118 THE ORIGIN OF CREATION. 



thought the concussion of the guns caused the rain, but no 

 vibration however great will cause rain to fall, unless the 

 necessary materials are present in the atmosphere to furnish it. 

 The rain was in part produced from the material used in firing 

 the cannon, viz. : the gunpowder. As powder (sulphur, saltpetre 

 and charcoal) is composed principally of mineral ingredients, 

 these in passing into gases consequent on explosion, reciprocated 

 with the abundant vegetable gases that filled the atmosphere 

 in the Southern States, and in the first place formed clouds, 

 then wind and rain. The same result would have followed, if 

 the powder had been merely set on fire without the use of guns. 

 The reason why no rain appeared on the occasion of the 

 Prussian battles was, that they occurred in winter, and in 

 places where no excess of vegetable gases existed in the 

 atmosphere. 



In conclusion, as animal and vegetable bodies are composed 

 of the same material elements as water, let us apply our 

 knowledge to a practical purpose. We cannot then perform 

 our ablutions too often, and the more frequently we wash 

 ourselves without becoming altogether amphibious, the more 

 healthy we shall become. We cannot also, if at proper intervals, 

 drink too much water, but it should always be preferred of the 

 same temperature as the body. The frequent use of iced water 

 is often injurious to health, and there is no doubt that in the 

 present day it is used much too freqiiently. 



