81 



infer that the source of growth which we can thus trace 

 in the case of our own earth applies also to other planets. 



The larger planetary organisms require, in the na- 

 ture of things, more nourishment, and therefore, when 

 we compare the bulk of Jupiter and Saturn with that of 

 earth, we shall understand the potent influence of the 

 former on the comet world. 



We may gather from all this that the solar system 

 as a whole is nourished by clouds and comets and cosmic 

 fragments, borne along through cosmic space. The vi- 

 sible process of absorption is accompanied by sun spots 

 on the solar disc, shooting stars upon the planets, and, 

 in the case of Saturn, by the formation of a ring. The 

 peculiar state of Saturn suggests the analogy of an egg 

 in which the future chicken is furnished from the white 

 with supplies for the support of its animal existence. 



