RECAPITULATION. 213 



to act. In the first place she causes a small grass to spring 

 up and then a white clover, that the soil may be covered 

 from the burning rays of the sun. The rains and dews 

 fall and moisten the soil, and are prevented from being sud- 

 denly evaporated by the covering which is thus provided. 

 That water enriches gradually the soil, for we find the 

 farmer tilling that field again in a few years. If water a- 

 lone does not enrich the earth, how is it that all duck pud- 

 dles, swamps, ditches and marshes become rich ? Look at 

 the spot round your well which but a few years ago was 

 a mere sand hill, it is now rich, and yet no manure has 

 ever been put there. By what means is it rich ? Certain- 

 ly not from any cause but water. 



A plant will not grow in earth alone. Take a portion 

 of the richest earth that ever was seen, divest it of all wa- 

 ter, and if you plant a seed in it, it will not grow. But 

 seed will germinate and grow in water without a particle 

 of earth. Take an acorn, attach a string to it, and hang it 

 in a tumbler half full of water, just so as not to touch the 

 water. Even the vapour which will rise by evaporation 

 from the water, will cause the acorn to send forth a stalk 

 and roots, the latter of which will strike into the water 

 and soon fill the bottom space of the tumbler. Wheat will 

 also grow in water, and makes a beautiful appearance, as 

 the process of germination is there visible, and, it certain- 

 ly is one of the most wonderful processes in nature. Mark 

 the acorn before it goes into the earth ; it has nothing in 

 its appearance which resembles the oak. A roundish, ob- 

 long and pointed surface is all that presents itself to the 

 eye. The shell bursts and a delicate little stem makes 

 its appearance. Is it possible that in that acorn lie the 



