2 THE FARMER AND NATURE 



our bodies are constantly losing old matter and building 

 up new matter, so are our fields, crops, stock, and lands. 

 One of the never-ending joys that come to the farmer is 



A FARM BROOK. 



In every brook are forces which are constantly changing the 

 face of nature. 



the novelty of continually having a new earth with which 

 to work. 



2. Things that Abide. There are invisible things in 

 nature, however, that never change. These invisible 

 changeless things we call forces of nature. The snow falls 

 and warms the soil, and then melts and runs away as 

 water. That is, moisture changes its form ; but the in- 

 visible forces that formed the snow in the sky, and that 

 caused it to fall and then melt, do not change. They abide, 

 and are always ready to work when conditions are favorable. 

 The forces of nature are working to-day exactly as they 

 did when the world was young, and they will continue to 

 work forever, as far as human knowledge goes, precisely 

 as we find them working to-day. 



