166 ON THE IMPROVEMENT OF SOIL. 



Mrs. B. I have explained it to you in our Conversa- 

 tions on Chemistry : it is by the last stage of fermentation 

 putrefaction. Loathsome as this term may appear to 

 you, yet, when you consider it as the means which Na- 

 ture employs to renovate existence, and continue the cir- 

 cle of creation, you will view it with admiration rather 

 than with disgust. 



Emily. It is very true ; the operations of Nature, when 

 philosophically contemplated, are always admirable : 

 those elementary substances, which, in their simple state 

 would be disagreeable to us, by passing into the vegeta- 

 ble system, are converted into the most palatable and nu- 

 tritious food. When in the resources of Nature we dis- 

 cover such evident proofs of the goodness of the Creator, 

 the philosopher may well exclaim with the poet : 



" These are thy glorious works, Parent of good, 

 Almighty! Thine this universal frame 

 Thus wondrous fair; thyself how wondrous then! 

 . Unspeakable! who sit'st above these heavens 



To us invisible, or dimly seen 

 In these thy lowest works; yet these declare 

 Thy goodness beyond thought, and power divine.*' 



Mrs. B. This beautiful burst of praise, into which 

 Adam breaks out on the creation at large, is no less ap- 

 plicable to the wisdom and prudence displayed in the ar- 

 rangement and distribution of its minutest parts. 



The principal result of the decomposition, whether of 

 animal or vegetable matter, is carbonic acid ; and in this 

 state carbon, which we have called the daily bread of 

 plants, finds entrance at their roots. 



Caroline. But it is not enough to introduce carbonic 

 acid at one extremity of the plant : you must get rid of 

 the oxygen at the other extremity before the plant can 

 feed upon its daily bread. 



Emily. This, you may recollect, is performed by the 

 leaves when exposed to light and air. 



Mrs. B. Manure acts on dry soils also as amendement 

 by retaining moisture. Manure which has not completely 



913. What is said of putrefaction as a means of preparing bodies for 

 nourishment for vegetables'? 914. What does Emily say of the opera- 

 tions of nature *? 915. What is the quotation she makes from Milton 1 ? 

 916. What is the principal result of decomposition! 917. How do 

 manures affect dry soils? 



