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action of the satellites upon their planets is electrifying; 

 they are neither more nor less than colossal magnets, 

 magnetised by the sun, that is to say by its heat, and 

 as the action of every magnet appears only at its poles 

 the reason of the moon's remaining always in one fixed 

 position towards the earth, with one side or rather pole 

 always visible is perfectly explained. Thus, if we admit 

 that the sun in warming one side of the earth charges it 

 with positive electricity, the opposite side must supply 

 the negative pole, and as the attractive force of magnets 

 only operates between opposite poles still another reason 

 appears why our moon only shines after the sun sets. 

 In other words all the movements of the moon round the 

 earth, proceed on the opposite side from the sun. 



I have already said that the action of the moon is 

 electrifying, and this process we may say is allied to the 

 lymphatic nourishment of the human body in sleep. Ima- 

 gine for a moment a vegetable world exposed to the 

 rays of the sun incessantly. All the energy of such a 

 world would be devoted to the production of oxygen for 

 the sun and vegetation in forming this complicated pro- 

 duct would draw up the moisture from the earth without 

 supplying the loss and besides that being always at 

 work would have no opportunity for renewing its 

 exhausted parts. At last would appear a dried up field 

 useless alike for earth or sun, as indeed we see some- 

 times in nature when the sun scorches some locality too 

 fiercely and leaves it unrefreshed by vivifying moisture. 

 But notice the saving influence of night! The envelope 

 of the earth's crust is heated, and by a law of physics 

 all heated bodies rise. A stream of gaseous heated matter 

 struggles up to the earth's surface and amongst such 

 matter the beneficent ammonia compounds so useful to 

 the life of plants, while in the air occur also atmosphe- 

 rical changes from a like cause the atmosphere rising 

 and carrying with it indispensable supplies of nitrogen. 

 Thus vegetable renovation goes on both below and above 

 the ground Vegetation receives the silica, ammonia and 



