SUNSHINE ON THE FARM. 377 



oxidation of substances in the body of man or animal. In 

 the stomach are placed certain substances which are capable 

 of being burned or oxidized : they are called foods. Organ- 

 ized substances — like corn, wheat, potatoes, etc. — are made 

 of dead, inorganic materials by the force of solar light and 

 heat acting upon the soil and air. Out of the dead material 

 in our soils, and out of the dead carbonic acid in the air, 

 living plants are produced by the solar rays. Dead mate- 

 rial is like a watch-spring run down, so that the machinery 

 stops. Sunlight winds up the coiled spring by forcing mole- 

 cules to combine so as to form vitalized structures ; and, 

 when the substance of the structure is consumed as food, the 

 force of the spring is expended, and is manifested in mus- 

 cular labor. It is seen, then, that it is sunshine upon our 

 fields which supplies the muscular forces of our animals and 

 ourselves, and that from no other source is it derived. The 

 contents of our barns, granaries, and cellars, are in a proper 

 sense but stored sunlight, — sunlight which we have econo- 

 mized in the summer from the excessive supply. Whence 

 is the power of the windmill that pumps the water for the 

 barn and dwelling, the steam-engine which threshes the grain 

 and cuts the succulent corn for the silo ? whence that of the 

 mill that grinds the grain propelled by the stream that comes 

 from the hills? All these sources of power are related to 

 sunshine, and the dynamical forces are derivable solely from 

 the solar orb. Its heat, acting upon currents of air, expand- 

 ing its volume, gives rise to winds, which move the arms of 

 the mill. The steam-engine is moved by heat resulting from 

 the combustion of coal or wood, which are the products of 

 organization. Our coal-fields are but cachets, holding the fuel 

 pemmican, stored by natural agencies, and designed for the 

 use of man when large supplies of fuel would be needed. 

 Coal may be regarded as the sunlight of a past epoch, util- 

 ized at a period when man had no wants ; for he probably 

 did not exist. The grist-mill on the stream must come to a 

 standstill when clouds no longer form, and condensation of 

 the moisture raised from oceans, rivers, and lakes by solar 

 heat, is suspended. Every molecule of water which weighs 

 upon the mill-wheel has been acted upon by sunshine, and, 

 by its agency, placed in position for useful work. 



