280 HEAT. 



main unbroken forests ; "without the crystallization of wa- 

 ter, the beautiful protection of plants by a mantle of snow, 

 in northern regions, would give place to frozen sterility ; 

 without the conversion of heat to a latent state in melt- 

 ing, the deepest snows would disappear in a moment from 

 the earth, and cause disastrous floods ; without its con- 

 version to a latent state in steam, the largest vessel of 

 boiling water would instantly flash into vapor. All these 

 facts show that an extraordinary wisdom and forethought 

 planned these laws at the creation ; and even what appears 

 at first glance as an almost accidental exception in the 

 contraction of bodies by cold, and which causes ice to 

 float upon water, preventing the entire masses of rivers 

 and lakes from becoming permanently frozen, furnishes 

 one out of an innumerable array of proofs of creative de- 

 sign in fitting the earth for the comfort and sustenance of 

 its inhabitants. 



