EFFECTS OF CLIMATE. 15 



poisonous compounds. Both are subject to disease, and 

 very often are alike affected by the same causes. Hence 

 the relevancy of studying Nature in all her varied forms, 

 if we would come to a correct understanding of the con- 

 ditions of life and disease. 



It is advisable, even, not to be content with a compre- 

 hension of the organic world alone, if we would fully 

 appreciate how much there is to learn outside of it, and 

 how thoroughly all bears down upon the same conclu- 

 sion — change is universal. The rocks, even the moun- 

 tains, are wasting away — slowly, it is true, but none the 

 less surely — under influences that are unceasing. Among 

 them light, air, and moisture fill a prominent part, but 

 minute, invisible growth is a powerful aid likewise. 

 The disintegration of the solid rock is influenced largely 

 by the growth, in the first instance, of minute fungi, and 

 afterward upon their remains by structures of a higher 

 organization, as lichens and allied plants ; and where 

 there is a crevice or a crack in a rock, even a disruption 

 may in time be produced by vegetable formation. 



The indications in such instances are to discover a 

 means by which the growth may be prevented, or, if that 

 fail, then a means by which it can be killed. In business 

 this is constantly being attended to. Shippers of fruit, 

 for example, pack their produce as dry as possible and 

 keep down the temperature, so preventing the formation 

 of fungi and the process of fermentation. Ice is often- 

 times used for this purpose. Florists, too, when ship- 

 ping plants in the warm season, are careful to secure 

 ventilation by means of holes in their packages, or in 

 cold weather to line them with some material capable of 

 absorbing moisture. Without such precautions it would 

 be a hazardous business to send fruits from California or 

 the extreme South to New York, but with them even 

 the most delicate produce of warm climates can be 

 transported with safety and advantage, as the condition 

 of grapes of San Angeles, as seen in New York, suffi- 

 ciently testifies. In the same manner the produce of the 

 West Indies is safely carried to the markets of London 

 and Paris. 



