WOOD FORMED. 75 
tempestuous winds can operate to threaten the up- 
tearing of the tender thing. But when its young 
leaves emerge, and bathe their fresh structures in 
sunlight, dew, and air, then the period of danger 
comes; for the clear sky may soon blacken with 
clouds, and the still air be tossed into a hurricane— 
and then, what of the probable fate of the fragile 
plant, had not an All-wise forethought given it 
inward strength before! And he that knows what 
is the pressure of some storms of life, when 
darkness and despair seem as if they would over- 
whelm the man on whom their fury falls, may 
often mark with wonder the firm endurance the 
afflicted one displays, little considering that the 
fair season before was the time when he was 
strengthened to withstand the storm. Thus, to 
the plant, the first gleam of daylight is a messen- 
ger of health and strength, for with the falling of 
the first ray of light upon its leaves commences 
the formation of those down-penetrating woody 
bands, which communicate resistance and endur- 
ance to its youthful frame. 
Where does the wood come from? If we were 
to take up a handful of soil and examine it under 
the microscope, we should probably find it to con- 
