equatorial belts.
Concerning land cultivation, this is divided into three classes, namely, cultivation of coastal lands, cultivation of hills and cultivation of high plateaus.
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Wherein does cultivation of the coastal regions consist? The preferred way consists of the inhabitants of cluster housing raising up plantations of all kinds of edible fruits which thrive well there on account of greater soil moisture.
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These plantations consist mainly of trees. And how are the various trees planted or raised? Upon the main equatorial belt we saw that the chief seed for countless growths is man's will. Is it so in this sub-equatorial belt? Here I say neither a complete yes nor no. We shall see presently what takes place.
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Upon this belt the plant kingdom indeed bears no seed, but neither do the inhabitants have seed in their weaker will. It nevertheless depends much on man's will as to where they want a plant or a tree. Upon this equator, the growth of plants is indeed taken care of by Myself and none can bring forth any plant other than those suitable for this belt. But through certain manual efforts, people can nevertheless call forth these same plants from the soil, through their will.
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This type of plant production there is called primary cultivation, which nevertheless not every person is capable of bringing about, for this, only a few can accomplish; those devoted to this branch and consequent willpower.
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The remaining inhabitants of these belts usually carry on secondary cultivation consisting of cutting twigs and branches off existing trees and planting them in the soil, roughly the way your willow trees and vines are planted.
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What however is the primitive cultivation technique? The planter has a sharpened stick which he thrusts about one metre into the ground. He then takes a vessel filled with water over which he has breathed a few times then slowly decants same into the hole. When finished, he prays to God the all wise that He would let a fruit bearing plant sprout forth from the ground. Whereupon he stands bowing his head over the opening, fixing it with his gaze for about an hour by your time, after which he moves on and digs a second such hole, doing as before, continuing until he reaches his predetermined number of one species of trees.
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When finished, he thanks God the all wise for the loaned strength, patience and perseverance, blessing the plantation and leaving it to God's will, then returning home.
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Then, in the course of a year by your measure, trees laden with fruit stand where he planted them and in accordance with the species he willed. These trees brought forth through the primitive cultivation method are the most enduring so that some often reach an age of over a thousand years by your measure.
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In the same way trees are planted, as well as smaller plants and grass, except that a different tool is used for digging holes, consisting of a roller with multiple spikes being rolled over the earth. A planter of primitive cultivation follows the roller with the breathed-over water in a vessel resembling your watering can, carefully sprinkling the perforated ground. After a certain predetermined stretch has been planted, he prays for the entire stretch and in general terms does what he did at the planting of each tree. After three days, by your measure, the entire planted area is completely grown over with the type of plants that the planter desired.
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By the same method, wide areas of choice grass are planted. A type of grass there called the wild or non-precious, as well as some varieties of non-precious small plants grow of themselves in a certain way, serving the rather sparse animal kingdom for fodder.
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Such is the nature of primitive planting, which is primarily the method in the coastal regions owned mostly by cluster housing dwellers.
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What then does hill cultivation consist of? It consists solely in tree cultivation and that by way of secondary planting; small plants do not however occur here normally.
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Concerning tree fruits, these are as it were improved, through secondary planting, growing much bigger and better in taste than through primary cultivation.
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I shall describe one noteworthy tree more closely. It does not grow to great heights but spreads that much more widely. Its main middle stem frequently reaches about eight metres, by your measure, yet from this massive stem it drives branches of two to four hundred metres long in all directions, always bristling with exceedingly flavoursome ripe fruits, resembling your largest variety of grapes. This fruit is exceedingly sweet and flavoursome but not as juicy as your grapes and more like your melons. The fruit serves as the main food upon this belt being also the most widespread because the tree thrives well everywhere.
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Concerning the other tree fruits, these are more of a rich morsel than nutritional. You will ask: do these people have no bread like on Earth? No, such is not to be found anywhere. In its place they dry the excess of the aforementioned fruit tree which substitutes for bread.
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Such is the land cultivation upon the hills, to which it may be added that such hill inhabitants, to make their grounds more attractive, cultivate the wild grass after a fashion by mowing, giving the hills a green silken look.
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But that is all about hill cultivation, leaving us only the high plateau cultivation. It shall not take long to deal with as this cultivation differs from the two foregoing techniques only in that consumption of fruit is limited to that of secondary culture only.
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By way of primitive cultivation only, those trees and garden plants are raised up from which subsequent grafting is done in the aforementioned manner. Only grass is grown by way of primitive cultivation.
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And therewith we have already presented cultivation upon the plateaus, to which we may add that the high plateau fruits are by far the choicest, just as the inhabitants of these two belts are also the wisest and noblest.
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You will ask: in view of such high plateau cultivation, animals would have to be scarce? You are right, for there are no animals other than a few birds of song. But there is a species of red goat and white sheep upon the lower lands. The inhabitants keep sheep and occasionally goats.
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Further down at the coasts of the great circular sea there is also a species of cow, which however resembles a gigantic sheep. The cluster dwellers frequently hunt same trying to catch them alive, which takes much work however; for notwithstanding their harmlessness, these cows are exceptionally fleet footed and it takes much wiliness to comer such an animal.
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As scarce as land animals may be however, the great circular seas are brimming with marine animals, whilst their occasional but substantial islands are occupied by great flocks of the most diverse bird species. For this reason the cluster housing dwellers, in quiet times betake themselves down to the coast of the great circular sea to watch to their vision limit the multiplicity of living beings upon the great waters.
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That is all that there is to tell about the cultivation of these two belts, which is exactly the same upon both belts except for the greater size of everything upon the southern belt.
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And therewith we have finished with this aspect. Next time we shall move to domestic and spiritual and religious matters. And therewith enough for today.