92 THE GARDEN OF EARTH 



is astonishing — all the more if we picture to ourselves 

 the weight of a single ton. 



And since one orchard alone can do so much, what 

 must be the supplies which are in this manner got rid 

 of by all the orchards — all the gardens — all the woods 

 and forests — in our country? For not only are trees 

 engaged in the task, but plants of all descriptions as 

 well, including grasses, ferns, and mosses. 



VI — Green Leaves 



We have now seen that these little " workshops " 

 have their *' raw material " brought to them in two 

 ways. First, from the roots upward through the stem ; 

 and second, by the leaves themselves inwards from the 

 air. First, water, with invisible specks of many kinds 

 floating in it; and second, air, with its mixture of 

 different kinds of gases. 



From these two sources the leaves are able to work 

 up or to manufacture many " finished articles," as we 

 may call them; such as sugars and starches, and fatty 

 and oily substances, perpetually needed by men; 

 many of which can be obtained in no other way. 



Two wonderful powers work together for this end; 

 each helping the other. 



One of the two is in the leaf itself. It is, the Life 

 in that leaf. We have noticed earlier the extraordinary 

 vigour found in life; and here we find it again — ^the 

 power to work, to grow, to do. 



Throughout the whole tree, in all the active cells of 

 which it is or has been made — " has been " because 

 parts are always dying as fresh parts grow — in these 



