

THE FARMER AT HOME. 3jj 



which originally started the whole, and now sustains and guides it, 

 is God ! 



In all the arts oxygen acts as important a part as in the natural 

 world. The smelting of iron, zinc, copper, lead, and mercury, 

 is done by oxygen operations. T nk blackens after writing on 

 paper by imbibing oxygen from the air ; cider turns to vinegar from 

 the same cause, and so butter becomes rancid, oil thickens, and 

 dough sours if it be not baked soon enough. Oil mixed with paint 

 makes it hold on ; it imbibes oxygen from the air and turns into, 

 a solid gum, which is smooth and glossy. If a house be painted 

 in extremely hot weather, the oil evaporates and flies away, 

 and does not harden on the boards or bricks to keep on the paint. 

 Often the parlors of fine houses are painted white with the air kept 

 out as much as possible while the operation is going on and until it 

 is dry even the keyholes of the doors are shut up. This keeps out 

 the oxygen to some extent, and prevents it from uniting much with 

 the oil or turpentine of the paint, and from turning into gum. Hence 

 such rooms have a chalky, milky whiteness, and no shining gloss, but 

 the work is most deleterious to the health of the painter. The mak- 

 ing of varnish is a process for uniting the oxygen of the air with oil, 

 spirits of turpentine, and various gums. 



The rusting of metals is but the union of oxygen with their sur- 

 faces. Dampness hastens the rusting because of the oxygen dissolved 

 in the water. In sickness the death of men and animals is hastened 

 by the same cause. Even when we are unable to take food, the 

 oxygen we breathe unites with our systems, and carries them off little 

 by little ; soon we become very thin and light, and the vital organs 

 give way. Cooked meats and vegetables are preserved many years 

 when shut up away from the oxygen in tin cans that are air tight. 

 Winter apples that keep so long have a peculiar gum in the skin 

 which prevents the entering of the oxygen. Eggs are said to keep 

 long if covered with a thin coating of wax which protects them from 

 this destructive gas. Meats after being smoked remain sweet a long 

 time, because the creosote of the smoke unites with the albumen of the 

 meat and forms an impervious coating which the oxygen cannot 

 penetrate. 



PAIRING . In the animal economy this is the union of animals 

 in couples for the purposes of rearing their young. All wild birds 

 pair ; but with a remarkable difference between such as place their 

 nests on trees and such as place them on the ground. The young of 

 the former, being hatched blind and without feathers, require the 

 nursing care of both parents till they are able to fly. The male feeds 

 his mate on the nest, and cheers her with a song. As soon as the 

 young are hatched, singing yields to a more necessary occupation, that 

 f providing food for a numerous issue ; a task that employs both 

 parents. Eagles, and other birds of prey, build on trees, or on other 

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