66 
The Queensland Naturalist 
May, 1933 
NATURE’S WAY AND HARMONY. 
(By John Nebe.) 
(Presidential Address delivered before Queensland 
Naturalists’ Club, 20th February, 1933.) 
The subject selected for my address this evening is 
somewhat on broad lines in nature study, and 1 will try 
and outline some of the harmony that occurs in nature. 
My favourite pastime is to observe the electric 
phenomena of the atmosphere, the wonderful, powerful, 
graceful', and even spectacular effect occurring in nature 
on a grand scale. The power of these forces is so great 
that it seems beyond our comprehension, but whatever 
nature does or what occurs in nature is for a good purpose, 
and cannot be dispensed with to maintain life on this 
little earth of ours. 
The animal ife depending for its existence on the 
plant life, plant life in turn must lot/k to favourable 
weather conditions, suitable soil, and needs certain 
elements for preparing plant food, as well as moisture; 
let us see how a thunderstorm is. assisting and working in 
harmony with the plant kingdom. 
It is true that a thunderstorm can be very severe and 
leave great destruction along its course. Have we not seen 
our flower gardens and the farm crops knocked about by 
the fierce winds and the heavy rain. We will, however, 
give this matter a little consideration in a light of con- 
struction, and we may find that such destruction by a 
storm is more apparent than real. 
Let us look at the grass, the flowers in the garden, the 
crops and the trees in the field on the morning after a 
storm. They may tell us a story. Full of renewed energy, 
vigour and strength, displaying their leaves in a rich, deep 
green, suggesting health and growth, and looking as if 
they are intending to carry out the demand of God Who 
said, “Be ye fruitful and multiply. ” What was it that 
endowed them with new life? Was it merely the rain the 
night before? It certainly helped a lot, for without suffi- 
cient moisture the plant cannot exist, but we must not 
overlook the fact that the plant needs food as well as 
drink. One of the elements of life’s necessities is nitrogen, 
plant-s as well as animals need it. Animals cannot assimil- 
ate free nitrogen, and must depend for their supply upon 
the plant. The nitrogen available in cultivated lands soon 
becomes depleted, and the deficiency has to be made good 
if plant life is to be expected to thrive. Here the harmony 
between the storm’s fury and the quiet life of the plant 
kingdom comes in. The lightning, which is an electric 
discharge in the air, heating the air in its part of con- 
