384 THE BEAUTIES OF NATURE chap. 



the meteors, which, fall in showers on to the 

 Sun, replace the heat which is emitted. To 

 some slight extent perhaps they do so, but the 

 main cause seems to be the slow condensation 

 of the Sun itself. Mathematicians tell us 

 that a contraction of about 220 feet a year 

 would account for the whole heat emitted, and 

 as the present diameter of the Sun is about 

 860,000 miles, the potential store of heat is 

 stUl enormous. 



To the Sun we owe our light and heat ; it 

 is not only the centre of our planetary system, 

 it is the source and ruler of our lives. It 

 draws up water from the ocean, and pours it 

 down in rain to fill the rivers and refresh the 

 plants ; it raises the winds, which purify the 

 air and waft our ships over the seas ; it draws 

 our carriages and drives our steam-engines, 

 for coal is but the heat of former ages stored 

 up for our use ; animals live and move by the 

 Sun's warmth; it inspires the song of birds, 

 paints the flowers, and ripens the fruit. 

 Through it the trees grow. For the beauties 

 of nature, for our food and drink, for our 

 clothing, for our light and life, for the very 



