THE NEW EARTH 



up in producing two and one-half tons of grain. 

 Ordinary field crops transpire about three 

 hundred pounds of water for each pound of 

 dry matter produced. 



This transpiration is a curious act. While 

 much of the water that comes to the fields is 

 lost in the soil through passing down between 

 the loose particles and considerable is dissipated 

 by evaporation, a vast amount is transpired by 

 the plant. That is to say, the plant pumps it 

 up from the earth through its roots and stem, 

 uses what it needs, and sends the rest off into 

 the air through its leaves — transpires it. Hot 

 dry winds may cause crops to wilt merely 

 because the water suddenly lost by transpira- 

 tion is more than the pumping capacity of the 

 plant. 



Just as the wheat and the corn, the rye and 

 the oats of the farmer are of little food value 

 until they have been crushed and ground and 

 made fine and powdery, so the soil of the earth 

 was valueless until the all -wise Ruler put his 

 great ice-mills to grinding, throwing into the 

 mighty hopper boulders and hills of stone, and 

 here and there the huge slice of a hoary moun- 

 tain. When the mills had finished the grinding 



16 



