292 THE SNAKES OF SOUTH AFRICA. 



the food which may have escaped perfect digestion by the other 

 fluids. Then the food is ready to be taken up and converted 

 into blood. In the inner walls of the bowels there are millions 

 of tiny mouths, which greedily suck up the digested food. These 

 little suckers are called lacteals. There is another set known 

 as venous absorbents. Some of the absorbed food is carried 

 to the liver to be filtered and purified before finding its way into 

 the blood stream. The portion which does not need to be acted 

 upon by the liver, is carried through a long slender tube known 

 as the thoracic duct, and poured into a large vein. 



Converted into Blood. 



The liquid food mingles with the venous blood and eventually 

 pours into the right side of the heart, and is pumped up into the 

 lungs. Here a marvellous change takes place. The air we 

 breathe contains a large amount of oxygen, if it be fresh and pure. 

 This oxygen gas instantly combines with the venous blood, 

 and a wonderful change takes place. The blood corpuscles 

 throw off a load of poisonous waste matter and absorb oxygen. 

 The blood is then returned to the heart, but this time to 

 the left half. From here it is pumped all over the body 

 through vessels known as arteries. These divide and subdivide 

 until they become mere threads, so tiny that they are invisible 

 to the naked eye. These are known as capillaries. So numerous 

 are they that you cannot prick your flesh anywhere with the 

 finest needle-point without rupturing several of them. 



Health Laws. 



There are laws governing every department of Nature. To 

 disobey any of these natural laws means punishment in some 

 shape or form. These laws work automatically. Whether 

 violated wilfully or ignorantly the punishment is the same. 

 There is no escape. We may perhaps escape the consequences 

 of the breaking of man-made laws, but not the laws of God. 

 They are self-acting. 



Science is finding out more about these great natural laws, and 

 how they work. In proportion to our knowledge of the workings 



