GIFT OF
Mrs. John B, Casserly
THE
EEASON WHY:
A CAREFUL
COLLECTION OF MANY HUNDREDS OF REASONS FOR THINGS
WHICH, THOUGH GENERALLY BELIEVED, ARE
IMPERFECTLY UNDERSTOOD.
A BOOK OF CONDENSED SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE FOK
THE MILLION.
THE AUTHOR OF "INQUIRE WITHIN.-"
This collection ol useful information on " Common Things " is put in the interesting
form of " Why and Because," and comprehends a familiar explanation of many sub.
iects which occupy a large space in (he philosophy of Nature, relating to air, cnlmals,
atmosphere, caloric, chemistry, ventilation, materia medica, meteorology, acoustic*,
eloctrjcity, light, zoology, etc.
NEW YORK :
DICK & FITZGERALD, PUBLISHERS,
No. 18 ANN STBEET.
PREFACE.
WE are all children of one Father, whose Works it should be our
delight to study. As the intelligent child, standing by his
parent's knee, asks explanations alike of the most simple
phenomena, and of the most profound problems ; so should man.
turning to his Creator, continually ask for knowledge. JNot
because the profession of letters has, in these days, become a
fashion, and that the man of general proficiency can Dest work out
his success in worldly pursuits ; but because knowledge is a trea-
sure which gladdens the heart, dignifies the mind, and ennobles
the soul.
The occupation of the mind, by the pursuit of knowledge, is of
itself a good, since it diverts from evil, and by elevating and refining
the mind, and strengthening the judgment, it fortifies us for the
hour of temptation, and surrounds us with barriers which the
powers of sin cannot successfully assail.
Tt is not contended that the mere acquisition of knowledge
will either ensure a good moral nature, or convey rengious
truth. But both religion and morals will find in the diffusion of
knowledge a ground- work upon which their loftier temples may
discover an acceptable foundation.
The man who comprehends the order of Nature, and tht
immutability of Divine law, must of necessity bring himself in some
degree into accordance with that order, and under submission tc the
law : hence the tendency of knowledge will always be found to
harmonise the fragment with the mass, and to subvert the
evil to the good.
756958
iv PBEFACE.
The troubles of the world have arisen from the want of know-
ledge, not frcm the possession of it. And in proportion as man
becomes an intelligent and reflective being, he will be a better
creature in all the relations of life. If these benefits, vast and
incalculable as they are, be the real tendency and result of
knowledge, why is ignorance allowed to remain, and \\by is
the world still distracted by error?
It is because the moral and intellectual qualities of man are,
like all creations and gifts of God, the subjects of development,
whose law is progression.
We can aid human improi ement, but we cannot unduly hasten
it. Whenever man has sprung too rapidly to a conclusion, he has
alighted upon error, and has had to retrace his steps.
The greatest philosophers have been those who have clung to the
demonstrative sciences, and have held that a simple truth well
ascertained, is greater than the grandest theory founded upon
questionable premises. Newton made more scientific revelations
to mankind than any other philosopher ; and his discoveries have
borne the searching test of time, because he snatched at nothing,
leaped over no chasm to establish a favourite dogma ; but, by the
slowest steps, and by regarding the merest trifles, as well as the
highest phenomena, he learnt to read Nature correctly. He
discovered that her atoms were letters, her blades of grass were
words, her phenomena were sentences, and her complete volume
a grand poem, teaching on every page the wisdom and the power
of an Almighty Creator.
When he observed an apple fall to the ground, he asked the
"Reason Why;" and in answer to that enquiry, there came
one of the grandest discoveries that has ever been recorded
upon the book of science. With that discovery a flood of light
burst upon the human mind, illustrating in a far higher degree
than had ever previously been conceived, the vastness of Almighty
Power.
Why should not each of us enquire the " Eeason Why "
regarding everything that we observe? Why should we men-
PREFACE.
tally grope about, when we may see our way? When addressed
in a foreign tongue, we hear a number of articulated sounds,
to which we can attach no meaning ; they convey nothing to
the mind, make no impression upon the indwelling soul.
When those sounds are interpreted to us, in a language that
\ve can understand, tbey impart impressions of joy, hope,
surprise, or sorrow, because the words convey to us a meaning.
In like manner, if we fail to understand Nature, its beauties,
its teachings are lost. Everything speaks to us, but we do not
understand the voices. They come murmuring from the brook,
trilling from the bird, or pealing from the thunder; but though
they reach the ear of the body, they do not impress the
listening spirit.
Every flower, every ray of light, every drop of dew, each flake
of snow, the curling smoke, the lowering cloud, the bright sun,
the pale moon, the twinkling stars, speak to us in eloquent lan-
guage of the great Hand that made them. But millions lose tho
grand lesson which Nature teaches, because they can attach no
meaning to what they see or hear.
" THE REASON WHY" is offered as an interpreter of many of
Nature's utterances. Great care has been taken that these in-
terpretations may be consistent with the latest knowledge, obtained
from the highest sources. If the author finds that his work i. c
accepted for the good of those who seek not only to know, but to
understand, he will make it his constant care to read the Book of
Nature, and to add to the pages of this volume whatever
interpretations the progress of enquiry and discovery may demand
and supply.
INDEX, AND INDEX LESSONS.
^^^ The numbers refer to the Questions. The Index Lessons do not cor*
respond with the Chapters, but are designed to bring together in their alpha*
betical connection, all the Questions and Answers upon each particular subject
included in the work.
LESSON III.
Air, which is heavier, dry or va-
porised 697
Air-pistol (or pop-gun), why does
pressure applied to the handle
propel the cork 854
Air-pistol, why must the handle be
drawn out before the cork is
placed iu 855
Air, why does fresh impart a
healthy appearance 915
Albumen, what is it 899
Alkalies, what are they 36
Amber, or electrum, what is it ... 564
Animals, how is their greater
warmth in winter provided for 168
Animal forms, why are there so
many 1029
Animal furs, why do they become
thicker in the winter 1035
Animals, why have carnivorous,
long pointed teeth 1038
LESSON IV.
Animals with long necks, why
have they large throats 1049
Animals, why cannot flesh-eaters
live upon vegetables 1071
Animals, why can ruminating
recover the food from their
paunches 1089
Animals, why can ruminating
keep the chewed from the un-
chewed food in their stomachs 1090
Animals, why do the smaller
animals breed more abundantly
than the larger ones 1094
Animals, domestic, why may
change of weather be expected
when they are restless 1107
Animals, plants, and minerals,
what are thv differences between
them 1140
Animals that graze, why do they
crop the tender blades, but leave
the tall grass 1S87
LESSON I.
Acids, vegetable, whence are they
obtained 1256
Actinism, what is it 552
Actinism, what effect has it upon
vegetation 559
Actinism, at what season of the
year is it most abundant ... 560
Aerial spectra, what is the cause of 527
Affinity, what is the attraction of 777
Air, why do we breathe it ... ... 4
Air, what is the composition of it 12
Air, what is its state after it has
been breathed 13
Air, is that sent from the lungs
light or heavy 14
Air, is it a good or bad conductor
of heat 150
Air, why is a still summer said to
be sultry 171
Air, why does it feel cooler when
in motion, than when still ... 175
LESSON II.
Air, when is it hot enough to des-
troy life 179
Air, why is it often excessively
hot in chalk districts 219
Air, is it heated directly by the
sun's rays 221
Air, why does it ascend the chim-
ney 240
Air, why does it fly through the
doors and windows towards the
fire place 241
Air, what does the motion of it
in our rooms illustrate 242
Air, why does it become charged
with watery vapour 346
Air, when is it said to be saturated
with vapour 430
Air, what proportion of water is
air capable of holding in the
form of vapour 431
Air, what is its weight relative to
that of water 647
QUESTIONS FOBMING A COMPLETE INDEX.
LESSON V.
Animals, distribution of 132
Arms and hands, why do we see
blue marks upon them 89
Arms and legs, why does it require
the influence of the will to set
them in motion 917
Arms and legs, why are they made
subject to the will 919
Ascending, what is the cause of
bodies 775
Atmosphere, how is it heated ... 23:.
Atmospheric humidity, why does
it sometimes form clouds, at
others form dews, fogs, mists, &c. 409
Atmospheric pressure, how high
will it raise water 65;
Atmosphere, what is the 639
Atmosphere, to what height does
it extend 639
Atmosphere, what is the amount
of its pressure 641
Atmosphere, what is the propor-
tion of watery vapour in the ... 642
Atmosphere, why are its upper
regions intensely cold 441-
Atmosphere, what is the greatest
height ever reached in the ... 618
LESSON VI.
Atmospheric pressure, what is the
total amount on the earth's
surface 644
Atmosphere, what is the amount
of its pressure upon t he human
body 645
Atmosphere, why do we not feel
its pressure 646
Atmosphere, to what extent may
its pressure vary 702
Attractive agent, what is an ... 7<i
Attraction, what is it 772
Attraction, how many kinds are
there 773
Aurora Borealis, what is the cause
of 590
Bananas or plantains, where are
they cultivated 1220
Bark Peruvian, where is it pro-
duced ... 122S
Barometer, what is a ... ... 691
Barometer, why does it indicate
the pressure of the atmos-
jhere 6D2
Barometer, why is it also called a
"weather-glass" 693
Barometers, why are they con-
structed with circular dials ... 694
Barometer, why does the hand
change its position when the
mercury rises or falls 695
Barometer, why does tapping its
face cause the hand to move ... 696
Barometer, why does its fall de-
note the approach of rain ... 699
LESSON VII.
Barometer, why does its rise de-
note the approach of fine
weather 700
Barometer, how does it enable us
to calculate ihe height of the
mountains 701
Barometer, when does it stand
highest 704
Barometer, when does it stand
lowest 705
Barometer, what effect has heat
upon the TO" 7
Barometer, what effect has cold
upon the 708
Balloons, why do they ascend in
air 833
Balloons, why do air balloons
become inflated ' 831
Balloons, why do they sometimes
burst whtn they reach a high
altitude 832
Bat and ball, what principles of
natural philosophy are illus-
tra'ed in the play 867
I'ats, why have they hooked
claws in their wings 1079
Bats, why do they fly by night ... 1080
LESSON VIII.
Hats, why do they sleep during
winter 1081
Beds, why should they be raised
two feet from the ground ... 15
Bed-room windows, why are they
sometimes covered with ice
crystals 3i4
tieer, why will it not run out of
a cask until a hole is made at
the top 660
3eer, why d ws it get flat 805
Jees, why have they stings ... lltl
Sees, why may we expect fine
weather when bees wander far
from their hives 1114
Jeetles, why are they called
" coleoptera " 1319
Jeotles, why have they hard horny
wing-cases 1320
Jeetles, why have many of them
hard horns 1321
Jile, why does it separate nutri-
tious from innutritions matter 881
>irds, why have water- fowls
feathers of a close and smooth
texture 1033
irds, why are they covered with
feathers 1030
irds, why does black down grow
under their feathers on the
approach of winter 1036
irds, why have they hard beaks 104U
iirds, why are their beaks
generally long and sharp ...1041
lirds, #hy are their bones hollow 1060
!irds, why do they 'ay eggs ... 1051
QUESTIONS FOBMING A. COMPLETE INDEX.
LESSON IX.
Birds, why have those with long
legs short tails ... 1052
Birds, why have aquatic web-
feet .- 1059
Birds why have those that swim
and dive short legs ... ... 1060
Birds, why have some deep rough
notches on the under surfaces of
their feet ... .., 1061
Birds, why have they gizzards ... 1072
jiinlsofprey why have they no
gizzards 1084
Birds, why may wet and thunder
be expected when they cease to
sing .. ... ' 1121
Birds of passage, why, if they
arrive early, may severe weather
be expected 1121
Birds geological distribution of... 1326
Jirds, tameness of in unfrequented
countries ... ... 1327
Birds, why are birds of song not
also remarkable as birds of
Bud^w^fat are the" velocities of
their flights ... 1329
Birds, what is the cause of their
migrations 1330
Blaci, why should parts of kettles
an<! saucepans be allowed to re-
main 204
Blood, in what proportions are the
gases found in it... 39
LESSOX X.
Blood, -vhat is venous 41
Blood, what is arterial 42
Blood, what is the constitution of
the 899
Blood, what quantity does the
human body contain 920
Blood, how frequently does the
whole quantity pass through the
system 922
Blowing upon tea, why does it cool
it 174
Bow. why does it propel the
arrow 847
Bow and arrow, what line does the
arrow describe 8i8
Bow and arrow, what forces tend
to arrest the arrow 849
Bow and arrow, why are there
feathers at the ends of arrows ... 850
Bones, how many are there in the
human body 923
BOI..-S, of what substances are they
composed 924
Bonos, what are the uses of the ... 925
Bones, why are those of the back
hollowed out 927
Bones, why are those of the skull
arched 930
Bones, why are those of the skull
divided by small sutures ... 931
Bones, why are they hollow ... 934
LESSON XII.
Bones, why are those of the arms
and legs formed into long shafts 935
Bones, why are those of the feet
and hands numerous and small 936
Botanical geography 1208
Brain, why is it placed within the
skull 926
Bread-fruit trees, where are they
natives of 1223
Breathing, is it a kind of combus-
tion 17
Breaths, have people ever been
poisoned by their own 21
Breezes, why are summer said to
be cool 170
Breezes, what is the cause of sea
and land ... 235
Bubbles, why do they ascend in
the air 236
Bubbles, why do they fall, after
having ascended 237
Bubbles, why do they display
rainbow colours 499
Bubbles, why are they round ... 825
Bubbles, why are they elongated
when being blown 826
Bubbles, why do they close, and
become perfect spheres when
shaken from the pipe 827
Bubbles, why do they change
their colours in the sunshine ... 828
Bubbles, why do they burst ... 829
LESSON XI.
Burning or supporting combus-
tion, what is the difference ... 45
Burning-glasses, why do they
appear to set fire to substances S;
Butterflies, why do they lay their
upon cabbage-leaves ... 109&
Butterflies' eggs, why do they lie
dormant in the winter 1288
Butterflies, why do they fly by
day 1298
Calms, why do they prevail at the
equator 671
Caloric, what is it 72
Caloric, what is the source of it... 73
Caloric, what are the effects of it 74
Caloric, why is it called a repulsive
agent 75
Caloric, how may it be excited to
develope heat 79
Caloric, is there any in ice, snow,
water, marble, &c 89
Caloric, how do we measure the
quantity of in any substance ... 329
Caloric, how does it travel ... 332
Caloric, how do we know that it is
caloric which fuses metals . . . 334
Calves and lambs, why have they
no horns 1069
Camel, why has its stomach a
number of distinct bags 1065
Candles, why do tallow require
snuffing 264
QUESTIONS FORMING A. COMPLETE INDEX.
LESSON XIII.
Candles, why do composite and
war not require snuffing ... 265
Candle, what becomes of it after
it is burnt 289
Capillary blood-vessels, why are
they found in every part of the
system 919
Capillary attraction, what is it ... 780
Carbonic acid gas, how is it
formed 9
Carbonicacid gas, what becomes of it 10
Carbonic acid gas, is it heavier or
lighter than air 11
Carbonic acid gas, what are the
chief sources of ... 16
Carbonic acid gas, what is its
effect upon the human system 21
Carbonic acid gas, what becomes
of that formed by combustion 59
Carbonic acid gas, what propor-
tion is dangerous to life 60
Carbonic acid, what is it 798
Carbonic acid, where does it
chiefly exist 799
Carbonic acid, what a*e its pure
18
Carbon, what is it
Carbon, will it produce flame
when burnt in oxygen 106
Carbon and hydrogen, what dif-
ferences characterise the com-
bustion of 268
LESSON XIV.
Carbon, what is the purest form
of it 277
Card, why do the images on each
side blend while a card is re-
volving 846
Caterpillars, why do they appear
in the spring 1289
Caterpillars, why do they eat vora-
ciously 1290
Caterpillars, why do they pass
into the state of the chrysalis... 1291
Caterpillars, why do they become
torpid in the chrysalis 1292
Caterpillars, why do they attach
themselves to the leaves of
plants when in the chrysalis ...1294
Cats, &c., why do they see in the
dark ... 981
Cats' eyes, why are the pupils of
nearly closed by day 982
Cats, &c., why have they whiskers 1096
Cattle, why if they run round in
meadows may thunder be ex-
pected 1122
Ceiling, how did Mr. Sands walk
on the 664
Cliampasne, why does it effer-
vesce 806
Champagne, why do bubbles rise
from it in two or three columns 807
Charcoal, why is it dangerous to
burn it in rooms 20
LESSON XV.
Charcoal fires, why do they not
give flames 107
Charcoal, what is it 275
Charcoal, why does it act as a
disinfectant 809
Chicory, what is it 1196
Chimney, why does it cease smok-
ing after the fire has been lighted
a little while 680
Chimney, why does a long one
create a better draught than a
short one 681
Chimneys, why do some smoke
when windows and doors are
closed 683
Chimneys that stand under
elevated objects, why do they
smoke 684
Chimneys, why do sooty smoke ... 6*7
Chimneys, why do they smoke in
damp and gusty weather ... 688
Chimney, why does it smoke
when first lighted 679
Chocolate, what is it 1194
Circulation, why are the venous
blood and chyle sent to the
lungs 887
Circulation, what is the course of
the arterial blood 888
Circulation, why does the blood
impart vitality ... ... . 891
LESSON XVI.
Circulation, how do we know {he
blood is alive 892
Circulation, why does the blood
circulate 893
Circulation, how is the body
renewed by the blood 894
Circulation, how does the blood
return to the lungs after it has
reached the extremities 895
Circulation, why are the veins
more perceptible than the
arteries 897
Circulation, why when we prick
the flesh does it bleed 893
Circulation, what occurs during
the 899
Circulation, what becomes of the
matter collected by the blood... 901
Circulation, how is the blood pro-
pelled through the arteries ... 916
Circulation, why are the capillary
vessels capable of receiving the
quantity of blood sent through
larger vessels 917
Cinnamon, where is it produced... 1239
Cleanliness, why does it promote
health 1015
Clothes on fire, why should per-
sons throw themselves down ... 262
Clothing, why do some articles
feel cold, and others warm ... 119
QUESTIONS FOEMINO A COMPLETE INDEX.
LESSON XVII.
Clothing, are conductors or non-
conductors the warmer ... 121
Clothing, why are white and light-
coloured articles cool 218
Clothing, why are dark-coloured
dresses worn in winter, and light
in summer 230
Clouds, what are they 873
Clouds, why do we not see them
ascend 375
Clouds, why are they invisible
when they rise, but become
visible when they have ascended 376
Clouds, why do they not descend
to the earth 377
Clouds, at what altitudes do they
fly 378
Clouds, how many descriptions
are there 879
Clouds, what produces their
various shapes 380
Clouds, what are their dimensions 381
Clouds, how are they affected by
winds 382
Clouds, what do Cirrus foretell ... 389
Clouds, what do Cumulus foretell 390
Clouds, what do Stratus foretell ... 391
Clouds, what do Nimbus foretell 392
Clouds, what do Cirro-cumulus
foretell 393
Clouds, what do Cirro-stratus fore-
tell 394
Clouds, what do Cumulo-stratus
foretell 395
LESSON XVIII.
Clouds, why are cloudy days
colder than sunny days 396
Clouds, why are cloudy nights
warmer than clear nights ... 397
Cloudy days and nights, why are
they not always wet 432
Clouds, why are they white ... 531
Clouds, why are they sometimes
yellow 533
Clouds, what developes the elec-
tricityinthe 581
Clouds, why do they sometimes
move towards each other from
opposite directions 778
Clouds, why do they gather around
mountain tops 781
Cloves, where are they produced 1231
Coal, what is it ... 271
t'oal, why do we know that it is
of vegetable origin 273
Coal, what are the chemical com-
ponents of 274
Coals, why do they produce yellow
flame 279
Cockles, why have they stiff mus-
cular tongues 1087
Cocoa, what is it 1195
Cocoa, what tree produces it ... 1221
Coffee-pot, why has it a wooden
handle ... .. 125
LESSON XIX.
Coffee, what is it 1193
Coffee, where is it cultivated ... 1224
Cohesion, what is the attraction of 776
Coke-fires, why do they not give
flames 107
Coke, what is it 278
Cold, when is a body said to be 78
Cold, what is the cause of the sen-
sation 133
Cold, does it radiate 207
Colour, why is a substance white 46a
Colour, why is a substance black 467
Colour, why is a rose red... ... 4<3S
Colour, why is a lily white ... 469
Colour, why is a primrose yellow 470
Colour, why are there so many
varieties of colour and tint in
nature 471
Colours, remarks upon 501
Combustion, what takes place
during 48
Combustion, how many kinds are
there 93
Conductors of heat, what sub-
stances are good 110
Conductors of heat, why do bad
conductors readily ignite ... 295
Combustion, what is spontaneous 311
Combustibles used for lighting,
which vitiates the air most ... 62
Conduction of heat, what is the 11 3
Convection, what is the chief effect
of the law of 243
LESSON XX.
Cork, what is it 1271
Cork-tree, why does it shed its
own bark 1272
Corns, why when they ache may
rain be expected 1115
Corn, why does the young ear
come up enfolded in two leaves 1167
Cotton, what is it 1199
Cough, why do we 1023
Crickets, why do they make a
chirping noise 1123
Cross -bills, why do their man-
dibles overlap each other ... 1136
Cup in a pie, why does it become
filled with juice 631
Cup in a pie, does it prevent the
juice from boiling over 662
Dates, what are they produced by 1221
Death-watch, why does it make a
ticking noise .-. 1301
Dew, what is it 345
Dew, what causes the decline of
temperature which produces it 347
Dew, why is there little or none,
when the nights are cloudy ... 348
Dew, why does it form most abun-
dantly on cloudless nights ... 349
Dew, why is there little under the
branches of thick foliage ... 357
Eli
QUESTIONS FOEMING A COMPLETE INDEX.
LESSON XXI.
Dew, why is there none formed on
windy nights 352
Dew, why are valleys and low
places chiefly subject to it ... 353
Dew, what bodies receive little of
it 355
Dew, what bodies receive most of
it 854
Dew, at what period of the night
is it chiefly formed 356
Dew, why is it chiefly formed at
that period 357
Dew, in what parts of the world is
the greatest quantity formed ... 358
Dew, in what parts of the world is
the least quantity formed ... 359
Dew, why is it seldom formed at sea 3(50
Dew, why is it, when heavy, re-
garded as a precursor of rain ... 361
Dew, what is honey-dew 364
Dew, why does it lie on the ex-
posed sides of screens of plants 401
Dew, why does it rest upon the
upper surfaces of leaves 402
Dews, why are cultivated lands
more subject to them than those
that are uncultivated 403
LESSON XXII.
Dew, why does the gravel- walk re-
ceive less dew than the grass ...
Dew, why does little of it form at
the base of hedges, walls, and
trees
Dews, why do morning dews and
mists usually come together ...
Dew, what effect have winds
upon its formation
Dew, why does it foi-m in round
drops upon leaves
Diamond, what causes the bril-
liant colours of the
Digestion, why does food flow
more freely to the stomach dur-
ing
Digestion, why does excess in
eating impair
Digestion, what changes occur to
food in the stomach
Digestion, what causes bilious at-
tacks ...
Digestion, how is the nutritious
matter taken from that which is
innutritious
Digestion, what becomes of the
nutrition when it enters into
the circulation
Dish-covers, why should they
be plain in form, and have
bright surfaces
Dogs,' geographical distribution
of
Dream, why do we
prowsiness, why is it felt in
crowded rooms
1333
1020
22
LESSON XXIII.
Ducks and geese, why do they
dash water over their backs on
the approach of rain 1105
Ducks and geese, why have they
square-pointed bills 1044
Dyes, vegetable, what are they .. 1259
Ear, why is it spread out exter-
nally
Ears, why do hairs grow across
them
Ear-wig, why is it so called
Ears, why is wax secreted in the
Ears, why do singing noises occur
in the
Ears, why do people become deaf
Ears, why do people accustomed
to loud noises feel no inconve-
nience from them
Ears of animals of prey, why do
they bend forward
Ears of animals of flight, why do
they bend backward
Earth, why is it warmer than air
during sunshine
Earth, why is it colder than air
after sunset...
987
988
1063
1034
398
399
LESSON XXIV.
Earth, how can man weigh the ... 784
Earth, what is the weight of the 788
Earth-worms, why have they no
feet 1085
Echoes, why do some occur
immediately after the sounds ... 742
Echoes, why do some occur at a
considerable interval after the
sound 748
Echoes, why do some change the
tone and quantity of sounds ... 744
Echoes, why are there sometimes
several to one sound 745
Echoes, are they caused only by
distant objects 746
Echoes, what are they 741
Electricity, what is it 561
Electricity, why is it so called ... 562
Electric fluid, why is it so called 566
Electrics, what substances are ... 567
Electricity, what is positive ... 568
Electricity, what is negative ... 569
Electricity, what is vitreous ... 570
Electricity, what is resinous ... 570
Electrical phenomena, what pro-
duces them 571
Electricity, how does its equili-
brium become disturbed ... 672
Electricity, how does it seek to
regain its equilibrium 573
Electricity, what substances are
conductors 574
Electricity, what substances are
non-conductors 579
Electricity, what substances are
iusulat. i 575
qUKSTIONS FORMING A COMPLETK INDKX.
LESSON XXV.
Electricity, what is the effect when
a current of electricity meets
with an insulator 577
Electric sparks, what is the cause
of 578
E'ectricity, why does lightning at-
tend it ... ... 584
Electricity, why does it affect the
phapes of clouds 613
Electric storms, why are they
more frequent in hot than in
cold weather 624
Electric storms, why do they fre-
quently occur after dry weather 625
Electric storms, why do they puri-
fy the air 629
Electricity, what is Voltaic ... 636
Electrical attraction, what is it ... 778
Elementary body, what is meant
by 19
Element, what is the most abun-
dant in nature 756
Elephant, why has it a short un-
bending neck 1076
Elephant, why has it a trunk ... 1077
Elephants' hind legs, why do they
bend forward 1078
Etna, what are the botanical re-
gions of Mount 1240
Endogenous sterna, what are they 1280
LESSON XXVI.
Endogenous stems, why do they
abound in tropical climates ... 1281
Endogenous stems, why have they
no bark 1282
Endogenous stems, why do they
grow to a great height ... ... 1283
Exogenous stems, what are they... 1279
Exercise, why does it promote
health 1016
Exercise, why does it make us feel
warm ... 839
Explosions of gas, what is tho best
method of preventing 65
Eye-balls, why are they white ... 911
Eye-balls, why do they sometimes
become blood-shot 912
Eyes, why are they placed in the
sockets of the skull 929
Eyes, why are we able to move
them 965
Eye, why does the pupil look
black 968
Eye, why is the pupil larger some-
times than at others 969
Eyes, why have we two 970
Eyes, why, having two, do we see
singly 971
Eyes, why are they provided with
eyelids 972
Eye-lids, why are they fringed
with eye-lashes 973
Eyes, whence are their humours
Je~ed ... .. 976
LESSON XXVII.
Eyes, why do we feel inconveni-
enced by sudden light 978
Eyoe, why if we look upon a bright
object and turn away, are we
unable to see 979
Eyes, why are we able to see bet-
ter after a little while 980
Eyes, why do cats, bate, owls, &c.,
see in the dark 981
Eels, why are their eyes covered
with a transparent horny coat ... 1 130
Falling, what is the cause of bod-
ies 774
Fanning the face, why does it make
us feel cooler 172
Fata morgana, what is the cause
of 527
Fatigue, why do we feel 1017
Feather, why does it fall to tho
earth more gradually than a shil-
ling 79
Features, why do we preserve the
same through life 90
Feel, why do we 100
Feeling, why is it impaired when
the hands are cold 100
Feeling, why do the fingers prick
and sting when they again be-
come warm 100
LESSON XXVIil.
Feeling, why do persons whos
legs or arms IIHVH been ampu-
tated, for some time continue to
feel the part that has been re-
moved 1008
Fibrin, what is it 899
Fingers, why can we raise them ... 943
Fingers, why can we draw them
back after they have been raised 944
Fire, why does it burn more bright-
ly when blown by a bellowa ... 27
Fire, what is it : ' 82
Fire, what are its properties ... 83
Fire, what elements take part in its
maintenance ... ... ... 84
Fire, how does its combustion be-
gin 85
Fire-screens, how do they contrib-
ute to keep rooms cool 217
Ftre, why is it sometimes put out
by blowing it when it is low ... 262
Fire, why does poking it cause it to
burn more brightly ... ... 287
Fires, why do " blowrs" improve
the draft of air 288
Fire, why does it sometimes appear
red, and without flame ... ... 283
Fire, what effect has it upon air ... 284
Fires, why do charcoal and coke
burn without flame ... ... 29'C
Fires, why are charcoal and coke
difficult to light 293
Fires, a new plan of kindling .. 2B-*
xiv
QUESTIONS FORM I NO A COMPLKTK 1NOKX.
LESSON XXIX
Fires, why in lighting them do we
first lay in paper, wood, and coal 298
Fire, why does a poker laid across
the top revive it when dull ... 302
Fire-places, why should they be
near the ground ... ... ... 303
Fire, why does the blacksmith
sprinkle water upon the coals of
his forge 308
Urea, what is the best method of
conveying air to 684
Fish, why does putrifying look lu-
minous 95
Fishes, why have they flns 1053
Fishes, why are their fins propor-
tionately so much smaller than
the wings of birds 1054
Fishes, why have they scales ... 1055
Fishes, why do they float in
streams, with their heads to-
wards the current 1056
Fishes, why have they air-bladders 1057
Fishes, why do not their eyes con-
tract 1129
Fishes, why have they no eye-lids ... 1132
Fishes, why have they the power
of giving their eye-balls a sudden
motion 1133
Fishes, why are their tails so much
larger than their fins 1137
Flume, what is it 96
LESSON XXX.
Flame, whnt temperature is re-
quired to produce? it 101
Flame of a candle, why does the
lower part of the flame appear
blue 246
Flame of a candle, why does the
middle of the flame look dark ... 217
Flame of a candle, why does the
upper part produce a bright yel-
low light . . ... 248
flame of a candle, why is there a
fringe of pale light around the
flame 249
Flame of a candle, why does it ter-
minate in a point 250
Flame of a candle, why does it
lengthen when anything is held
over it 251
Flame or spark, why does press-
ing it put it out 253
Flame of a candle, why does hold-
ing a candle upside down put it
out 257
Flame of a candle, why is it more
difficult to blow out the flame of
a candle with a cotton wick than
one with a rush wick 258
Flame of a candle, why does blow-
ing sharply on it put it out ... 259
F'ame of a candle, why will a e'en-
tle puff of air sometimes relight
it ... ... 260
LESSON XXXI.
Flnme of a cwndle, why will not a
similar puff rekindle a rush-light 261
Flame of a candle, why will a
piece of paper twisted to form
an extinguisher put it out ... 263
Flame of a candle, why does it be-
come dim wh^n the wick is
loaded with carbon 267
Flames of a fire, why do some ap-
pear much whiter than others ... 280
Flames of a fire, why do some of
them appear blue 282
Flesh, why does it heal when we
cut it 902
Flesh-eaters, why do they satisfy
themselves with a rapid meal ... 1092
Flesh, why do the marks of deep
cuts remain 905
Flesh, why does that under the
nails look red 907
Flies, how can they walk on the
ceiling 663
Flies, why have they fine hairs
growing on the extremities of
their legs ... 1102
Flowers, what is the chief cause
of the differences of their tem-
peratures 227
Flowers, why may wet weather be
expected when their perfume is
strong 1103
LESSON XXXII.
Flowers, why, if certain close, may
rain be expected 1116
Flying-top, why does it rise on the
air .. , 843
Flying-top, why does it return to
the earth, when its rotations are
expended 844
Focus, what is a 81
Fogs, what are they 365
Fogs, why are certain coasts very
liable to them 366
Foga, what are dry 367
Fogs, why do they frequently rise in
the morning and fall in the evening 371
Fogs, why do they sometimes rest
upon a locality for days together,
and then disappear 372
Food, why do we eat it ... ... 869
Food, why do we eat animal and
vegetable 173
Food, why do we masticate it ... 871
Food, how does it descend into the
stomach ... ... ... ... 375
Food, why do we not feel it being
transmitted through the throat 876
Food, why do we feel uneasy after
eating to excess , ... 877
Food, why do we feel drowsy after
eatin-r heartily 878
Food, why do some portions nour-
ish us, while other portions are
QUESTIONS FORMING A COMPLETE INDEX.
LESSON XXXIII.
Fossil, vegetable, what is it ...
272
Friction, why does it produce heat 321
Friction, why does rubbu.'g two
surfaces together attract latent
heat 322
Frost, why is the air warmer
during 163
Frost, what is white 412
Frost, what is black 413
Frost, why are black frosts said to
last 414
Fruit, \rhy do gooseberries, plums,
&c., taste acid 1184
Fruit, why do ripe taste sweet,
and unripe sour 1185
Fruits, why are succulent most
abundant in tropical climates ... 1207
Fruits and vegetables, why do they
ripen in succession ... ... 1284
Furs, why are they worn in winter 166
Galvanism, what is it 635
Gas, what kind lights our streets ... 56
Gas, why does it expand in thin
air ... , 833
Geology, what has been its influ-
ence upon botanical geography 1249
Giraffes, why have they small
heads 1322
Giraffes, why have they long necks 1323
Giraffes, why have they long and
flexible tongues ... ... ... 1324
LESSON XXXIV.
Giraffes, why are their nostrils nar-
row and small, and studded with
hairs 1325
Glass upon a lamp, why does it
increase the brilliancy of the
light 266
Glass, why is it transparent ... 506
Glass, does transparent reflect any
light 507
Glow-worms, why have they
brushes attached to their tails ... 1127
Glow-worms, why do they emit
light 1128
Gnats, why are their larvae aud pu-
pae found in water 1314
Gnats, why may fine weather be
expected if they fly in large num-
bers 1110
Grasses, why are they so widely,
diffused throughout nature . ... 1166
Grasshoppers, why are they com-
paratively active in their pupa
stages 1293
Gravitation, what is the attraction
of 774
Guano, why is it a good manure ... 1262
Gum resins, what are they ... ... 1255
Gums, vegetable, what are they ... 1254
Gunpowder, why does it exp'.odo 808
Gutta-percha, whotce is it ob-
tained 1254
LESSON XXXV.
Hail, what is it 443
Hail, why is it supposed that the
electrical etate of the clouds af-
fects the formation of hail ... 449
Hail-storms, why do they usually
occur by day 450
Hairs, why do they grow across
the passages of the nostrils ... 993
Hnlo, what is a ... 494
Halo, what is the cause of a .. 495
Haloes, why are they sometimes
large, and at other times small 496
Haloes, why do they foretell wet
weather 497
Hands, why when we hold them
against the candle do we per-
ceive a crimson colour 906
Hay-stacks, why do they some-
times take fire spontaneously ... 316
Head, why is it set upon the neck 928
Hearing, why do people engaged
in battle frequently lose their ... 991
Hearing, death of a dog through
noise 991
Heart, why does it beat without
any effort of the will 948
Heart, why is it placed in the chest
of the body 932
Heart and lungs, why are they en-
closed by ribs 933
Heart, why are its motions made
independent of the will 950
LESSON XXXVI.!
Heat, what is it 71
Heat, what are the properties
of 86
Heat, what is animal 87
Heat, what is latent 88
Heat, what is a conductor of ... 108
Heat, what is a non-conductor of ... 109
Heat, how is it transmitted from
one body to another 119
Heat, what is the radiation of ... 114
Heat, what is the reflection of ... 115
Heat, what is the absorptfon of ... 116
Hear, what is the convection of ... 117
Heat, what is the cause of the sensa-
tion 134
Heat, what becomes of that which
the hearth-stone receives 136
Heat, how long does a substance
feel hot or cold to the touch ... 139
Hearth-rug, and hearth-stone, their
relative states of heat 142
Heat, which are the better conduc-
tors, fluids or solids 146
HoHt, why are dense substances
the best conductors ... ... 147
Heat, why are fluids bad conduc-
tors 148
Heat, why are woollen fabrics bad
conductors 149
Heat, is air a good or bad conduc-
tor ... ... ... 150
XVI
QUESTIONS FORMING A COMPLKTK INHKX.
LESSON XXXVII.
Heat, is water a good or a bad
conductor 151
Heat, how do we know that air is
not a good conductor ... ... 155
Heat, how do we know that water
is not n good conductor 156
Heat, why ore bottles of hot water
wrapped in flannel ... ... 158
Heat, why are hot rolls wrapped in
flannel 159
Heat, what is the highest degree
that man can bear ... ... ... 176
Heat, why may man endure a high
degree without injury 178
Heat, why may we believe that
the internal heat of the earth
does not arise from terrestrious
combustion 224
Heat, what is the radiation of ... 181
Heat, what becomes of that which
is radiated ... 186
Heat, when does a body radiate it 184
Heat, does the movement of the air
aff-ct the radiation of 188
Heat, why will not the motion of
air disturb the rays of 190
Heat, what bodies are good radia-
tors ot 192
Kent, what bodies are bad radia-
tors of 193
H.'at, why does water keep hot
longer in a bright metal jug ... 195
LESSON XXXVIII.
Heat, may it bo reflected 210
Heat, are light or dark-coloured
bodies the best reflectors ... 211
Heat, what bodies are the best re-
flectors of" 212
Heat, why is that which is reflected
less intense than the primary ... 214
Heat, can it be reflected in any
great intensity 215
Heat, are good reflectors also good
absorbers ' 216
Heat of the sun's rays, how is it
diffused 219
Heat, how do we know that it U
absorbed by the earth 222
Heat, do plants absorb it ... ... 225
Heat, how is it diffused through
the atmosphere 232
Heat, how is it diffused through the
ocean ... 233
Heat, why is it developed during
chemical changes 312
Heat, what are the sources of ... 323
Heat, what is the accepted theory
of 328
Heat, what is the point at which
it becomes luminous 545
Heat, what is the relative intensity
of primary and reflected ... 548
Hent to cold, why does a sudden
change bring on illness 1013
LESSON XXXIX.
Heat of the earth, HumbolJt'a
opinion upon the int rual ... 1335
Heat of the earth, Hunt's opinion
upon the internal ]3.'?6
Hfar, why do we P83
Hiccough", why do we 1027
Hoar-frost, what is it 362
Hoar-frost, why does it foretell
rain 363
Hoar-frosts, why are they so fre-
quent, and black-frost so unfre-
quent ... 412
Hogs, why have Indian large tusks
turning back towards their eyes 1068
Hog, why is the under-jaw of the,
shorter than the upper-jaw ... 1039
Hoop, why does it roll without fall-
ing to the ground 861
Hoop, why does it when falling
make sevend side revolutions ... 862
Horses, why ha-'e they smaller
stomachs proportionately than
other animals 1097
Horse, why has it no gall-bladder 1098
Hordes, why is the secretion of
: their eyes thick and flutinous ... 1134
Horses and cattle, why do they
stretcfc out their neckc, and snuff
the ir on the approach of rain ... HOC
Horse-chestnut, why is it unfit for
f"od 1203
Hot, when is a body said to be ... 77
LESSON XL.
Hot water, why does it feel hotter
in a metal jug than in an earthen-
ware one ... ... ... ... 126
Hot metal, why does it feel hotter
than hot wool 130
Hot metal and hot wool, which
would become cold first 131
Hot and cold bodies, why, when
placed near each other, do their
temperatures approximate ... 331
Humming-tops, why do we see the
figures painted on them before
they spin, but not while they are
spinning 813
Humming-top, why does it make a
noise gio
Hydrogen, what is it 49
Hydrogen, will it support animal
life 50
Hydrogen, will it support combus-
tion 51
Hydrogen, why will it explode ... 52
Hydrogen, where does it chiefly
exist 54
Hydrogen, how is it obtained from
coal 57
Hydrogen-gas, is an escape of ic
dangerous to life 63
Hydrogen-gas, 'what proportion
mixed with air will explode ... 64
Hydrog- "-gas, doe* it rise or fall " 6t>
QUESTIONS FOKMING A COAIPLKTE INDEX.
XVH
LESSON XLI.
Hydrogen-gas, what proportion is
dangerous if inhaled ... ... 67
Hydrogen-gas, what proportion
may be recognised by its smell 68
Hydrogen-cas, may the use of it
be considered dangerous ... 70
Hydrogen-gas, what sources of it
are there in our dwellings ... 69
Hydrogen, why will it burst into
flame when coals become heated 100
Hydrogen, why does bi-carburet-
ted burn with a whiter flume than
common coal-gas 281
Ice, why are blocks of it wrapped
in flannel in summer time ... 154
Ice, why does it melt ... ... 325
Icn, why does it occupy more space
than water 752
Ignis fatuus, what is it 318
Incidence, what is the line of ... 519
Incidence, what is the angle of ... 521
India-rubber, where is it obtained 1254
Infants, why have they no teeth ... 1070
Insects, why have they a large
number of eyes 1083
Insects, why have they long pro-
jections from their heads ... 1100
Insects, why do they attach their
eggs to leaves 1295
Insect', why do they multiply so
numerously 1300
LESSON XL1I.
Insects, what is a larva 1302
Insects, what is a pupa ... ... 1303
Insects, what is a chrysalis ... 1304
Insects, what u a nymph 1305
Insects, why do they abound in
decaying substances and in pu-
trid waters 1313
Insects, why do we see them in
tanks of ruin-water 1314
Iron articles, why are they intense-
ly cold in winter 132
Iron articles, why do they usually
feel cool, even when near a fire 132
Ironing-box, why does the iron
sometimes become too large for
the box to receive it 335
Ironing-box, why does the iron en-
ter ir, when partially cooled ... 336
Iron, why does it rust when wetted 768
Jew'a-harps, why do they give mu-
sical sounds 851
Jew's-harps, why will they not
produce loud sounds unless they
are applied to the mouih 852
Jew's-harps, why does the altera-
tion of the form of the mouth al-
ter the sounds 853
Kangaroos and opossums, why
hnve they pouches in which they
carry their young ... 1139
LESSON XI.III.
Kettle-holdurs, of what use are
they ............... 128
Kettles and saucepans, why should
the lids and fronts of, be kept
bright ............ 206
Kettles, why do they become en-
crusted with stony deposites ... 7(12
Kite, why does it rise in the air ... 840
Kite-string, why does it feel hot
when running through the hand 841
Kite, why does running with it
cause it to ascend ......... 8 12
Knowledge, why should we seek it 1
Knowledge, why does the posses-
sion of it give us power ...... 2
Knowledge, what are the benefits
of .. ............ 3
Latent heat, will the abstraction of
it reduce the bulk of bodies ... 337
Latent heat, how do we know that
it exists in air ......... 339
Laugh, why do we ......... 1026
Ligaments, what are they ...... 937
Ligaments, why are they wrapped
around the joints ......... 938
Light, what is it ......... 451
Leaves, why are they green ... 1181
Leaves, why do some turn yellow 1186
Leaves, why do they fall off in the
autumn ............ 1187
Leaves, how to make skeleton ... 1159
LESSON XLIV
Leaves, why do they turn brown
in autumn ............ 1183
Lees crossed, why do we see the
elevated leg move at regular in-
tervals :. .......... 918
Light, fit what velocity does it travel 453
Light, how long dues it take to
travel from the sun to the earth 454
Light, what nre the minor sources of 45?
Light, what is a nty of ...... 458
Light, what is a medium of ... 459
Light, what is a beam of ...... 460
Light, what is a pencil of ...... 461
Light, what is the radiant point ... 4fi'2
Light, what is the focus of ... 46.J
Light, what is the constitution of a
ray of ............... 464
Light, why are its rnys white ... 4(io
Light, what are the estimated vib
of
465
470
Light, what is the refraction of ...
Light, is it refracted when it falls
upon a surface in a straight line 473
Light, is the direction in wliich iis
rays are best dependent on the
d.-niities of the media ...... 474
Light, why does a epoon look bent
when placed in a basin of water 477
Light, wliy do we see the rays of
the sun burst through the clouds
in different directions .. 474*
xvm
QUESTIONS FORMING A COMPLKTE INDKX.
LESSON XLV.
Light, why is the apparent depth
of water always deceptive ... 479
Light, why are some substances
opaque to it ... ... ... 511
Light, how do we know that bod-
ies reflect it in every direction ... 517
Light, meditation on 517
Light and heat, what are the differ-
ences between 540
Light and heat, are they combined
in the sun's rays 541
Light and heat, how do we know
that they are separate elements 542
Light and heat, in what respects
are they similar 543
Light and heat, in what respects
are they dissimilar ... ... ... 544
Light, what is polarized 549
Light, what is the velocity of arti-
ficial 546
Light, at what rate does the light
of the stars travel 547
Light, why does it tarnish silver ... 553
Light, why does it affect colours ... 554
Light, why can pictures be taken
by the sun's rays 555
Light, when does it scorch plants 558
Lightning, what is the cause of ... 580
Lightning, why does it sometimes
become zig-zag 586
Lightning, why is it sometimes
forked 587
LESSON XLVI.
ing, why is it sometimes like
lurid sheet -... 58$
Lightning, when is the flash straight 587
Lightning, when does the flash ap-
pear blue 591
Lightning, why is it sometimes
red, at others blue, yellow, or
white 592
Lightning, does it ever pass from
the earth to the clouds 593
Lightning, does it pass from the
clouds to the earth 594
Lightning, what is the force of ... 595
Lightning, why is it dangerous to
stand near a tree during a storm 5S6
Lightning, why is it dangerous to
sit near a fire during a storm ... 598
Lightning, why is it dangerous to
be near water during a storm ... 599
Lightning, are iron houses danger-
ous ... , 600
Lightning why does it seize upon
bell wires, <fcc. ... 601
Lightning, are umbrellas with steel
framea dangerous ... ... ... 603
Lightning, are iron bedsteads dan-
gerous 604
Lightning, what is the safest situa-
tion during a storm 606
Lightning-conductors, do they at-
tract electricity 608
LESSON XLVII.
Lightning-conductors, which is the
best metal for 610
Lightning-conductors, why have
they sometimes been found inef-
fective 609
Lightning-conductors, why should
large buildings have several ... 611
Lightning-conductors, why should
they have several branches pen-
etrating the earth 612
Lightning, through what distance
will its light penetrate ... ... 622
Lightning, how may we calculate
the distance of a storm 623
Lightning, why is the flash gener-
ally succeeded by heavy rain ... 626
Lightning, why is a flash generally
followed by a gust of wind ... 627
Lime-kilns, why do persons viewed
through the hot air of, appear
distorted and tremulous ... ... 483
Limpets, why is it difficult to strike
them from rocks 665
Lips, why are they red ... ... 913
Liver, what effect has it upon the
circulation 901
Looking-glass, why, if you hold one
at an~angle towards the sun, will
light be thrown in an opposite
direction 208
Loss, is there any such thing in
the operations of nature 270
LESSON XL VIIL
Lungs, why are they placed in the
chest of the body 932
Magnetism, what is it 633
Magnetic bodies, what are they ... 634
Magpie, why is a single one said to
foretell bad weather 1118
Mahogany, what is it 1190
Mahogany and other woods, why
are there curious markings in ... 1273
Man, why is he born without a
covering 1034
Man, why has he no external ap-
pendage to his mouth 1037
Marbles, why do they revolve when
propelled along the ground ... 818
Marbles, why do striped appear to
hnve more stripes when they are
rolling than when at rest ... ... 819
Marbles, why do they rebound when
dropped upon the pavement ... 820
Marbles, why do they roll furthest
upon smooth surfaces ,.. ... 821
Marbles, how many forces contrib-
ute to stop their rolling 882
Marbles, why do the stripes upon
them disappear when they are
spinning rapidly ... 823
Marbles, why are the rings upon
them most perceptible at the'
" poles," while they are spinning 824
QUESTIONS FORMING A COMPLETE INDEX.
XI*
LESSON XLIX.
Matches, do they ignite sponta-
neously 313
Meat, why is it sooner cooked
when a tin screen is placed be-
fore the fire 213
Metal, why does it run like a fluid
when melted 333
Mirrors, why do we see our fea
tares therein 209
Mirrors, why do we see our faces
in them 512
Mirrors, what has the glass of to
do with the reflection 514
Mirrors, why do compound mir-
rors reflect many images of one
object 515
Mirrors, why do reflections appear
as far behind a mirror as the
object reflected stands before it 518
Mirage, what is the cause of the ... 527
Mists, what are they 368
Mists and fogs, what is the differ-
ence between them ... ... 369
Mists end fogs, why do they disap-
pear at sunrise ... ... ' ... 370
Mistletoe, why have its berries a
thick viscid juice 1177
Mistletoe, how are its seeds con-
veyed to the bark of trees ... 1178
Moles, why have they hard flat feet 1074
Mole's fur, why is it glossy and
smooth 1075
LESSON L.
Moles, why are they permanent ... 904
Moles, why may rain be expected
when they throw up their hills 1117
Monsoons, what are they 672
Monsoons, what is the cause of ... 673
Mornings, why are they usually
clear when frosty 410
Mother-of-penrl, vyhat causes the
rich tints displayed by 500
Moths, why do they fly by night ... 1297
Moths, why are their bodies gen-
erally covered with thick down 1228
Moths, why do they fly against the
candle-flame 1299
Muscles, how many are there in
the human body 941
Muscle, what is the constitution of a 942
Muscles, what degree of strength
do they possess 945
Muscles, what is the stimulus which
sets them in action ... ... 946
Mussels, why have they tendi-
nous cords proceeding from
their shells 1086
Natural phenomena, a world of
miniature ... ... ... ... 690
Nails, why have we got them at the
fingers' ends 908
Kails,' why is there a circular line of
whitish colour at the root of the 909
LESSON LI.
Nails, why do white spots occur
upon the 910
Needle, why will it float if laid care-
fully upon water 795
Nerves, what are they 951
Nervous system, of what does it
consist 955
Nerve, what is the constitution of a 956
Nervous fluid, what is the 957
Nerves, how many kinds are there 958
Nerves of motion, what are they ... 959
Nerves of sensation, what are they 960
Nerves of special sense, what are ... 961
Nerves of sympathy, what are the 962
Nights, why are they usually cold
when clear ... 411
Nitrogen, what is it 33
Nitrogen, where is it found ... 34
Nitrogen, could animals live in it 37
Nitrogen, is it taken into the blood
from the air ... ... ... 40
Nitrogen, will it burn 44
Nitrogen, what becomes of that
which is inhaled ... ... ... 46
Nitrogen, where does it find a
fresh supply of oxygen 47
Nitrous oxyde, why does it excite
the system 38
Non-conductors of heat, what sub-
stances are Ill
Nostrils, why are they directed
downwards 994
LESSON LII.
Nose, why is it placed over the
mouth 995
Nutmegs, where are they produced 1232
Ocean, how is it heated 233
Oils and fats, what are vegetable ... 1204
Oils and fats, animal, why are they
found most abundantly in cold
climates ' ... 120J
Oils and fats, vegetable, why are
they found most abundantly in
hot countries 120?
Opium, what is it 1258
Ostriches, why have they small
wings 1031
Ostriches, why are their feathers
soft and downy ... ... ... 1032
Otters, seals, &c., why have they
web-feet 1062
Owls, why does their screeching
denote change of weather ...1111
Owls, why does their moping fore-
tell death 1112
Oxen, sheep, deer, &c., why do
they ruminate 1088
Oxen, and other quadrupeds, why
have they a tough elastic lig-
ament in their necks 1138
Oxygen, why is it necessary to life 5
Oxygen, what is its union with
carbon called 7
QUESTIONS FORSJING A COMPLKTE INDEX.
LESSON LIII.
Oxygen, whnt is it 25
Oxygen of the air, why does it not
take fire 28
Oxysjen, why do we know that it
will not burn of itself 29
Oxygen, why do we know that it is
necessary to our existence ... 30
Oxygen, where is it found " 31
Oxygen, why is it mixed with ni-
trogen in the air ... ... ... 32
Oxygen of water, why does it not
support fire 307
Oxygen, in what wy does man
use it 757
Ozone, what is it ... 630
Ozone, why do we know that elec-
tricity produces it ... ... ... 631
Ozone, what are the properties of 632
Paleness, what is the cause of ... 914
Palms, what are their characteris-
tics 1221
Paper held over a candle-flame,
why does it become scorched ... 244
Paper held below a candle-flame,
why does it scarcely become
warm 245
Paper, why does it more readily
ignite than wood ... ... ... 29 1
Paper, why, if it is laid flat upon
the fire, will it " char" before it
ignites 304
LESSON LIV.
Paper on a fire, why will it ignite
when you send a puff of air to
it 305
Parachutes, why do they fall grad-
ually to the ground 834
PaiTots, &.C., why have they crook-
ed bills 1047
Parrots, why can they move their
upper as well as their lower
beak 1048
Particles of matter, why do they
draw near each other 776
Particles of matter, why will they
attach themselves to sealing-wax
excited by friction 779
Pea and pin, why do they rotate
upon a jet of air blown through
a tobacco-pipe ... ... ... 845
Peg-top, why does it make less
noise than a hurnming-top ... 811
Pog-top, why does it sometimes
hum, arid at other times not ... 812
Pelican, why has it a large pouch
uuder its bill 1093
Pepper, where is it produced ... 1229
Pt r-piration, why does it cool the
body 173
Perspire, why do we ... ... 1009
Perspiration, how is it formed ... 1010
Perspiration, what is insensible ... 1011
Perspiration, what is sensible ... 1012
LESSON LV.
Phosphorous, why does it look lu
minous 94
Phosphorous, does it ignite sponta-
neously when placed upon a hot
surface 314
Phosphorous, why does it ignite
when sprinkled with powdered
charcoal 315
Photographic pictures, how does
light produce them 55G
Photographic rooms, why are they
glazed with blue glass 557
Pith-tumblers, why do they always
pitch on one end ... ... ... 868
Planets, how can man weigh them 785
Planets, how can man measure
their distances 786
Plants, do they absorb heat ... 225
Plants, how do we know that they
absorb heat 226
Plants, why do screens prevent
frost from killing them 400
Plants, why, if we cut across their
steins, do we see tubes arranged
in parallel lines 1159
Plants, why do some droop and
turn to the earth after sunset ... 1167
Plants, why are the seeds of
many enclosed in rich juice or
pulp 1172
Plants, why have some tough curly
tendrils 1173
LESSON LVI.
Plants, why have peas tendrils, and
beans none 1174
Plants, why have grasses, &c., joints
or knots in their stalks 1176
Plants, what is the circulation of
sap in 1179
Plants, why does their sap ascend
and descend 1180
Plants, why do they suffer from
the smoke of cities 1188
Plants, why is it understood that
some of them feel 1141
Plants, why is it understood that
some of them move 114?
Plants, of what elementary sub-
stances are they composed ... 1143
Plants, whence do they derive their
elementary substances 1144
Plants, how do they obtain carbon 1145
Plants, how do they obtain oxygen 1146
Plants, their decomposition ot gases
by day and by night 1147
Plants, how do they obtain hydro-
gen ... , 1147
Plants, how do they obtain nitrogen 1148
Plants, how do they apply their ele-
ments to the formation of their
structures 1149
Plants, how is their nutritive sap
applied to their growth and
nourishment 1150
QUESTIONS FORMING A COMPLETE INDEX.
XXi
LESSON LVIL
Plants, why dp they grow 1154
Plants, why if we break the stein
of a hyacinth do we see a glu-
tinous fluid <;xude 1155
Plants, why if we split the petal of
n tulip do we see cells containing
ditf'-ront colouring matters ... 1156
Plants, why if we break a pea-shell
across do we find a transparent
membrane 1157
Plants, why if we cut through H
cabbage-stump do we find a tough
coating enveloping a cellular sub-
stance 1158
Plants, why are their seeds formed
within the corollas of flowers ... 1168
Plants, why does the flower of the
poppy turn down during the
early formation of seed 1169
Plants, why have those of the pea-
tribe a folding blossom 1170
Plants, why are leal-buds enclosed
in scales which fall off as the
leaves open 1171
Plants, what is meant by " t-ppcies"
of 1209
Plants, what is meant by " genus"
of 1210
Plants, progressive discovery of
new species 1211
Plants, what are the three great
classes of 1212
LESSON LV1II.
Plants, what are the characteristics
of exogenous ... 1213
Plants, what are the "'ft.'acteristics
of cryptogamug 1216
Plants, what are the effects of di-
verse climates upon 1242
Plants, what are the effects of alti-
tude upon mountains 1243
Plants, what agencies influence
their geographical distribution ... 1250
Plants, what are the chief facts
connected with the distribution
of by man 1251
Plants, why are herbaceous less
solid than woody 1265
Plants, why are the stalks of herba-
ceous generally cylindrical ... 1266
Plants, what are the stomata of ... 1267
Plants, why are their stomata gen-
erally on the underside of their
leaves 1268
P'.ants, why have they pith in their
centres 1269
Porter, why does bottled produce
large volumes of froth 801
Pulse, why do we feel it beat ... 900
Quadrupeds, geographical distri-
bution of 1331
Quicksilver, why does it reflect
light from mirrors 513
LESSON LIX.
Radiation, why does scratching a
bright metal surface increase~its
powers of 199
Radiation of heat, what benefits
arise from it 415
Radiation of light, what is it ... 503
Radiation, do all bodies radiate
light 504
Rain, what is it 416
Rain, does it ever occur without
clouds 417
Rain-drops, why are they some-
times large, and at other times
small 418
Rains, at what seasons are they
most prevalent 419
Rainy days, in what months of the
year are they most frequent ... 420
Rainy days, why are there more
from September to March ... 421
Rain, in what part of the world
does the greatest quantity fall ... 422
,Ritin, in what part of the world do
the heaviest rains fall 423
Rain, in what part of the world
does the least rain fall 424
Rainy days, how many are there in
a year 425
Rain, in what part of England does
the greatest quantity fall 426
Rains, why do the heaviest occur
in hot countries 427
LESSON LX.
Rain, why does the greatest quan-
tity fall at the equator 428
Rain, why are some parts of the
earth without it 429
Rain, why does it purify the
air 433
Rainy localities, why are mountain-
ous countries more rainy than
flat ones 434
Rain, why does more fall by night
than by day 435
Rain, why do bunches of dried sea-
weed indicate its coming ... ... 436
Rain, why do weather-toys foretell
its coming 437
Rain, the Capuchin toy; myste-
rious walk of a wooden horse ... 438
Rain, why does ladies' hair drop
out of curl as rain approaches ... 438
Rain, why is it said to be coming,
when the mountains are " put-
ting on their night-caps" 439
Rainbow, what causes a 486
Rainbow, why does it exhibit col-
ours ... 487
Rainbows, why are there some-
times two 488
Rainbows, why are the columns of
the secondary bow, arranged in
the reverse order of those of the
primary 48?
xxii
QUESTIONS FORMING A COMPLETE INDEX.
LESSON LXI.
Rainbow colours, why do glass
lustres and chandeliers exhibit
them 498
Rainbows, why are the colours of
the secondary bow fainter than
those of the primary 491
Ratnbow, what is a lunar 492
Rainbow, why is a lunar bow faint-
er than the solar 493
Rainbow, why is one in the morn-
ing the shepherd's warning ... 538
Rainbow, why is one at night the
shepherd's delight 539
Refraction of light, what is it ... 472
Refraction and reflection of light,
what is the difference 502
Reflections, why are they reversed 490
Reflection, why do black bodies re-
fiVct any light 505
Reflection, why does a window-
pane appear to reflect better by
night than by day 516
Reflection, what is the line of ... 520
Reflection, what is the angle of ... 522
Repulsion, what is it 792
Respiration, why does the chest
expand when we breathe ... 889
Respiration, how does blood com-
municate with the air in the
lungs ' ... 890
Rest, why does it invigorate us ... 1018
Rice, where is it cultivated 1219
Rosewood, what is it 1191
LESSON LXII.
Saliva, why does saliva enter the
mouth while we are eating ... 872
Sea, why is it salt 764
Sea, what is the estimated amount
of salt in the ... 765
Sea, what is the depth of the ... 766
Sea-gulls, why are they numerous
in fine weather 1119
Sen-gulls, why do they fly over the
land on the approach of stormy
weather 1120
Sea-crow, why is its lower bill
longer than the upper 1135
Sealing-wax, why does rubbing it
attract to it small particles of
matter 565
See, why do we 963
Seeds, why are they generally en-
veloped in hard cases ... ... 1152
Seeds, why do they throw out roots
before they form leaves 1153
Seeds, why does the leaf-germ
come up to the light and the
root-germ penetrate the earth ... 1285
Seeds, why are they indigestible ... 1286
Soe-saw, why may a little boy bal-
ance a larger boy , 863
See-saw, why dot's the littlii boy
sink to the 'anh, \vhpii the larger
buy kicks tlie ground 801
LESSON LXIII.
See-saw, why may the little boy
keep the larger one up, when
once he is up ......... 864
Shadows, what is the cause of ... 508
Shadows, why is there some light
where shadows fall ...... 510
Shadows, why do they lengthen as
the sun goes down ......... 526
Shuttle-cock, why does it travel
slowly through the air ...... 836
Shuttle-cock, why do we hear a
noise when we strike it with the
battledore ............ 837
Sight, why are two persons able to
see each other ......... 551
Sight, why can we see so many
upon the small retina ...... 966
Sight, why are we able to see at
long or short distances ...... 974
Sigh, why do we ......... 1025
Silica, what is it ......... 1260
Silk, what is it ............ 1200
Skin, why does a chill of the produce
inflammatory action in the lungs 1014
Sky, what is it ............ 5:50
Sky, why is it red at sunset ... 532
Sleet, what is it ......... 447
Sleep, what is it ......... 1019
Smell, why do wfl ......... 992
Smoke, what is it ......... 102
Smoke, why is there so little when
the fire is red ... ...... 105
Smoke, what is it ......... 289
LESSON LXIV.
Smoke, why do fresh coals in-
crease the quantity of ......
Smoke, why does it issue in folds
and curls ............
Smoke, why does it ascend in mild
and fine weather .........
Snails, why can they move in an
inverted position ... ... ...
Snails, where do they obtain their
shfills ................
Snails, why do their shells grow ...
Snails, why are their shells spiral
Snails, why have they four tenta-
cula attached to their heads ...
Snails, why are they able to move
without feet .........
Snails, why do we see none in the
wintertime ... ......
Snails, why can they live in sealed
Sneeze, why do we .........
Snipes and woodcocks, why have
they long, tapering bills ......
Snore, why do we .........
Snow, why does it keep the earth
warm ...............
Snow, why is it a good non-con-
ductor of heat ... ......
Snnw, what is it ....... ..
Snow, why is it white .....
2P1
632
689
666
1-506
1307
1308
1309
13JQ
13H
1312
1024
1042
1028
ICO
]f>2
4^0
41;
QUESTIONS FORMING A COMPLETE INDEX.
xxffl
LESSON LXV.
Snow, why is it warm, though
white garments are cool 442
Snow, why is it always on the tops
of high mountains ... ... 443
Snow-line, what is meant by the ... 445
Snow, what is red 446
So } a- water, why does it effer-
vesce 802
Soils, why are clayey unfavourable
to vfge-tation ... ... ... 1160
Soils, why are sandy unfavourable
to vegetation 1162
Soils, why are chalk unfavourable
to vegetation 1162
Soils, why are mixed favourable to
vegetation 1163
Soils, why do farmers manure
their land 1165
Soot, why should it be prevented
from accumulating at the bot-
tom and sides of sauce-pans ... 205
Soot, what is it 290
Sound, what is it 716
Sounds, what causes the air to pro-
duce 717
Sounds, how do we know that they
are produced by vibrations ... 718
Sounds, how do we know that
without air there would be none 719
Sounds, how are the vibrations of
sonorous bodies imparted to the
air 720
LESSON LXVI.
Sounds, how rapidly do the vibra-
tions of travel 721
Sounds, do all sounds travel at the
same rate t 722
Sounds, why are bells nnd glasses
stopped from ringing by "touch-
ing them with the finger 723
Sounds, why does a cracked bell
give discordant 724
Sounds, why do we see the flash of
a gun before we hear the report 725
Sound, why does the inarching of
long ranks of soldiers appear to
be irregular 726
Sound.*, what are the numbers of
vibrations that produce various 727
Sounds, why does the length of
a wire or string influence the
sounds it produces 728
Sound, why does the tension of a
wi re or string affect its vibrations 729
S.iund, why are some notes low
iid solemn, and others high and
quick 730
Sound, why can our voices be
heard at a creator distance when
we speak through tubes ... ... 731
Sound, is air a good conductor ... 732
S'lunds, why can we hear them at
a greater distance on water than
on land ... ... ., 733
LESSON LXV1I.
Sound, why do sea-shells give a
murmuring noise when held to
the ear 734
Sound, why can people in the arc-
tic regions converse when more
than a mile apart 735
Sounds, why do savages lay their
heads upon the earth to catch
sounds 736
Sounds, why can church clocks be
heard striking more plainly at
some times than at others ... 737
Sound, why may the scratching of
a pin at one end of a long pole
be heard at the opposite ex-
tiemly 738
Sound, why is the hearing of deaf
persons assisted by ear-trumpets 739
Sounding-boards, why are they
used to improve the hearing of
congregations 740
Sounds, why, when we are walk-
ing under arches or tunnels, do
our voices appear louder ... 747
Spark, what causes it when a
horse's shoe strikes against a
stone 340
Specific gravity, what is it 789
Spiders, why have they the power
of spinning webs ... ... ... 1082
Spider*,why may fine weather be ex-
pect-d when they build their webs 1108
LESSON LXV1II.
Spiders, wby may wet weather be
expected when they hide ... 1109
Spiders, why may wet weather be
expected when they break off
their webs and remove them ... 1113
Spider, why, if the webs of the
gossamer fly about in autumn,
may east winds be expected ... 1124
Spiders, gossamer, why can they
float through the air ... ... 1125
Spinal cord, what is the ... ,.. 952
Spinal cord, why is it placed in the
back-bone ... 953
Spinal-cord, how do the branches
pass out from it 954
Spontaneous combustion, what sub-
stances are liable to it 317
Spontaneous combustion, has it
ever occurred in living bodies ... 319
Spontaneous combustion, why doea
it occur in the case of the drunk-
ard 320
Spoon-bill, why has it a long ex-
panded bill, lined with sharp,
muscular points 1045
Spoon-bill, why has it long legs ... 1046
Squint, why do some people ... 967
Starch, what is it 1202
Star-lit nights, why are they usually
colder than cloudy nights ... 350
Stars, why do they twinkle ... 484
QUESTIONS FORMING A COMPLKTK IN DUX.
LESSON LXIX.
Stars, why does their twinkling
foretell had weather 485
Steam, why dons it issue from the
spout of a kettle 750
Storms, what is the cause of ... 676
Storms, why do the mot vu.lent
occur in and near the tropics ... 677
Straw, why is it frequently used
for manure 1264
" Sucker, 1 ' why does it raise a stone 8fiO
Sugar, what is it 1197
Sugar-cane, where is it cultivated... 1226
Sun, what is its distance from the
earth 452
Sun, what is the ... 455
Sun, from what does its luminosity
arise 456
Sun and moon, why do they appear
smaller when near the meridian,
than when near the horizon ... 525
Sun, why do we see it before sun-
rise, and after sunset 482
Sun, what is the magnitude of the 767
Suppers, why do they cause
dreams 1021
Swallows, why may wet weather
be expected when they fly low 1104
Syringe, why does pressing in the
handle force out a jet of water... 856
Syringe, why will not the water
run out, unless the handle is
pressed in 857
LESSON LXX.
Syringe, why will the water leak
out, but not run ... 858
Syringe, why cannot the handle
be pressed in, if a finger is kept
on the orifice 8-59
Tannin, what is it 1257
Taste, why do we 996
Taste, why are some substances
sweet, others sour, <fec 997
Taste, why is it most powerful af-
ter substances have been a little
while in the mouth 998
Taste, why if we put out the tongue
and touch it wiih a nub of sugar,
shall we perceive no tastn ... 999
Taste, why when we draw in the
tongue do we then perceive the
taste of the sugnr 1000
Taste, through what nerves are
we. made sensible of the con-
tact of sugar with the tip of the
tongue 1001
Taste, why do connoisseurs of
wines hold wine in their mouths
a few seconds when 'judging of it 1002
Taste, why do they also pass the
fumes of the wine through their
nostrils ... 1003
Tea-pot, why does a bright metal
one produce better tea than a
black earthenware ... .. ... 200
LESSON LXX I.
Ten-pot, if the earthenware one
were, set hy the. fire, why would
it then make the best tea ... Sfll
Tun, what is it 1192
Tea. win-re is it cultivated 1225
Tears, what is the cause of 877
Temperature, why do some arti-
cles feel colder than others ... 138
Temperature, why does it feel
warmer alter a frost has set
in 163
Tendons, what are they ... ... 939
Tendons, why are they used to
attnch the muscles to the bones 940
Tenerinv, wViat are the botanical
regions of the Peak of ... ... 1241
Thaumatrope, why do the figures
on appear to dance ... ... 869
Thaw, why is it colder when a
thaw takes place 164
Thermometer, whfit is the 709
Thermometer, wiry does it indicate
degrees of heat 710
Thermometer, why are there Reau-
mur's and Fahrenheit's ... ... 711
Thermometer and barometer, what
is the difference 712
Thermometer, in what season of
the year does it vary most ... 715
Thunder, what is it 614
Thunder-peal, why is it sometimes
loud and continuous ... ... 616
LESSON LXXII.
Thunder-peal, why it sometimes
broken and unequal 617
Thunder-peal, why is it sometimes
a low. grumbling noise 618
Thunder-peal, why does it some-
times follow immediately after
the flash of lightning 620
Thunder, through what distance
will the soundlravel 621
Thunderbolt, what is a 628
Tinder-box, the history of a ... 340
Toasting-fork, why has it a wood-
en handle 124
Tops, why do they stand erect
while they spin, bnt fall when
they stop 814
Tops, why do they " sleep" ... 816
Tops, why do they cease to
spin 817
Touch, in what part of the body is
the sense of most perfect ... 1005
Toxicologists, what are they ... 61
Trap and ball, why is the ball pro-
pelled upward, when the trig-
ger is struck 866
Trees, what arc the estimated nges
of 1214
Trees, what are the northern lim-
it* of 1237
Trees, why are they cuvt red with
bark ... ,.. ., .,. 1270
QUESTIONS FORMING A COMPLETE INDEX.
XXV
LESSON LXXIII.
Trees, why have those with large
trunks a great number of leafy
branches , ... 1274
Trees, why have poplars compara-
tively few leaves 1275
Trees, why had the mammoth com-
paratively few leaves 1276
Trees, why have oaks an abun-
dance of leaves 1277
Trees, why are their trunks gen-
erally round 1278
Twilight, what is the cause of ... 482
Vacuum, what is a 649
Vacuum, is it possible to obtain a
perfect 650
Vegetables, have they any heat ... 90
Vegetable structures, of what do
they consist 1151
Vegetables, why do farmers sow
different crops in rotation ... 1164
Vegetables, why are the hearts of
cabbages, &c., pale yellow ... 1182
Vegetable productions, why are
they so widely diffused ... ... 1189
Vegetable eaters, why do they feed
so continually 1091
Vegetation, geographical distribu-
tion of 1208
Vegetation, what are the character-
istics of tropical 1218
Vegetation, what are the changes
in on quitting the tropics. ... 1232
LESSON LXX1V.
Vegetation, what are the character-'
istics of, upon approaching the
polar zones 1234
Vegetation, what are the charac-
teristics of mountain 1238
Vines, where are their favourable
climates ,., 1233
Walking, why does it make us
warmer ., 26
Water, what becomes of that
formed by combustion ... ... 58
Water, is it a good or bad conduc-
tor of heat 151
Water, why does it extinguish fire 306
Water, why, when a blacksmith
thrusts a hot iron into a tank, do
we perceive a peculiar smell ... 309
Water, why does it freeze 324
Water, why does it become steam 326
Water, how many degrees of lat-
ent heat are hidden in its several
states 327
Water, why does it expand when
freezing, while bodies generally
contract with cold and expand
with heat 341
Water, why does it never freeze
to a great depth 342
Water, how much deeper is it than
it appears to be ... . 480
2
LESSON LXXV.
Water, why has the exceptional
law, by which it expands when
free/in?, been ordained 343
Water, why can we seldom suc-
ceed in the first attempt to touch
anything lying at tho bottom of 481
Water, what causes it to flow from
a pump 651
Water, why does it run through a
syphon 655
Water, what is it 748
Water, why does it become solid
when it freezes 751
Water, why does it boil 753
Water, what proportion of the
earth's surface is covered by it 554
Water, why does it dissolve sub-
stances 758
Water, why does hot dissolve more
readily than cold 759
Water, why is it sometimes hard 7fiO
Water, why is rain-water soft ... 761
Water, why is it difficult to wash
in hard 763
Waters, why are some impreg-
nated with mineral matters ... 767
Water, why does stagnant become
putrid 769
Water, is there danger attending
drinking it on account of animal-
cules 770
Water, what are the means by
which it may be purified 771
LESSON LXXVI.
Water, what is the pressure of ... 775
Water, why will a drop upon the
blade of a knife leave a dark spot 777
Water, why does it roll in agitated
globules when dropped upon hot
iron 796
Water, why does oil float upon it... 797
Water, why is spring fresh and in-
vigorating 803
Water, why is boiled flat and in-
sipid 804
Weather, why does a yellow sun-
set foretell wet 534
Weather, why does a red sunset
foretell fine 535
Weather, why does a red sunrise
foretell wet 536
Weather, why does a grey sunrise
foretell dry 537
Weather, barometrical indications
of , 708
Whales, why have they a large de-
velopment of oily matter about
their heads 1058
Whale, why has it feathery bones
extending from its jaws 1095
Whales, why are their eyes pro-
vided with very thick coats ... 1131
Wheat, why do the ears stand up
by day and turn down by night.. 1175
Wheat, what is it ... 1198
xxvi
QUESTIONS FORMING A COMPLETE INDEX.
LESSON LXXVII.
Wheat, what is the northern limit of 1235
Wheat, why is silica diffused over
its stem 1261
Wheat-crops, why do they greatly
exhaust the soil 1263
Whirlwinds, what are they ... 678
Why do we see 963
Why do we wink 975
Why do we weep 977
Why do we hear : 983
Why do we taste 986
Why do we smell 992
Why do we feel 1004
Why do we sleep 1019
Why do we dream 1020
Why do suppers produce dream-
ing ... ... 1021
Why do we yawn 1022
Why do we coueh 1023
Why do we sneeze 1024
Why do we sigh 1025
Why do we laugh 1026
Why do we hiccough 1027
Why do we snore 1028
Why do we feel hungry 1337
Why do we feel thirsty 1338
Wick of a candlo, why does it turn
Hack as it burns 225
Wick of a candle, why is there a
ppark generally at the end of it ... 256
Will-o'-the-wisp, what is it 318
Winds, what is the cause of ... 234
Winds, why are east usually dry ... 384
Winds, why are west usually wet... 385
Winds, why are north usually cold
and dry 386
LESSON LXXVIII.
Winds, why are south warm and
rainy ... ... ... ... ... 387
Wind, what is it 660
Winds, what are the velocities of ... 667
Winds, what are trade 668
Winds, what is the cause of trade 669
Winds, why do trade winds blow
from east to west 670
Winds, what determines the char-
acter of 674
Wind-mills, why do their wings
turn round 690
Windows, why do they reflect the
sun's rays in the evening ... 523
Windows, why do they not reflect
the sun's rays at noon 524
Wood, why does decayed look
luminous - 95
Wood, burning at one end, why
does it not feel hot at the other 118
Wood, why is it a bad conductor
of heat 119
Wood that is grern, why does it
hiss and steam when burning ... 285
Wood, why does it ignite less read-
ily than paper 297
Woodcocks and snipes, why have
they nerves running down to the
tip of their bills 104?
Woodpeckers, why do they " tap''
at old trees 1066
Woollens, why are they worn in
winter 168
Wool, what is it 1201
Yawn, why do we 1026
Zoological geography 133ft
looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see ir mere
were any that did understand that did see God." PSALM XJIL
THE REASON WHY.
CHAPTER I.
1. Why should we seek knowledge?
Because it assists us to comprehend the goodness and power of
God.
And it gives us power over the circumstances and associations
by which we are surrounded : the proper exercise of this power
will greatly promote our happiness.
2. Why does the possession of knowledge enable us to
exercise power over surrounding circumstances ? .
Knowle<lge enables us to understand that, in order to live healthily,
we require to breathe fresh and pure air. It also tells us that animal
and vegetable substances* undergoing decay, poison the air, though
we may not be able to see, or to smell, or otherwise discover the
existence of such poison. Knowing this, we become careful to
remove from our presence all such matters as would tend to corrupt
the atmosphere. This is only one of the countless instances in
which knowledge gives us power over surrounding circumstances.
3. Name some other instances in which knowledge gives us
pother.
Knowledge of Geography and of Navigation enables the mariner
to guide his ship across the trackless deep, and to reach the sought-
for port, though he had never before been on its shores.
Knowledge of Chemistry enables us to separate or to combine the
various substances found in nature. Thus we obtain useful and
28 THE EEASON WHY.
"<^ive instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser; teach a mat uiwi,
*> rt * J ' * yn<l he will increase in learning." PEOVERBS IX.
precious metajs 'from what at first appeared to be useless stones ;
tt angpareKt'gl'as's from pebbles, through which no light could pass ;
soap from oily substances ; and gas from solid bodies.
Knowledge of .Medicine enables the physician to overcome the
ravages of disease, and to save suffering patients from sinking
prematurely to the grave.
Knowledge of Anatomy and of Surgery enables the sujgeon to
bind up dangerous fractures and wounds, and to remove, even from
the internal parts of bodies, ulcers and diseased formations that
would otherwise be fatal to life.
Knowledge of Mechanics enables man to increase his power by
the construction of machines. The steam-ship crossing the ocean
in opposition to wind and tide, the railway locomotive travelling at
60 miles an hour, and the steam-hammer beating blocks of iron into
useful shapes, are evidences of the power which man acquires through
a knowledge of mechanics.
Knowledge of Electricity enables man to stand in comparative
safety amid^he awful war of the elements. Lightning, the offspring
of electricity, has a tendency to strike upon lofty objects by which
it may be attracted. By its mighty powers churches or houses
ma ftj? e instantly levelled with the dust. But man, knowing that
electricity is strongly attracted by particular substances, raises over
lofty buildings rods of steel communicating with bars that descend
into the ground. The lightning, rushing^ wkh indescribable force
toward the steeple, is attracted by the bar of steel, and conducted
harmlessly to the earth. Man may thus be sajfjl to take even light-
ning by the hand, and to divert its destroying force by the aid of
Knowledge. And in countless other instances " Knowledge is
Power."
CHAPTER II. >., .'
4. Why do we breathe air?
Because the air contains vxygen, 'which is necessary to life,
5. Why is oxygen necessary to life?
Because it combines with the cgrlon of the blood, and form
carbonic acid gas.
THE EEASON WHY.
; Be not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding : whi*e
mouth must be held with the bit and bridle." PSALM xxxii.
6. WTiy is this combination necessary ?
Because we are so created that the substances of our bodies are
constantly undergoing 1 change, and this resolving of solid matter
into a gaseous form, is the plan appointed by our Creator to remove
the matter called carbon from our systems.
7. Why do our bodies feel warm ?
Because, in the union of oxygen and carbon, heat is developed.
8. What is this union of oxygen and carbon called?
It is called combustion, which, in chemistry, means the decomposi-
tion of substances, and the formation of new combinations, accom-
panied by heat ; and sometimes by light, as well as heat.
9. What is formed by the union of oxygen and carbon ?
Carbonic acid gas.
10. What becomes of this carbonic acid gas?
It is sent- out of our bodies by the compressure of the lungs, and
mingles with the air that surrounds us.
11. Is this carbonic acid gas heavier or lighter than the
air ? .
Pure carbonic acid gas is the heaviest of all the gasea. That
which is sent out of the lungs is net pure, because the whole of the
air taken into the lungs at the previous inspiration has not been
deprived of its oxygen, and the nitrogen is returned. Therefore
the breath sent out of the lungs may be said to consist of air, with
a large proportion of carbonic acid gas.
12. WTiat is the composition of air in its natural state ?
It consists of oxygen, nitrogen, and carbonic acid gas, in the
proportions of oxygen 20 volumes, nitrogen 79 volumes, and car-
bonic acid gas 1 volume. It also contains a slight trace of watery
vapour.
13. What is the state of the air after it has once been
breathed ?
It has parted with about one-sixth of its oxygen, and taken up an
equivalent of carbonic acid. And were the same air to be breathed
30 THE EEASON WHY.
1 A prudent man forseeth the evil, and hideth himself ; but the simple pass on,
and are punished." PROVERBS xxvii.
six times successively, it would have parted with all its oxygen, and
could no longer sustain life.
14. Is the impure air sent out of the lungs lighter or
heavier tlian common air ?
At first, being rarefied by warmth, it is lighter. But, if undis-
turbed, it would become heavier as it cooled, and would descend.
15. Why is it proper to have beds raised about two feet
from the ground ?
Because at night, the bed-room being closed, the breath of the
sleeper impregnates the air of the room with carbonic acid gas,
ffhich, descending, lies in its greatest density near to the floor.
16. What are the chief sources of carbonic acid gas ?
The vegetable kingdom (as will be hereafter explained), the com-
bustion of substances composed chiefly of carbon, the breathing of
animals, and the decomposition of carbonic compounds.
17. Is Ijreatliing a kind of combustion ?
It is. In the breathing of animals, the burning of coal?, or of
wood, or candles, &c., similar changes occur. The oxygen of the
air combines with the carbon of the substance said to be burnt,
and forms carbonic acid gas, which unfits the air for the pur-
poses of either breathing or of burning, until it has been renewed by
admixture with the air.
18. What is carbon ?
It is one of the elementary bodies, and is very abundant through-
out nature. It abounds mostly in vegetable substances, but is also
contained in animal bodies, and in minerals. The form in which
it is most familiar to us is that of charcoal, which is carbon almost
pure.
19. What is meant by an elementary body ?
An elementary body is one of those substances in which chemistry
is unable to discover more than one constituent. For instance, the
chemist finds that water is composed of oxygen and hydrogen.
Water is therefore a compound body. But carbon consists of carbon
only, and therefore it is called a simple, or elementary body.
THE SEASON WHY. 3]
14 Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out : so where there is no tale-bearer,
the strife ceaseth." PKOVEEBS xxvi.
20. WTiy is it dangerous to burn charcoal in rooms ?
Because, being composed of carbon that is nearly pure, its com-
bustion gives off a large amount of carbonic acid gas.
21. What is the effect of carbonic acid gas upon the human
system ?
It induces drowsiness and stupor, which, if not relieved by
ventilation, would speedily cause death.
22. What is the reason that people feel drowsy in crowded
rooms ?
Because the large amount of carbonic acid gas given off with the
breaths of the people, makes the air poisonous and oppressive.
23. What other causes of drowsiness are there ?
The candles, gas, or fires that may be burning in the rooms where
people are assembled. Three candles produce as much carbonic
acid gas as one human being ; and it is probable that one gas-light
produces as much carbonic acid gas as two persons.
24. Have people ever been poisoned by their ovtn breaths ?
In the reign of George the Second, the Rajah of Bengal took
some English prisoners in Calcutta, and put 146 of them into a
place which was called the " Black Hole." This place was only 18
feet square by 16 feet high, and ventilation was provided for only
by two small grated windows. One hundred and twenty-three of
the prisoners died in the night, and most of the survivors were
afterwards carried off by putrid fevers. Many other instances have
occurred, but this one is the most remarkable.
CHAPTER III.
25. What is oxygen ?
Oxygen is one of the most widely diffused of the elementary sub-
stances. It is a gaseous body.
26. Wliy do persons who are walking, or riding upon lior&e-
~bach feel warmer than when they are sitting still ?
32
THE EEASON WHY.
r Stand in awe and sin not : commune with your own heart upon your bed and
be still." PSALM iv.
Because as they breathe more rapidly, the combustion of the
carbon in the blood is increased by the oxygen inhaled, and greater
heat is developed.
27. Why does the fire burn more brightly when blown ly a
bellows ?
Because it receives, with every current of air, a fresh supply of
oxygen, which unites with the carbon and hydrogen of the coals,
causing more rapid combustion and increased heat.
28. Why does not the oxygen of the air sometimes take
fire?
Because oxygen, by itself, is incombustible. The wick of a
candle, which retains the slightest spark, being immersed in oxygen,
will instantly burst into a brilliant flame ; and even a piece of iron
wire made red-hot, and dipped in oxygen, will burn rapidly and
brilliantly. Oxygen, though non-combustible of itself, is the most
powerful supporter of combustion.
29. Why do we know that oxygen will not burn of itself ?
Because when we immerse a burning substance into a jar of
oxygen, it immediately burns with intense brilliancy ; but directly
it is withdrawn from the oxygen, the intensity of the flame diminishes,
and the oxygen which remains is unaffected.
30. Why do we Tcnow that oxygen is necessary to our
existence ?
Because animals placed in any kind of gas, or in any combination
of gases, where oxygen does not exist, die in a very short time.
31. Where is oxygen found ?
It is found in the air, mixed with nitrogen ; in water combined
with hydrogen ; in the tissues of vegetables and animals ; in our
blood; and in various compounds called, from the presence of
oxygen, oxides.
32. Why is the oxygen of the air mixed so largely with
nitrogen ?
Because oxygen in any greater proportion than that in which it
is found in the atmosphere, would be too exciting to the animal
THE EEASON WHY. 33
"As vinegar is to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to him
that sent him." PBOVEUBS x.
system. Animals placed in pure oxygen die in great agony from
fever and excitement, amounting to madness.
33. Wliat is nitrogen ?
Nitrogen is an elementary body in the form of gas.
34. Where is nitrogen found ?
It is chiefly found in the air, of which it constitutes 79 out of 100
volumes. It may be mixed with oxygen in various proportions ;
but in the atmosphere it is uniformly diffused. It is found in most
animal matter, except fat and bone. It is not a constituent of the
vegetable acids, but it is found in most of the vegetable alkalies.
35. Wliat are acids ?
Acids are a numerous class of chemical bodies. They are gene-
rally sour. Usually (though there are exceptions) they have a
great affinity for water, and are easily soluble therein ; they unite
readily with most alkalies, and with the various oxides. All acids
are compounds of two or mere substances. Acids are found in all
the kingdoms of nature.
33. What are alkalies ?
Alkalies are a numerous class of substances that have a great
affinity for, and readily combine with, acids, .forming salts. They
exercise peculiar influence upon vegetable colours, turning blues
green, and yellows reddish brown. But they will restore the
colours of vegetable blues which have been reddened by acids ; and,
on the other hand, the acids restore vegetable colours that have
been altered by the alkalies. Alkalies are found in all the kingdoms
of nature.
37. Could animals live in nitrogen ?
No ; they would immediately die. But a mixture of oxygen and
nitrogen, in equal volumes, constitutes nitrous oxide, which gives a
pleasurable excitement to those who inhale it, causing them to be
merry, almost to insanity ; it has, therefore, been called laughing
gas.
38. JFTiy does nitrous oxide produce this effect ?
Because it introduces into the body more oxygen than can be
consumed. It, therefore, deranges the nervous system, and bcinr
2*
34 THE REASON WHY.
"Lord, make me know mine end, and the measure of my days, that I may know
how frail I am." PSALM xxxix.
a powerful stimulant, gives an unnatural activity to the nervous
centres and the brain.
39. In what proportions are the atmospheric gases found in
the Hood?
The mean quantity of the gases contained in the human blood has
been found to be equal to l-10th of its whole volume. In venous
blood, the average quantity of carbonic add is about 1-1 8th, that of
oxygen about l-85th, and that of nitrogen about l-100th of the
volume of the blood. In arterial blood their quantities have been
found to be carbonic acid about l-14th, oxygen about l-3Sth,
and nitrogen about l-72nd.
40. Then is nitrogen taJcen into the Hood from the air ?
Such a supposition is highly improbable. It is probably derived
from nitrogenisedfood, just as carbonic acid is derived from car-
lonisedfood.
41. W hat is venous blood?
Venous blood is that which is returning through the veins of the
body from the organs to which it has been circulated.
42. What is arterial blood ?
Arterial blood is that which is flowing from the heart through
the arteries to nourish the parts where those arteries are distri-
buted.
43. What is the difference between venous and arterial
blood?
Venous blood contains more carbonic acid, and less oxygen and
nitrogen than arterial blood.
44. Will nitrogen burn ?
It will not burn, nor will it support combustion.
45. What is the difference between " burning" and " sup-
porting combustion?"
Oxygen gas will not burn of itself, but it aids the decomposition
by fire of bodies that are combustible. It is therefore called a sup-
porter of combustion. But hydrogen gas, though it burns of itself
THE EEASON WHY. 35
As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire ; so is a contentious man to
kindle strife." PKOVERBS xxvi.
will extinguish a flame immersed in it. It is therefore said to bo
a body which will burn, but will not support combustion.
46. What becomes of the nitrogen that is inhaled with the
air ?
It is thrown off with the breath, mixed with carbonic acid gas,
and flies away to be renewed by a fresh supply of oxygen.
47. Where does nitrogen find afresh supply of oxygen ?
In the atmosphere. Nitrogen is said to possess a remarkable
tendency to mix with oxygen, without having a positive chemical
affinity for it. That is to say, neither the oxygen nor the nitrogen
undergoes any change by the union, except that of admixture. The
oxygen and the nitrogen still possess their own peculiar properties.
Oxygen and nitrogen are found in nearly the same proportions in all
climates, and at all altitudes.
48. In combustion does any other result take place besides
the union of oxygen and carbon forming carbonic acid gas?
Yes. Usually hydrogen is present, which in burning unites with
oxygen, and forms water.
CHAPTER IV.
49. What is hydrogen ?
Hydrogen is an elementary gas, and is the lightest of all known
bodies.
50. Will hydrogen support animal life ?
It will not. It proves speedily fatal to animals.
51. Will hydrogen support combustion ?
Although it will burn, yielding a feeble bluish light, it will, if pure,
extinguish a flame that may be immersed in it. Hydrogen will
therefore burn, but will not support combustion.
52. Why will hydrogen explode, if it will not support com-
bustion ?
When hydrogen explodes it is always in combination with oxygen,
36 TEE EEASON WHY.
'As smoke is driven away, so drive the in away: as wax melteth before the fire,
so let the wicked perish at the presence of God." PSALM: xxvi.
or with the common air, which contains oxygen. Two measures of
hydrogen and one of oxygen form a most explosive compound.
53. Why does hydrogen explode, when mixed with oxygen,
upon being brought in contact with fire ?
Because of its strong affinity for oxygen, with which, upon the
application of heat, it unites to form water.
54. Where does hydrogen chiefly exist ?
In the form of water, where it exists in combination with oxygen.
Eleven parts of hydrogen, and eighty-nine of oxygen, form water.
55. Ts hydrogen found elsewhere ?
It is never found but in a state of combination ; united with
oxygen, it exists in water; with nitrogen, in ammonia; with
chlorine, in hydro-chloric acid; with fluorine, in hydro-fluoric acid;
and in numerous other combinations.
56. Is the gas used to illuminate our streets, hydrogen gas?
It is ; but it is combined with carbon, derived from the coals from
which it is made. It is therefore called carburetted hydrogen,
which means hydrogen with carbon.
57. Hoiv is hydrogen gas obtained from coals ?
It is driven out of the coals by heat, in closed vessels, which pre-
vent its union with oxygen.
58. What becomes of the water which is formed by the
burning of hydrogen in oxygen ?
It passes into the air in the form of watery vapour. Frequently
it condenses, and may be seen upon the walls and windows of rooms
where many lights or fires are burning. Sometimes, also, portions
of it become condensed in the globes of the glasses that are
suspended over the jets of gas. A large volume of these gases
forms only a very small volume of water.
59. What becomes of the carbonic acid gas which is pro-
duced by combustion ?
It is diffused in the air, which should be removed by adequate?
ventilation.
THE EEASON WHY. 37
" I will both lay me down in peace and sleep : for thou, Lord, only, makest mo
dwell in safety." PSALM iv.
60. What proportion of carbonic acid gas is dangerous to
life ?
Any proportion over the natural one of 1 per cent, may bo
regarded as injurious. But toxicologists state that five per cent.
of carbonic acid gas in the atmosphere is dangerous to life.
Gl. Wliat are toxicologists ?
Persons who study the nature and effects of poisons and their
antidotes.
62. IVhich kind of combustible used for lighting tends
most to vitiate the air ?
Assuming all the lights to be of the same intensity, the degree in
which the substances burnt would vitiate the atmosphere may be
gathered from the number of minutes each would take to exhaust
a given quantity of air. This has been found to be : rape oil, 71
minutes ; olive oil, 72 ; B.ussian tallow, 75 ; town tallow, 76 ; sperm
oil, 76 ; stearic acid, 77 ; wax candles, 79 ; spermaceti candles, 83 ;
common coal gas, 98 ; canal coal gas, 152. Thus it is shown that
rape oil is most destructive of the atmosphere, and that coal gas is
the least destructive.
63. Is an escape of hydrogen gas from a gas-pipe dangerous
to life ?
It is dangerous, first, by inhalation. There are no less than
six deaths upon record of persons who were killed by sleeping in
rooms near to which there was a leakage of gas.
It is dangerous, secondly, by explosion.
[In 1848, an explosion of gas occurred in Albany-street, Regent's-park,
London. The gas accumulated in a shop for a very short time only. It had
been escaping from a crack in the nic-ter for about one hour and twenty
minutes. The area of the room was about 1,620 cubic feet. When the gas
exploded, it blew out the entire front of the premises, carried two persons
through a window into an adjoining yard, and forced another person on to the
pavement on the opposite side of the street, where she was killed. The effect
of the explosion was felt for more than a quarter of a mile on each side of the
house, and most of the windows in the neighbourhood were shattered. The
iron railings over the area of the house directly opposite were snapped asunder ;
and a part of the roof, and th back windows of another house, were carried to
a distance of from 200 to 300 yards. The pavement was k.rn up for a considerable
38 THE REASON WHY.
" O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth ! who hast set thy
glory above the heavens. PSAXM vm.
length, and the damage done to 103 houses was afterwards reported to amount
to 20,000. Other serious explosions have taken place. The explosions of " coal
damp" which frequently occur iu mines, are of a similar character.]
64. WTiat proportion of hydrogen gas with atmospheric air
will explode ?
According to the researches of Sir Humphrey Davy, seven or
eight parts of air, to one of gas, produce the greatest explosive
effect ; while larger proportions of gas are less dangerous. A mix-
ture of equal parts of gas and air will burn, but it will not explode.
The same is the case with a mixture of two of air, or three of air,
and one offfas; but/owr of air and one of gas begin to be explosive,
and the explosive tendency increases up to seven or eight of air and
one of gas, after which the increased proportion of gas diminishes
the force of the explosion.
65. WTiat is the lest method of preventing the explosion of
gas ?
Observe the rule, never to approach a supposed leakage with a
light. Fortunately the gas, which threatens our lives, warns us of
the danger by its pungent smell. The first thing to be done is to
open windows and doors, and to ventilate the apartment. Then
turn the gas off at the main, and wait a short time until the accu-
mulated gas has been dipersed.
66. Does "hydrogen gas rise or fall when it escapes ?
Being twelve times lighter than common air it rises, and there-
fore it would be better for ventilation to open the window at the
top than at the bottom. But all gases exhibit a strong tendency to
diffuse themselves, and therefore they do not rise or fall in the
degree that might be anticipated.
67. What proportion of hydrogen in the air is dangerous to
life, if inhaled?
One-fiftieth part has been found to have a serious effect upon
animals. The effects it produces upon the human system are those
of depression, headache, sickness, and general prostration of the
vital powers. It is therefore advisable to observe precautions in the
use of gas.
THE EEASON WHY. 39
" From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the
earth." Ps AIM xxxm.
68. What proportion of gas in the air may be recognised
ly the smell ?
By persons of acute powers of smelling it may be recognised when
there is one part of gas in Jive hundred parts of atmospheric air ;
but it becomes very perceptible when it forms one part in a hundred
and fifty. Warning is, therefore, given to us long before the point
of danger arrives.
69. What other sources of hydrogen are there in our
dwellings ?
It arises from the decomposition of animal and vegetable sub-
stances, containing sulphur and hydrogen. These give off a gas
called sulphuretted hydrogen, from which the fsetid effluviam of
drains and water-closets chiefly arise. We should, therefore, take
every precaution to secure effective drainage, and to keep drain-traps
in proper order.
70. May the use of gas for purposes of illumination le con-
sidered highly dangerous ?
Not if it is intelligently managed. The appliances for the regu-
lation of gas are so very simple and perfect, that accidents seldom
arise except from neglect. In England 6,000,000 tons of coal are
usually consumed in the manufacture of gas, producing 60,000,000,000
cubic feet of gas. And yet accidents are of very uncommon
occurrence.
CHAPTER V-
71. What is heat?
Heat is a principle in nature which, like light and electricity, is
best understood by its effects. We popularly call that heat, which
raises the temperature of bodies submitted to its influence.
72. What is caloric ?
Caloric is another term for heat. It is advisable, however, to use
the term caloric when speaking of the cause of heat, and of heat
as the effect of the presence of caloric.
40 THE EEASON WHY.
' While the earth remaineth, seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and
summer and winter, and day and night, shall not cease." GEN. viu.
73. What is the source of caloric ?
The sun is its chief source. But caloric, in some degree, exists in
every known substance.
74. What are the effects of caloric ?
Heat which, in proportion to its intensity, acts variously upon all
bodies, causing expansion, fusion, evaporation, decomposition, 8fc.
75. Why is caloric called a repulsive agent ?
Because its chief effects are to expand, fuse, evaporate, or de-
compose the substances upon which it acts.
76. What is an attractive agent, in contradistinction to a
repulsive agent ?
Chemical attraction, or affinity, is an attractive agent as when
bodies seek of their own natures to unite and form some new body.
77. When is a body said to be hot ?
When it holds so much caloric that it diffuses heat to surround-
ing objects.
78. When is a body said to be cold?
When it holds less caloric than surrounding objects, and absorbs
heat from them.
79. How may caloric be excited to develope heat ?
By any means which cause agitation, or produce an active change
in the condition of bodies. Thus friction, percussion, sudden con-
densation or expansion, chemical combination, and electrical dis-
charges, all develope heat.
80. Why do " burning glasses" appear to set fire to com-
bustible substances ?
Because they gather into one point, or focus, several rays of
caloric as they are travelling from the sun, and the accumulation of
caloric developes that intensity of heat which constitutes jre.
81. IVhat is a focus ? '
In optics, it is the point or centre at which, .or around which,
divergent rays are brought into the closest possible union.
THE EEASON WHY. 41
Yet man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward. I would seek unto God,
and unto God would I commit my cause." JOB y.
82. What is fire?
It is a violent chemical action attending the combustion of tha
ingredients of fuel with the oxygen of the air.
83. What are the properties of fire ?
It imparts* heat, which has the effect of expanding both
fluids and solids.
It cannot exist without the presence of combustible materials.
It has a tendency to diffuse itself in every direction.
It cannot exist without oxygen or atmospheric air.
84. What elements take part in the maintenance of a fire ?
Hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen. Hydrogen and carbon exist in
the fuel, and oxygen is supplied by the air.
85. How does the combustion of a fire begin ?
A match made of phosphorous and sulphur (highly inflammable
substances) is drawn over a piece of sand-paper the friction of the
match induces the presence of caloric, which developes heat, and
ignites the match, the burning of which is sustained by the oxygen
of the air. The flame is then applied to paper or wood, and
the heat of the flame is sufficient to drive out hydrogen gas, which
unites with the oxygen of the air, and burns, imparting greater
heat to the carbon of the coals, which assumes the form of carbonic
acid gas by union with oxygen, and in a little while all the
conditions of combustion are established.
86. What are the properties of heat ?
It may exist without fire or light.
It is not sensible to vision.
It makes an impression upon our feelings.
It acts powerfully upon all bodies.
It has KO weight.
It attends, or is connected with, all the operations of nature.
It radiates from all bodies in straight lines, and in all directions.
It strikes most powerfully in direct lines.
Its rays may be collected into a focus, just as the rays of the sun.
It may be reflected from a polished surface.
It is more easily conducted by some substances than by others.
THE EEASON WHY.
For ruy days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned as an
hearth." PSALM en.
87. What is animal heat ?
Animal heat is derived from the slow combustion of carbon in the
blood of animals with the oxygen of the air which the animals
breathe.
88. What is latent heat ? & %;-,
Latent heat (or more properly latent caloric) is that which
exists, in some degree, in all bodies, though it may be imperceptible
to the senses.
89. Is there latent caloric in ice, snow, water, marble, Sfc ?
Yes ; there is some amount of caloric in all substances.
[A blacksmith may hammer a small piece of iron until it becomes red hot.
With this he may light a match, and kindle the fire of his forge. The iron has
become more dense by the hammering, and it cannot again be heated to the
same degree by similar means, until it has been exposed in fire, to a red heat.
Is it not possible that, by hammering, the particles of iron have been driven
closer together, and the latent heat driven out ? No further hammering will
force the atoms nearer, and therefore no further heat can be developed. But
when the iron has again absorbed caloric, by being plunged in a fire, it is again
charged with latent heat. Indians produce sparks by rubbing together two
pieces of wood. Two pieces of ice may be rubbed together until sufficient
warmth is developed to melt them both. The axles of railway carriages
frequently become red hot from friction.']
90. Have vegetables heat ?
Yes ; whenever oxygen combines with carbon to form carbonic
acid gas, an extrication of heat takes place, however minute the
amount. Such a combination occurs much more extensively during
the germination of seeds and the impregnation of flowers, than at
any other time. In the germination of barley heaped in rooms,
previous to being converted into malt, it is well known that a
considerable amount of heat is developed.
91. Has any investigation of this subject ever been care-
fully made ?
Yes. Lamarck, Senebier, and De Candolle, found the flowers of
the Arum Maculatum, between three and seven o'clock in the
afternoon, as much as 7 deg. Eeaum. warmer than the external
air. Schultz found a difference of 4 deg. to 5 deg. between the
heat of the spathe of the Canadian pinnatifolium and the sur-
THE REASON WHY. 43
" And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which woi ketb
in all." CORINTHIANS xu.
rounding air, at six to seven o'clock p.m. Other observations have
established differences of as much as 30 deg. between the temperature
of the spathe of the Arum cordifolium, and that of the surrounding
atmosphere.
92. Have plants sometimes a temperature lower than that
of the surrounding air ?
Yes. It has not only been found that under particular circum-
stances the heat of certain parts of plants is elevated to a very re-
markable degree, but that, under nearly all circumstances, they have
a temperature different from that of the external air, being warmer
in winter, and cooler in summer.
CHAPTER VI.
93. How many kinds of combustion are there?
There are three, viz., slow oxydation, when little or no light is
evolved; a more rapid combination, when the heat is so great as to
become luminous ; and a still more energetic action, when it bursts
into flame.
94. Why does phospnorous look luminous ?
Because it is undergoing slow combustion.
95. Why do decayed tvood, and putrifying fish, look lumi-
nous ?
Because they are undergoing slow combustion. In these cases
the heat and light evolved are at no one time very considerable.
But the total amount of heat, and probably of light, generated
through the lengthy period of this slow oxydation, amounts to exact-
ly the same as loould be evolved during the most rapid combustion
of the same substances.
9G. Wliat is flame?
It is gaseous matter burning at a very high temperature.
97. WTiy, when we put fresh, coals upon a fire, do we hear
the gas escaping from the coals without taking fire ?
44: THE EEASON WHY.
; I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart ; I will show forth ll.y
marvellous work." PSA.LM ix.
Because, the fire being slow, the temperature is not high enough
to ignite the gas.
98. What is the gas which escapes from the coals ?
Carburetted hydrogen.
99. Why, if we light a piece of paper, and lay it where the
gas is escaping from the coals, will it burst into flame ?
Because the lighted paper gives a heat sufficient to ignite the gas ;
and because also hydrogen requires the contact of flame to ignite it.
100. Why, when the coals have become heated, will the
hydrogen burst into flame ?
Because the carbon of the coals, and the oxygen of the air, have
begun to combine, and have greatly increased the heat, and have
produced a rapid combustion, so nearly allied, to flame, that it
ignites the hydrogen.
101. What temperature is required to produce flame ?
That depends upon the nature of the combustible you desire to
burn. Finely divided phosphorous and phosphorated hydrogen will
take fire at a temperature of 60 deg. or 70 deg. ; solid phos-
phorous at 140 deg. ; sulphur at 500 deg. ; hydrogen and car-
bonic oxide at 1,000 deg. (red heat) ; coal gas, ether, turpentine,
alcohol, tallow, and wood, at about 2,000 deg. (incipient white
heat). When once inflamed they will continue to burn, and will
maintain a very high temperature.
102. What is smoJce ?
Smoke consists of small particles of carbon of hydrogen gas, and
other volatile matters, which are driven off by heat and carried up
the chimney.
103. Is it not a waste of fuel to allow this matter to escape?
It is, as it might all be burnt up by better management,
104. How may the waste be avoided?
By putting on only a little coals at a time, so that the heat of the
fire shall be sufficient to consume these volatile matters as tuey
escape.
THE EEASON WHY 45
1 And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall
both burn together, and none shall quench them." ISAIAH I.
105. Why is there so little smoke ivhen the fire is red?
Because the hydrogen and the volatile parts of the coal have
already been driven off and consumed, and the combustion that con-
tinues is principally caused by the carbon of the coals, and the
ox v gen of the air.
106. Will carbon, burnt in oxygen, produce flame and
smoke ?
It burns brightly, but it produces neither flame nor smoke.
107. Why do not charcoal and colce fires give flame ?
Because the hydrogen has been driven off by the processes by
which charcoal and coke are made.
108. What is a conductor of heat ?
A conductor of heat is any substance through which heat is
readily transmitted.
109. What is a non-conductor of heat?
A non-conductor is any substance through which heat will not
pass readily.
110. Name a few good conductors.
Gold, silver, copper, platinum, iron, zinc, tin, stone, and all dense
solid bodies.
111. Name a few non-conductors.
Fur, wool, down, wood, cotton, paper, and all substances of a
spongy or porous texture.
112. How is heat transmitted from one lody to another ?
By Conduction, Radiation, Reflection, Absorption and Convection.
113. What is the Conduction of heat?
It is the communication of heat from one body to another by con-
tact. If I lay a penny piece upon the hob, it becomes hot by
conduction.
114. What is the Radiation of heat?
The transmission of heat by a series of rays. If I hold my hand
46 THE REASON WHY.
" Sing praises to the Lord, which dwellcth in Zion, declare among the people his'
doings." PSALM ix.
before the fire, the rays of heat fall upon it, and my hand receives
the heat through radiation.
115. What is the Reflection of heat ?
The reflection of heat is the throwing back of its rays towards
the direction whence they came. In a Dutch oven the rays of heat
pass from the fire to the oven, and are reflected back again by the
bright surf ace of the tin. There is, therefore, considerable economy
of heat in ovens, and other cooking utensils constructed upon this
plan.
116. What is the Absorption of heat ?
The absorption of heat is the taking of it up by the body to which
it is transmitted or conducted. Heat was conveyed to my hand by
radiation, and taken up by my hand by absorption
117. What is the Convection of heat ?
The convection of heat is the transmission of it through a body
or a number of bodies, or particles of bodies, by those substances
which first received it ; as when hot water rises from the bottom
of a kettle and imparts heat to the cold water lying above it.
CHAPTER VII.
118. Wliy does not apiece of wood which is burning at one
end, feel hot at the other end ?
Because wood is a bad conductor of heat.
119. Why is wood a bad conductor of heat ?
Because the arrangement of the particles of which it is composed
does not favour the transmission of caloric.
120. Why do some articles of clothing feel cold, and others
warm ?
Because some are bad conductors of heat, and do not draw off
much of the warmth of our bodies; while others are better con-
ductors, and take up a larger portion of our warmth.
THE REASON WHY. 47
" The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold : but the Lord trieth the
hearts." PKO VERBS xvn.
121. Which feels the warmer, the conductor or non-con-
ductor ?
The non-conductor, as it does not readily absorb the warmth of
our bodies.
122. What substances are the lest conductors ofheat?
Gold, silver, copper, and most substances of close and hard for-
mation, &c.
123. What substances are the worst conductors ofheat?
Fur, eider down, feathers, raw silk, wood, lamp-black, cotton,
soot, charcoal, &c.
124. Why has the toasting-fork a wooden handle ?
Because wood is not so good a conductor as metal, therefore the
wood prevents the heat from being transmitted by conduction to
our hands.
125. Why lias the coffee-pot a wooden "handle ?
Because the metal of the coffee-pot would otherwise conduct the
heat to the hand ; but wood, being a bad conductor, prevents it.
126. Why does hot water in a metal jug feel hotter than
in an earthenware one ?
Because metal, being a good conductor, readily delivers heat to
the hand ; but earthenware, being an indifferent conductor, parts
with the heat slowly. -,
127. How can ive ascertain that ivood prevents the conduc-
tion ofheat to the hand?
By passing the top of the finger along the wooden handle of the
coffee-pot, until it raaches the point where the wood meets the
metal. The wooden handle will be found to be cool, but the metal
will feel very hot,
128. Of what use are kettle-holders ?
Being made of bad conductors, such as wood, paper, or
woollen cloth, they will not readily conduct the heat from the kettlo
to the hand.
48 THE EEASON WHY.
"Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy
getting get understanding." PROVEEBS iv.
129. Will a kettle-holder, being a lad conductor, sometimes
conduct heat to the hand ?
Yes. But so slowly that the hand will noifeel the inconvenience
of too much heat.
130. Why does hot metal feel hotter than heated wool,
though they may both be of the same degree of temperature ?
Because metal gives out heat more rapidly than wool, by
which it is made more perceptible to our feelings.
131. Which would become cold first the metal or the
wool ?
The wool, because, although the metal conducts heat more
rapidly, to a substance in contact with it, it does not radiate heat
as well as a black and rough substance.
132. Why do iron articles feel intensely cold in winter ?
Because iron is one of the best conductors, and draws off heat
from the hand very rapidly.
133. What is the cause of the sensation called cold ?
When we feel cold, heat is being drawn off from our bodies.
134. What is the cause of the sensation called heat ?
When we feel hot, our bodies are absorbing heat from external
causes.
[The condition here implied is that of health, and of ordinary circumstances.
A person in a condition of fever, suffering from intense heat arising from a
diseased state of the blood, could not be said to be absorbing heat. Nor could
such a description apply to a person who, by a very rapid walk, has raised the
temperature of his body considerably above its natural state, by the internal
combustion which has already been described. A person feeling hot in bed,
from excessive clothes, feels hot from the development of Jieat internally, which
is not conducted away with sufficient rapidity to maintain the natural tempe-
rature of the body.]
135. If a person, sitting before afire-place, without afire,
were to set one foot upon a rug, and the other upon the stone
hearth, which would feel the colder ?
The foot on the stone, because stone is a good conductor, anil
would conduct the warmth of the foot away from it.
THE EEASON WHY. 49
"The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that
dwell therein." PSALM xxiv.
136. Wliat does the hearth-stone do with the heat that it
receives ?
It delivers it to the surrounding air, and to any other bodies
with which it may be in contact and as it parts with heat, it takes
up more from any body hotter than itself.
137. When there is no fire in a room, what is the rela-
tive temperature of the various things in the room ?
They are all of the same temperature.
138. If all the articles in the room are of the same tem-
perature, why do some feel colder than others ?
Because they differ in their relative powers of conduction. Those
that are the best conductors feel coldest, as they convey away the
heat of the hand most rapidly.
[If you lay your hand upon the woollen table cover, or upon the sleeve of your
coat or mantle, it will feel neither warm nor cold, under ordinary circum-
stances. But if you raise your hand from the table cover, or coat, and lay it on
the marble mantel piece, the mantel-piece will feel cold. If now you return
your hand from the mantel-piece to the table cover or coat, a sensation of
warmth will become distinctly perceptible. This will afford a good conception
of the relative powers of conduction of wool and marble.']
139. Sow long does a substance feel cold or hot to the
touch ? .
Until it has brought the part touching it to the same temperature
as itself.
140. Wlien do substances feel neither hot nor cold ?
When they are of the same temperature as our bodies.
141. Why, under these circumstances, do they feel neither
hot nor cold ?
Because they neither take heat from, nor supply it to, the
body.
142. Which would feel the warmer, when the fire was
lighted, the hearth-rug or the hearth-stone ?
The hearth-stone, because it is a good conductor, and would not
only receive heat readily, but would part with it as freely (thereby
3*
50 THE SEASON WHY.
Fire and hail ; snow and vapour ; stormy wind fulfilling his word."
PSALM CXLVIII.
making its heat perceptible). But the hearth-rug 1 , being a bad
conductor, would part with its heat very slowly, and it would there-
fore be less perceptible.
143. Would the hearth-stone feel hotter than the hearth-
rug though both were of the same temperature ?
It would feel hotter than the hearth-rug, because it would part
with its heat so rapidly that it would be the more perceptible.
144. But if the hearth-stone and the hearth-rug were both
colder than the hand, which would feel the colder of the two ?
Then the hearth-stone would feel the colder, because, being a good
conductor, it would take heat from the hand more freely than the
hearth-rug-, which is a bad conductor.
145. Why would the hearth-stone feel comparatively hotter
in the one case, and colder in the other ?
Because, being a good conductor, it would conduct heat rapidly
to the hand when hot, and take heat rapidly from the hand when
cold.
CHAPTER VIII.
146. Which are the better conductors of heat, fluids or
solids ?
Generally speaking 1 , solids, especially those of them that are dense
in their substance.
147. Why are dense substances the best conductors of
heat ?
Because the heat more readily travels from particle to particle
tin til it pervades the mass.
148. Why are fluids bad conductors of heat ?
Because of the want of density in their bodies ; and because a
portion of the imbibed heat always passes off from fluids by
evaporation.
THE REASON WHY. 51
" He casteth forth his ice like morsels : who can stand before his word."
PSALM CXLVIT.
149. Why are woollen fabrics lad conductors of heat ?
Because there is a considerable amount of air occupying the
spaces of the texture.
150. Is air a good or a lad conductor ?
Air is a bad conductor, and it chiefly transmits heat, as water
does, by convection.
151. Is water a good or a lad conductor ?
Water is an indifferent conductor, but it is a letter conductor
than air.
152. Why, wlien we place our hands in water, which, may
le of the same temperature as the air, does the water fed
some degrees colder ?
Because water, leing a letter conductor than air, takes up the
warmth of the hand more rapidly.
153. Why, when we take our hands out of water do they
feel warmer ?
Because the air does not abstract the heat of the hand so rapidly
as the water did, and the change in the degree of rapidity with
which the heat is abstracted produces a sensation of increased
loarmth.
154. Why do we see blocks of ice wrapped in thick flannel
in summer time ?
Because the flannel, being a non-conductor, prevents the external
heat from dissolving the ice.
[Flannel wrapped around a warm body keeps in Us heat; and wrapped
around a cold body, prevents heat from passing into it."]
155. Sow do we know that air is not a good conductor
of heat?
Because, in still air, heat would travel to a given point much
more rapidly, and in greater intensity, through even an indifferent
solid conductor, than it would through the air.
156. How do we know that water is not a good conductor
of heat?
52 THE REASON WHY.
As snow in summer, and as rain in harvest ; so honour is not seemly for a
fool." Pitov. xxvi.
Because in a deep vessel containing ice, and with heat applied at
the top, some portion of the water may be made to boil before the
ice, which lies a little under the surface, is melted.
157. Why would you apply the heat at the top, in this
experiment ?
Because in heating- water it expands and rises. The boiling of
water is caused by the heated water ascending from the bottom,
and the colder water descending to occupy its place. If the heat
were not applied at the top, it would be distributed quickly by
convection, but not by conduction.
158. Why are bottles of hot water, used as feet-warmers,
ivrapped in flannel ?
Because the flannel, being a bad conductor, allows the heat to
pass only gently from the bottle, and preserves the warmth for a
much longer time.
159. Wliy are liot rolls sent out by the bakers, wrapped
up in flannel ?
Because the flannel, being a bad conductor, does not carry off
rapidly the heat of the rolls.
160. Why is it said that snow keeps the earth, warm ?
Because snow is a bad conductor, and prevents the frosty air
from depriving the earth of its warmth
161. Why are snow huts wliicli the Esquimaux build
found to be warm ?
Because snow, being a bad conductor, keeps in the internal heat
of the dwelling, and prevents the cold outer air from talcing away
its warmth.
162. Why is snow, leing composed of congealed water
(and water being a better conductor than air), so good a non-
conductor ?
Because in the process of congealation it is frozen into crystaline
forms, which, being collected into a mass, form a woolly body, thus
THE REASON WHY. 53
"He givcth snow like wool: he soattereth the hoar frost like . ashes."
PSALM; CXLVII.
proving the truthfulness of the Bible simile, which says, God
" giveth snow like wool."
CRYSTALS OF SNOW, AS SEEN THROUGH A MICROSCOPE. FlG. 1.
163. Why does it frequently feel warmer after a frost has
set in ?
Because, in the act of congelation a great deal of heat is given
out, and taken up by the air, and thus the severity of the cold
164. Why is it frequently colder when a thaw takes place ?
Because, in the process of thawing, a certain amount of heat is
withdrawn from the air, and enters the thawed ice.
165. What benefit results from these provisions of Nature ?
They moderate both the severity of frosts, and the rapidity
of thaws, which, in changeable climates, would be seriously
detrimental to life, and to vegetation.
166. Why are ftirs and woollens worn in the winter ?
Because, being non-conductors, they prevent the warmth of tho
body from being taken up ly the cold air.
167. Why are the skins of animals usually covered with
fur, hair, wool, or feathers ?
54 THE EEASOX WHY
"Hesendeth out his word, and melteth them: he causeth his wind to blow,
and the waters to flow." PSALM CXLVII.
Because their coverings, being non-conductors of heat, preserve
the warmth of the bodies of the animals.
168. How is the greater warmth of animals provided for
in the winter ?
It is observed that, as winter approaches, there comes a short
woolly or downy growth, which, adding to the non-conducting pro-
perty of their coats, confines their animal warmth.
Tin small birds during winter, let the external colour of the feathers be
what it may, there will be found a kind of Hack down next their bodies.
Black is the warmest colour, and thn purpose here is to keep in the heat, arising
from the respiration of the animal.]
169. ILow is warmth provided for in animals that have no
such coats ?
They are furnished with a layer of fat, which lies underneath the
skin. Fat consists chiefly of carbon, and is a non-conductor.
170. Why are summer breezes said to be cool ?
Because, as they pass over the heated surface of the body, they
bear away a part of its heat.
171. Why is a still summer air said to be sultry ?
Because, being heated by the sun's rays, and being a lad
conductor, it does not relieve the body by carrying off its heat.
172. Why does fanning the face make it feel cooler?
Because, by inducing currents of air to pass over the face, a part
of the excessive heat is taken up and carried away.
173. Why docs perspiration cool the body ?
Because it takes up a part of the heat, and, evaporating, carries
it into the air.
174. Why does blowing upon hot tea cool it ?
Because it directs currents of air over the surface of the tea, and
these currents take up a part of the heat and bear it away.
175. Why does air in motion feel cooler than air that is
still ?
Because each wave of air carries away a certain portion of heat
THE BEASON WHY.
" Though. I walk in the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for thou
art with me." PSALM xxur.
and being followed by another portion of air, a further amount of
heat is borne away.
176. Is the atmosphere ever as hot as the human body ?
Not in this country. On the hottest day it is 10 or 12 deg.
cooler than the temperature of our bodies.
177. What is the highest degree of artificial heat which
man has been known to bear ?
A man may be surrounded with air raised to the temperature of
300 deg. (the boiling point being 212), and yet not have the heat
of his body raised more than two or three degrees above its natural
temperature of from 97 deg. to 100 deg.
178. Why may man endure this degree of heat for a short
time ivithout injury ?
Because the skin, and the vessels of fat that lie underneath it,
are bad conductors of heat.
And because perspiration passing from the skin and evaporating,
would bear the heat away as fast as it was received.
Because, also, the vital principle (life) exercises a mysterious influ-
ence in the preservation of living bodies from physical influences.
179. Is the air ever hot enough, in any part of the world,
to destroy life ?
Yes. The hot winds of the Arabian deserts, which are called
simooms, scatter death and desolation in their track, withering trees
and shrubs, and burying them under waves of hot sand. When
camels see the approach of a simoom they rush to the nearest tree
or bush, or to some projecting rock, where they place their heads in
an opposite direction to that from which the wind blows, and en-
deavour to escape its terrible violence. The traveller throws him-
self on the ground on the lee side of the camel, and screens
his head from the fiery blast within the folds of his robe. But fre-
quently both man and beast fall a prey to the terrible simoom.
180. Why are these hot winds so terrible in their effects ?
Because, being in motion, they ssarch their way to every part of
56 THE EEASON WHY.
1 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge : but fools despise wisdom
and instruction." PKOVEKBS I.
the body, and passing over it leave some portion of their heat be-
hind, which is again followed by additional heat from every fresJi
blast of wind.
CHAPTER IX.
181. What is Eadiation ?
The radiation of heat is a motion of the particles, in a series of
rays, diverging in every direction from a heated body.
182. What is this phenomena of Radiation understood to
arise from ?
From a strongly repulsive power, possessed by particles of heat,
by which they are excited to recede from each other with great
velocity.
183. What is the greatest source of Radiation ?
The sun, which sends forth rays of loth light and heat in all
directions.
184. When does a body radiate heat ?
When it is surrounded by a medium which is a bad conductor
185. When we stand before a fire, does the heat reach us
by conduction or by radiation ?
By radiation.
186. What becomes of the heat that is radiated from one
body to another ?
It is either absorbed, by those bodies, or transmitted through them
and passed to other bodies by conduction, or diffused by convection,
or returned by refiection.
187. How do we know that heat is diffused by radiation ?
If we set a metal plate (or any other body, though metal is
host for the experiment) before the fire, rays of heat will fall upon
it. If we turn the plate at a slight angle, and place another
THE HEASON WHY. 57
" The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom : a good understanding have
all they that do his commandments." -PsALii cxi.
object in a line with it, we shall find that the plate will reflect the
rays it lias received by radiation, on to the object so placed ; but if
we place an object between the fire and the plate, we shall find
that the rays of heat will be intercepted, and that the latter can no
longer reflect heat.
188. Does the agitation of the air interfere with the direc-
tion of rays of heat ?
. It has been found that the agitation of the air does not affect the
direction of rays of heat.
189. Why, then, if a current of air passes through a space
across which heat is radiating., does the air become warmer ?
Because it takes up some portion of the heat, but it does not
alter the direction of the rays.
[This is clearly illustrated by reference to rays of light which are seen under
many circumstances. But they are never bent, moved, nor in any way affected
by the wind.]
190. Why will not a current of air disturb the rays of
heat, just as it would a spiders web, or threads ofsilJe?
Because heat is an imponderable agent, that is, something which
cannot be acted upon by the ordinary physical agencies. It has
no weight, presents 110 substantial body, and is, in these latter
respects, similar to light and electricity.
191. What other sources of radiation of heat are there
besides the sun and thejire ?
The earth, and all minor bodies, are, in some degree, radiators
of heat.
192. What substances are the best radiators ?
All rough and dark coloured substances and surfaces are the
best radiators of heat.
193. What substances are the worst radiators of heat ?
All smooth, bright, and light coloured surfaces are bad radiators
of heat.
[Dr. Stark, of Edinburgh, has proved, by a series of experiments, the influence
which the colours of bodies have upon the velocity of radiation. He surrounded
3*
58 THE EEASON WHY.
* Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister ; and call understanding thy kins-
woman." PROTEBBS vii.
the bulb of a thermometer successively with equal weights of black, red, and
white wool, and placed it in a glass tube, which was heated to the temperature
of 180 deg. by immersion in hot water. The tube was then cooled down to 50
deg. by immersion in cold water ; the black cooled in 21 minutes, the red in 26
minutes, and the white in 27 minutes.]
194. If you wished to keep water hot for a long time, should
you put it into a bright metal jug, or into a dark earthenware
one?
You should put it into a bright metal jug, because, being a lad
rzdiaior, it would not part readily with the heat of the water.
195. Why would not the dark earthenware jug keep the
water hot as long as the bright metal one ?
Because the particles of earthenware being rough, and of dark
colour, they radiate heat freely, and the water would thereby be
quickly cooled.
CHAPTER X.
196. But if (as stated in the Lessons upon Conduction)
metal is a better conductor of heat than stone or earthenware,
why does not the metal jug conduct away the heat of the water
sooner than the earthemvare jug ?
It would do so, if it were in contact with another conductor ;
but, being surrounded by air, which is a bad conductor, the heat
must pass off by radiation, and as bright metal surfaces are bad
radiators, the metal jug would retain the heat of the water longer
than the earthenware one.
197. Supposing a red-hot cannon ball to be suspended by a
chain from the ceiling of a room, how would its heat escape ?
Almost entirely by radiation. But if you were to rest upon the
ball a cold bar of iron, a part of the heat would be drawn off by
conduction. Warm air would rise from around the ball, and,
moving upwards, would distribute some of the heat by convection.
THE REASON WHY. 59
; T will teach vou by the hand of God ; that which is with the Almighty will I
not conceal." JOB xxvn.
And some of its rays, falling upon a mirror, or any other bright
surface, might be diffused by reflection.
198. Do some substances absorb heat?
Yes ; those substances which are the best radiators are also the
best absorbers of heat.
199. Why does scratching a bright metal surface increase
its power of radiation ?
Because every irregularity of the surface acts as a point of
radiation, or an outlet by which the heat escapes.
200. Why does a bright metal tea-pot produce better tea
than a brown or black earthenware one ?
Because bright metal radiates but little heat, therefore the
water is kept hot much longer, and the strength of the tea is
extracted by the heat.
201. But if the earthenware tea-pot were set by the fire,
why would it then make the best tea ?
Because the dark earthenware tea-pot is a good absorber of heat,
and the heat it would absorb from the fire would more than
counterbalance the loss by radiation.
202. How would the bright metal tea-pot answer if set upon
the hob by the fire-?
The bright metal tea-pot would probably absorb less heat than it
would radiate. Therefore it would not answer so well, being set
upon the hob, as the earthenware tea-pot.
203. Why should dish covers be plain in form, and have
bright surfaces ?
Because, being bright and smooth, they will not allow heat to
escape by radiation.
204. Why should the bottoms and bade parts of kettles and
saucepans be allowed to remain black ?
Because a thin coating of soot acts as & good aosorber of heat,
Wid overcomes the non-absorbing quality of the bright surface.
60 THE EEASON WHY.
'And the foolish said uuto the wise, Give us of your oil, lor our lamps are
gone out.
205. But why should soot be prevented from accumulating
in flakes at the 'bottom and sides of kettles and saucepans T
Because, although soot is a good absorber of heat, it is a very
bad conductor ; an accumulation of it, therefore, would cause a waste
of fuel, by retarding the effects of heat.
206. Why should the lids and fronts of kettles and sauce-
pans be kept bright ?
Because bright metal will not radiate heat ; therefore, the heat
which is taken up readily through the absorbing and conducting
power of the bottom of the vessel, is kept in and economised by the
non-radiating property of the bright top and front.
207. Does cold radiate as well as heat ?
It was once thought that cold radiated as well as heat. But a
mass of ice can only be said to radiate cold, by its radiating heat
in less abundance than that which is emitted from other bodies
surrounding it. It is, therefore, incorrect to speak of the
radiation of cold.
CHAPTER XL
208. Why, if you hold a piece of looking-glass at an angle
towards the sun, will light fall upon an* object opposite to the
looking-glass ?
Because the rays of the sun are reflected by the looking-glass.
209. Why, when we stand be/bre a mirror, do we see our
features therein ?
Because the rays of light that fall upon us are reflected upon the
bright surface of the mirror.
210.' WJiy, if a plate of Iright metal were held sideways
before ajire, would heat fall upon an object opposite to the
plate ?
THE HEASON WHY. 61
' But the wise answered saying, Not so ; lest there be not enough for us and
you : but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves." MATT. xxv.
Because rays of heat may be reflected in the same manner as the
lays of light.
21 1. Why would not the same effect arise if the plate were
of a black or dark substance ?
Because black and dark substances are not good reflectors of
heat.
212. What are the lest reflectors of heat ?
Smooth, light-coloured, and highly polished surfaces, especially
those of metal.
213. Why does meat become cooked more thoroughly and
quickly when a tin screen is placed before the fire ?
Because the bright tin reflects the rays of heat back again to the
meat.
214. Wliy is reflected heat less intense than the primary
heat ?
Because it is impossible to collect all the rays, and also because a
portion of the caloric, imparting heat to the rays, is absorbed by the
air, and by the various other bodies with which the rays come in
contact.
215. Can heat be reflected in any great degree of intensity?
Yes ; to such a degree that inflammable matters may be ignited
by it. If a cannon ball be made red hot, and then be placed in an
iron stand between two bright reflectors, inflammable materials,
placed in a proper position to catch the reflected rays, will ignite
from the heat.
There is a curious and an exceptional fact with reference to reflected heat,
for which we confess that we are unable to give " The Reason Why." It is
found that snow, which lies near the trunks of trees or the base of upright
stones, melts before that which is at a distance from them, though the sun may
shine equally upon both. If a blackened card is placed upon ice or snow under
the sun's rays, the frozen body underneath it will be thawed before that winch
surrounds it. But if we reflect the sun's rays from a metal surface, the result is
directly contrary the exposed snow is the first to melt, leaving the card
standing as upon a pyramid. Snow melts under heat which is reflected from tho
trees or stones while it withstands the effect of the direct solar raw.?. la
passing through a cemetery this winter (1857), when the snow lay deep, we
(32 THE EEASON WHY.
" The light of the righteous rejoiceth, but the lamp of the wicked shall be put
out." PEOVERBS xm.
were struck with the circumstance that the snow in front of the head-stones
facing the sun was completely dissolved, and, in nearly every instance, the
space on which the snow had melted assumed a coffin-like shape. This forced
itself so much upon our attention that we remained some time to endeavour to
analyse the phenomena ; and it was not until we remembered the curious effect
of reflected heat that we could account for it. It is obvious that the rays falling
from the upper part of the head-stone on to ihefoot of the grave would be less
powerful than those that radiated from the centre of the stone to the centre of
the grave. Hence it was that the heat dissolved at the foot of the grave only a
narrow piece of snow, which widened towards the centre, and narrowed again
as it approached the foot of the head-stone, where the lines of radiation would
naturally decrease. Such a phenomena would prove sufficient to raise
superstition in untutored minds.
216. Are good reflectors of heat also good absorbers ?
No ; for reflectors at once send back the heat which they receive,
while absorbers retain it. It is obvious, therefore, that reflectors
cannot be good absorbers.
217. Sow do fire-screens contribute to keep rooms cool ?
Because they turn away from the persons in the room rays of
heat which would otherwise make the warmth excessive.
218. Why are white and light articles of clothing cool ?
Because they reflect the rays of heat.
[White., as a colour, is also a bad absorber and conductor."]
219. Why is the air often found excessively hot in chalk
districts ?
Because the soil reflects upon objects near to it the heat of the
solar rays.
220. How does the heat of the surfs rays ultimately lecome
diffused ?
It is first absorbed by the earth. Generally speaking, the earth
absorbs heat by day, and radiates it by night. In this way an
equilibrium of temperature is maintained, which we should not
otherwise have the advantage of.
221. Does not the air derive its heat directly from the
sun's rays ?
Only partially. It is estimated that the air absorbs only one-
third of the caloric of the sun's rays that is to say, that a ray of
THE EEASON WHY. 63
"As for tie earth, out of it cometh bread ; and under it is turned up as it were
fire." JOB xxvm.
solar heat, entering our atmosphere at its most attenuated limit
(a height supposed to be about fifty miles), would, in passing through
the atmosphere to the earth, part with only one-third of its calorific
element.
222. What becomes of the remaining two-thirds of the
solar lieat ?
They are absorbed chiefly by the earth, the great medium of
calorific absorption; but some portions are taken up by living
things, both animal and vegetable. When the rays of heat strike
upon the earth's surface, they are passed from particle to particle
into the interior of the earth's crust. Other portions are distributed
through the air and water by convection, and a third portion is
thrown back into space by radiation. These latter phenomena
will be duly explained as we proceed.
223. How do we know that heat is absorbed, and conducted
into the internal earth ?
It is found that there is a given depth beneath the surface of tho
globe at which an equal temperature prevails. The depth increases
as we travel south or north from the equator, and corresponds with
the shape of the earth's surface, sinking under the valleys, and
rising under the hills.
221. Why may we not understand that this internal heat
of the earth arises, as has been supposed by many philosophers,
from internal combustion ?
Because recent investigations have thrown considerable and
satisfactory light upon the subject. It lias been ascertained that
the internal temperature of the earth increases to a certain depth,
one degree in every fifty feet. But that below that depth the
temperature begins to decline, and continues to do so with every
increase of depth.
225. Do plants absorb heat?
Yes. They both absorb and radiate heat, under varying circntn-
stances. The majestic tree, the meek flower, the unpretending
grass, all perform a part in the grand alchemy of nature.
64 THE REASON WHY.
" Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow ; they toil not, neither do they
spin.
When we gaze upon a rose it is not its beauty alone that should impress us :
every moment of that flower's life is devoted to the fulfilment of its part in the
grand scheme of the universe. It decomposes the rays of soiar light, and scuds
the red rays only to our eyes. It absorb 4 or radiates heat, according to the
temperature of the aerial mantle that wraps alike the flower and the man. It
distils the gaseous vapours, and restores to man the vital air on which he lives.
It takes into its own substance, and incorporates with its own frame, the car-
bon and the hydrogen of which man has no immediate need. It drinks the
dew-drop or the rain drop, and gives forth its sweet odour as a thanksgiving.
And when it dies, it preaches eloquently to beauty, pointing to the end that is
to come I
CHAPTER XII.
226. Sow do we know that plants operate upon the solar
and atmospheric neat ?
A delicate thermometer, placed among the leaves and petals of
flowers, will at once establish the fact, not only that flowers and
plants have a temperature differing from that of the external air,
but that the temperature varies in different plants according to the
hypothetical or supposed requirements, of their existences and
conditions.
227. What is the chief cause of variation in the tempera-
ture of flowers ?
It is generally supposed that their temperature is affected by
their colours.
228. WTiy is it supposed that the colour of a flower influ-
ences its temperature /
Because it is found by experiment that the colours of bodies bear
an important relation to their properties respecting heat, and hold
some analogy to the relation of colours to light.
[If when the ground is covered with snow, pieces of woollen cloth, of equal size
Mid thickness, and differing only in colour, are laid upon the surface of the
snow, near to each other, it will be found that the relation of colour to
temperature will be ns follows : In a few hours the black cloth will have
dissolved so much of the snow beneath it, as to sink deep below the surface;
the blue will have proved nearly as warm as the black ; the brown will have
dissolved less of the snow ; the red less than the brown ; and the ivhite the least.
THE REASON WHY. 65
And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed
like one of these." MATT. vi.
or none at all. Siir.ilar experiments may be tried with reference to the conden-
sation of dew, &c. And it will be uniformly found that the colour of a body
materially affects its powers of absorption and of radiation}
229. Wily do we know that these effects are not the result
of light?
Because they would occur, in just the same order, in the absence
of light.
230. Wliy are dark coloured dresses usually worn in
winter, and light in summer ?
Because black absorbs heat, and therefore becomes warm ; while
ight colours do not absorb heat in the same degree, and therefore
they remain cool.
231. Why do iron articles, even when near fire, usually
feel cool ?
Because they are bad absorbers, and do not take up heat freely,
unless they are in contact with a hot body.
232. How is heat diffused through the atmosphere ?
By convection. The warmth radiating from the surface of the
earth warms the air in contact with it ; the air expands, and becom-
ing lighter, flies upwards, bearing with it the caloric which it holds,
and diffusing it in its course.
233. Sow do the waters of the ocean become heated?
Chiefly by convection. Nearly all the heat which the sun sheds
upon the ocean is borne away from its surface by evaporation, or is
radiated back into the atmosphere. But the ocean gathers its heat
by convection from the earth. It girdles the shores of tropical
lands where, being warmed to a high degree of temperature, it sets
across the Atlantic from the Gulf of Mexico, and exercises an
important influence upon the temperature of our latitude.
234. What is the cause of winds ?
Currents of air, and winds, are the result of convection. The air,
heated by the high temperature of the tropics, ascends, while the
colder air of the temperate and the frigid zones Hows towards the
equator to supply its place.
66 THE REASON WHY.
1 Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name ; worship the Lord in tha
beauty of holiness."- PSALM xxix.
235. What is the cause of sea Ireezes ?
Sea breezes are also the result of convection. The land, under
the heat of the day's sunshine, becomes of a hig-h temperature, and
the expanded air on its surface fries away towards the ocean. As
the sun goes down, the earth cools again, and the air flies back to
find its equilibrium.
Many countries by the sea are subjected to these periodical breezes, known
as either " land" or " sea breezes," according to their direction. About eight
o'clock in the morning au aerial current begins to flow from the sea towards
the land, and continues until about three o'clock in the day ; then the current
takes a reverse direction, flowing from the land to the sea. This it continues to
do throughout the night, until the time of sun-rise, when a temporary calm
ensues.
236. Why does a soap bubble ascend in the air ?
Because, being- filled with warm air, it is lighter than the
surrounding medium, and therefore ascends.
237. Why does the bubble fall after it has been in the air
some time ?
Because the air contained in it has become cool, and, as it
contains carbonic acid gas, it is heavier than the air.
233. What became of the warmth at first contained in the
bubble ?
It has been distributed in the air through which the bubble
passed.
239. IVliat does this simple illustration of the distribution
of war mill explain ?
It explains the law of convection, or heat distribution, over the
surface of the globe.
240. Why does air ascend the chimney ?
Because, being heated, it becomes lighter than the surrounding
medium, and therefore flies upwards, through the outlet provided
for it.
211. WTiy does air fly from the doors and windows towards
the fire-place ?
THE BEASON WHY. G7
'How much better is it to get wisdom than gold? and to get understanding
rather to be chosen than silver." PROVERBS xvi.
Because, as the warm air flies away, cold air rushes in to occupy
its place.
242. What does this example of the motion of the air in
our rooms explain ?
It explains the movement of volumes of air by convection, and
illustrates the origin of breezes and winds.
243. What is the chief effect of this law of convection ?
Under its influence air and water are the great equalisers of solar
heat, rendering the earth agreeable to living things, and suited to
the laws of their existence.
Owing, also, to this law of convection, the constituents of the air
are equalised. The breath of life, supplied by the purer oxygen of
the " sunny south," is diffused in salubrious gales over the wintry
climes of the north. And the waters, evaporated from the bosom
of the central Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific, are borne across vast
continents, and poured down in fertilising showers upon distant
lands.
To the educated mind, nothing is too simple to merit attention. To the
ignorant, few things are sufficiently attractive to excite curiosity. Knowledge
enables us to estimate the varied phenomena that are hourly arising around
us, and to see, even in the most trifling effects, illustrations of those great
causes and consequences that govern with mighty power the material world.
Man, sitting by his firo-side, is enabled to witness the operation of some of
nature's grandest laws : light and heat are around him ; conduction, radiation,
reflection, absorption, and convection of heat are all going on before him ; little
winds are sweeping by his footstool, and warm currents, with miniature clouds
folded in their arms, are passing upward before his view. Chemical changes
are going on; the solid rock of coal disappears, flying away as an invisible
gas. The little " hills are melted," and hard stones have been converted into
' fervent heat." Although some of these changes are imperceptible to the eye,
they are manifest to the educated mind; and the pleasures of philosophical
observation are as sweet as a poet's dreams.
CHAPTER XIIL
244. Why will a piece of paper, held three or four inches
over the flame of a candle, become scorched?
68
THE REASON WHY.
" Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candle-
stick ; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house." MATT. v.
Because the hot air and gas produced by the burning of the
candle ascends rapidly.
245. Why will a piece of paper helc, about an inch below
the flame of a candle scarcely become warmed?
Because the heat ascends ; and only a little of it falls upon the
paper, and that by radiation.
246. Why does the lower part of
the flame of a candle (D) burn of a
blue colour ?
Because the hydrogen of the tallow,
having a stronger affinity for the oxy-
gen of the air than carbon has, ignites
first. Pure hydrogen burns with a
bluish flame.
247. Why does the middle of the
flame (c) look dark ?
Because it is occupied with gaseous
vapours, derived from the tallow, which
have not yet ignited.
248. Why does the upper part of
the -flame (v) produce a bright
yelloiu light?
Because it is in this part of the
flame that the hydrogen of the candle,
and the oxygen of the air, combine, and
there is just sufficient carbon mixed
with the hydrogen to improve its illuminating power.
249. Why is there a fringe of pale light (A) around the
upper part of the flame ?
Because some of the carbon escapes in a state of incandesence,
and as soon as it reaches the air it combines with oxygen, and so
forms carbonic acid gas.
If any dark bodj, such as the bladi of a knife, be held between the eye and
THE REASON WHY. 69
" How oft is the candle of the wicked put out ? and how oft cometh their
destruction upon them ?" JOB .xxi.
- the flame of the candle, so as to shut off the light of the more luminous part,
the pale fringe around the flame will be found distinctly perceptible.
IncUndesence means heated to whiteness.
250. Why does the -flame terminate in a point ?
Because cold air rushes towards the flame in every direction, and
is carried upward. At the point where the flame terminates the
cold currents have so reduced the temperature that combustion can
no longer be sustained.
251. Why, if you hold any thing immediately over the
flame, will the Jlame lengthen ?
Because, by preventing the rapid escape of the heated air, you
maintain a temperature which increases the combustion at the
point of the flcime.
252. Wliy should persons whose clothes takejire, throw
themselves down ?
Because flame spreads most rapidly in an upward direction.
253. WTiy should persons whose clothes are on jire roll
slowly about when they are down ?
Because they thereby p ress out the fire.
254. Why does pressing a Jlame or a spark put it out ?
Because it prevents the contact of the flame or spark with the
oxygen of the air.
Extinguishers put out tha flame of candles in the same manner. A person
dies from "suffocation" through the absence of oxygen; and it is literally
practicable to " suffocate " afire.
255. Why does the ivick turn Hack as it turns ?
Because it consists principally of carbon.
256. Why, when the point of the wick turns out and
meets the air, does it exhibit a bright spark ?
Because the carbon of the wick comes into immediate contact
with the oxygen of the air.
257. Why does holding a candle " upside down' 1 put it
out?
70 THE EEASON WHY.
" Lord, what is man that thou takest knowledge of him ! or the son of man,
that thou makest account of him." PSALMS CXLIV.
Because the melted grease runs down too rapidly, and at too low
a temperature to undergo combustion. It therefore reduces the
heat, and extinguishes the flame.
258. Why is it more difficult to How out the flame of a
candle with a cotton wick than one with a rush wick ?
Because the cotton wick imbibes more of the combustible
materials, and holds in its loose texture the inflammable gases in a
state ready for combustion.
259. Why does blowing sharply at a candle flame put it
out?
Because the breath drives away the vapour of the grease which,
becoming gaseous, supports the flame.
And because too rapid a flow of cold air reduces the temperature
below the point at which combustion can be maintained.
260. Wliy will a gentle puff of breath, if given speedily
after the flame is extinguished, re-kindle it ?
Because the oxygen of the air combines with the carbon and hydro-
gen that are still escaping from the heated wick, and re-lights it.
261. Why will not a similar puff re-kindle the flame of
a rushlight?
Because its wick retains but little heat, and holds a comparatively
small amount of combustible matter in a volatile state.
262. Why is a flre, when it is very low, sometimes put
out by blowing it ?
Because the too rapid flow of cold air reduces the temperature of
the burning mass.
263. Why will a piece of paper twisted like an
extinguisher put out a candle?
Because, before the flame of the candle can ignite the paper, the
oxygen contained within it is consumed, and the flame iy
suffocated.
THE KEASON WHY. 71
' When his candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked
through darkness." JOB xxix.
264. Why do tallow candles require snuffing ?
Because the oxygen of the air cannot reach the wick through the
body of flame therefore the unconsumed carbon accumulates upon
the wick.
265. Why do composite and wax candles not require
snuffing ?
Because their wicks are made by a series of plaits, by which they
are bent to meet the oxygen of the air, and consumed.
266. Why does setting a glass upon a lamp increase its
brilliancy, though it shortens the -flame ?
Because it conducts an increase of air to the flame, and the
greater supply of oxygen causes the escaping vapour of oil to be all
rapidly consumed.
267. Why does a candle burn dimly ivhen the ivick has
become loaded with carbon ?
Because the carbon radiates the heat, and disperses it, and
reduces the heat of the flame below that temperature which is
essential to its luminosity.
268. What differences characterise the combustion of
carbon and of hydrogen ?
The combustion of carbon takes place without the production of
flame. The charcoal (or carbon in any other form) being heated to
redness, enters directly into combination with the oxygen of the
surrounding air, and the carbonic acid gas, being invisible, passes
away unobserved.
But in the combustion of hydrogen the heat developed is so
intense as to render the gas itself luminous, just as iron may be
heated to a red or white heat.
269. What has become, of the candle when it has been burnt ?
It has been resolved partly into carbonic acid gas which, though
unpcrceived, has diffused itself through the surrounding air ; and
partly into water, which escaped in the form of thin vapour.
270. Has any part of the candle been consumed or lost ?
72
THE EEAStN WHY.
" I know that whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever : nothing can be put to
it, nor anything taken from it ; and God doeth it that men
should fear before him." ECCLES. in.
No ; there is no such thing as " loss " in the operations of nature.
Every particle of the candle, now invisible, exists either in the
form of gas, vapour, or ivater, with, perhaps, a few solid particles
that may be called ashes, but which are too minute to excite
attention.
The economy of nature should teach us a very impressive lesson nothing
is suffered to be wasted, not even the slightest atom. As soon as any body has
fulfilled its purpose in one estate of being, it is passed on to another. The
candle, existing no longer as a candle, is flying upon the wings of the air as
carbonic acid gas, and as water. These probably find their way to the garden
or the field, where the carbonic acid gas forms the food of the plant, and the
water affords it a refreshing drink. And can it be supposed that the Almighty
Being, who has thus economised the existence of the material creation, should
be less mindful of the immaterial soul of man ? There is an eternity before
us, the certainty of which is evidenced even by the laws of the material
creation.
CHAPTER XIV.
271. What is coal ?
Coal is a " vegetable fossil.
272. What is meant by a vegetable fossil ?
It is a substance originally vegetable, which, by pressure and
other agencies within the earth, has been brought to a condition
approaching that of mineral or earthy matter.
273. Why do we know that coal is of vegetable origin ?
By the chemical components of its substance j and also by the
vegetable forms that are found abundantly in coal beds.
Professor Buckland, in his Bridgeivater Treatise, speaking of the impressions
of plants found in the coal mines, says: "The finest example I have ever
witnessed is that of the coal mines of Bohemia. The most elaborate imitations
of living foliage upon the painted ceilings of Italian palaces bear no comparison
with the beauteous profusion of extinct vegetable forms with which the galleries
of these instructive coal mines are overhung. ^ The roof is covered as with a
canopy of gorgeous tapestry, enriched with fe'stoons of most graceful foliage,
flung in wild irregular profusion over every part of its surface. The effect is
heightened by the contrast of the coal-black colour of these vegetables with tho
light ground-work of the rock to which they arc attached. The spectator fuels
himself transported, as if by enchantment, into the forests of another world ; h
beholds trees, of forms and characters now unknown upon tl e smface of tho
TJIE REASON WHY. 73
" Surely every man walketh in a vain show ; surely they are disquieted in vain :
he heapeth up riches, and kuoweth not who shall gather them." Ps. xxxix.
earth, presented to his senses almost in the beauty and vigour of their primeval
life ; their scaly stems and bending branches, with their delicate apparatus of
foliage, are all spread forth before him, little impaired by the lapse of countless
ages, and bearing faithful records of extinct systems of vegetation which began
and terminated in times of which these relics are the infallible historians."
27 i. Wliat are the chemical components of coal?
They consist of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. The
proportions of these elements vary in different kinds of coal. Carbon
is the chief component ; and the proportions may be stated to be,
generally, carbon, 90 per cent. ; hydrogen, from 3 to 6 per cent. ;
the other elements enter into the compound in such small
proportions, that, for all ordinary purposes, it is sufficient to say
that coal consists of carbon and hydrogen, but chiefly of carbon.
275. What is charcoal ?
Charcoal consists almost entirely of carbon. It is made from
wood by the application of heat, without the admission of air. The
hydrogen and oxygen of the wood are expelled, and that which
remains is charcoal, or carbon in one of its purest states.
27G. What is animal charcoal ?
Animal charcoal, like vegetable charcoal, consists of carbon in a
state approaching purity. It is made from the bones of animah,
heated in iron cylinders. It is commonly called ivory blade.
277. What is the purest form of carbon known?
The purest form of carbon is the diamond, which may be said to
be absolutely pure.
Hence we derive another of the beautiful lessons of science a lesson which
teaches us to despise nothing that God has given. The soot which blackens the
face of a chimney-sweep, and the diamond that glistens in the crown of the
monarch, consist of the same element in merely a different atomic condition.
"What a lesson of humility this teaches to Pride ! The haughty beauty as she
walks the ball-room, inwardly proud of the radiance of her gems as they rise
and fall upon her breast, little thinks or knows that every breath that is expired
around her wafts away the like element of which her treasures are composed.
That even in our own flesh and bones the same abounding substance lies hid;
and that the buried tree of the primitive world, and the little flower of
to-day, are both the instruments of giving this singular element to man !
278. What is coke ?
Coke is coal, divested of its hydrogen and other volatile parts, by
4
/4 THE REASON \VIIY.
'Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderftil
works to the children of men." PSALM cvn.
n similar process to that by which charcoal is produced. It forms
the residue after hydrogen gas has been made from coals. It consists
almost entirely of carbon.
279. Why do burning coals produce yellow flame?
Because the hydrogen which they contain is combined with some
proportion of carbon, which imparts a bright yellow colour to the
flames.
280. Why do some of the flames of a fire appear muck
whiter than others ?
Because the quality of coals, and the conditions under which
they are burnt, are liable to variation. Some coals yield a heavy
hydrogen, called bi-carburetted hydrogen, which burns with a
much brighter flame than carburetted hydrogen.
281. Why does bi-carburetted hydrogen, burn with a whiter
flame than the common coal gas ?
Because it is combined with a larger proportion of carbon, to
which it owes its increased luminosity.
282. Why do some of 'the flames of a fire appear blue?
Because the hydrogen which is escaping where those flames occiti*
is pure hydrogen, destitute of carbon.
283. Why does the fire sometimes appear red, and without
flame ?
Because the volatile gases have been driven off and consumed,
and combustion is continued by the carbon of the coals and the
oxygen of the air.
284. What effect has the burning of afire upon the compo-
sition of the air ?
It is found that in burning lOlb. of coal the oxygen contained in
] ,551 cubic feet of air is altogether absorbed. It is therefore neces-
sary to keep the atmosphere of a room, in which a coal fire is
burning, fresh and pure, to supply 155 cubic feet of fresh air for
every pound of coal that is consumed.
THE HEASON WHY. 75
" O Lord how manifold are thy works, in wisdom hast thou made them all : tha
earth is full of thy riches." PSALM civ. %
285. Why does wood which is "green" hiss and steam
when it is burnt ?
Because it contains a large amount of water, which must be
evaporated before combustion can proceed.
286. What is the effect of this evaporation T
A great deal of heat is unprofitably expended in driving off the
water of the fuel.
287. Why does poking a fire cause it to ~burn more
brightly?
Because it opens avenues through which the air may enter to
supply oxygen.
288. Why do " blowers" improve the draft of air through,
afire ?
Because, by obstructing the passage of the current of air over
the fire, they cause additional air to pass through it, and therefore
a greater amount of oxygen is carried to the coals.
289. What is smoke ?
Unconsumed particles of coal, rendered volatile by heat, and
driven off.
290. What is soot?
Carbon in minute particles, driven off with other volatile matters
and deposited on the walls of chimnies.
291. Why do fresh coals increase the quantity of smoke ?
Because they contain volatile matters which are easily driven off;
and because, also, they reduce momentarily the heat, so that those
matters that first escape cannot be consumed.
292. Why do charcoal and coke fires burn clearly and
without flame ?
Because the hydrogen has oeen previously driven off from those
substances.
293. Why is it difficult to light charcoal and coke fires?
76 THE SEASON WHY.
"He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the Lord is precious
and full of compassion." PSALM CXL.
Because they contain no "hydrogen to produce flame, and assist
combustion.
A new plan of kindling fires has lately been recommended. Coals are to be
laid in the bottom of the fire-place to a considerable depth, then the paper and
wood are to be laid on, and then a little coals and cinders over them. This
plan of "laying in" the fire is precisely the reverse of that which has been
pursued for many years. The theory is, that when the coals in the bottom are
ignited, a more even combustion is kept up, whilst the smoke and gas which
would otherwise escape, and become as so much waste fuel, is burnt up, and
produces heat. We have heard the plan strongly recommended by persons who
have tried it, and who testify to the great economy of fuel to which it
conduces.
CHAPTER XV.
294. Why does paper ignite more readily than wood?
Because its texture is less dense than that of wood j its particles
are therefore more readily heated and decomposed.
295. But if articles of loose texture are lad conductors of
heat, why do they so easily ignite ?
The fact that they are lad conductors assists their ignition.
The heat which would pass from particle to particle of the dense
substance of iron, and be conducted away, accumulates in the
interspaces of paper, and ignites it.
296. Why does wood ignite less readily than paper ?
Because its substance is denser than that of paper ; it therefore
requires a higher degree of heat to inflame its substance.
297. Why does wood, when ignited, burn longer than
paper ?
Because, being a denser substance, it submits a larger number
of particles, within a given space, to the action of the heat, an6
the formation of gases.
298. Why do we, in lighting afire ,first lay in vaper, then
wood, and lastly coals ?
THE SEASON WIIY. 77
1 It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy
name, O Most High." PSALM xcn.
Because the paper is more easily ignited than wood, and \vood
than coals ; therefore the paper assists the ignition of the wood,
and the wcod assists the ignition of the coals.
299. Why will not wood ignite by the flame of a match ?
It will do so, unless there is a great disproportion between the
size of the wood and the flame of a match. A thin piece of wood
will ignite, but a square block will not, because the heat of the
flame is insufficient to raise tne temperature of a large surface to
the point that will drive out its gases
300. Why do we place the paper under the wood, and the
wood under the coals ?
Because heat and flame, when surrounded by air, have a strong
tendency to spread themselves upwards.
301. Would it le possible to light the coals ly putting the
paper and the wood upon the top ?
It would be possible ; but the loss of heat would be so great,
that a much larger quantity of paper and wood would be required.
302. Why does a poker laid across the top of a dull fire
revive it ?
Because the poker radiates the heat it receives from the fire
downward upon the fuel.
Because, also, it divides the ascending air, and thereby creates
current*.
The amount of good which the poker does to the fire is very slight indeed.
Generally, the housewife stirs the fire first, and blows or brushes away the
ashes that prevent the influx of air. She then places the poker upon the top,
and the popular mind supposes that the poker " draws" the fire. The custom
of placing a poker over the fire is of very remote antiquity. It was once
believed that forming a cross, by placing the poker over the bars, protected the
fire from the hostility of malignant witches !
303. Why should fire-places le fixed as low as possible in
rooms ?
Because heat ascends, and when the fire-places are high the lower
parts of the room are inadequately warmed.
78 THE EEASON WHY.
" Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks : for that thy name is near thy wondrous
works declare." PSAXM
Also, as currents of air fly towards the fire, elevated fire-places
cause drafts about the persons of the inmates to a much greater
extent than they would if they were lower down.
304. Why, if a piece of paper be laid with its flat surface
upon the fire, will it " char" but not ignite?
Because, as in the case of the proper candle-extinguisher, the
carbonic acid gas accumulating beneath it prevents its igniting.
305. Why, if you direct a current of air towards the paper,
will it burst into a Haze ?
Because the carbonic acid gas is displaced by a current of air
containing oxygen.
306. Why does water extinguish fire ?
Became it saturates the fuel, and prevents the gases thereof
from combining with the oxygen of the air.
307. As water contains oxygen, tvhy does not the oxygen of
the water support the fire ?
Because the affinity between the hydrogen and oxygen of the
water is so strong that fire cannot separate them.
"Water may be decomposed by heat, as will be hereafter explained. But the
heat of an ordinary fire is insufficient. There is, however, some reason for
believing that, in cases of very large fires, such as the accidental burning of
houses, &c., when the supply of water thrown upon the fire is very deficient,
the water does become decomposed, and add to the fury of the flames.
308. Why does the blacksmith sprinkle water upon the
coals of his forge?
The blacksmith uses small coals because the small pieces thereof
are more easily ignited than large lumps would be, and they convey
heat better by completely surrounding the articles put into the fire.
He sprinkles water on the coal dust to hold its particles toaether
by cohesion, until the heat forms it into a cake. A strong blast of
hot hair drives the vapour of the water away, and leaves a porous
mass to the action of the fire.
309. Why, when the blacksmith thrusts a heated iron into
a tankard of water, do we recognise a peculiar smell ?
THE EEASON WHY. 79
" Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God ! how
unsearchable are his judgments, and his. ways past finding out." BOM. xi.
Because the intense heat disengages a small volume of the gases
of which water is formed.
310. Which gas do we (in this instance) recognise by the
smell ?
The hydrogen gas. Oxygen gas possesses no odour.
311. What is Spontaneous Combustion ?
Spontaneous combustion is that which occurs in various bodies
when they become highly heated by chemical changes.
312. Why is heat developed during chemical changes ?
Because, as all bodies contain latent caloric, the disturbance of
the atoms of which those bodies are composed, during the new
combinations that constitute chemical changes, frequently sets the
caloric free, and an accumulation of caloric produces spontaneous
combustion.
313. Does a match ignite spontaneously when drawn over
a rough surface ?
No. Because in this case the combustion arises from heat
applied by friction.
314. Does phosphorous ignite spontaneously when held
in a iv arm hand ?
Phosphorous will ignite when held in a warm hand, but it does
not then produce spontaneous combustion, because it ignites through
the agency of applied heat.
315. But if a piece of dry phosphorous be sprinkled with
powdered charcoal it will ignite, without the application of
heat. Why is this ?
Because the carbon (charcoal) absorbs oxygen from the air, and
conveys it to the phosphorous. Here are chemical changes which
develope heat, and produce spontaneous combustion.
316. Why do hay-stacks sometimes take fire ?
Because the hay, having become damp, decays, and passes on to
a state of fermentation, ; .n which chemical changes occur, during
80 THE EEASON WHY.
" Who hath woe ? who hath sorrow ? who hath contentions ? who hath babbling ?
who hath words without cause? who hath redness of the eyes ? * * *
They that tarry long at the wine." Pnov. xxm.
which heat is evolved. Hay, taking fire under these circumstances,
would exhibit spontaneous combustion.
317. What substances are liable to produce spontaneous
combustion ?
All substances which contain sugar, starch, and other compo-
nents liable to fermentation. All bodies that evolve, under low
degrees of temperature, inflammable gases. And all organic bodies
undergoing decay.
Grain, cotton, hemp, flax, coals, oily and greasy substances.
318. What is the Ignis Fatuus (sometimes called " Will-
o'-the-Wisp" " Corpse Candles" and " Jack-o'- Lantern") ?
It is a flame produced by spontaneous combustion, caused by the
decay of animal or vegetable bodies, which evolve phosphoretted
hydrogen gas, under circumstances attended by a low degree of
heat, sufficient to ignite the gases. It is mostly seen over marshy
places, and burial-grounds.
Many a " Ghost Story" has owed its origin to these singular but harmles ?
appearances. People, ignorant of the cause, have been terrified at the effect.
To the fancy of an affrighted mortal, the simple flame of the Ignis Fatuus
has assumed the form of a departed friend, and even found a supernatural
voice. If, excited by a momentary daring, the beholder moved towards the
light upon which he gazed, it fled from him. If he turned from it and walked
away, it followed him, step by step. The darkness of a lonely road, or the sacred
solitude of a burial-place, have been sufficient accessories to authenticate the
appearance of a spirit. And yet how simple the phenomenon P Matters so
volatile as those which produce the Ignis Fatuus would naturally be driven
back by the motion in the air caused by an advancing body ; and, on the other
hand, a body moving from them would create a current in which the Ignis
Fatuus would follow. Poisonous gases, escaping from decaying bodies, pass
into the air and take fire. They are thereby converted into harmless com-
pounds. Thus we see that the " ghost" which terrifies the mind of the ignorant,
becomes a "guardian angel" to the educated.
319. Has spontaneous combustion ever occurred in living
bodies ?
It has occurred in numerous instances to persons habituated to
the excessive use of spirits.
320. Why should spontaneous combustion occur in the case
of the drunkard ?
THE SEASON WHY. 81
1 Drought and heat consume the snow waters ; so doth the grave those which
have sinned." JOB xxiy.
Because spirituous drinks contain a large proportion of alcohol,
one of the constituents of which is hydrogen. The vital energies of
the drunkard, being destroyed by excess, chemical agencies obtain
an ascendancy, and it is supposed that the hydrogen of the alcohol
combines with the phosphorous of the body to form phosphoretted
hydrogen, which ignites spontaneously, and literally consumes the
living temple.
Cases of spontaneous combustion are of rare occurrence. But they are
sufficiently well authenticated by high medical authority, in many parts of the
world, to present an awful warning to the inveterate drunkard. The cases of
which we have read the particulars present details of the most appalling
description. How signally the Almighty displeasure at intemperance is
expressed, when the very drink which imparts the mad pleasure of intoxication
is made the direct instrument by which the drunkard is destroyed !
CHAPTER XVI.
321. Why does friction produce heat?
Because all bodies contain latent heat, that is, heat that lies hid
in their substance, and the rubbings of two bodies against each
other draws the latent heat to the excited surfaces.
322. Why does the rubbing of two surfaces together attract
latent heat to those surfaces ?
Because it is a law of nature that heat shall always attend
motion ; and it is generally found that the intensity of heat bears a
specific relation to the velocity of motion.
323. What are the sources of heat?
The rays of the sun, the currents of electricity, the action ol
chemicals, and the motion of substances. * '
324. Why does water freeze?
Because its latent heat is partly draun off" by the surrounding
ail'.
325. Why does ice melt ?
Because the heat, once latent in the water, but drawn off by tha
air, has returned to it, and restored the water to its fonnev
toudition.
4*
62 TITE REASON WHY.
** So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.'
PSALM xc.
326. Wliy does water become steam ?
Because a larger amount of heat has entered into it than can
remain latent in water. The water therefore expands and rises in
the form of vapour, or water attenuated by heat.
327. Sow many degrees of Tieat are latent, or hidden, in
the different states of water ?
In thawing ice, 140 deg. of caloric become latent ; and in
converting the water into steam, 1,000 deg. more of caloric are
be taken up. Therefore, ice requires to take up 1,140 deg. of latent
caloric before it becomes steam.
328. What is the most modern theory of heat ?
It is this that caloric, which produces heat, is an extremely
subtile fluid, of so refined a nature that it possesses no weight, yet
is capable of diffusing itself among the particles of the most solid
bodies.
It is also believed that all bodies are subject to the action of
two opposing forces : one, the mutual attraction of their particles ;
the other, the repulsive force of caloric and that bodies exist in
the aeriform, fluid, or solid state, according to the predominance
of either the one or the other of these opposing forces.
329. How do we measure the quantity of caloric in any
substance ?
It is impossible to determine the amount of caloric which any
body contains. Our sensations would obviously be deceptive, since,
if we dipped the right hand in snow, and held the left hand before
the fire, and then immersed both hands in cold water, the water
would feel warm to the right hand and cold to the left hand.
But, as caloric uniformly expands substances that are under its
influence, one of the bodies most sensitive to calorific effects has
been selected to be the indicator of the amount of caloric. This
substance is quicksilver ; and the scale of measurement, and the
apparatus for exhibiting the rise or fall of the quicksilver, consti-
tute the thermometer.
330. If it is impossible to measure the amount of caloric in
any substance, how can it be said that ice absorbs 140 deg. iv
becoming water ?
THE EEASON WHY. g3
1 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the
mountain of his holiness." PSALJI XI/VTII.
Those figures simply record the amount of caloric indicated by
the thermometer. The instrument will show with sufficient accu-
racy the relative amount of caloric in various bodies, or in the same
bodies under different circumstances, but it can never determine
imprecise amount of caloric in any one body.
331. Why, if allot and a cold body ivere placed near to
each other, would the cold one become warmer, and the hot
one cooler ?
Because free caloric (that is, caloric that is not latent,) always
exhibits a tendency to establish an equilibrium. If twenty bodies,
of different temperatures, were placed in the same atmosphere, they
would all soon arrive at the same temperature. The caloric would
leave the bodies of those of the highest, and find its way to those of
the lowest temperature.
332. How does caloric travel ?
It travels in parallel rays in all directions with a velocity
approximating to that of light ; and it passes through various
bodies with a rapidity proportionate to their power of conduction.
333. Why does melted metal run HJce a stream of fluid?
Because caloric has passed into its substance, and, repelling its
particles, has separated them to that degree which produces
fluidity.
334. How do we know that it is caloric passing into the
substance of the metal which produces this effect?
Because, as soon as a bar of metal begins to be heated, it
expands and lengthens. It continues to do so, until the heat arrives
at that point which causes the metal to melt.
335. Why does the iron of an ironing-box sometimes become
too large for the box to receive it ?
Because caloric has passed into the substance of the iron, and
repelled its particles, by which it has become expanded.
336. Why does the iron enter the box when it has become
partially cooled?
64 THE REASON WHY.
" Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee; he shall never
suffer the righteous to be moved." PSALM LT.
Because a portion of the caloriu has left the iron, the particles of
which have drawn closer together, and contracted the mass.
This effect is frequently observed by females in domestic life, who, when
they are ironing, or using the Italian irons, find that the heated metal has been
too much expanded to enter the box or tube. They find it necessary to wait
until the cooling of the iron has had the effect of reducing its dimensions. The
expansion of bodies by heat is one of the grandest and most important laws of
nature. We are indebted to it for some of the most beautiful, as well as the
most awful, phenomena. And science has gained some of its mightiest conquests
through its aid. Yet frequently, though quite unthought of, in the hands of
the humble laundress, will be found a most striking illustration of this wonderful
force of caloric.
337. Are there any instances in which, the abstraction of
latent heat will reduce the bulk of bodies ?
Yes, there are several. But the most familiar one is that which
is exhibited by mixing a pint of the oil of vitriol with a pint of
water. A considerable amount of heat will be evolved ; and it
will be found that the two pints of fluid will not afterwards
fill a quart measure.
338. Is there any latent heat in air?
Yes : a considerable amount. In a pint measure of air, though
in no way evident to our perceptions, there lurks sufficient caloric
to raise a piece of metal several inches square to glowing redness.
339. How do we know that caloric exists in the air ?
It has been positively demonstrated by the invention of a small
condensing syringe, by which, through the rapid compression of a
small volume of air, a spark is emitted which ignites a piece of
prepared tinder.
340. What is the cause of the spark when a horse's shoe
strikes against a stone ?
The latent heat of the iron or the stone is set free by the violent
percussion. The same effect takes place when flint strikes against
steel, as in the old method of obtaining a light with the aid of the
tinder-box.
What an eloquent lecture might be delivered upon the old-fashioned tinder-
box, illustrated by the one experiment of " striking a light." In that box lie,
cold and motionless, the Flint and Steel, rude in form and crude in substance.
And yet, within the breast of each, there lies a spark of that grand element
THE REASON WHY.
'The waters are laid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen."
JOB xxxviii.
which influences every atom of the universe ; a spark which could invoke the
fierce agents of destruction to wrap their blasting flames around a stately
forest, or a crowded city, and sweep it from the face of the world ; or which
might kindle the genial blaze upon the homely hearth, and shed a radiant glow
upon a group of smiling faces ; a spark such as that which rises with the
curling smoke from the village blackmith's forge or that which leaps with
terrific wrath from the troubled breast of a Vesuvius. And then the tinder
the cotton the carbon : What a tale might be told of the cotton- field where it
grew, of the black slave who plucked it, of the white toiler who spun it into a
garment, and of the village beauty who wore it until, faded and despised, it
was cast amongst a heap of old rags, and finally found its way to the tinder-
box. Then the Tinder might tell of its hopes ; how, though now a blackened
mass, soiling everything that touched it, it would soon be wedded to one of the
great ministers of nature, and fly away on transparent wings, until, resting
upon some Alpine tree, it would make its home among the green leaves, and for
a while live in freshness a*)d beauty, louking down upon the peaceful vale.
Tlien the Steel might tell its story, how for centuries it lay in the deep caverns
of the earth, until man, with his unquiet spirit, dug down to the dark depths
and dragged it forth, saying, " No longer be at peace." Then would come tales
of the fiery furnace, what Fire had done for Steel, and what Steel had done for
Fire. And then the Flint might tell of the time when the weather-bound
mariners, lighting their fires upon the Syrian shore, melted silicious stones into
gems of glass, and thus led the way to the discovery of the transparent pane
that gives a crystal inlet to the light of our homes ; of the mirror in whose face
the lady contemplates her charms ; of the microscope and the telescope by
which the invisible are brought to sight, and the distant drawn near ; of the
prism by which Newton analysed the rays of light ; and of the photographic
camera iu which the sun prints with his own rays the pictures of his own
adorning. And then both Flint and Steel might relate their adventures in the
battle-field, whither they had gone together ; and of fights they had seen in
which man struck down his fello\v-man, and, like a fiend had revelled in his
brother's blood. Thus, even from the cold hearts of flint and steel, man might
learn a lesson which should make him blush at the " glory of war ;" and the
proud, who despise the teachings of small things, might learn to appreciate the
truths that are linked to the story of a " tinder-box."
LESSON XVIL
341. Since all bodies expand by Jieat and contract by cold,
why does water, when it reaches the freezing point, expand?
Because, in freezing, water undergoes crystallization, in which its
particles assume a new arrangement occupying greater space.
342. Why does water never freeze to a great depth ?
Because the covering of ice which is formed upon the surface of
86 THE SEASON WHY.
" For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; likewise to the small rain,
and to the great rain of his strength." JOB xxxvii.
the water prevents the cold air from continuing to draw off the
caloric of the water.
343. Why has this exceptional law of the expansion of
water, ivhen freezing, been ordained ?
Because, but for this, deep waters might be frozen through then
whole depth. This would destroy the myriads of fish and other
living things that inhabit the water. Parts of the earth, now clad
in verdure, would be lost in eternal winter ; and even in the most
temperate zones it would take months to effect a thaw ; and thawing
would be attended with such floods and subterranean commotion s
as are terrible to contemplate.
344. Why are bed-room windows sometimes covered with
crystalline forms on winter mornings T
Because the vapour of the breaths of the inmates has condensed
upon the window-panes, and formed water. The water has frozen
with the cold, and exhibits the beautiful crystalline forms into which
its particles are arranged.
[Here we have another domestic illustration of the great laws of nature. It
is the same law which locks the artic regions in ice and decorates our window-
panes. This beautifut^ahenomenon is usually witnessed by us on frosty
mornings when we rise from our beds. It has a story which the observer of
nature may read in its sparkling eyes. It tells that, although without the air is
biting cold, God has wrapped a mantle around the face of nature to keep it
from injury; and that the earth "and the waters, though looking chilled and
dead, have still the warmth of life preserved in their bosoms.]
345. What is dew ?
Dew is watery vapour diffused in the air, condensed by coming
in contact with bodies colder than the atmosphere.
346. Why does the air become charged with watery vapour ?
Because, during the day, under the influence of the sun's rays,
vapours are exhaled from all the moist and watery surfaces of the
earth. These vapours are held in suspension in the atmosphere
until, by a change in the temperature of the earth, and of bodies on
the surface of the earth, they are condensed, and deposited in
translucid drops.
347. What causes the decline of temperature that favours
the deposition of dew ?
THE SEASON WHY.
87
" The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green
pastures." PSALM xxm.
The earth, which during- the day received heat from the solar
rays, radiates the heat back into the air, and therefore becomes
itself colder. All the various objects upon the face of the earth
also radiate heat in a greater or lesser degree. And dew will be
found to be deposited upon the surfaces of such bodies in proportion
to the fall of their temperature through radiation.
348. Why is there little or no dew when the nights are
cloudy ?
Because clouds act as secondary radiators ; and when the earth
radiates its heat towards the clouds, the clouds again radiate it
back to the earth.
Fig. 3. ILLUSTRATING THE POBMATION OF DEW.
If plates of glass be laid over grass-beds, as in the engraving Pig. 3, no dew
will be deposited on the grass underneath the glass plates, although all around
the grass will be completely wetted. The explanation is that the glasses, being
radiators of heat, act in the same manner as the clouds, returning the heat to
the bodies underneath them, and preventing the formation of dew thereon.
349. WTiy does dew form most abundantly an cloudless
nights ?
Because the heat which is radiated by the earth does not return
to it. The temperature of the earth, and the air immediately upon
its surface, is therefore lowered, and dew is formed.
It has been observed that sheep that have lain on the grass during the
formation of dew have their backs completely saturated with it, but that under-
neath the line where their bodies turn to the earth, their coats will be dry. In
the same manner glass globes suspended in the air, on dew forming nights, will
be found loaded with globules of dew upon the top, but there will be no
appearance of moisture underneath.
88 THE EEASON WHY.
' Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him
which is perfect in knowledge." JOB xxxvn.
350. Why aro star-lit nights usually colder than cloudy
nights ?
Because heat is radiated, from the earth, and passes away into
the utmost regions of the atmosphere.
351. Why is there little dew under branches of thick
foliage ?
Because the foliage acts as a screen, which prevents the radiated
heat of the earth from passing away.
352. Why is there no dew formed on windy nights ?
Because, as winds generally consist of dry air, they absorb and
bear away the atmospheric moisture.
353. Why are valleys and low places chiefly subject to
dew?
Because the elevated lands around them prevent the disturbance
of the air in which the moisture is held.
354. What bodies are most likely to be covered with dew ?
All bodies that are good radiators of heat, such as wool, swans-
down, grass, leaves of plants, wood, &c.
355. What bodies are likely to receive little dew ?
All bad radiators of heat, such as polished metal surfaces,
smooth stones, and polished surfaces generally. Dew will be found
to lie more abundantly upon rough and woolly leaves than upon
smooch ones.
356. At what period of the night is the largest amount of
dew usually formed ?
It is generally supposed that dew is formed most copiously in the
mornings and evenings. But such is not the case. It is deposited
at all hours of the night, but most plentifully after midnight.
357. Why is dew formed most plentifully after midnight ?
Because, as radiation has been going on for some time, the
temperature of the earth, ard of various bodies upon it, has
been considerably reduced.
THE EEASON WI1Y. 89
Out of whose womb came the ice ? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath
gendered it ?" JOB xxxvm.
358. In what parts of the world is the maximum of dew
formed ?
In warm lands near the sea, or in the vicinity of rivers or lakes,
as the localities of the Bed Sea, the Persian Gulf the coast of
Coromandel, in Alexandria, and Chili.
359. In what parts of the world is the minimum of dew
formed ?
It is quite absent in arid regions, in the interior of continents,
such as Central Brazil, the Sahara, and Nubia.
360. Why is dew seldom formed at sea ?
Because of the defective radiating quality of the surface of
water.
361. Why is a heavy dew regarded as the precursor of rain ?
Because a heavy formation of dew indicates that the air is
saturated with moisture.
362. What is hoar-frost ?
Hoar-frost is frozen dew.
363. Why is hoar-frost said to foretell rain ?
Because it shows that the air is saturated with moisture, and
the temperature of the air being low, the vapours are likely to
condense, and produce showers.
364. What is honey-dew ?
Honey-dew is the name applied to a sweet and sticky moisture
occasionally deposited upon the leaves of plants. It is, however,
an error to call it dew, as it is procured by a class of insects termed
aphides.
365. What are fogs?
Fogs are clouds formed near the earth's surface ; but London
fogs are distinguished from clouds by the fact that they embrace
in their vaporous folds the smoke and volatile matters imparted to
the air by the operations of man. This is also the case with fogs
generally that arise near large towns.
90 THE REASON WHY.
: Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew?"
JOB xxxvin.
366. Why are certain coasts liable to almost perpetual
fogs?
Because of local or geographical agencies which contribute to theii
production. The coasts of California are almost constantly wrapped
in fog ; and, almost as constantly^ the western coast of the American
continent, as far south as Peru. Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and
Hudson's Bay, are all subject to dense and frequent fogs arising
from the condensation of vapour from the water flowing from the
hot Gulf- stream, coming in contact with the colder air.
367. What are dry fogs ?
Dry fogs are characterised by a dull opaque appearance of the
atmosphere. They are most common in certain parts of North
America, though they sometimes occur in Germany and in England.
They are generally referred to the electrical state of the atmosphere,
but the theory of them is still a matter of doubt.
368. What is a mist ?
The term mist is generally applied to vapours that rise over
mar shy places, QY the surfaces of wafer, and roll or move over the land.
369. What is the difference let ween a mist and a fog ?
Fogs, as they are known to us, generally arise over the land, and
are usually mingled with the smoke of large towns. Mists generally
arise over water, or wet surfaces.
370. Why do mists and fogs disappear at sunrise ?
Because the condensed vapours are again expanded and dis-
persed by the heat of the sun's rays.
371. Why do fogs frequently rise in the morning and fall
again in the evening.
Because, warmed by the sun's rays, they become more rarefied,
and fly away at an altitude where they appear to be altogether
dispelled ; but at night, when the earth cools by radiation, the
vapours near the earth again condense, and settle in the form of
fog,
372. Why do fogs sometimes rest upon a given locality for
several days together, and then disappear ?
THE EEASGN WHY.
91
" He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds ; and the cloud is not rent undei
them." JOB xxvi.
They are probably kept near to the surface of the earth by a
superstratum of cold air. A cold air lying above, or a cold air
lying below, might equally contribute to keep a fog near the
surface of a particular part of the earth, until a flow of wind, or a
fall of rain, altered the atmospheric condition.
There are many interesting facts connected with the history of dew. It has
attracted the attention of natural philosophers in all ages. But its true theory
was never understood until recently. The ancients imagined that dews were
shed from the stars; and the alchemists and physicians of the middle ages
believed that the dew distilled by night possessed penetrating and wonder-
working powers. The ladies of those times sought to preserve their beauty by
washing in dew, which they regarded as a " celestial wash." They collected it
by placing upon the grass heaps of wool, upon the threads of which the magic
drops clustered.
CHAPTER XVIII.
373. What are clouds ?
Clouds are volumes of vapour, usually elevated to a considerable
height.
Pig. 4. CIREO-CUlirHJS, OE SOLDER CLOUD.
374. Wlience do clouds arise ?
From the evaporation of water at the earth's surface.
375. Why do we not see them ascend?
We do, sometimes, in the form of what we call mists, but
generally the vapours that rise and contribute to the formation of
clouds are so thin that they are invisible.
THE EEASON WHY.
"With clouds hecovereth the light, and commandeth it not to shine by the
cloud that cometh betwixt." JOB xxxvi.
376. Why, if they are invisible ivJien they rise, do they
become visible when they have ascended ?
Because the vapours become coolecL in passing through the air,
and form a denser body.
377. TP hy, when they are condensed, do they not follow the
course of gravitation, and descend ?
Because the vapours form into minute vesicles, which we may
call vapour bubbles, and these, being warmed by the sun, are
specifically lighter than the air.
Because, also, the lower parts of clouds do partially descend, but
again becoming more rarefied by meeting with a warmer atmo-
sphere, they again ascend, and are thus poised upon the air.
Because, also, there is always a degree of atmospheric motion
upward, caused by the convection of heat from the earth's sur-
face. And, although there must also be downward movements of
the air to supply the place of that which has ascended, still the
heat of the ascending air, combined with its upward movement,
expands and floats the vapour of the clouds.
378. At what height do clouds usually fly ?
They fly ac every degree of altitude; but clouds of specific
character are said to fly at given altitudes, or to occupy certain
ranges of altitude. We will give their probable altitudes when
speaking of the specific clouds.
Fig. 5. CIRRUS, OK CURL CLOUD.
379. How many descriptions of clouds are there ?
There are seven.
THE SEASON WHY. 93
'Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields."
JOB y.
1. The Cirrus (Fig. 5), estimated range of altitude from 10,000
to 24,000 feet.
2. The Cumulus (Fig. 7), from 3,000 to 10,000 feet.
3. The Stratus, an extended continuous level sheet of cloud,
increasing from beneath. They fly very low.
4. The Nimbus (Fig. 10), 1,500 to 5,000 feet.
5. The Cirro-cumulus (Fig. 4), from 3,000 to 20,000 feet.
6. The Cirro-stratus (Fig. 6), from 5,000 to 10,000 feet.
7. The Cumulo-stratus (Fig. 9), from 3,000 to 10,000 feet.
CIRRO-STRATUS, OK WANE CLOUD.
The estimated heights given must be looked upon as very conjectural,
although they have been derived from the best existing authorities. It is sufficient
to know that the range of the altitude of the various clouds is from that of the
Nimbus, or thunder cloud, 1,500 feet, to that of the Cirrus, 24,000 feet, the
others being intermediate. The first three of the clouds above enumerated
constitute what are called the primary forms. The remaining four are called
secondary forms, because they arise, as their names generally indicate, out of
combinations of the primary forms. Although, from the frequent mingling of
clouds, it is not always practicable to identify them by the adopted classification,
still, as there is generally a prevalence of one type of cloud over another, the
observer would be able to distinguish a " Cirrus sky," or Cirro-cumulus sky," &c.
Upon some -occasions the typical characters of the clouds are beautifully
defined; and the contemplation of their forms, and the laws of their formation,
affords infinite pleasure to the observer. The advantages of scientific knowledge
are such, that whether you look downwards to the earth, or upwards to the sky,
you have still the writing of God to read.
380. What produces the various shapes of clouds t
1. The state of the atmosphere.
2. The electrical condition of the clouds.
3. The movements of the atmosphere.
4. The season of the year.
94
THE EEASON WHY.
'Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up; also he sendeth them
out, and they overturn the earth." JOB xn.
381. What are the dimensions of clouds ?
A single cloud has been estimated to have as many as twenty
square miles of surface, and to be above a mile in thickness, while
others are no larger than a house, or a man's hand.
Fig. 7. CUMULUS, OE PILE CLOUD.
. 382. Sow are clouds affected ly winds ?
If cold winds blow upon the clouds, the cold condenses the vapour,
turning the clouds into rain. But if warm dry winds blow upon
the clouds, they rarefy the vapour to a ^j^ater degree, and
temporarily disperse the clouds.
383. Sow do ivinds affect the shapes of clouds ?
When winds are mild and gentle, the clouds break into small
patches, and rise to a considerable height. But when the winds are
cold and blustering, the clouds fly low, and roll along in heavy
masses.
384. Why are east winds usually dry ?
Because in coming towards England they pass over vast continents
of land, and comparatively little ocean. Hence they are not loaded
with vapours.
385. Why do west winds generally bring rain ?
Because they come across the Atlantic, and are heavily charged
with vapour.
386. Why are north winds generally cold and dry ?
Because they come from the arctic ocean, over vast areas of ice
and snow.
THE REASON WHY.
95
* Terrors are turned upon m : they pursue my soul as the wind ; and m j
welfare passeth away as a cloud." JOB xxx.
387. WTiy are south winds warm and rainy ?
Because they come from the southern regions, heated by the
hot earth and sands, and as they cross the sea they absorb a large
amount of vapour.
Fig. 9.-^CTJMULO-STEA.TUS, OR TWAIN CLOUD.
388. Why are clouds said to indicate the changes of the
weather ?
Because, as it is the state of the clouds that, to a great extent,
determines the state of the weather, the formation of the clouds
must predicate approaching changes .
389. What do cirrus clouds foretell ?
Cirrus clouds foretell fine weather, when they fly high, and are
thin and light.
They foretell light rain when, after a long continuance of fine
weather, they form fleecy lines stretched across the sky.
They foretell a gale of wind when, for some successive days, they
gather in the same quarter of the heavens, as if denoting the point
from which to expect the coming gale. (Pig. 5).
390. What do cumulus clouds foretell ?
Cumulus clouds, when they are well defined, and advance with
the wind, foretell fin e weather.
96 THE SEASON WHY.
1 When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning and the
thunder." JOB xxvm.
When they are thin and dull, and float against the wind, or in
opposition to the lower currents, they foretell rain.
When they increase in size, and become dull and grey at sunset^
they predict a thunder-storm. (Fig. 7.)
331. What do stratus clouds foretell ?
Stratus clouds foretell damp and cheerless weather.
392. What do nimbus clouds foretell ?
Nimbus clouds foretell rain, storm, and thunder. (Fig. 10.)
393. What do cirro-cumulus clouds foretell ?
Cirro-cumulus clouds, in summer, foretell increasing heat
attended by mild rain, and a south wind ; but in winter they com-
monly precede the breaking up of a frost, and the setting in of
foggy and wet weather. (Fig. 4.)
304. WJiat do cirro-stratus clouds foretell ?
Cirro-stratus clouds foretell rain or snow, according to the
season of the year.
These clouds extend in long horizontal streaks, thinning away at
their base, and in parts becoming wavy or patchy.
When they are thus defined in the heavens they are a certain
indication of bad weather. (Fig. 6.)
395. What do cumulo-stratus clouds foretell ?
Cumulo-stratus clouds usually foretell a change of weather
from rain to fine, or from fine to rain. (Fig. 9.)
Fig. 10. NIMBUS OE STOEM CLOUD.
THE REASON WHY. 97
" Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor ; and if the dew be on the fleece
only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know
that thou wilt save Israel. * * *
CHAPTER XIX.
396. Why are cloudy days colder than sunny days ?
Because the clouds intercept the solar rays in their course
towards the earth.
397. Why are cloudy nights warmer than cloudless nights ?
Because the clouds radiate back to the earth the heat which the
earth evolves ?
Because, also, the clouds radiate to the earth the heat they have
derived from the solar rays during a cloudy day.
398. Why is the earth warmer than the air during sun-
shine ?
Because the earth freely absorbs the heat of the solar rays; but
the air derives comparatively little heat from the same source.
399. Why does the earth become colder than the air after
sunset ?
Because the earth parts with its heat freely by radiation ; but
the air does not.
400. Why do glasses, mats, or screens, prevent the frost
from billing plants ?
Because they prevent the radiation of heat from the plants, and
also from the earth beneath them.
401. Why are the screens frequently covered with dew on
their exposed sides ?
Because they radiate heat from both their surfaces. A piece of
glass, laid horizontally over the earth, would radiate heat both
upwards and downwards. But on its lower surface it would
receive the radiated heat of the earth, while from its upper surface
it would throw off its own heat and become cool. Therefore dew
would be deposited upon the upper, but not on the under surface.
402. Why does dew rest upon the upper surfaces of leaves ?
5
98 THE EEASON WHY.
' And it was so : for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece
together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.
Because the under surfaces receive the radiated warmth of the
earth.
403. Why are cultivated lands subject to heavier dews
than those that are uncultivated ?
Because cultivation breaks up the hard surface of the earth, and
thus its radiating power is increased.
404. Why is the gravel walls through, a lawn comparatively
dry while the grass of the lawn is wet with dew ?
Because gravel is a bad radiator, but grass is a good radiator.
405. What benefit results from this arrangement ?
In cultivated lands, where moisture is required, it is induced by
the very necessity which demands it ; while in rocky and barren
places, where it would be of no good, dew does not form.
406. Why does little dew form at the base of hedges and
walls, and around the trunks of trees ?
Because those bodies in some degree counteract the radiation of
heat from the earth ; and they also radiate heat from their own
substances.
407. Why do heavy morning dews and mists usually come
together ?
Because they both have their origin in the humidity of the
atmosphere. The temperature of the earth having fallen, dew has
been deposited ; but, at the same time, the condensation of the
vapour in the air has formed a screen over the surface of the earth,
which has checked the further radiation of heat, and, consequently,
the further formation of dew . The sun rises, therefore, upon an
atmosphere charged with visible vapour at the earth's surface, and
his first sloping rays, having little poioer to warm the atmosphere,
the mist continues visible for some time.
408. What effect have winds upon the formation of dew ?
Winds, generally, and especially when rapid, prevent the forma-
tion of dew. But those winds that are moist, and contribute to the
formation of clouds, indirectly aid the formation of dew through the
THE SEASON WHY. 99
"And Gideon said unto God, * * * Let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and
upon all the ground let there be dew.
formation of clouds, and also by the moisture they impart to
the air.
409. Why does the humidity of the atmosphere sometimes
form clouds, and at others form fogs, mists, dews, fyc. ?
The result depends upon the varying temperature, motion, and
direction of the atmosphere.
A warm light atmosphere, of a few day's duration, will elevate
the vapours to the region where they are formed into clouds.
A chill air, lying upon the surface of the warmer earth, will
occasion mists or fogs.
A cold earth, acting upon the vapours contained in a warmer
atmosphere, will condense them and occasion dews.
410. Why are frosty mornings usually clear ?
Because, in the cold atmosphere which preceded the frost, there
was but little evaporation ; and now .that the frost has set in, the
vapours that existed have become frozen in the form of hoar-frost.
411. "Why are clear nights usually cold?
Because the "screen" afforded by the clouds does not exist;
therefore the heat of the earth escapes, while the vapours of the air
are abstracted from it by condensation into dew, thereby imparting
great clearness to the nights.
412. Why are hoar-frosts, or, as they are termed, " white
frosts" so frequent, and " Hack frosts" so unusual?
Because white, or hoarfrosts, result from the coldness of the
earth, which, from its great radiating power, is always varying.
But black-frosts result from the coldness of the air, which is liable
to less variation of temperature than the earth.
413. What is a black-frost?
A black frost results from the coldness of the atmosphere, which
is at the time overshadowed by a dull cloud, giving a dark-
ness to everything, and a leaden appearance to the frozen surface
of water.
414. Why are black-frosts said to last ?
100 THE EEASON WHY.
'And God did so that night : for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was
dew oh all the ground." JUDGES vi.
Because as they result from the temperature of the air, which is
less likely to vary than that of the earth, there is a probability
that the coldness thereof will last for some time.
415. What benefits result from the radiation of heat, fyc, ?
But for the radiation of heat, we should be subjected to the most
unequal temperatures. The setting" of the sun would be like the
going out of a mighty fire. The earth would become suddenly
cold, and its inhabitants would have to bury themselves in warm
covering;, to wait the return of day. By the radiation of heat,
an equilibrium of temperature is provided for, without which we
should require a new order of existence.
The amount of heat which our earth receives from the sun, and the economy
of that heat by the laws of radiation, reflection, absorption, and convection,
are exactly proportionate to the necessities of our planet, and the living things
that inhabit it. It is held by philosophers that any change in th e orbit of our
earth, which would either increase or decrease the amount of heat falling upon
it, would, of necessity, be fallowed by the annihilation of all the existing races.
The planets Mercury and Venus, which are distant respectively 37 millions of
miles, and 63 millions of miles, from the great source of solar heat, possess a
temperature which would melt our solid rocks; while Uranus (1,800 millions of
miles), and Neptune (whose distance from the sun has not been determined),
must receive so small an amount of heat, that water, such as ours, would become
as solid as the hardest rock, and our atmosphere would be resolved into a liquid !
Yet, poised in the- mysterious balance of opposing forces, our orb flies unerringly
on its course, at the rate of 65,01)3 miles an hour ; preserving, in its wonderful
flight, that precise relation to the sun, which takes from his life-inspiring rays
the exact degree of heat, which, being shared by every atom of matter, and
every form of organic existence, is just the amount needed to constitute the heat-
life of the world !
CHAPTER XX.
416. What is rain ?
Rain is the vapour of the clouds which, being condensed by a
fall of temperature, forms drop? of water that descend to the earth.
It is the return to the earth in the form of water, of the moisture
absorbed by the air in the form of vapour.
417. Does rain ever occur without clouds ?
It sometimes, but rarely happens, that a sudden transition from
THE BEASON, J MF~A Tf."- ' > '- 10 1
* Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may
cover thee?" JOB xxxvm.
warmth to cold will precipitate the moisture of the air, without
the formation of visible clouds.
418. Why are drops of rain sometimes large and at other
times small ?
Because the drops, in falling, meet and unite, and also gather
moisture in their descent. The greater the height from which a
rain drop has descended, the larger it is, provided that its whole
course lay through a rainy atmosphere.
The size of the drops is also influenced by the amount of
moisture in the atmosphere, the degree of cold, and the rapidity
of the change of temperature, by which the drops are produced.
419. In what seasons of the year are rains most prevalent ?
Throughout Central Europe rains are most prevalent in
summery but in Southern Europe the preponderance is on the side
of winter rains.
420. In what months of the year does it rain most
frequently in this country ?
It rains more frequently from September to March, than
from March to September; but the heaviest rains occur from
March to September.
421. Why are there more rainy days from September to
March ?
Because the temperature of the air is more frequently lowered to
that degree which precipitates its vapours.
Months in the order of their comparative wetness : 1. October. 2. February.
3. July. 4. September. 5. January. 6. December,
Months in the order of their comparative dryness : 1. March. 2. January.
3. May. 4. August. 5. April. 6. November.
422. In what part of the world does the greatest quantity
of rain fall ?
The greatest quantity of rain falls near the equator, and th
Amount decreases towards thepolet.
* * , a " . * w fc -\ -i
102 " *!rafc SEASON WHY.
'Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the bottles of
heaven." JOB xxxvm.
423. In what part of the world do the heaviest rains
occur?
The heaviest rains occur in the tropics, during the hot season.
The drops of rain in the tropical regions are so large, and the force
with which they descend so great, that their splash upon the skin
causes a smarting sensation.
424. In what parts of the world do the least rains occur ?
There are some parts of the earth which are rainless, such as
Egypt, the desert of Sahara, the table lands of Persia and Mont-
golia, the rocky flat of Arabia Petrae, &c.
425* Sow many rainy days are there in a year ?
The frequency of rainy days is greatest in countries near the sea,
and their number decreases the further we journey from the sea-
border towards the inland. In England it rains on an average 152
to 155 days in the year.
426. In what part of England does the greatest amount of
rainfall ?
In the town of Keswick, in Cumberland, where 63 inches of rain
fall in a year ; Kendal, in Westmoreland, 58 inches ; Liverpool, 34
inches ; Dublin, 25 inches ; Lincoln, 24 inches ; London, 21 inches.
427. Why do the heaviest rains occur at the tropics ?
Because the hot air absorbs a large amount of vapour, and rises
into the higher regions of the atmosphere, where the vapours are
suddenly condensed into heavy rains, by cold currents from the
428. Why does the greatest quantity of rain fall at the
equator ?
Because the hot air absorbs a large amount of vapour, and as the
atmosphere is usually calm, there is an absence of currents, by which
the saturated air would be removed. In this, which is called " the
Region of Calms" rain falls almost daily.
429. Why are some parts of the earth rainless?
THE SEASON WHY. 103
" Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, whereby thou didst confirm thine
inheritance, when it was weary." PSALM
Because, being situated in tropical or torrid latitudes, and at a
distance from the ocean, the atmosphere above them is always in a
dry state.
430. When is air said to ~be saturated with vapour ?
When it cannot take up a larger quantity than that which it
already holds.
When common salt is dissolved in water, until the water can take np no
more, the water is then said to be saturated with salt.
431. What proportion of water is air capable of sustaining
in the form of vapour ?
The amount of water held in suspension by the air averages the
following proportion : one thousand cubic feet of cftr contain as
much vapour as, were it condensed to water, would yield about
two fifths of a pint.
But one thousand cubic feet of air are capable of holding half -a-
pint of water; and this may be regarded as the point of
saturation.
Thus, in a room ten feet square and ten feet high, the air, at the point of
saturation, would hold in the form of vapour, half-a-pint of water. It must
not be forgotten, however, that the point of saturation necessarily varies with
the temperature of the air.
432. Why are cloudy days and nights not always wet ?
Because the air has not reached the state of saturation.
433. Wliy does rain purify the air ?
Because it produces motion in the particles of the air, by which
they are intermixed. And it precipitates noxious vapours, and
cleanses the face of the earth from unhealthy accumulations.
434. Why are mountainous localities more rainy than fiat
ones ?
Because the mountains attract the clouds; and because the
clouds that are flying low are borne against the sides of the
mountains and directed upwards, where they meet with cold
currents of air,
435. Why does more rain fall ly night than ly day ?
104 THE SEASON WHY.
As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee
O God." PSALM XLII.
Because by night the temperature of the air, heated during the
day, falls to that degree which condenses its vapours into rain.
436. WTiy do hunches of dried sea-weed indicate the
'probability of coming rain ?
Because they readily imbibe moisture, and when they become
soft and damp they show that the air is approaching the point of
saturation.
437. Why does the weather-toy, called the " weather-cock"
foretell the probability of rain ?
Because it is made with a piece of cat-gut which swells with
moisture, and as it swells, shrinks. The cat-gut is so applied that
when it shrinks, it turns a rod which sends the man out of the
house, and when it dries it sends the woman out. Therefore,
when the man appears, it is a sign of wet, and when the woman
appears it is a sign of dry weather.
There is another toy, called the Capuchin, which is made upon the same
principle. The figure lifts a hood over its head when wet is approaching, and
takes it off when the weather is becoming dry. In this case, a piece of cat-gut
is also employed. Various weather-toys may be made upon this principle
among others, a little umbrella, which will open on the approach of wet, and
close on the return of fine weather. '
A gentleman once made a wooden horse, which he declared should of itself
walk across a room, without machinery of any kind. The assertion was
discredited; but the horse was placed in a room close to the wall on one side.
The room was locked, and otherwise fastened, so that no one could interfere
with the experiment. After a time the door was opened, and it was found
that the horse had actually crossed the floor, and stood on the opposite
side. The horse was made from wood of a peculiar kind, liable to great
expansion in wet weather, and cut in a manner to produce the greatest
elongation. The fore hoofs were so made that where they were set they woul
remain, so that the contracting parts should draw up from behind. It is easj
to understand how, in this way, the wooden horse crossed the apartment.
438. Wliy does ladies* hair drop out of curl upon the
approach of damp weather ?
Because the hair absorbs moisture, which causes its spirals to
relax and unfold.
439 Why is it said in mountainous countries that rain is
THE REASON WHY. 105
' Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow ; or hast thou seen tho
treasures of the hail." JOB xxxvm.
coming, because the mountains are ''putting their night-caps
on?"
Because the clouds.^Lescend when they are heavy with vapour,
and being attracted to the mountain tops they are said to " cap the
mountains"
CHAPTER XXI.
440. What is snow ?
Snow is congealed vapour, which would have formed rain ; but,
through the coldness of the air, has been frozen in its descent into
crystaline forms. (Fig. 1.)
441. Why is snow white ?
Because it reflects all the component rays of light.
442. Why is snow said to be warm, while white garments
are worn for coolness ?
Snow is warm by virtue of its light and woolly texture. But it
is also warm on account of its whiteness ; for, had it been black, ifc
would have absorbed the heat of the sun, which would have thaived
the snow. Instead of which, it reflects heat ; and the reflected heat
falls upon bodies above the snow, while the warmth of the earth
is preserved beneath it. White clothing is cool, because it reflects
from the body of the wearer the heat of the sun. White snow is
warm, because it rejlects the sun's heat upon bodies.
There are few persons but have felt the effect of the sun's rays reflected^ the
white snow on a clear wintry day. And, as regards the warmth of snow
towards the earth, by preventing the radiation of heat, it has been found that
a thermometer buried four inches deep in snow has shown a temperature of
nine degrees higher than at the surface.
443. Why are lofty mountains always covered with snow ?
Because the upper regions of the atmosphere are intensely cold.
444. Why are the upper regions of the atmosphere intensely
cold?
Because the atmosphere retains but little of the heat of the sun'*
5*
106 THE EEASON WHY.
" He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth : he maketh
lightnings for the rain : he bringeth the wind out of his treasuries." Ps. xxxv.
rays as they pass to the earth. Because at high altitudes the air
is greatly rarefied. And because the radiation of heat from the
earth does not materially affect such high regions.
445. What is meant ty the snow line ?
The snow line is the estimated altitude in all countries where
snow would be formed. Even at the equator, at an altitude of
15,000 to 16,000 feet from the level of the sea, snow is found upon
the mountain summits, where it perpetually lies. As we proceed
north or south from the equator the snow line lessens in altitude.
Had we in England a mountain 6,000 feet high, it would be per-
petually crowned with snoio.
446. Why do we near of red snow ?
Red snow is the name given to the snow in the arctic regions
upon which a minute vegetable (probably the Protoccus nivalis)
grows, imparting to the snow a red colour. Recent microscopic
investigations have shown it to consist of a minute vegetable cell,
which secretes a red colouring matter.
Snow is found to be of greater import nee to man than is generally supposed.
But, although in this country we. are enabled to recognise the hand of Provi-
dence in the gift, there are latitudes wherein the blessing thus conferred is
more deeply felt. In such countries as Canada, Sweden, and Russia, the falling
of snow is looked for with glad anticipations, quite equalling those which
herald the " harvest-home" of England, or the " vintage" of France. No sooner
is the ground covered with snow, than cranky old vehicles that had been jolting
over rough roads, and sticking fast in deep ruts of mud, are wheeled aside, and
swift sledges take their place. Towns distant from each other find an easy
mode of communication ; the markets are enlivened* and trade thrives. Snow
supplies a kind of railroad, covering the entire face of the country, and sledges
glide over it, almost with the speed of the locomotive.
447. What is sleet?
Sleet is snow which, in falling, has met with a warmer current of
air than that in which it congealed. It therefore partially melts
and forms a kind of wet snow.
448. What is hail ?
Hail is also the frozen moisture of the clouds. It is probably
formed by rain drops in their dpscent to the earth, meeting with an
exceedingly cold current of ait by which they become suddenly
frozen into hard masses.
THE SEASON WHY. 107
If the clouds be full of rain, they shall empty themselves upon the earth."
ECCLES. xi.
It is also supposed that the electrical state of the air and of the
clouds influences the formation of hail.
449. Why is it supposed that the electrical state of the
air and the clouds affects the formation of hail ?
Because hail is more common in the summer than at other
seasons, and is frequently attended by storms of thunder and,
lightning.
450. Why do Tiail-storms most frequently occur ~by day ?
Because the clouds, being charged with vapour to saturation,
favour the formation of hail by sudden electrical or atmospheric
changes. In the gradual cooling of night, the clouds would expend
themselves in rain.
Astonishing facts respecting hail-storms are upon record. In 1719 there fell
at Kremo, hailstones weighing six pounds. In 1828 there was a fall of ice at
Horsley, in Staffordshire, some of the pieces of which were three inches long, by
one inch broad ; and other solid pieces were about three inches in circumference.
Hail storms are most frequent in June and July, and least frequent in April
and October. Hail clouds float much lower in the sky than other clouds ; their
edges are marked by frequent heavy folds ; and their lower edges are streaked
with white, the other portions being massive and black. (Fig. 10.)
CHAPTER XXII.
451. What is light ?
Light, according to Newton, is the effect of luminous particles
which dart from the surfaces of bodies in all directions. According
to this theory, the solar light which we receive would depart from
the sun and travel to the earth.
According to Huyghens, light is caused by an infinitely elastic
ether, diffused through all space. This ether, existing everywhere,
is excited into waves, or vibrations, by the luminous body.
The theory of light is so undetermined that neither the views of Newton,
nor those of Huyghens, can be said to be exclusively adopted. Writers upon
natural philosophy seize hold of either or both of those theories, as they present
themselves more or less favourably in the explanation of natural phenomena.
In " The Reason Why," as we have to speak of the effects of light rather than
of its cav&e, we shall avoid, as far as possible, the doubtful points. But let no
108 THE BEASON WHY.
" And God said, Let there be light : and there was light.
one be discouraged by the fact that the theory of light, as, indeed, of all the
imponderable agents, is imperfectly understood. Rather Jet us rejoice that
there are vast fields of discovery yet to be explored ; and that light, the most
glorious and inspiring element in nature, invites us from the sun, the moon,
and the stars, and from the face of every green leaf and variegated flowet,
to search out the wonders of its nature, and further to exemplify the goodness
and .wisdom of God.
452. What is the distance of the sun from the earth?
Ninety five millions of miles.
453. At ivhat rate of velocity does light travel f
At the rate of 192,000 miles in a second, through our atmo-
sphere ; and 192,500 miles in a second through a vacuum.
454. Sow long does light take to travel from the sun to
the earth ?
Eight minutes and thirteen seconds.
455. What is the constitution of the sun ?
It is a spherical body, 1,384,472 times larger than the earth.
456. From what does the luminosity of the sun arise f
From a luminous atmosphere, or, as M. Arago named it, photo-
sphere, which completely surrounds the body of the sun, and which
is probably burning with great intensity.
457. What are the minor sources of light?
Light may be produced by chemical action, by electricity, and
by phosphor esence, in the latter of which various agencies unite.
458. What is a ray of light ?
A ray of light is the smallest portion of light which we can
recognise.
459. What is a medium ?
A medium is a body which affords a passage for the rays o
Might.
460. What is a learn of light ?
A beam of light is a group of parallel ravt.
461. What is a pencil of light?
THE EEASON WHY. 109
1 And God saw the light, that it was good : and God divided the light from the
darkness." GEN. i.
A pencil of light is a body of rays which come from, or move
towards a point.
462. What is the radiant point 'f
The radiant point is that from which diverging rays of light
are emitted.
463. What is the focus?
The focus is the point to which converging rays are directed.
Diverging, starting from a point, and separating. Converging, drawing
together towards a point.
464. What is the constitution of a ray of light ?
A ray of white light, -as we receive it from the sun, is composed
of a number of elementary rays, which, with the aid of a triangular
piece of glass, called a prism, may be separated, and will produce
under refraction the following colours :
1. An extreme red ray a mixture of red and blue, the red
predominating.
2. Red.
3. Orange red passing into and combining with yellow.
4. Yellow the most luminous of all the rays.
5. Green yellow passing into and combining with the blue.
6. Slue.
7. Indigo a, dark and intense blue.
8. Violet blue mingled with red.
9. Lavender grey a neutral tint.
10. E-ays called fluorescent, which are either of a pure silvery
blue, or a delicate green.
465. Why is a ray of light, which contains these elementary
rays, white ?
Because the colour of light is governed by the rapidity of the
vibrations of the ether-waves. When a ray of light is refracted
by, or transmitted through a body, its vibrations are frequently
disturbed and altered, and thus a different impression is made
upon the eye.
Light which gives 37,640 vibrations in an inch, or
468,000,000,000,000 in a second of time, produces that sensation
110 THE EEASON WHY.
" The light of the body is the eye : if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole
body shall be full of light." MATT, v
upon the eye which makes the object that directs the vibrations
appear red. Yellow light requires 44,000 vibrations in an inch,
and 535,000,000,000,000 in a second of time. And the other
colours enumerated (see 464) all require different velocities of
vibration to produce the colours by which they are distinguished.
Accepting the theory of vibrations, and applying it to the elucidation of the
phenomena of light it is unnecessary, we think, to believe that a ray of white
light contains rays in a state of colour. It is said that if we divide a circular
surface into parts, and paint the various colours in the order and propor-
tions in which they occur in the refracted ray, and then spin the circle with
great velocity, the colours will blend and appear white. But such is not the
case ; the result is in some degree an illusion, arising out of the sudden removal
of the impression made upon the eye by the colours , and if a piece of white
paper be held by the side of the coloured circle in motion, the latter will be
found to be grey. "When it is remembered that in colouring a white surface
with thin colours, the white materially qualifies the colours, it must be admitted
that the experiment fails to support the assertion that the colours of the
spectrum produce white. But there can be no difficulty in understanding that
a ray of light undergoing refraction, becomes divided into minor rays, which
differing in their degrees of refrangibility, vary also in the velocity of tJieir
vibrations, and produce the several sensations of colour.
466. Tfr Tiy is a substance white ?
Because it reflects the light that falls upon it without altering
its vibrations.
467. Why is a substance black ?
Because it absorbs the light and puts an end to the vibrations.
468. Why is the rose red ?
Because it imparts to the light that falls upon it that change
in its vibratory condition, which produces on our eyes the
sensation of redness.
469. Why is the lily white ?
Because it reflects the light without altering its vibrations.
470. Whii is the primrose vellow ?
J JL /
Because, though it receives white light, it alters its vibrations to
44,000 in an inch, and 535,000,000,000,000 in a second, and this is
the velocity of vibration which produces upon the eye a sensation
oi yellow.
THE SEASON WHY. HI
" But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore
the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness."- MATT. v.
471. Why are there so many varieties of colour and tint in
the various objects in nature ?
Because every surface has a peculiar constitution, or atomic
condition, by which the light falling upon it is influenced. In
tropical climates, where the brightness of the sun is the most
intense, there the colours of natural objects are the richest j the
foliage is of the darkest green ; the flowers and fruits present the
brightest hues; and the plumage of the birds is of the most
gaudy description. In the temperate climates these features are
more subdued, still bearing relation to the degree of light.
And at a certain depth of the ocean, where light penetrates
only in a slight degree, the objects that abound are nearly
colourless.
It has been held by many philosophers (and the theory is so far conclusive
that it cannot be dispensed with) that there is an analogy between the vibra-
tory causes of sound, and the vibratory causes" of colour. Any one who has seen
an jEolian harp, and listened to the wild notes of its music, will be aware that
the wires of the harp are swept by accidental currents of air; that when
those currents have been strong, the notes of ths harp have been raised to the
highest pitch, and as the intensity of the currents has fallen, the musical sounds
have deepened and softened, until, with melodious sighing, they have died
away. No finger has touched the strings ; no musical genius has presided
at the harp to wake its inspiring sounds ; but the vibration imparted to the
air, as it swept the wires, has alone produced the chromatic sounds that have
charmed the listener. If, then, the varied vibrations of the air are capable of
imparting dissimilar sensations of sounds to the ear, is it not only possible, but
probable, that the different vibrations of light may impart the various sensa-
tions of colours to the eye ?
' , ' * > : ' ?. l a i'-i *ivfc t*:) ' ;">.v.>v. f 've Vit/v v '''"'. "' Vi-i 't^i
CHAPTER XXIII.
472. What is the refraction of light ?
When rays of light fall obliquely upon the surface of any
transparent medium, they are slightly diverted from their course.
This alteration of the course of the rays is called refraction,
and the degree of refraction is influenced by the difference
between the densities of the mediums through which light if
transmitted.
112 THE BEASON WHY.
1 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and
glorify your father which is in heaven." MATT. y.
473. If a ray of light falls in a straight line upon a trans-
parent surface, is it then refracted ?
In that case the ray pursues its course there is no refraction.
474. Is the direction in which the rays are lent, or re-
fracted, influenced by the relative densities of the media '(
A ray of light falling slantingly upon a window, in passing
through it is slightly brought to the perpendicular ; and if it then
falls upon the surfitce of water, it is still further brought to the
perpendicular in passing through the water.
475. Is light refracted in passing from a dense medium to
a thinner one ?
It is ; but the direction of the refraction is just the opposite to
the instance just given ; a ray of light passing through water into
air, does not take a more perpendicular course, but becomes more
oblique^
Fig. 11.
476. Why, if a rod or a spoon be set in an empty lasin,
will it appear straight, or of its usual shape ?
Because the rays of light that are reflected from it all pass through
the same medium, the air.
477. Why if water be poured into the lasin will the rod ot
spoon appear lent ?
Because the rays of light that pass through the water are
reflected in a different degree to those that pass through the
air.
THE EEASON WHY. 113
Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud ; and he shall
hear my voice." PSALM IT.
Place in the bottom of an empty basin (Fig. 11.) a shilling ; then stand in
such a position at the point B that the line of sight, over the edge of the basin,
just excludes the shilling from view. Then request some one to pour water
into the basin, until it is filled to C (Fig. 12.), keeping your eye fixed upon the
spot. The shilling will gradually appear, and will soon come entirely in view.
Not only will the shilling be brought in view, but also portions of the
basin before concealed. This is owing to the rays of light passing from the
bottom through the water in a direction wore perpendicular than they would
have done through the air ; but on leaving the water they become more
oblique, and hence they convey the image of the shilling over tlie edge of the
basin, which otherwise would have obstructed the view.
Fig. 12.
478. Why is it that in cloudy and showery days we see the
sun's rays bursting through the clouds in different directions ?
Because, in passing through clouds of different densities the rays
ure bent out of their course.
479. Why is the apparent depth of water always decep-
tive ?
Because the light reflected from the objects at the bottom is
refracted as it leaves the water.
480. How much deeper is water than it appears to le ?
About one-third. A person bathing, and being unable to swim,
should calculate before jumping into the water, that if it looks two
feet deep, it is quite three feet.
481. Why can we seldom at the first attempt touch
anything lying at the bottom of the water with a stick?
Because we do not allow for the different refractive powers of
water and of air
114 THE BEASON WHY.
" I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between
me and the earth."
482. Wliy do we see the sun before sun-rise, and after
sun-set ?
Because of the refractive effects of the atmosphere. Rays of
light, passing obliquely from the sun through the air to the earth,
are refracted three or four times by the varying density of the
medium. Each refraction bends the rays towards the perpendicular ;
and hence we see the sun before it rises and after it sets,
Pig. 13. DIAGRAM EXHIBITING THE REFRACTION OP THE SUIT'S RATS IN
PASSING THROUGH THE ATMOSPHERE.
483. Why do figures, viewed through the hot air proceeding
from furnaces, and from lime-kilns, appear distorted and
tremulous ?
Because the ever varying density of the air which is flying away
in hot currents, and succeeded by cold, constantly changes the
refractive power of the medium through which the figures are
viewed.
484. Why do the stars twinkle ?
Because their light reaches us through variously heated and
moving currents of air. In this case the earth is the kiln, and
the stars the object that is viewed through the refractive medium.
485. Why does much twinkling of the stars foretell bad
weather ?
Because it denotes that there are various aerial currents of
different temperatures and densities, producing atmosph&rio
disturbance.
THE SEASON WHY. 116
'And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow
shall be seen in the cloud." GENESIS ix.
486. What causes the rainbow ?
The refraction of the sun's rays by the falling rain.
487. Why does the rainbow exhibit various colours ?
The colours belong to the elementary rays of light ; and these
rays having different degrees of refrangibility, some of them are
bent more than others ; they are therefore separated into distinct
rays of different colours.
488. Why are there sometimes two rainbows ?
Because the rays of refracted light, reflected upon other drops
of rain, are again refracted, and then reflected, again, forming a
secondary bow.
489. Why are the colours of the secondary low arrayed in
the reverse order of the primary bow ?
Because the secondary bow is a reflection of the primary bow,
and, like all reflections, is reversed.
490. Why are reflections reversed ?
Because those rays which first reach the reflecting surface are
the first returned. If you hold your open hand towards the
looking-glass, the light passing from the point of your finger will
reach the reflector and be returned before the rays that pass from
the back parts of the hand. Hence the image of the hand will
present the reflection of the finger point towards the point of the
finger.
491. Why are the colours of the secondary rainbow
fainter than those of the primary ?
Because they are derived from the refraction and reflection
of rays which have already been refracted and reflected, and
thereby their intensity has been diminished.
492. What is a lunar rainbow ?
A lunar rainbow is caused by the light of the moon, in the
same manner as tha solar rainbow is caused by the light of the
sun.
116 THE SEASON WHY.
" I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth in me should not
abide in darkness." JOHN xui.
493. Why is the lunar rainbow fainter than a solar
rainbow ?
Because the light of the moon is the reflected light oj the sun,
and is therefore less intense.
494. What is a halo ?
A halo is a luminous ring, which forms between the eye of the
observer and a luminous body.
Haloes may appear around the disc of the sun, moon, or stars.
But in this country the lunar haloes are the most remarkable and
frequent.
495. What is the cause of the luminous ring ?
The refraction of light as it passes through an intervening cloud,
or a stratum of moist and cold air.
496. Why are haloes -sometimes large and at other times
small ?
Because they are sometimes formed very high in the atmosphere,
at other times very low. Being high, and farther removed from the
spectator, and nearer the source of light, they appear smaller ;
while the nearer they are, the larger they appear.
497. Why do haloes foretell wet weather ?
Because they show that there is a great amount of atmospheric
moisture, which will probably form rain.
498. Why do glass lustres and chandeliers exhibit*
" rainbow colours" ?
Because they refract the rays of light in the same manner as
the rain drops.
499. Why does a soap bubble show the prismatic colours ?
Because, like a large rain drop, it refracts the rays of light, and
shows the elementary rays.
500. What causes the rich tints displayed by " mother-of-
pearl?"
The refraction, of the light that falls upon the surface of the
pearL
THE EEASON W11Y. 117
1 Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart."
XCVII.
501. What causes the brilliant colours of the diamond ?
The refraction of the rays of light by the various facets of the
diamond.
The refraction of light, and the production of prismatic colours, surrounds us
with most interesting phenomena. The laundress, whose active labours raise
over the wash-tub a soapy froth, performs inadvertently one of the most delicate
operations of chemistry the chemistry of the imponderable agents and the
result of her manipulations manifests itself in the delicate colours that dance
like a fairy light over the glassy films that follow the motion of her arms. The
laughing child, throwing a bubble from the bowl of a tobacco pipe into the air,
performs the same experiment, and produces a result such as that which filled
the philosophic Newton with unbounded joy. The foam of the sea shore, the
plumage of birds, the various films that float upon the surface of waters, the
delicate tints of flowers, and the rich hues of luscious fruits, all combine to
remind us, that every ray of light comes like an angelic artist sent from heaven,
bearing upon his palette the most celestial tints, with which to beautify the
earth, and show the illimitable glory of God.
CHAPTER XXIV.
502. What is the difference between the refraction and
the reflection of light ?
Refraction is the deviation of rays of light from their course
through the interference of a different medium ; reflection is the
return of rays of light which, having fallen upon a surface, are
repelled by it.
503. What is the radiation of light ?
The radiation of light is its emission in rays from the surface of
a luminous body.
504. Do jail bodies radiate light ?
All bodies radiate light ; but those that are not in themselves
primary sources of light, are said to reflect it.
505. Do black bodies reflect any light ?
Black bodies absorb the light that falls upon them. But they
reflect a very small degree of light.
506 TP hy is glass transparent ?
118 THE SEASON WHY.
'As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man."
PEOVESBS xxvn.
Because its atoms are so arranged that they .allow the vibrations
of light to continue through their substance.
507. Does glass obstruct the passage of any portion of
light /
Glass reflects (sends back) a very small portion of light. This
may be observed by holding a piece of paper, or a hand, a few inches
from a window, when a faint reflection of it will be visible.
Probably the small amount of light reflected by transparent glass,
which gives a passage to the greater part of the rays, may serve
to illustrate the small amount of light reflected from black surfaces,
which absorbs the greater portion of light.
Instead of a piece of white paper, hold a piece of black cloth two or three
inches from the window-pane, and you will have two reflections so weak that the
image of the cloth will be almost lost. The first reflection is that of the very
small amount of light from the black surface on to the glass, and the second
reflection is that of the inconceivably small amount returned by the glass, and
by which the faint image of the black cloth is produced. But put the black
cloth outside of the window-pane, and then hold an object before them,
and you will find that the two weak reflectors, acting together, produce an
improved image, or reflection.
508. Why, if a book is held between a candle-light and the
wall, does a shadow fall upon the wall ?
Because the rays of light are intercepted by the book.
509. Why do the rays pass over the edges of the book in
a direct line with the flame of the candle?
Because light always travels in straight lines.
510. Why is there some amount of light even where
shadows fall?
Because, as all objects reflect light, some of them throw their
light into the field of the shadow.
511. Why are some substances opaque to light ?
Because the arrangement of their particles will not admit of the
vibrations of the luminous ether passing through them.
Opaque impervious to rays of light.
512. Why do we see our faces reflected in mirrors?
THE SEASON WHY. 110
" The day is thine, the night also is thine : thou hast prepared the light and
the sun." PSALM LXXIV.
Because the rays of light from our faces are reflected by the
surface of the quicksilver at the back of the glass.
513. Why does the quicksilver reflect the rays of light ?
Because, being densely opaque to light, and presenting also a
bright surface, it is a good reflector, and it throws back the whole
of the rays.
514. What has the glass to do with the rejection ?
The glass has nothing to do with the reflection, except that it
affords a field upon which the reflecting surface of the quicksilver is
spread ; and it keeps the air and dirt from dulling the quicksilver.
The parts of a mirror from which the quicksilver is rubbed away give no
reflection that could assist the reflecting power of the quicksilver. That the
surface of the glass does not reflect the image, is shown by the fact, that if you
put the point of any object against the glass, the thickness between the point
and the place where the reflection of it begins, will show the exact thickness of
the glass.
515. Why does a compound mirror (a multiplying mirror)
exhibit a large number of images of one object.
Because all objects reflect rays of light in every direction, and
therefore the different mirrors, being at various angles, receive each
a reflection of the same object.
516. Why does a window-pane appear to be a better reflec-
tor- by candle-light than by day -light ?
The reflecting power of glass is precisely the same by night as by
day, and is always very feeble. But it appears to be greater by
night, because the surrounding darkness increases the apparent
strength of the reflection.
517. How do we know that objects reflect light in every
direction?
Because if we prick a hole in a card with a pin, and then look
through that small hole upon a landscape, we can see some miles
of country, and some thousands of objects ; every part of every
object throughout the whole scene, must have sent rays of light to
the small hole pricked in the card.
120 THE SEASON WHY.
" Such knowledge is too wonderful for me ; it is high, I cannot attain unto it."
PSALM cxxxix.
At one extremity of the landscape, viewed through the hole in the card, there
may be a forest of trees ; in the distance there may be hills bathed in golden
light, and overhung with glittering clouds ; in the mid-distance there may be
a river winding its course along, as though it loved the earth through which it
ran, and wished, by wandering to and fro, to refresh the thirsty soil ; in the
foreground may be a church, covered by a million ivy leaves ; and grouping
towards the sacred edifice may be hundreds of intending worshippers, old and
young, rich and poor ; flowers may adorn the path- ways, and butterflies spangle
the air with their beauties : yet every one of those objects the fores^the hills,
the clouds, the river, the church, the ivy, the people, the flowers, the butterflies-
must have sent rays of light, which found their way through the little hole in
the card, and entered to paint the picture upon the curtain of the eye.
This is one of the most striking instances that can be afforded of the wonderful
properties of light, and of the infinitude of those luminous rays that attend
the majestic rising of the sun. Not only does light fly from the grand " ruler of
the day" with a velocity which is a million and a half times greater than the
speed of a cannon-ball, but it darts from every reflecting surface with a like
velocity, and reaches the tender structure of the eye so gently that, as it falls
upon the little curtain of nerves which is there spread to receive it, it imparts
the most pleasing sensations, and tells its story of the outer world with a
minuteness of detail, and a holiness of truth. Philosophers once sought to weigh
the sunbeam ; they constructed a most delicate balance, and suddenly let in
upon it a beam of light ; the lever of the balance was so delicately hung that the
fluttering of a fly would have disturbed it. Everything prepared, the grave
men took thi.ir places, and with keen eyes watched the result. The sunbeam
that was to decide the experiment had left the sun eight minutes prior to pass
the ordeal. It had flown through ninety-five millions of miles of space in that
short measure of time, and it shot upon the balance with unabated velocity :
but the lever moved not, and the philosophers were mute.
CHAPTER XXV.
518. Why, when we move before a mirror, does the image
draw near to the reflecting surface as we draw near to it, and
retire when we retire ?
Because the lines and angles of reflection are always equal to the
lines and angles of incidence.
519. What is the line of incidence ?
If a person stands in a direct line before a mirror, the line
through which the light travels from him to the mirror is the line
of incidence.
Incidence falling on.
THE BEASON WHY.
121
'Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our
salvation." PSALM LXVIII.
520. What is the line of reflection ?
The line of reflection is the line in which the rays of light are
returned from the image formed in the glass to the eye of the
observer.
Reflection & turning back.
521. What is the angle of incidence?
The angle of incidence is the angle which rays of light, falling on
a reflecting surface, make with a line perpendicular to that surface.
.Reflecting Surface.
Fig. 14. EXPLAINING THE LINES AND ANGLES OF INCIDENCE AKD
OP KEFLECTION.
522. What is the angle of reflection ?
The angle of reflection is the angle which is formed by the
returning rays of light, and a line perpendicular to the reflecting
surface. It is always equivalent to the angle of incidence.
Take a marble and roll it across the floor, so that it shall strike the wainscot
obliquely. Let A in the diagram represent the point from which the marble is
sent. The marble will not return to the hand, nor will it travel to the line B,
but will bound off, or be reflected, GO C. Now B is an imaginary line, perpen-
dicular to the reflecting surface; and it will be found that the path described
by the marble in rolling to the surface and rebounding from it, form, with the
li ne B, two angles that are equal. These represent the angles of incidence and
of reflection, and explain why the reflection of a person standing at A before a
mirror, would be seen by another person standing at C. This simple law iu
optics explains a great many interesting phenomena, and therefore it should be
clearly impressed upon the memory.
6
122 THE EEASON WHY.
'And God made two great lights ; the greater light to rule the day, and the
lesser light to rule the night : he made the stars also." GEN. i.
523. Why do windows reflect the sun in the evening ?
Because the eye of the observer is in the line of the reflection.
524. Why do windows not reflect the sun at noon ?
They do, but our eyes are not then in the line of the reflection.
Window,
# Position of Sun at
evening.
Line of Reflection
at evening.
Line of Reflection
at noon.
l1jr 15 SHOWING THE LINES O* INCIDENCE AND EEFLECTIOK OF THE SUN'S
KAYS AT NOON AND AT EVENING.
It is obvious from the foregoing diagram that the evening rays of reflection
fall upon the eyes of spectators, while the reflections at noon are so
perpendicular that they are lost.
525. Why do the sun and moon appear smaller when near
the meridian, than ivhen near the horizon ?
Because, when near the horizon, they are brought intd
comparison with the sizes of terrestrial objects ; but when neal
the meridian they occupy the centre of a vast field of sky, and as
there are no objects of comparison surrounding them, they appear
smaller.
This is one "Reason "Why," assigned by some observers. But there is also
another reason to be found in the fact that, when the sun or moon is near the
horizon, we view it through a greater depth of atmosphere than we do when at
THE KEASON WHY.
123
1 There is no darkness nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may
hide themselves." JOB xxxiv.
the meridian. (See Fig. 13.) A straight line passed upward through the air,
would not be so long as that which passes to S. Consequently, as the air is
generally impregnated with moisture, at the time when these effects are
observed, the rays of light are caused to diverge more, and the disc of the sun or
moon appears magnified. Probably both of these reasons contribute to the effect.
This latter reason also explains why the disc of the sun or moon may some-
times appear oval in shape, the lower stratum of air being more loaded with
moisture than that through which we view the upper part of the disc.
526. Why do our shadows lengthen as the sun goes down ?
Because light travels only in straight lines, and as the sun
descends, the direction of his rays becomes more oblique, thereby
causing longer shadows.
527. What is the cause of the optical illusions frequently
observed in nature ?
There are various kinds of natural optical illusions :
The mirage, in which landscapes are seen reflected in buniiiig 1
sands.
The fata morgana, in which two or three reflections of objects
occur at the same time.
The aerial spectra, or aerial reflections, &c.
Fig. 16. ILI/TSTRATINCt THE APPEARANCE OF PHANTOM SHIPS.
The optical illusions itbc.ve cr.umoratcd owe their origin to various
124 THE BEASON WHY.
" In the morning ye say, it will be foul weather to-day, for the sky is red and
lowering." MATT. xvi.
atmospheric conditions, in which refractions and reflections are mul-
tiplied by the different densities of atmospheric layers. They chiefly
occur in hot countries, where, from the varying effects of heat, the
conditions of atmospheric refraction and reflection frequently prevail
in their highest degree.
528. Why do we have twilight mornings and evenings ?
Because the coming and the departing rays of the sun are
refracted and reflected by the upper portions of the atmosphere.
(See Fig. 13.)
529. How long before the sun appears above the horizon
does the reflection of his light reach us?
The time varies with the refracting and reflecting power of the
atmosphere, from twenty minutes to sixty minutes. But the sun's
position is usually eighteen degrees below the horizon when twilight
begins or ends.
530. Why is the sky Hue ?
The white light of the sun falls upon the earth without change ;
it is then reflected back by the earth, and as it passes through the
atmosphere portions of it are again returned to us, and this double
reflection produces a polarised condition of light which imparts to
vision the sensation of a delicate blue. (See 549.)
531. Why do the clouds appear white ?
Because they reflect back to us the solar beam unchanged.
532. Why does the slcy appear red at sunset ?
Because the light vapours of the air, which are condensed as the
sun sets, refract the rays of light, and produce red rays. The
refraction which produces red requires only a moderate degree of
density.
533. Why do the clouds sometimes appear yellow ?
Because there is a larger amount of vapour in the air, which
produces a different degree of refraction, resulting in yellow.
534. Why does a yellow sunset foretell wet weather ?
THE SEASON WHY. 125
' When it is evening ye say it will be fair weather, for the sky is red."
MATT. xvi.
Because it shows that the air is heavy with vapours. The
refraction that produces yellow requires a greater degree of density.
535. Why does a red sunset foretell fine weather ?
Because the redness shows that the vapours in the air towards
the West, or wet quarter, are light, as is evidenced by the degree of
refraction of the sun's rays.
536. Why does a red sunrise foretell wet ?
Because it shows that towards the East, or dry quarter, the air
is charged with vapour, and therefore probably at other points the
air has reached saturation.
537. Why does a grey sunrise foretell a dry day ?
Because it shows that the vapours in the air are not very dense.
538. Why is " a rainbow in the morning the shepherd's
warning?"
Because it shows that in the West, or wet quarter, the air is
saturated to the rain point.
539. Why is " a rainbow at night the shepherd's delight ?"
Because it shows that the rain is falling in the East, and as that
is a dry quarter, it will soon be over. Eainbows are always seen
in opposition to the sun.
CHAPTER XXVI.
540. Wliat is the difference between light and heat ?
The most obvious distinction is, that light acts upon vision, and
heat upon sensation, or feeling.
Another distinction is, that heat expands all bodies,&nd. alters their
atomic condition; while light, though usually attended by heat,
does not display the same expansive force, but produces various
effects which are peculiar to itself.
126 THE SEASON WHY.
: Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid."
MATTHEW v.
541. Are light and heat combined in the solar ray ?
Yes. A ray of light, as well as containing elementary rays that
produce colours under refraction, contains also chemical rays, and
heat rays.
542. How do we know that light and heat are separate
elements ?
Because we have heat rays, as from dark hot iron, from various
chemical actions, and from friction, which are unattended by the
development of light. And we have light, or luminosity, such as
that of phosphor 'esence, which is unaccompanied by any appreciable
degree of heat.
But, besides this confirmation, further proof is afforded by the
fact, that in passing rays of solar light through media that are
transparent to heat, but not to light, the heat rays may be
separated from the luminous rays, and vice versa.
Black glass, and black mica, which are nearly opaque to light, are
transparent to heat to the extent of ninety degrees out of a hundred. While
pale green glass, coloured by oxide of copper, and covered with a coating of
water, or a thin coating of alum, will be perfectly transparent to light, but will
be almost quite opaque to heat. These remarks apply, in a greater or less
degree, to various other substances.
543. In what respects are light and heat similar?
Both heat and light have been referred to minute vibratory
motions which occur, under exciting causes, in a very subtile elastic
medium.
They are both united in the sun's rays.
They are both subject to laws of absorption, radiation, reflection,
and refraction.
They are both essential to life, whether animal or vegetable.
Both may be developed in their greatest intensity by
electricity.
They are both imponderable.
544. In what respects are light and heat dissimilar f
Heat frequently exists without light.
Light is usually attended with heat.
Light may be instantly extinguished, but
THE KEASON WHY. 127
When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars
which thou hast ordained :
Heat can only be more gradually reduced, by diffusion.
The solar rays deliver heat to the earth by day, and the heat
remains with the earth when the light has departed.
Heat diffuses itself in all directions.
Light travels only in straight lines.
The colours that absorb and radiate both light and heat do not act
in the same degree upon them both. Black, which does not radiate
light, is a good radiator of heat, &c., &c.
The oxy -hydrogen light emits a most intense heat, but glass
which will transmit the rays of light, will afford no passage to the
rays of the heat.
Heat is latent in all bodies, but no satisfactory proof has been
found that light is latent in substances.
These are only a few of the analogies and distinctions that exist
between the two mysterious agents, light and heat. But they are
sufficient to supply the starting points of investigation.
The importance of the heat that attends the solar rays may be illustrated by
the experiments performed a few years ago, by Mr. Baker, of Fleet-street,
London, who made a large burning lens, three feet and a half in diameter, and
employed another lens to reduce the rays of the first to a focus of half an inch in
diameter. The heat produced was so great that iron plates, gold, and stones were
instantly melted ; and sulphur, pitch, and resinous bodies, were melted under
water.
545. What is the point of heat at which bodies become
luminous ?
The point of heat at which the eye begins to discover luminosity
has been estimated at 1,000 deg.
546. What is the velocity of artificial liglit ?
The light of a fire, or of a candle, or gas, travels with the same
velocity as the light of the sun, a velocity which would convey
light eight times round the world while a person could count " one."
547. A.t ivhat rate of velocity does the liglit of the stars
travel ?
At the same velocity as all other light. And yet there are stars
so distant that, although the light of the sun reaches the earth in
eight minutes and a half, it requires hundreds of years to bring
their light to us.
128 THE SEASON WHY.
What is man, that thou art mindful of him ? and the son of man that thou
visitest him ?" PSALM viu.
548. What is the relative intensity of primary and
reflected light ?
The intensity of a reflection depends upon the power of the
reflecting surface. But, taking the sun and moon as the great
examples of primary and reflected light, the intensity of the sun's
light is 801,072 times greater than that of the moon.
549. What is polarized light ?
Polarized light is light which has been subjected to compound
refraction, and which, after polarization, exhibits a new series of
phenomena, differing materially from those that pertain to the
primary conditijns of light.
550. What are the chief deductions from the phenomena
observed under the polarization of light ?
The polarization of light appears to confirm in a high degree the
vibratory theory of light ; and to show that the vibrations of light
have two planes or directions of motion. The mast of a ship, for
instance, has two motions : it progresses vertically as the ship is
impeded forward, and it rolls laterally through the motion of the
billows.
Something like this occurs in the vibrations of light, only the
vertical vibration is the condition of one ray, and the lateral
vibration is the condition of another ray, and the vibrations of these
two rays intersect each other in the solar ray. When these
vibrations occur together, the ray has certain properties and
powers. But by polarization the rays may be separated, and the
result is two distinct rays, having different vibrations.
It then appears that various bodies are transparent to these
polarized rays only in certain directions. And this fact is
supposed to show that bodies are made up of their atoms arranged
in certain planes, through or between which the lateral or the
vertical waves of light, together or singly, can or cannot pass ; and
that the transparency or the opacity of a body is determined by the
relation of its atomic planes to the planes of the vibrations of
light.
Ordinary light, passing through transparent media, produces no
very remarkable effect in its course j but polarized light appears to
THE EEASON WHY. 129
"A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto
me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash : and I went and washed,
and I received sight." JOHN ix.
illuminate every atom of the permeated substance, and by surround-
ing it with a prismatic clothing, to afford an illustration of its
molecular arrangement.
551. Why are two persons able to see each other ?
Because rays of light flow from their bodies to each other's eyes,
and convey an impression of their respective conditions.
In some popular works that have come under our notice, we find that the
student is told that "we cannot absolutely see each other we only see the rays
of light reflected from each other" The statement is erroneous as expressed.
We do riot see the rays of light, for if we did so, the effect of vision would be
destroyed, and all bodies would appear to be in a state of incandesence, or of
phosphoresence. Rays of light, which are in themselves in-visible, radiate from
the objects we look upon, enter the pupil of the eye, and impress the seat of
vision in a manner which conveys to the mind a knowledge of the form, colour,
and relative size and position of the figure we look upon. If this is not seeing
the object what is? It would be just as reasonable to say, that we cannot
hear a person speak that we only hear the vibrations of the air. But as the
vibrations are imparted to the air by the organs of voice of the speaker,
as he sets the air in motion, and makes the air his messenger to us, we cer-
tainly hear him, and can dispense with any logical myths that confound the
understanding, and contribute to no good result.
552. What is actinism ?
Actinism is the chemical property of light.
Actinism ray power.
553. Why does silver tarnish when exposed to light?
Because of the actinic, or chemical power of the rays of the sun.
554. Why do some colours fade, and others darken, when
exposed to the sun ?
Because of the chemical power of the sun's rays.
555. Why can pictures lie taken ty the sun's rays ?
Because of the actinic powers that accompany the solar light.
556. What is the particular chemical effect of light
exhibited in the production of photographic pictures ?
Simply the darkening of preparations of silver, by tJie aclinic
rays.
557. Why are photographic studios usually glazed with
Hue glass ?
6*
130
THE REASON WHY.
" The hay appeareth, and the tender grass showeth itself, and herbs of the
mountain are gathered." PBOV. xxvil.
Because blue glass obstructs many of the luminous rays, but it
is perfectly transparent to actinism.
558. Why do plants become scorched under the unclouded
sun? & -
Because the heat rays are in excess. The clouds shut off the
scorching light; but, like the blue glass of the photographer's
studio, they transmit actinism.
559. What effect has actinism upon vegetation ?
It quickens the germination of seeds ; and assists in the forma-
tion of the colouring matter of leaves. Seeds and cuttings, which
are required to germinate quickly, will do so under the effect of blue
glass (which is equivalent to saying, the effect of an increased
proportion of actinism), in half the time they would otherwise
require.
560. In what season of the year is the actinic power of
light the greatest ?
In the spring, when the germination of plants demands its
vitalising aid. In summer, when the maturing process advances,
light and heat increase, and actinism relatively declines. In the
autumn, when the ripening period arrives, light and actinism
give way to a greater ratio of heat.
We shall have frequently, in the progress of our lessons, to refer to light in
its connection with the chemistry of nature, and with organic life. But let us
now invite the student to pause, and for a moment contemplate the wonders
of a sunbeam. How great is its velocity how vast its power how varied its
parts yet how ethereal! First, let us contemplate it as a simple beam in
which light and heat are associated. How deep the darkness of the night, and
how that darkness clings to the recesses of the earth. But the day beams, and
darkness flies before it, until every atom that meets the face of day is lit up
with radiance. That which before lay buried in the shade of night is itself now
a radiator of the luminous fluid. Mark the genial warmth that comes as the
sister of light ; then stand by the side of the experimentalist and watch the
point on which he directs the shining focus, and in an instant see iron melt
and stones run like water, under the fervent heat ! Now look upward to the
heavens, where the falling drops of rain have formed a natural prism in the
rainbow, and shown that the beam of pure whiteness, refracted into various
rays, glows with all the tints that adorn the garden of nature. These are the
visible effects of light. But follow it into the crust of the earth, where it is, by
another power, which is neither light nor heat, quickening the seed into life;
watch it as the germ springs up, and the plant puts forth its tende
TJIE REASON WHY. 131
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither nave entered
into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for
them that love him." CORINTH. BOOK i., n.
parts, touching them from day to day with deeper dyes, until the floral
picture is complete. Follow it unto the sea, where it gives prismatic tints to
the anemone, and imparts the richest colours to the various algae. Think of
the millions of pictures that it paints daily upon the eyes of living things. Con-
template the people of a vast city when, attracted by some floating toy in the
air, a million eyes look up to watch its progress. The sun paints a million
images of the same object, and each observer has a perfect picture. It makes
common to all mankind the beauties of nature, and paints as richly for the
peasant as for the king. The Siamese twins were united by a living cord
which joined their systems, and gave unity and sympathy to their sensa-
tions. In the great flood of light that daily bathes the world, we have a bond
of union, giving the like pleasures and inspirations to millions of people at
the same instant. And that which floods the world with beauty, should uo less
be a bond of unity and love.
CHAPTER XXVII.
561. What is electricity ?
Electricity is a property of force which resides in all matter, and
which constantly seeks to establish an equilibrium.
562. Why is it called electricity ?
Because it first revealed itself to human observation through a
substance called, in the Greek language, electrum. This substance
is known to us as amber.
563. In what way did electrum induce attention to this
property of force in matter ?
Thales, a Greek philosopher, observed that, by briskly rubbing
electrum, it acquired the property of attracting light particles o/
matter, which moved towards the amber, and attached themselves
to its surface, evidently under the influence of a force excited in the
amber.
564. What is amber?
It is a resinous substance, hard, bitter, tasteless, and glossy.
It has been variously supposed to be a vegetable gum, a fossile, and
an animal product. It is probably formed by a species of ant that
inhabit pine firests. The bodies of ants are frequently found in
its substance.
t32 THE SEASON WHY.
" He made darkness his secret place : his pavilion round about him were dark
waters and thick clouds of the skies.
565. Why does the rubbing of a stick of sealing-wax cause
it to attract small particles of matter ?
Because it excites in the sealing-wax that force which was first
observed in the amber. Sealing-wax, therefore, is called an electric
(amber-like) body.
566. Why do we hear of the electric -fluid?
Simply because the term fluid is the most convenient that can be
foimd to express our ideas when speaking of the phenomena of
electric force. But of the nature of electricity, except through its
observed effects, nothing is known.
567. What substances are electric ?
All substances in nature, from the metals to the gases. But
they differ very widely in their electrical qualities.
568. What is positive electricity?
Electricity, when it exists, or is excited, in any body, to an
amount which is in excess of the amount natural to that body, is
called positive (called also vitreous}.
569. What is negative electricity ?
Electricity, when it exists, or is excited, in any body, in an
amount which is less than is the amount natural to that body, is
called negative (called also resinous).
570. Why is "positive" electricity called also "vitreous."
and "negative" electricity called also "resinous "?
Because some philosophers believe that there is but one elec-
tricity, but that it is liable to variations of quantity or state,
which they distinguish by positive and negative; while other
philosophers believe that there are two electricities, which they
name vitreous and resinous, because they may be induced
respectively from vitreous and resinous substances, and they dis-
play forces of attraction and repulsion.
571. Upon what do the electrical phenomena of nature,
depend ?
Upon the tendency of electricity to find an equilibrium between
its positive and negative states (assuming there to be but one fluid) ;
THE REASON WHY. 133
The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice ; hail-
stones and coals of fire.
or upon the tendency of vitreous electricity to seek out and combine
with resinous electricity (assuming that there are two fluids),
572. Sow does the equilibrium of electricity become
disturbed ?
By changes in the condition of matter. As electricity resides in
all substances, and is, perhaps, an essential ingredient in their
condition, so every change in the state of matter whether from
heat to cold, or from cold to heat ; from a state of rest to that of
motion ; from the solid to the liquid, or the aeriform condition, or
vice versa ; or whether substances combine chemically and produce
new compounds in every change the electrical equilibrium is
disturbed ; and, in proportion to the degree of disturbance, is the
force exerted by electricity to resume its balance in the scale of
nature.
573. How does electricity seek to regain equilibrium ?
By passing through substances that are favourable to its diffu-
sion ; therefore they are called conducting or non-conducting bodies,
according as they favour or oppose the transmission of the electrical
current.
574. What substances are conductors of electricity ?
Metals, charcoal, animal fluids, water, vegetable bodies, animal
bodies, flame, smoke, vapour, &c.
575. What substances are non-conductors ?
Rust, oils, phosphorous, lime, chalk, caoutchouc, gutta percha,
camphor, marble, porcelain, dry gases and air, feathers, hair, wool,
silk, glass, transparent stones, vitrefactions, wax, amber, &c. These
bodies are also called insulators. Some of these substances, as
chalk, feathers, hair, wool, silk, &c., though non-conductors when
dry, become conductors when wetted.
Insulating preventing from escaping.
576. Why are amber and wax classed among the non^
conductors, token they have been pointed out as electrics, and
used to illustrate electrical force ?
It is because they are non-conductors that they have displayed,
under excitement, the attractive force shown in respect to the
134 THE EEASON WHY.
" Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them ; and he shot out lightnings
and discomfited them." PSALM xvin.
particles of matter which were drawn towards their substances. If
a bar of iron were excited, instead of a stick of wax, electricity
would be equally developed ; but the iron, being a good conductor,
would pass the electricity to the hand of the operator as fast as it
accumulated, and the equilibrium would be undisturbed.
577. What is the effect when electricity, in considerable
force, seeks its equilibrium, but meets with insulating bodies ?
The result is a violent action in which, intense heat and light
are developed, and in the evolution of which the electric force
becomes expended.
578. What is the cause of electric sparks ?
The electric force, passing through a conducting body to find its
equilibrium, is checked in its course by an insulator, and emits a
spark.
579. What produces the electric light?
Currents of electricity pass towards each other along wires at the
ends of which two charcoal points are placed. As long as the char-
coal points remain in contact, the electric communication is complete,
and no light is emitted, but, when they are drawn apart, intense
heat and light are evolved.
FigS. 17 & 18.-SHOWISG THE EFFECT OF THE UNIOX AND THE SEPARATION
OF THE CHARCOAL POINTS.
580. What is the cause of lightning ?
Lightning is the result of electrical discharges from the clouds.
581. What developes electricity in the clouds ?
Evaporations from the surface of the earth; changes of
temperature in the atmospheric vapour ; chemical action upon the
earth's surface; and the friction of volumes of air of different
densities against each other.
THE EEASON WHY. 135
" His lightnings enlightened the world : the earth saw and trembled."
PSAiM XCVII.
582. Why do these phenomena produce electricity?
Because they disturb the equilibrium of the electric force, and
produce positive and negative states of electricity.
583. When does lightning occur ?
When clouds, charged with the opposite electricities approach,
the forces rush to each other, and combine in a state of equilibrium.
584. Why does lightning attend this movement of the
forces of electricity ?
Because the atmosphere, being- unable to convey the great charges
of electricity as they rush towards each other, acts as an insulator,
and lightning is caused by the violence of the electricity inferring
its passage.
585. Does lightning ever occur when the conducting power
is equal to the force of the electricity?
No ; electricity passes invisibly, noiselessly, and harmlessly,
whenever it finds a sufficient source of conduction.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
586. Why does lightning sometimes travel through a " zig-
zag" course?
Because the electricity, being resisted in its progress by the air,
flies from side to side, to find the readiest passage.
587. Why does lightning sometimes appear forked ?
Because, being resisted in its progress by the air, the electricity
divides into two or more points, and seeks a passage in different
directions.
588. Why is lightnmg sometimes like a lurid sheet ?
Because the flash is distant, and therefore we see only the
reflection.
13G THE SEASON WHY.
" He directeth it under the whole heavens, and his lightning unto the ends of
the earth.
589. When is the flash of lightning straight ?
When the distance between the clouds whose electricities are
meeting 1 , is small.
590. What is the cause of the aurora borealis ?
The mingling of the electricities of the higher regions of the
atmosphere.
591. When does the flash of lightning appear Hue?
When the degree of electrical excitement is intense, and general
throughout the atmosphere.
592. Why does lightning sometimes appear red, at others
yellow, and at others white ?
Because of the varying humidity, which affects the refracting
power of the atmosphere.
593. Does lightning ever pass upwards from the earth to
the clouds ?
Yes ; when the earth is charged with a different electricity to
that which is in the clouds.
594. Does lightning ever pass directly from the clouds to
the earth ?
Yes ; when the electricity of the clouds seeks to combine with
the different electricity of the earth.
The mingling of the electricities of the earth and the air must be continuall.v
going on. But lightning does not attend the phenomena, because all natural
bodies, vapours, trees, animals, mountains, houses, rocks, &c.. &c., act more "r
less as conductors between the earth and the air. It is only when there is a
great disturbance of the electrical forces, that terrestrial lightning is developed.
"When lightning strikes the earth with great force, it sometimes produces wlint
are called fulgurites in sandy soils; these are hollow tubes, produced by the
melting of the soil.
595. What is the extent of mechanical force of lightning ?
Lightning has been proved, in one instance, to have struck a
church with a force equal to more than 12,000 horse- power. A
single horse-power, in mechanical calculations, is equivalent to
raising a weight of 32,000 Ibs. one foot in a minute. The force of
THE REASON WHY. 137
1 After it a voice roareth : he thundereth with the voice of his excellency ; and
he will not stay them when his voice is heard." JOB xxxvii.
lightning-, therefore, has been proved to be equal to the raising of
384,000,000 Ibs. one foot in a minute. This is equal to the united
power of twelve of our largest steamers, having collectively 24
engines of 500 horse-power each. The velocity of electricity is so
great that it would travel round the world eight times in a minute.
The church alluded to was St. George's church, Leicester, a new edifice, which
was completely destroyed on the 1st of August, 1846, by a thunderstorm. The
steeple was rent asunder, and massive stones were hurled to a distance of
thirty feet. The vane rod and top part of the spire fell down perpendicularly
a;id carried with it all the floors of the tower. A similar disaster occurred to
St. Bride's church, Fleet-street, London, about 100 years ago. The lightning
first struck upflri the metal vane of the steeple, and then ran down the rod and
attacked the iron -cramps, smashing the large stones that lay between them.
The church was nearly destroyed. By the same wonderful force, ships have
been disabled, trees split asunder, houses thrown down, and animals struck
dead.
596. Why is it dangerous to stand near a tree during an
electric storm ?
Because the tree is a letter conductor than air, and electricity
would probably strike the tree, and then pass to the person stand-
ing near.
597. If trees are good conductors, why do they not convey
the electricity to the ground ?
Trees are only indifferent conductors, and the electricity would
quit the tree to pass through any letter conductor.
598. Why is it dangerous to sit near a jire during an
electric storm ?
Because the chimney, being a tall object, and smoke a good
conductor, would probably attract the electricity, and convey it to
the body of a person sitting near the fire.
599. Why is it dangerous to be near water during an
electric storm ?
Because water is a good conductor, and the vapour arising from
it might attract the electricity. Man, being elevated over the
water, might form the first point attacked by the electricity.
600. Are iron houses dangerous during an electric storm ?
No j they are very safe, because their entire surface is ft good
138 THE SEASON WHY.
" To him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens, which were of old ; lo, he
doth send out his voice, and that a mighty voice." PSALU LXVIII.
conductor, and would convey the electricity harmlessly to the
earth.
601. Why does electricity seize upon bell wires and iron
Because copper wires are the very best conductors of electricity ;
and iron articles are also good conductors.
602. Supposing electricity to attack a bell wire, where
would the point of danger exist ?
At the extremities of the wire, where the conducting power of
the wire would cease, and the electricity would seek to find another
conductor.
603. A.re umbrellas, with steel frames, dangerous in an
electric storm ?
They are dangerous in some degree, because they might convey
electricity to the hand, and then transfer it to the body. But,
generally speaking, when it rains, the rain itself, being a good
conductor, relieves the disturbance of electricity by conveying it to
the ground.
604. Are iron bedsteads dangerous in electric storms ?
No, they are safe, because the iron frame, completely surround-
ing the body, and having a great capacity for conduction, would
keep the electricity away from the body.
605. Why is it safe to be in bed during an electric storm ?
Because feathers, hair, wool, cotton, &c., especially when dry,
are good insulators or non-conductors.
606. What is the safest situation to be in during an
electric storm ?
In the centre of a room, isolated as far as possible from sur-
rounding objects ; sitting on a chair, and avoiding handling any of
the conducting substances. The windows and dours should be
closed, to prevent drafts of air.
607. In the open air, what is the safest situation ?
THE EEASON WHY. 139
God thundereth marvellously with his voice : great things doeth he, which \re
cannot comprehend." JOB xxxvi.
To keep aloof, as far as possible, from elevated structures ; and
regard the rain, though it might saturate our clothes, as a protec-
tion against the lightning stroke, for wet clothes would supply
so good a conductor, that a large amount of electricity would pass
over man's body, through wet garments, and he would be quite
unconscious of it.
During a violent electric storm in the Shetland Islands, a fishing boat was
attacked by the electric fluid, which tore the mast to shivers. A fisherman was
sitting by the side of the mast at the time, but he felt no shock. Upon taking
out his watch, however, he found that the electric current had actually fused
his watch into a mass. In this case, it is more than probable that the man was
saved through the saturation of his clothes with rain.
608. Do lightning conductors " attract" electricity ?
Not unless the electric current lies in their vicinity.
609. Wliy have lightning conductors sometimes been found
ineffective ?
Because they have been unskilfully constructed ; have been too
small in their dimensions, and have not been properly laid to
convey the electricity harmlessly away.
610. W hat is the lest metal for a lightning conductor ?
Copper, the conducting power of which is Jive times greater
than that of iron.
611. Why should a large building have several conductors ?
Because the influence of a conductor over the electricity of the
surrounding air does not extend to more than a radius of double the
height of the conductor above the building : for instance, a
conductor rising ten feet high above the building would influence
the electricity twenty feet all round the conductor.
612. Why should conductors have at their base several
tranches penetrating the earth ?
To facilitate the discharge of the accumulated electricity into
the earth.
613. Why does electricity affect the shapes of clouds ?
Because electricity does not penetrate the masses of bodies, but
affects generally their surfaces. Hence electricity exists in tho
140 THE REASON WHY.
" All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he
lifteth up an ensign on the mountains ; and when he bloweth a
trumpet, hear ye." ISAIAH xvni.
surfaces of clouds, and in its efforts iofind an equilibrium it causes
the clouds to roll in heavy masses, having dark outlines.
The fact that electricity resides in, and is conducted by, the surj 'aces of bodies,
is well established, and should receive due attention in the protective measures
adopted to secure life and property against the effects of lightning. A practical
suggestion that arises out of this fact is, that tubes of copper would form far
more efficient conductors than bars of the same metal. A copper tube, of half
an inch diameter, would conduct nearly double the amount of electricity which
could be conveyed away by a bar of copper of the same diameter. The upper
extremity of the tube should be open obliquely, that the electric current might
be induced to pass over both the inner and outer surfaces.
CHAPTER XXIX.
614. What is thunder?
Thunder is the noise which succeeds the rush of the electrical
fluid through the air.
615. Why does noise follow the commotion caused by elec-
tricity ?
Because, by the violence of the electric force, vast fields of air
are divided ; great volumes of air are rarefied ; and vapours are
condensed, and thrown down as rain. Thunder ig therefore caused
by the vibrations of Ike air, as it collapses, and seeks to restore its
own equilibrium.
616. Why is the thunder-peal sometimes loud and con-
tinuous ?
Because the electrical discharge take place near the hearer, and
therefore the vibrations of the air are heard in their full power.
617. Why is the thunder-peal sometimes broken and
unequal ?
Because the electrical discharge takes place at a considerable
distance, and the vibrations are affected in their course by
mountains and valleys. Because, also, the forked arms of the
THE REASON WHY. 14 1
** Lo, these are parts of his ways ; but how little a portion is heard of him ? but
the thunder of his power who can understand ?" JOB xxv.
lightning strike out in different directions, causing the sounds of
thunder to reach us from varying distances.
618. Why has the thunder-peal sometimes a low grumbling
noise ?
Because the electrical discharges, though violent, take place far
away, and the vibrations of the air become subdued.
619. Why does the thunder-peal sometimes follow imme-
diately after the flash of lightning ?
Because the discharge of electricity takes place near the hearer.
620. Why does the thunder-peal sometimes occur several
seconds after the flash ?
Because the discharge takes place far away, and light travels with
a much greater velocity than sound.
621. Through what distance will the sound of thunder
travel ?
Some twenty or thirty miles, according to the direction of the
wind, and the violence of the peal.
622. Through what distance will the light of lightning
travel ?
The light of lightning, and its reflections, will penetrate through
a distance of from a hundred andjifty to two hundred miles.
623. How may we calculate the distance at which the
electric discharge takes place?
Sound travels at the rate of a quarter of a mile in a second. If,
therefore, the peal of thunder is he-ird four seconds after the flash
of lightning, the discharge took place about a mile off. The pulse
of an adult person beats about once in a second; therefore, guided
by the pulse, any person may calculate the probable distance of tha
storm :
2 beats, | a mile.
3 beats, f of a mile.
4 beats, 1 mile.
142 THE EEASON WHY.
" The clouds poured out water ; the skies sent out a sound ; thine arrows also
went abroad.
5 beats, 1% miles.
6 beats, 1 miles.
7 beats, If miles.
8 beats, 2 miles, &c.
Attention should be paid to the direction and speed of the wind,
and some modifications of the calculation be made accordingly.
Persons between 20 and 40 years of age should count Jive beats of
the pulse to a mile ; under 20, six beats.
624. Why are electric storms more frequent in hot than
in cold weather ?
Because of the greater evaporation, as the effect of heat ; and
also of the effect of heat upon the particles of all bodies.
625. Why do electric storms frequently occur after a
duration of dry weather ?
Because dry air, being a bad conductor, prevents the opposite
electricities from finding their equilibrium.
626. Why is a flash of lightning generally succeeded by
heavy rain ?
Because the electrical discharge destroys the vescicles of the
vapours. If a number of small soap-bubbles floating in the air
were suddenly broken by a violent commotion of the atmosphere,
the thin films of the bubbles would form dmps of water, and fall
like rain.
627. Why is an electrical discharge usually followed by a
gust of wind?
Because the equilibrium of the atmosphere is disturbed by the
heat and velocity of lightning, and the condensation of vapour.
Air, therefore, rushes towards those parts where a degree of vacuity
or rarefaction has been produced.
628. What is a thunderbolt ?
The name thunderbolt is applied to an electrical discharge, when
the lightning appears to be developed with the greatest intensity
around a nucleus, or centre, as though it contained a burning body.
But there is, in reality, no such thing as a thunderbolt.
THE REASON WHY. 143
" The voice of the Lord is upon the waters : the God of glory thundereth ; the
Lord is upon many waters." PSALM xxix.
629. Why do electric storms purify the air?
Because they restore the equilibrium of electricity which is
essential to the salubrity of the atmosphere; they intermix the
gases of the atmosphere, by agitation ; they precipitate the v apours
of the atmosphere, and with the precipitation of vapours, noxious
exhalations are taken to the earth, where they become absorbed ;
they also contribute largely to the formation of ozone, which
imparts to the air corrective and restorative properties.
630. What is ozone ?
Ozone is an atmospheric element recently discovered, and respect-
ing which differences of opinion prevail. It is generally supposed
to be oxygen in a state of great strength, constituting a variety of
form or condition.
631. Why do we know that electricity contributes to the
formation of ozone ?
Because careful observations have established the fact that the
proportion of ozone in the atmosphere is relative to the amount of
electricity.
632. What are the properties of ozone?
It displays an extraordinary power in the neutralisation of putre-
factions, rapidly and thoroughly counteracting noxious exhalations ;
it is the most powerful of all disinfectants.
Schonbien, the discoverer of ozone, inclines to the opinion that it is a new
chemical clement. Whatever it may be, there can be no doubt that it plays an
important part in the economy of nature. Its absence has been marked by
pestilential ravages, as in the cholera visitations ; and to its excess are attributed
epidemics, such as influenza. It was found, during the last visitation of cholera,
that the fumigation of houses with sulphur had a remarkably efficacy in
preventing the spread of the contagion. The combustion of sulphur ozonised
the atmosphere ; the same result occurs through the emission of phosphoric
vapours; ozone is also developed by the electricity evolved by the electrical
machine, and in the greater electrical phenomena of nature. The smell
imparted to the air during an electric storm is identical with that which occurs
in the vicinity of an electrical apparatus it is & fresh and sulphurous odour.
The opinion is gaining ground that the respiration of animals and the combustion
of matter are sources of ozone, and that plants produce it when under the
influence of the direct rays of the sun. It is also believed to be produced by
water, when the sun's rays fall upon it. The most recent opinion respecting
ozone is, that it is electrized oxygen. The subject is of vast importance, and
opens another field of discovery to tho pioneers of scientific truth.
144 THE KEASON WIIY.
1 The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven : the lightnings lightened the
world, the earth trembled and shook." PSALM xxvii.
633. What is magnetism ?
Magnetism is the electricity of the earth, and is characterised
by the circulation of currents of electricity passing through the
earth's surface.
634. What are magnetic bodies ?
Magnetic bodies are those that exhibit phenomena which show
that they are under the influence of terrestrial electricity, and
which indicate the direction of the poles, or extreme points, of
magnetic force.
635. What is Galvanism?
Galvanism is the action of electricity upon animal bodies, and is
so called from the name of its first discoverer, Galvani.
636. What is Voltaic electricity ?
Voltaic electricity is the electricity that is developed during
chemical changes, and is so called after Volta, who enlarged upon
the theory of Galvani.
637. What are the differences between mechanical, or
fractional electricity, Voltaic electricity, Galvanism, and
magnetism ?
functional electricity is electricity suddenly liberated under the
effects of the motion, or the mechanical disturbance of bodies.
Voltaic electricity is a steady flow of an electric current, arising
from the gradual changes of chemical phenomena.
Galvanism, and Voltaism are almost identical, since the latter is
founded upon, and is a development of, the former. But the
term Galvanism is frequently used when speaking of the develop-
ment of electricity in animal bodies.
Magnetism is the electricity of the earth, and is understood tc
imply infixed electricity ofterrestial bodies.
Man knows not what electricity is ; yet, by an attentive observance of its
effects, he avails himself of the power existing in an unknown source, and
produces marvellous results. When the Grecian philosopher, Thales, sat
rubbing a piece of amber, and watching the attraction of small particles of
matter to its surface, he little knew of the mighty power that was then
whispering to him its offer to serve mankind. And when Franklin, with the
THE EEASON WHY. 145
" And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many
waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying Alleluia : for the
Lord God omnipotent reigneth." REV. xix.
aid of a boy's plaything, drew down an electric current from the clouds, and
caught a spark upon the knuckles of his hand, even he little conjectured that
the time was so near when that strange element, which sent its messenger
to him along the string of a kite, would become one of man's most submissive
servants.
So many great results have sprung from the careful observation of the
simplest phenomena, that we should never pass over inattentively the most
trilling thing that offers itself to our examination. Nature, in her revelations,
never seeks to startle mankind. The formation of a rock, and the elaboration of
a truth, are alike the work of ages. It was the simple blackening of silver by the
sun's rays which led to the discovery of the chemical agency of light. It was
the falling of an apple which pointed Newton to the discovery of the laws of
gravitation. It was the force of steam, observed as it issued from beneath the
lid of a kettle, that led to the invention of the steam-engine. And it is said of
Jacquard, that he invented the loom which so materially aided the commerce of
nations, while watching the motions of his wife's fingers, as she plied her
knitting. As great discoveries spring from such small beginnings, who among
us may not be the herald of some great truth the iounder of some world-wide
benefaction ?
That the area of discovery has not perceptibly narrowed its limits, is evident
from the fact that the g-eatest elements in nature are still mysteries to man.
And though it may not be within the power of a finite being to unravel the chain
of wonders that enfold the works of an infinite God, still it is evident, from
the progress which discovery has made, and from the good which discovery has
done, that God does invite and encourage the human mind to contemplate the
workings of Divine power, and to pursue its manifestations in every element,
and in every direction.
The wonderful force of electricity astonishes us all the more when we view it
in contrast with that equally wonderful element, light. We have seen that
light travels with a velocity of 192,000 miles in a second, but that it falls upon
a delicate balance so gently, that it produces no perceptible effect. As far as
we know the nature of electricity, it is even more ethereal than light; yet,
while the ether of light falls harmlessly and imperceptibly even with the
momentum of a flight of ninety-five millions of miles, the ether of electricity,
bursting from a cloud o\\\yfive hundred yards distant, will split massive stones,
level tall towers with the dust, strike majestic trees to the ground, and instantly
extinguish the life of man ! Why does the one ether come divested of all
mechanical force, while that which seems to be even more ethereal than it,
is c-apable of exerting the mightiest force over material things? Does it not
appear that the Creator of the universe has established these paradoxes of
power to testify his Omnipotence to show to man that with Him all things are
possible ; and that, in the grand cosmicism of the universe, every attribute of
Omnipotence has been fulfilled ?
Let us now consider man's relation to this Omnipotence. He sees that
electricity smites the tall edifice, and observes that in doing so it displays a
choice of a certain substance through which it passes harmlessly, and that its
violence is manifested only when its path is interrupted. Man, taking advan-
tage of this preference of electricity for a particular conductor, stretches out
au arm of that substance, and points it upwards to the clouds; electricity
7
146 THE EEASON WHY.
" And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air ; and there came a
great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying,
It is done." REY. xvi.
accepts the invitation, and passes harmlessly to the earth. But this not all :
man learn&by observation that electricity resides in all matter ; that it may bo
collected or dispersed; that it travels along a good conductor at the rate of
half-a-million of miles in a second of time ; he constructs a battery, a kind of
scientific fortress, in which he encamps the great warrior of nature ; and then,
laying down a conducting wire, he liberates the mighty force : but its flight
must be on the path which man has defined, and its journey must cease at the
terminus which man has decreed, where, by a simple contrivance of his ingenuity
(the movements of a magnetic needle) , the electric current is made to deliver
whatever message of importance he desires to convey. Thus, the element
which in an instant might deprive man of life, is subdued by him, and made
the obedient messenger of his will
CHAPTER XXX.
638. What is the atmosphere ?
The atmosphere is the transparent and elastic body of mixed
gases and vapours which envelopes our globe, and which derives its
name from Greek words, signifying- sphere of vapour.
639. To ivhat height does the atmosphere extend?
It is estimated to extend to from forty to fifty miles above the
surface of the earth.
640. Why is it supposed that the atmosphere does not
extend beyond that height?
Because it is found, by experiment and observation, that the air
becomes less dense in proportion to its altitude from the earth's
surface. The gradual decrease of atmospheric density observed in
ascending a mountain, or in a balloon, supplies sufficient data to
enable us to calculate the height at which the atmosphere would
probably altogether cease.
At an altitude of 18,000 feet the air is indicated by the barometer to be only
Juilfas dense as at the surface of the earth. And as the densities of the atmo-
sphere decrease in a geometrical progression, the density will be reduced to one-
fourth at the height of 36,000 feet ; and to one-eighth at 54,000 feet. The effects
of the decreasing density of the atmosphere are, that the intensity of light and
sound are diminished, and the temperature is lowered. Persons who have
reached a very high elevation, state that the sky above them began to assume
the appearance of darkness ; and there can be no doubt that, if it were possible
to reach an altitude of some fifty to sixty miles, there would be perfect black-
THE SEASON WHY. 147
For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven;
To make the weight for the winds." JOB xxvin.
ness, although the sun's rays might be pouring through the darkened space, to
illuminate the atmosphere. Upon the summit of Mont Blanc, the report of a
pistol at a short distance can scarcely be heard. When Gay Lussac reached the
height of 23,000 feet, he breathed with great pain and difficulty, and felt dis-
tressing sensations in his ears, as though they were about to burst. Upon the
high table-lands of Peru, the lips of Dr. Ischudi cracked and burst ; and blood
tiowed from his eyelids.
641. What is the amount of atmospheric pressure at the
earth's surface ?
The pressure of the atmosphere at the earth's surface is fifteen
pounds to every square inch of surface. That is to say, that the
column of air, extending fifty miles over a square inch of the earth,
presses upon that square inch with a weight equal to fifteen
642. Is that the weight of dry or moist air?
That is the weight of air at what is called the point of saturation,
when it is folly charged with watery vapour.
643. What is the proportion of watery vapour in the
atmosphere ?
The proportion constantly varies. Evaporation is not a result of
accident ; it seems an established law that the air shall constantly
absorb vapour until it has reached the maximum that it can hold.
Experiments have been tried, in which dry air has been pressed
upon the surface of water with great force, but no degree of
pressure could prevent the formation of vapour. (See 431.)
644. What is the total amount of atmospheric pressure on
the earth? s surface ?
The total amount of atmospheric pressure on the earth's surface, at
151bs. to the square inch, amounts to 12,042,604,800 ,000,000,0001bs.
This pressure is equal to that of a globe of lead of sixty miles in
diameter.
645. What is the pressure of the atmosphere upon the
human body?
Estimating the surface of man's bddy to be equal to fifteen
square feet, he sustains an atmospheric pressure of 32,4001bs., or
nearly fourteen tons and a-half. The mjre variation of weight,
148 THE EEASON WHY.
' I therefore so run, not as uncertainly ; so fight I, not as one that beateth the
air." CORINTH, ix.
arising out of the changes in the state of the atmosphere, may
amount to as much as a ton and a-half.
646. Why does not man feel this pressure ?
Because the diffusion of air which, surrounding him in every
direction, and acting upon the internal as well as the external
surfaces of his body, and probably surrounding every atom of his
frame, establishes an equilibrium, in which every degree of pressure
counteracts and sustains itself.
647. What is the weight of air relative to that of water ?
A cubic foot of air weighs only 523 grains, a little more than an
ounce ; a cubic foot of water weighs one thousand ounces.
648. What is the greatest height in the atmosphere which
any human being has ever reached ?
M. Gay Lussac, in the year 1804, ascended to the height of
23,000 feet,
649. What is a vacuum ?
A vacuum is a space devoid of matter. The term is generally
applied to those instances in which air is drawn from within an
air-tight vessel.
(550. Is it possible to form a perfect vacuum ?
It is probably impossible to do so, even with the most powerful
instruments some portion of air would remain, but in so thin a
a form that it would be imperceptible.
651. Why does the depression of a pump-handle cause the
water to flow ?
Because the putting down of the handle lifts up the piston with
its valve closed, thereby tending to produce a vacuum ; but the
pressure of the air upon the water not contained in the pump,
forces more water up into the part where a vacuum would
otherwise be formed. Then, when the handle is raised, and the
piston forced downwards, the valve opens, and the water rushes
through.
There is & second valve, below the piston, which closes with thi
-,..
THE REASON WHY. 149
" The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but
canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth : so is every one
that is born of the Spirit." JOHN n., in.
downward movement, to prevent the water from rushing back
again.
652. How high will atmospheric pressure raise water in
the lore of a pump ?
It will raise water to an elevation of thirty feet above its level.
653. Why will it raise water to an elevation of thirty-
feet?
Because a column of water of thirty feet high, nearly balances the
weight of a column of air of equal surface, extending to the whole
height of the atmosphere. When, therefore, water is elevated to the
height of thirty feet, the power of the pump is enfeebled, as the air
and the water balance each oilier. .$>
654. How is water raised to a greater elevation when it is
required ?
By mechanical contrivances, by which the water is forced to a
greater elevation.
655. Why does water run through the lent tube called a
syphon ?
Because the atmospheric pressure upon the water on the outside
of the syphon forces it into the tube as fast as the syphon empties
itself through its longer arm.
656. Why does water run through the longer arm of the
si/phon ?
Because the weight of the water in the longer arm of the syphon
is greater than that in the shorter ; therefore it runs out by its
own gravity. And, as in running out, it creates a tendency
towards, a vacuum, the pressure of the outer air comes into
operation, and forces the water through the tube.
657. Why does water issue from the earth in springs ?
Some springs are caused by natural syphons formed in the
fissures of rocks, which, communicating with bodies of water, are
continually filled by atmospheric pressure, tir.d therefore convey
streams of water to the point where they are set free.
150 THE BEASON WHY.
w Ascribe ye strength unto God : his excellency is over Israel, and his strength
is in the clouds." PSAXM LVIII.
658. Why, if a wine glass is filled with water, and a card
laid upon it, and the whole inverted, will the water remain in
the glass?
Because the pressure of the atmosphere upon the surface of the
card counteracts the weight of the water.
659. What has the card to do toith the experiment ?
It forms a base upon which the water may rest, while the glass
is being inverted ; and it prevents the air from acting upon the
fluidity of the water, and forcing it out of the glass.
660. Why will not leer run out of the tap of a cask until
a spile has been driven in at the top ?
Because the pressure of the air upon the opening of the tap
counteracts the weight of the beer. But when the spile is driven
in, the air enters at the top, and counteracts its own pressure at
the bottom.
661. Why does a cup in a pie become filled with juice ?
Because the heat expands the air, and drives nearly all of it out
of the cup. When the pie is taken out of the oven, and begins to
cool, air cannot get into the cup again, because its edges are
surrounded by juice. A partial vacuum, therefore, exists within
the cup, and the pressure of the external air forces the juice into it.
662. Does the cup prevent the juice from boiling over ?
No. So long as the heat exists, the cup remains empty ; and as
it occupies space, the air is driven out of it, into the pie, it rather
tends to force the juice over the sides of the dish. It is only when
cooling that the juice enters the cup.
663. Wliy can flies walk on the ceiling ?
Because their feet are so formed that they can form a vacuum,
under them ; their bodies are therefore sustained in opposition t<?
gravitation by atmospheric pressure.
664. How did Mr. Sands perform the feat of walking
across the ceiling ?
By having large discs of wet leather attached to his feet, so that
THE SEASON WHY. 151
"And God made a wind to pass over the earth." GENESIS vin.
when they were placed upon a smooth surface, the air was excluded,
and when he allowed his weight to act upon one of the discs, it
formed a hollow cup and a vacuum. By forming a vacuum of only
twelve square inches he gained a pressure of ISOlbs. ; this being
more than his weight he could accomplish the feat with no
other difficulty than that of remaining in an inverted position.
The air was admitted underneath the discs by valves, which were
closed by springs, which being pressed by the heels of the
performer, let in the air, and set the feet free.
665. Why is it difficult to strike limpets from rocks ?
Because they have the means of forming a vacuum under their
shells, and are pressed on to the rocks by the weight of the atmo-
sphere.
666. Why can snails move over plants in an inverted
position ?
Because they form a vacuum with the smooth and moist surfaces
of their bodies, and are supported by atmospheric pressure.
CHAPTER XXXI.
666 . What is wind?
Wind is air in motion. (See 234.)
667. What are the velocities of winds ?
A breeze travels ten feet in a second ; a light gale, sixteen feet in
a second; a stiff gale, twenty -four feet in a second; a violent
squall, thirty -five feet in a second ; storm wind, from forty-three
to fifty -four in a second ; hurricane of the temperate zone, sixty
feet in a second ; hurricane of the torrid zone, one hundred and
twenty to three hundred feet in a second. When wind flies at one
mile an hour, it is scarcely perceptible. When its velocity is one
hundred miles an hour, it tears up trees, and devastates its track.
668. What are trcde winds ?
152 THE SEASON WHY.
" They shall be as the morning clcv A, and as the early dew that passeth away,
as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as
the smoke out of the chimney." HOSEA xni.
Trade winds are vast currents of air, which sweep round tJio
globe over a belt of some 12,000 miles in width.
669. What is the cause oftrale ivinds ?
The air over the tropical regions becomes heated and ascends ; it
then diverges in two high currents, one towards the north, and the
other towards the south pole, where, being cooled, it again descends,
and returns towards the equator to replace the air as it ascends
therefrom. There is, therefore, a constant revolution of vast cur-
rents of air between the tropics and the poles, producing north and
south winds.
670. Why do the trade winds How from east to west,
though, in their origin, their direction is from north to south
and from south to north ?
Because, as the north and south winds blow towards the equator,
they are affected by the revolution of the earth from west to east.
As the two winds from the poles approach the equator, they are
gradually diverted from their northerly and southerly course, to an
easterly direction, by the revolution of the earth.
671. Why is there a prevalence of calms at the equator?
Because, as the north and the south winds move towards the
equator, they drive before them volumes of atmosphere, which,
meeting in opposite directions, resist and counterpoise each other,
and abide in a state of stillness between the north and south-
easterly winds, one on the north and the other on the south of the
equator.
672. What are monsoons ?
Monsoons are periodical winds which blow at a given period of
the year from one quarter of the compass, and in another period of
the year from the opposite quarter of the compass.
673. What is the cause of monsoons ?
Monsoons are caused by changes in the position of the sun.
When the sun is in the southern hemisphere, it produces a north-
east wind, and when it is in the northern hemisphere, a north-west
wind. The north-east monsoon blows from November to March,
THE SEASON WHY. 153
" He shall blow upon them and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take
them away as stubble." ISAIAH XL.
and the south-west monsoon from the end of April to the middle
of October. The region of moonsoons lies a little to the north of
the northern border of the trade wind, and they blow with the
greatest force, and with most regularity, between the eastern coast
of Africa and Hindustan.
674. What determines the character of winds ?
The character of winds is influenced by the condition of the
surfaces over which they blow. Winds blowing over dry and arid
plains and deserts are dry and hot. Winds blowing across snow-
capped mountains and regions of ice are cold. Winds that cross
oceans are wet ; and those that cross extensive continents are dry.
675. What winds are most prevalent in England ?
In England out of a thousand days, north winds prevail in 82 ;
north-east, 111 ; east, 99 ; south-east, 81 ; south, 111 j south-west,
225 ; west, 171 ; north-west, 120.
676. What is the cause of storms?
Storms result from violent commotions of the atmosphere, and
are chiefly the result of extreme changes of temperature.
The magnetic state of the earth, and the electrical state of the
atmosphere, also materially influence the phenomena of sto, ms.
By some persons the theory is entertained that storms result from
various winds rushing info a centre in which the atmosphere has
become extremely condensed. According to this theory, a storm is
a mighty whirlwind.
A. most violent hurricane occurred in 1780, which destroyed Lord Rodney's
fleet, and a vast number of merchant ships. It is said to have killed 9,000
persons in Martinique alone, and 6,000 in St. Lucia. The town of St. Pierre in
Martinique was totally destroyed ; and only fourteen houses in the town of
Kingston, in St. Vincent, were left uninjured.
677. WJiy do the most violent storms occur in and near
the tropics ?
Because there the temperature is very high, and the cold currents
of air rushing towards the equator from the poles, causes great
atmospheric disturbance
678. What are whirlwinds ?
7*
154 THE REASON WHY.
( Out of the south cometh the whirlwind ; and cold out of the north."
JOB xxxvu.
Whirlwinds are produced by violent and contrary currents meeting
and striking upon each other, producing- a circular motion. They
generally occur after long calms, attended by much heat.
Whirlwinds occurring at sea, or over the surface of water, some-
times put the water in motion, and as the wind rises upwards it
lifts with it a whirling mass of water, producing a water spout.
Pig. 19. A WATER SPOUT.
679. Wliy does the chimney smoke when the fire is first
lighted?
Because the air in the chimney is of the same temperature as that
in the room, and therefore will not ascend.
680. Why does the smoking (into the room) cease, after the
fire has been lighted a little while ?
Because the air in the chimney, being warmed by the fire
beneath, becomes lighter and ascends rapidly.
681. Why does a long chimney create a greater draught
than a short one ?
Because the short chimney contains less air than the long one -,
there is, consequently, less difference of weight between the warm
THE REASON WHY. 155
1 And, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace."
GEN. Xix.
air of the short chimney and the external air ; it therefore has not
so great an ascensive power.
682. Why does smoke issue in folds and curls ?
Because it is pressed upon by the cold air which always rushes
towards a rarer atmosphere. It thus illustrates the development
of storms.
683. Why do some chimneys smoke when the doors and
windoivs are closed?
Because the draught of air is not sufficient to supply the wants
of the fire, and enable it to create an upward current.
684. Wliat is the best method of conveying air to fires ?
Tubes builc in the walls, communicating with the outer air, and
terminating underneath the grates.
685. Why is this the lest method of ventilation ?
Because doors and windows may then be made air-tight, and
draughts across rooms be prevented.
686. Why do chimneys that stand under elevated objects,
such as hills, trees, and high buildings, smoke ?
Because the wind, striking against the elevated object, flies
back, and a part of it rushes downward.
687. Why do sooty chimneys smoke ?
Because the accumulation of the soot diminishes the size of the
flue, and lessens the ascensive power of the draught, by reducing
the quantity vtwarm. air. It also obstructs the motion of the air,
by the roughness of its surface.
688. Why do chimneys smoke in damp and gusty weather ?
Because the ascending air is suddenly chilled by gusts of damp
and cold air, and driven down the chimney.
156 THE EEASON WHY.
' Remember that thou magnify his work, which men behold. Every man may
see it ; mau may behold it afar off." JOB xxxvi.
689. Why does- smoke ascend in a straight line in mild
andjine weather ?
Because the air is still, and being dry and warm it does not chill
the smoke, nor drive it out of its course.
600. Why do the wings of wind-mills turn round?
Because the wind, striking at an angle upon the wings, forces
them aside ; and as there are four wings all upon the same angle,
and fixed upon the same centre, the oblique pressure of the wind
causes the centre to rotate.
There is a world of miniature phenomena which has never been fully recog-
nised, in which we may see the mightier works of nature pleasingly and truth-
fully illustrated.
When the wind blows into the corner of a street, and whirling around, catches
straw, dust, and feathers in its arms, and then wheels away, flinging the
troubled atoms in all directions, it is a miniature of the mightier whirlwind,
which wrecks ships, uproots trees, and levels houses with the earth.
When a cloud of dust, on a hot summer's day, rises and flies along the thirsty
road, making the passenger close his eyelids, and dusting the leaves of wayside
vegetation, it is a miniature of the terrible simoom, which blows from the
desert sands, scattering death and devastation in its track.
When steam issues from the tea-urn, and becomes condensed in minute drops
upon the window-pane, the miniature is of the earth's heat, evaporating the
waters, and the cold air of night condensing the vapours into dew.
When grass and corn bend before the wind, and are beaten down by its force ;
when the pond forgets its calm, and rises in troubled waves, casting the flotilla
of natural boats that move upon its surface, in rude disorder upon its wii.dward
shore, the little storm is but a miniature of those great hurricanes which
wrecked a fleet in the Black Sea, and levelled the encampments of a mighty
army.
When the snow that has gathered upon the house-top, warming beneath the
smr.es of the sun, slips from its bed, and drops in accumulated heaps from the
roof, it is a miniature of those terrible avalanches which in the Pyrenees bury
villages in their icy pall, and doom mau and beast to death.
When the rivulet hurries on its course, and meeting with obstructions, leaps
over them in mimic wrath, overturning some little raft upon which, perchance,
a weary fly has alighted, it is a miniature of .those rapids on whose banks the
hippopotamus and the alligator yet live ; and where, though rarely, man may be
seen directing his raft over the troubled current, amid the rush of debris from
forests unexplored.
And when, in a basin of the rivulet, two opposing currents meet, and form a
little vortex into which insect life and vegetable fragments coming within the
THE BEASON WHY. 157
1 Can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, or the uoise of his
tabernacle ?" JOB xxxvi.
sphere of its influence are drawn, it is a miniature of the roaring whirlpool,
or the wilder maelstrom of the Norwegian seas.
Nature rehearses all her parts in mild whispers ; and for every picture that
she paints, she places a first study upon the canvas. Man need not go into the
heart of her terrors to understand their laws. Many an unknown Humboldt,
sitting by the river's side, may rejoice in the " aspects of nature," and share the
bliss of knowledge with the great philosopher.
CHAPTER XXXII.
691. W hat is a barometer ?
A barometer is an instrument which indicates the pressure of
the atmosphere, and which takes its name from two Greek words
signifying measurer of weight.
692. Why does a barometer indicate the pressure of the
atmosphere ?
Because it consists of a tube containing quicksilver , closed at one
cud and open at the other, so that the pressure of the air upon the
open end balances the weight of the column of mercury (quick-
silver;, and when the pressure of the air upon the open surface of
the mercury increases or decreases, the mercury rises or falls in
response thereto.
693. Why is a barometer called also a " weather-glass ?"
Because changes in the weather are generally preceded by altera-
tions in the atmospheric pressure. But we cannot perceive those
changes as they gradually occur; the alteration in the height of the
oolumn of mercury, therefore, enables us to know that atmospheric
changes are taking place, and, by observation, we are enabled to
determine certain rules by which the state of the weather may le
foretold with considerable probability.
694. Why are barometers constructed with circular dials,
and an index to denote changes ?
Because that is a convenient mechanical arrangement, by which
158
THE REASON WHY.
" Fair weather cometh out of the north : with God is terrible majesty."
JOB xxxvu.
the alterations of the relative pressures of the air and the mercury
;u-f more clearly denoted than ty an inspection of the mercury
its, If.
Fifc. 20. BAROMETER.
Fig. 21. TTTBE OF BAROMETER,
WHEEL, AND PULLET.
635. Why does the hand of the weather dial change its
position when the column of mercury rises or falls ?
Because a weight, which floats upon the open surface of the
mercury, is attached to a string, having a nearly equal weight at
the other extremity ; the string is laid over a revolving pivot to
which the hand is fixed, and the friction of the string turns the
hand, as the mercury rises or falls.
THE BEASON WI1Y. 159
" Thou visi test the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly en richest it with the
river of God, which is full of water : thou preparest them corn, when
thou hast so provided for it." PSAUM; LXV.
096. Why does tapping the face of the barometer sometimes
cause the hand to move ?
Because the weight on the surface of the mercury frequently
leans against the sides of the tube, and does not move freely.
And, also, the mercury clings to the sides of the tube by capillary
attraction; therefore, tapping on the face of the barometer sets the
weight free, and overcomes the attraction which impedes the rise or
fall of the mercury.
Fig. 21 illustrates the mechanism at the back of the barometer. A is a
glass tube ; between A and E there exists a vacuum, caused by the weight of the
mercury pressing downwards. This space being a vacuum, makes the
barometrical column more sensitive, as there is no internal force to resist or
modify the effects of the external pressure. E represents the height of the
column of mercury ; C the open end of the tube ; F the weight resting on the
surface of the mercury ; P the pivot over which the string passes, and upon
which the hand turns : "W the weight which forms the pulley with the weight F.
697. Which is the heavier, dry or vaporised air ?
Dry air is heavier than air impregnated with vapours.
698. Why is dry air heavier than moist air ?
Because of the extreme tenuity of watery $ a/pours, the density
of which is less than that of atmospheric air.
699. Why does the fall of the barometer denote the approach
of rain ?
Because it shows that as the air cannot support the full weight
of the column of mercury, the atmosphere must be thin with watery
vapours.
The fall of the mercury in the long arm of the tube would cause the weight F
to be pressed upwards. This would release the string to which the weight \V
is attached ; it would, therefore, fall, and turn the hand down to Rain, or Much
Rain.
700. Why does the rise of the barometer denote the approach
of fine weather ?
Because the external air becoming dense, and free from highly
elastic vapours, presses with increased force upon the mercury upon
which the weight F floats ; that weight, therefore, sinks in the
short tube as the mercury rises in the long one, and in sinking
turns the hand to Change, Fair, &c.
160
M He caused an east wind to blow in the heaven ; and by his power he brought
in the south wind." PSALM xxxvur.
701. Why does the barometer enable us to calculate the
height of mountains ?
Because, as the barometer is carried up a mountain, there is a
less depth of atmosphere above to press upon the mercury ; it
therefore fulls, and by comparing various observations, it has been
found practicable to calculate the height of mountains by the
fall of the mercury in a barometer.
7u2. To ivhat extent of variation is the weight of the
atmosphere liable ?
It may vary as much as a pound and a half to the square
inch at the level of the sea.
703. When does the barometer stand highest ?
When there is a duration of frost, or when north-easterly winds
prevail.
704. Why does the barometer stand highest at these times ?
Because the atmosphere is exceedingly dry and dense, and fully
balances the weight of the column of mercury.
705. When does the barometer stand lowest ?
When a thaw follows a long frost ; or when south-west winds
prevail.
706. Why does the barometer stand lowest at those times ?
Because much moisture exists in the air, by which it is rendered
less dense and heavy.
' 707. What effect has heat upon the barometer ?
It causes the mercury to fall, by evaporating moisture into the
air.
708. What effect has cold upon the barometer ?
It causes the mercury to rise, by checking evaporation, and
increasing the density of the air.
In noting barometrical indications, more attention should be paid to tho
tendency of the mercury at the time of the observation, than to the actual
state of the column, whether it stands high or low. The following nUes of
barometic eading are given as generally accurate, but liable to exceptions :
THE EEASON WHY. 161
1 For so the Lord said unto me, I will take my rest, and I will consider in my
dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew
in the heat of harvest." ISAIAH xvm.
Fair weather indicated by the rise of the mercury.
Foul weatlier by the fall of the mercury.
Thunder, indicated by the fall of th<> mercury in sultry weather.
Cold, indicated by the rise of the mercury in spring, autumn, and winter.
Heat, by ihefall of the mercury in summer and autumn.
Frost, indicated by the rise of the mercury in winter.
Thaw, by the fall of the mercury during a frost.
Continued bad weather, when the fall of the mercury has been gradual
through several fine days.
Continued fine weather, when the rise of the mercury has been gradual
through several foui days.
Bad weather of short duration, when it sets in quickly.
Fine weather of short duration, when it sets in quickly.
Changeable weather, when an extreme change has suddenly set in.
Wind, indicated by a rapid rise or fall unattended by acliange of temperature.
The mercury rising, and the air becoming cooler, promises fine weather ; but
the mercury rising, and the air becoming warmer, the weather will be
changeable.
If the top of the column of mercury appears convex, or curved upwards, it is
an additional proof that the mercury is rising. Expect fine weather.
If the top of the column is concave, or curved downwards, it is an additional
proof that the mercury is falling. Expect bad weather.
CHAPTER XXXIII
709. What is the thermometer ?
The thermometer is an instrument in which mercury is employed
to indicate degrees of heat. Its name is derived from two Greek
words, meaning heat measurer.
710. Why does mercury indicate degrees of heat?
Because it expands readily with heat, and contracts with cold ;
and as it passes freely through small tubes, it is the most convenient
medium for indicating changes of temperature.
711. Why are there Reaumur's Thermometers and Fahren-
heit's Thermometers ?
Because their inventors, after whom they are named, adopted a
different system of notation, or thermometrical marlcs ; and as
their thermometers have been adopted by various countries and
authors, it is now diLcw.. 1 dispense with either of them.
162
THE EEASON WHY.
When ye see a cloud rise out of the west straightway ye say, There cometh a
shower ; and so it is. And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say
there will be heat ; and it cometh to pass." LUKE xui.
THERMOMETER.
Reaumtir. Fahrenheit.
Fig. 22. THE THERMOMETERS OP
REAUMUR AND FAHRENHEIT
COMPARED.
We have combined the two (see Fig. 22.)
The diagram will, we have no doubt, prove
exceedingly useful to scientific readers
and experimentalists. There is also
another system of notation, adopted by
the French, called the centigrade, but it
is not much referred to in Great Britain.
In the centigrade thermometer zero is
the freezing point, and 100 the boiling
point. Fahrenheit's scale is generally
preferred. Reaumur's is mostly used in
Germany. Of Fahrenheit's scale 32 is the
freezing point, 55 is moderate heat, 76
summer heat in Great Britain, 98 is blood
heat, and 212 is the boiling point. Mr.
Wedgwood has invented a thermometer
for testing high temperatures, each degree
of which answers to 130 degrees of Fahren-
heit. According to his scale cast iron
melts at 2,786 deg. ; fine gold at 2,016 deg. ;
fine silver 1,873 deg. ; brass melts at 1,8C9
deg. ; red heat is visible by day at 980 deg. ;
lead melts 61 2 dog. ; bismuth melts 476 deg. ;
tin melts 442 deg. ; and there is a curious
facj with regard to the three metals, lead,
bismuth, and tin, that if they are mixed
in the proportions of 5, 8, and 3 parts
respectively, the mixture (after previous
fusion) will melt at a heat below that of
boiling water.
712. What is the difference
between the thermometer and the
barometer ?
In the thermometer the column
of mercury is much smaller than in
the barometer, and is sealed from
the air ; while in the barometer the
column of mercury is open at one
end to atmospheric influence.
713. Why does the mercury
in the thermometer, leing sealed
up, indicate the external tem-
perature ?
THE REASON WHY. 163
" Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound : they shall walk, O Lord, in
the light of thy countenance." PSALM LXXXIX.
Because the heat passes through the glass, in which the mercury
is enclosed, and expanding or contracting the metal within the
bulb, causes the small column above it to rise or fall.
714. When does the thermometer vary most in its indi-
cation of natural temperature ?
It varies more in the winter than in the summer season.
715. Why does it vary more in the winter than in the
summer ?
Because the temperature of our climate differs more from the
temperature of the torrid zones in the winter than it does in the
summer, and the inequalities of temperature cause frequent
changes in the degree of prevailing heat.
The same remarks (714, 715,) apply to the barometer.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
716. What is sound ?
Sound is an impression produced upon the ear by vibrations of
the air.
717. What causes the air to vibrate and produce sounds ?
The atoms of elastic bodies being caused to vibrate by the appli -
cation of some kind of force, the vibrations of those atoms are
imparted to the air, and sound is produced.
718. TTow do we know that sounds are produced by the
vibrations of the air, induced by the vibrations of the atoms of
bodies ?
If we take a tuning fork, and hold it to the ear, we hear no sound.
If we move it rapidly through the air, or if we blow upon it, it pro-
duces no sound ; but if we strike it, a sound immediately occurs ;
the vibration of the fork may be seen, and felt by the hand that holds
it ; and as those vibrations cease, the sound dies away.
719. How do we know that without air thr*e would be no
sound ?
164 THE EEASON WHY.
"And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they
give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is
piped or harped." COEINTH. xiv.
Because if a tuning fork were to be struck in a vacuum (as under
the receiver of an air pump) -no sound would be heard, although
the vibrations of the fork could be distinctly seen.
720. How are the vibrations of sonorous bodies imparted to
the air ?
When a bell is struck, the force of the blow gives an instant
agitation to all its particles. The air around the bell is driven back
by the impulse of the force, and thus a vibration of compression is
imparted to the air ; but the air returns to the bell, by its own
natural elasticity, thus producing a vibration of expansion when it
is again struck, and thus successive vibrations of compression and
expansion are transmitted through the air.
721. How rapidly are these vibrations transmitted through
the air ?
They travel at a rate of rather more than a quarter of a mile in
a second, or twelve miles and three-fourths in a minute.
722. Do all sounds travel at the same rate ?
All sounds, whether strong or weak, high or low, musical or
discordant, travel with the same velocity.
723. WTiy are bells and glasses stopped from ringing by
touching them with the finger ?
Because the contact of the finger stops the vibration of the atoms
of the metal and glass, which therefore cease to impart vibrations
to the air.
724. Why does a cracked bell give discordant sounds ?
Because the connection between the atoms of the bell being
broken, their vibrations are not uniform : some of the atoms vibrate
more intensely than the others ; the vibrations imparted to the air
are therefore jarring and discordant.
725. WTiy, when we see a gun fired at a distance, do we see
the flash and smoke, before we hear the report ?
Because light, which enables us to see, travels at the velocity of
THE EEASON W11V. 165
' My heart maketh a noise in me : I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast
heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war." JEE. iv.
192,000 miles in a second; while sound,by which we hear, travels
only at the rate of a quarter of a mile in a second.
726. Why does the tread of soldiers, when marching in
long ranks, appear to be irregular ?
Because the sounds proceeding frond different distances, reach
our ears in varying periods of time.
727. What are the numbers of vibrations in a second
that produce the various musical sounds ?
C or Do, 480 vibrations in a second ; B or Si, 450 vibrations ; A
or La, 400 vibrations ; G or Sol, 360 vibrations ; F or Pa, 320
vibrations ; E or Mi, 300 vibrations ; D or Re, 270 vibrations ; C or
Do, 240 vibrations. It is thus seen that the more rapid the
vibrations, the higher the note, and vice versa.
728. Why does the length of a wire or string determine
the sound that it produces ?
Because the shorter the string the more rapid are its vibrations
when struck.
729. Why does the tension of a wire or string affect its
vibrations ?
Because when the string or wire is tight, a touch communicates
vibrations to all its particles ; but when it is loose the vibrations
are imperfectly communicated.
730. Why are some notes low and solemn, and others high
and quick ?
Because the vibrations of musical strings vary from 32 vibrations
in a second, which produces a soft and deep bass, to 15,00(>
vibrations in a second, which produces the sharpest treble note.
731. Why can our voices le heard at a greater distance
when we speak through tubes ?
Because the vibrations are confined to the air within the tube,
and are not interfered with by other vibrations or movements in
the air ; the tube itself is also a good conductor of sound.
166 THE KKASON WIIY.
" And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease ; and the sound of thy harps
shall no more be heard." EZEKIEL xxvi.
732. Is air a good conductor of sound ?
Air is a good conductor, but water is a better conductor than
air ; wood, metals, the earth, &c., are also good conductors.
733. Why can we hear sounds at a greater distance on
water than on land ?
For various reasons : because the smooth surface of water is a
good conductor; because there are fewer noises, or counter
vibrations, to interfere with the transmission of sound ; and because
there are no elevated objects to impede the progress of the
vibrations.
734. Why do sea-shells give a murmuring noise when held
to the ear ?
Because what may be called expended vibrations always exist in
air where various sounds are occurring. These tremblings of the
air are received upon the thin covering of the shell, and thus being
collected into a focus, are transmitted to the ear.
735. Why can people in the arctic regions converse when
more than a mile apart ?
Because there the air, being cold and dense, is a very good
conductor ; and tlie smooth surface of the ice also favours the
transmission of sound.
736. Why do savages lay their heads upon the earth to hear
the sounds ofivild beasts, fyc. ?
Because the earth is a good conductor of sound. For this reason,
also, persons working under ground in mines, can hear each other
digging at considerable distances.
737. Why can church clocks be heard striking much more
clearly at some times than at others ?
Because the dens'ty of dry air improves the sound-conducting
power of the atmosphere. The transmission of sounds is also
assisted by the direction of the winds.
738. Why may the scratching of a pin at one extremity of
THE REASON WHY. 167
The morniug is come unto thee, O thou that dwellest in the land : the time is
come, the day of trouble is near, and not the sounding again of
the mountains." EZEKIEL vil.
a long pole be heard by applying the ear to the opposite
extremity ?
Because wood is a good conductor of sound, and its atoms are
susceptible of considerable vibration. It is, therefore, chosen in
numerous instances for the construction of musical instruments.
Deaf persons have been known to derive pleasure from music by placing their
hands upon the wood- work of musical instruments while being played upon.
739. Why is the hearing of deaf persons assisted by ear-
trumpets ?
Because ear-trumpets collect the vibrations of the air into a focus,
and make the sounds produced thereby more intense.
740. Why are sounding-boards used to improve the hearing
of congregations ?
Because, being suspended over, and a little behind, the speaker,
they collect the vibrations of the air, and reflect them towards the
congregation.
741. What are echoes ?
Echoes are sounds reflected by the objects on which they strike.
742. Why do some echoes occur immediately after a
sound ?
Because the reflecting surface is very near ; therefore the sound
returns immediately.
743. Why do some echoes occur a considerable time after
a sound ?
Because they are at a considerable distance, and the sound takes
time to travel to it, and an equal time to return.
744. Why do some echoes change the tone and quality of
sound?
Because the reflecting surface, having vibratory qualities of its
own, mingles Us own vibrations with that of the. sound.
745. Wliy are there sometimes several echoes to one
sound ?
168 THE SEASON WHY.
And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one
place, and let the dry land appear : and it was so." GEK. I.
Because there are various reflecting surfaces, at different
distances, each of which returns an echo.
746. Are sounds reflected only by distant objects ?
Sounds are doubtless reflected by walls and ceilings around
us. But we do not perceive the echoes, because they are so near
that they occur at the same moment with the sound. In lofty
buildings, however, there is frequently a double sound, making the
utterance of a speaker indistinct. This arises from the echo follow-
ing very closely upon the sound.
747. Why, when we are walking under an arch-way or a
tunnel, do our voices appear louder ?
Because the sounds of our voices are immediately reflected. And
as a gas reflector increases the intensity of light, so a sound
reflector will increase the apparent strength of our voices.
There are many places where remarkable echoes occur. On the banks of the
.Rhine, at Lurley, if the weather be favourable, the report of a rifle, or the sound
of a trumpet, will be repeated at different periods, and with various degrees of
strength, from crag to crag, on opposite sides of the river alternately. A similar
effect is heard in the neighbourhood of some of the Lochs in Scotland. There
is a place at Woodstock, in Gloucestershire, which is said to echo a sound fifty
times. Near Rosneath, a few miles from Glasgow, there is a spot where, if a
person plays abar of music upon a bugle, the notes will be repeated by an echo,
but a third lower; after a short pause, another echo is "heard, again in a lower
tone ; then follows another pause, and a third repetition follows in a still lower
key. The effect is very enchanting. The whispering galleries of St. Paul's, of
the cathedral church of Gloucester, and of the Observatory of Paris, owe their
curious effects to those laws of the reflection of sound, by which echoes are pro-
duced ; but in these cases the effect is assisted by the elliptical form of the
edifice, each person being in the focus of an ellipse.
CHAPTER XXXV.
748. What is water ?
Water is a fluid composed of two volumes of hydrogen to one of
oxygen, or eight parts by weight of oxygen to one of hydrnge-n.
It is nearly colourless and transparent.
749. Why, if a saucer of water be exposed to the air, will
it gradually disappear ?
THE EEASON WHY.
" Behold there arisjeth a little cloud from the sea, of the bigness of a man's
hand. And it came to pass in the meantime, that the heaven was black
with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain." 1 KINGS xviu.
Because water is highly expansive, and rises in thin vapour,
when in contact with warm and dry air.
750. Why does steam issue from the spout of a kettle ?
Because the heat of the fire passes into the water, and drives
its atoms apart, making- those of them that rise quickly to
the surface lighter than the air, upon which they consequently
rise.
751. Why does water become solid -when it freezes ?
Because the latent heat of the water passes away from be-
tween its atoms into the air ; the acorns, therefore, draw closer
together.
752. Why, if the atoms of water draw closer together when
freezing, does ice expand, and occupy greater space than
water ?
Because, when the atoms of water are congealing, they do not
form a compact mass, but arrange themselves in groups of crystal
points, which occupy greater space. Water contracts when
freezing until it sinks to 40 deg., and then it expands as ice is
formed.
32 deg. is said to be the freezing point, but it should be called the frozen
point.
753. Wliy does water boil ?
Because heat, entering into the lower portions of the water,
expands it ; the heated portions are then specifically lighter than
those that are cooler ; the hot water therefore rises upward, and
forces the cooler water down.
754. What proportion of the earth's surface is covered
with water ?
There are about one hundred and forty seven millions of square
miles of water, to forty -nine and a half millions of square miles of
land.
755. What is the amount of water pressure ? $ .
The pressure of the sea, at the depth of 1,100 yards, is equal to
15,000 Ibs. to the square inch.
8
170
THE REASON WHY.
"But the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and
drinketh water of the rain of heaven." DETJT. xi.
756. What element is tlie most abundant in nature ?
Oxygen, which forms so large a part of water. Of animal
substances, oxygen forms three-fourths ; of vegetable substances it
forms four-fifths ; of mineral substances it forms one-half; it
forms eight-ninths of the waters and one-fifth of the atmosphere ;
and aggregating the whole creation, from one- half to two-thirds
consists of oxygen.
757. In what ways does man use oxygen ?
Man eats, drinks, breathes, and burns it, in various proportions
and combinations. It is estimated that the human race consume in
those various ways l,000,000,0001bs. daily; that the lower animals
consume double that amount ; and that, in the varied works of
nature, no less than 8,000,000,0001bs. of oxygen are used daily.
758. Why does water dissolve various substances ?
Because the atoms of water are very minute ; they therefore 1
permeate the pores, or spaces, between the atoms of those bodies,
and overcoming their attraction Jor each other, cause them to
separate.
759. Why does hot water dissolve substances more readily
than cold ?
Because the heat assists to repel the particles of the substance
undergoing solution, and gives the water a freer passage between
the atoms.
760. Why is pump water sometimes hard ?
Because, in passing through the earth, it has become impregnated
with mineral matters, usually the sulphate and carbonate of lime.
761. Why is rain water soft ?
Because it is derived from vapours which, in ascending to the
clouds, could not bear up the mineral waters with them. It
therefore became purified or distilled.
" 762. Why do kettles become encrusted with stony de-
posits ?
Because that portion of the water which is driven off in steam
THE REASON WHY. 171
" He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap ; he layeth up the
depth in storehouses." PSALM xxxm.
leaves the mineral matters behind ; they therefore form a crust
around the sides of the kettle.
It is said that if a child's marble be placed in a kettle, it \pill attract the
earthy particles, and prevent the encrusting of the sides of the vessel.
763. Why is it difficult to wash, in hard water ?
Because the soap unites with the mineral matters in the water,
and being neutralised, thereby, cannot dissolve the dirt which we
desire to cleanse away.
764. Why is the sea milt ?
Because salt is a mineral which prevails largely in the earth, and
which, being very soluble in water, is taken up by the ocean.
Lakes and rivers, also, even those that are considered fresh, hold
in solution some degree of saline matters, which they contribute to
the ocean.
As, in the evaporations from the sea, the salt remains in it, while
the vapours fall as rain, and again wash the earth and carry some
of its mineral properties to the ocean, the greater saltncss of the
sea, as compared with rivers, is accounted for.
By some persons the opinion is entertained that the sea has been
gradually getting salter ever since the creation of the world. This,
they say, arises from the evaporatiou of water free from salt, and the
returns of the water to the sea, taking with it salt from the land.
765. What is the estimated amount of salt in the sea ?
The amount of common salt in the various oceans is estimated at
3,051,342 cubic geographical miles, or about five times more than
the mass of the mountains of the Alps.
766. What is the depth of the sea ?
The extreme depth has not, probably, been ascertained. But Sir
James Ross took soundings about 900 miles west of St. Helena,
whence he found the sea to be nearly six miles in depth. Now, if
we take the height of the highest mountain to be five miles, the
distance from that extreme rise of the earth, to the known depth of
the sea, will be no less than eleven miles.
767. Why are the waters of some springs impregnated
ivith mineral matters ?
172 THE EEASON WHY.
"Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out
heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust ot the earth in a measure
and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance ?" ISAIAH XL.
Because the water passes through beds of soda, lime, magnesia,
carbonic acid, oxides of iron, sulphate of iron, &c., &c., and takes up
in some slight degree the particles of those minerals, according to
the proportions in which they abound.
768. W Jiy does iron rust rapidly when wetted ?
Because the water contains a large proportion of oxygen, some
of which combines with the iron and forms an oxide of iron, which
is rust.
769. Why does stagnant water become putrid ?
Because the large amount of oxygen which it contains accelerates
the decomposition of dead animal and vegetable substances that
accumulate in it.
770. Is there danger in drinking water on account of the
living animalcules which it contains ?
No danger arises from the living creatures in water ; but
putrefactive matters may produce serious diseases.
771. What is the best method of guarding against im-
purities ?
By obtaining water from the purest sources, and by filtering
it before drinking, by which nearly all extraneous matters would be
separated from it.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
772. What is attraction ?
Attraction is the tendency of bodies to draw near to each other.
It is called attraction, from two Latin words signifying drawing
towards.
773. Sow many kinds of attraction are there ?
There are five principal kinds of attraction :
1. The attraction of gravitation.
2. The attraction of cohesion.
8. The attraction of chemical affinity.
THE KEASON WHY. 173
* Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small
dust of the balance : behold, he taketh up the isles as a
very little thing." ISAIAH XL.
4. The attraction of electricity.
5. And capillary attraction.
774. Why do all bodies heavier than the air fall to ths
earth ?
Because they are influenced by the attraction of gravitation, by
which all bodies are drawn towards the centre of the earth.
775. Why do bodies lighter than the air ascend?
Because the air, being a denser body, obeys the law of attraction,
and in doing so displaces lighter bodies that interfere with its
gravitation.
776. Why do fragments of tea, and bubbles floating
upon the surface of tea, draw towards each other, and attach
themselves to the sides of the cup.
Because they are influenced by the attraction of cohesion.
Cohesion. The act of sticking together.
777. Why will a drop of water upon the blade of a knife
leave a dark spot ?
Because the iron of the Tcnife attracts the oxygen of the water, by
chemical affinity ; and the two substances form a thin coating of
oxide of iron.
Affinity, Attraction between dissimilar particles through which they form
new compounds.
778. Why do clouds sometimes move towards each other
from opposite directions ? and
779. Why do light particles of matter attach themselves
to sealing wax, excited by friction ?
Because they are moved by the attraction of electricity .
780. Why will a towel, the corner of which is dipped ii*
water, become wet far above the water ?
Because the water is conveyed up through the towel, by
capillary attraction. The atoms of the water are attracted by the
threads of the towel, and drawn up into the small spaces between
the threads.
Capillary. Resembling a hair, small in diameter.
J74 THE BKA30N WHY.
" He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon
nothing." JOB xxvi.
781. Why do small bodies floating upon water move
towards larger ones ?
Because the attractive power of a large body is greater than that
of a small one. As each atom of matter has inherent power of
attraction, it follows that a large aggregation of particles must
attract in proportion to the number of those particles.
782. Why do clouds gather around mountain tops ?
Because they are attracted by the mountains.
783. Why would a piece of lead tied to a string, and
let .down from a church steeple, incline a little from the
perpendicular towards the church ?
Because the masses of stone of which the church is built would
attract the lead.
784. How can man weigh the earth ?
By observing what is called the deflection of small bodies when
"brought within given distances of larger bodies, the degree of
attraction exercised by the large body upon the smaller one
becomes known. This attraction of the large body exercised over
the smaller body is an opposing influence, acting against the
earth's attraction of the small body, which is drawn out of its
course : it constitutes a natural balance between the influence of
the earth and another body, acting in opposition to it. Founded
upon these, and some other data, man can weigh the earth, and
give a morally certain result !
Deflection. The act of turning aside.
785. Sow can man weigh the planets ?
The planets exercise as certain an influence upon each other as do
two pieces of wood floating upon a basin of water. As the
planetary bodies fly through their prescribed orbits, and approach
nearer to, or travel further from, each other, they are observed
to deviate from that course which they must have pursued but for
the increase or the decrease of some influence of attraction. By
making observations at various times, and by comparing a number
of results, it is possible to weigh any planetary body, hoivever vast,
or however distant.
THE REASON WHY. 175
1 Ts not God in the height of the heaven? and behold the height of the stars,
how high they are ?" JOB xii.
786. How can man measure the distances of the planets ?
By making observations at different seasons of the year, when
the earth is in opposite positions in her orbit ; and ty recording,
by instruments constructed with the greatest nicety, the angle of
sight, at which the planetary body is viewed ; by noticing, also,
the various eclipses, and estimating how long the first light after.
an eclipse has ceased reaches the earth, it is possible to estimate
the distances of heavenly bodies, no matter how Jar in the depths
of the universe those orbs may be.
787. What are the opinions founded upon estimates
respecting the magnitude of the sun ?
The diameter of the sun is 770,800 geographical miles, or 112
times greater than the diameter of the earth ; its volume is
1,407,124 times that of the earth, and 600 limes greater than all the
planets together ; its mass is 359,551 times greater than the earth ;
and 738 times greater than that of all the planets. A single spot
seen upon its surface has been estimated to extend over 77,000 miles
fn diameter, and a cluster of spots have been estimated to include an
area of 3,780,000 miles.
788. What is the weight of the earth {
The earth has a circumference of 25,000 miles, and is estimated
to weigh 1,256,195,670,000,000,000,000,000 tons.
789. What is the specific gravity of a body?
It is its weight estimated relatively to the weights of other
bodies.
790. What determines the force with which bodies fall to
the earth ?
Generally speaking, their specific gravity, which is proportionate
to the density, or compactness of the atoms of which they are
composed.
791. Why does a feather fall to the earth more gradually
than a shilling ?
Because the specific gravity of the feather and of the shilling is
J_76 THE SEASON WHY.
" Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou
hast understanding.
relative to that of the air, the medium through which the feather
and the shilling- pass. If there were no air, a shilling- and a feather
dropped at the same time from a height of forty miles, would reacJi
the earth, at the same moment.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
792. What is repulsion ?
Eepulsion is that property in matter by which it repels or recedes
from, those bodies for which it has no attraction or affinity.
793. Why does dew form into round drops upon the leaves
of plants ?
Because it repels the air, and the substances of the leaves upon
which it rests. Because, also, its own particles cohere.
794. Why do drops of water roll over dusty surfaces ?
Because they repel the particles of dust ; and also because their
own particles have a stronger attraction for each other than for
the particles of dust.
795. Why does a needle float when carefully laid upon the
surface of water ?
Because the needle and the water mutually repel each other.
796. W hy does water, when dropped upon hot iron, move
about in agitated globules ?
Because the caloric repels the particles of the water.
797. Why does oil float upon the surface of water ?
Because, besides being specially lighter than water, the particles
of the oil and the water mutually repel each other.
798. What is carbonic acid?
Carbonic acid is a mixture of carbon and oxygen, in the
proportion of 3 Ibs. of carbon to 8 Ibs. of oxygen.
799. Where does carbonic acid chiefly exist f
THE EEASON WHY. J77
Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest ? or who hath stretched
the line upon it ?
It exists in various natural bodies in which carbon and oxygen
are combined ; it is evolved by the decomposition of numerous
bodies called carbonates, in which carbon is united with a particular
base, such as the carbonate of lime, the carbonate of iron, the
carbonate of copper, &c. It is also evolved by the processes of
fermentation, by the breathing of animals, the combustion of fuel,
and the functions of plants. Carbonic acid also exists in various
waters.
Carbonic acid is found most largely in solid combinations with
other bodies : it forms 44-100ths of all limestones and marbles, and
it exists in smaller quantity, combined with other earths, and with
metallic oxides.
800. What are the states in which pure carbonic acid
exists ?
Pure carbonic acid may exist in the solid, the liquid, or the
aeriform state. In the solid state it is produced only by artificial
means, and it is then a white crystalised body, in appearance like
snow ; in the liquid state it is a heavy colourless fluid ; in the
aeriform state it is a pungent, heavy, colourless gas, and is known
as carbonic acid gas.
801. Why does bottled porter produce large volumes of
froth, much more than the bottle could contain ?
Because, by the fermentive process, carbonic acid has been
developed in the porter, and is held in liquid solution; but it
always has a strong tendency to escape, and directly the pressure is
removed, it evolves into gas, by which it occupies much greater
space, and forces the porter in millions of small bubbles out of the
bottle.
892. Why does soda-water effervesce ?
Because carbonic acid gas is forced into the water by pressure.
Pressure alters the gas into a liquid, and directly the pressure
ceases, the liquid again evolves into gas.
803. Why does spring water taste fresh and invigorating ?
Because it contains carbonic acid.
8*
THE BENSON WHY.
"Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner-
stone thereof." JOB xxxvm.
804. Why does boiled water taste flat and insipid ?
Because the carbonic acid has been driven off" by boiling.
805. Why does beer which has been standing in a glass
taste flat ?
Because its carbonic acid has escaped as carbonic acid gas.
806. Why, when we look into a glass of champagne, do ice
see bubbles spontaneously appear at the bottom, and then
rise to the top ?
Because, in the places where the bubbles are formed, the liquid
carbonic acid is evolving into carbonic acid gas.
807. Why do the bubbles arise from two or three points in
columns, rapidly succeeding each other ?
Because, when the formation of gas once begins, and bubbles
ascend, there is less pressure in the line of the column of bubbles ;
the carbonic acid, therefore, draws towards those points as the
easiest channel of escape.
These explanations equally apply to the " working" of beer, by which yeast is
produced ; to the efferveserice of various waters, acidulated drinks, ginger beer,
&c., and also to the " sponging" of bread, &c.
808. Why does gunpowder explode ?
Gunpowder is made of a very intimate mechanical mixture of
nitrate of potash, charcoal, and sulphur. When these substances
are 'heated to a certain degree, the nitrate of potash is decomposed,
and its oxygen combines with the charcoal and sulphur, instan-
taneously forming large volumes of carbonic acid gas and nitrogen,
which, seeking an escape, produce an explosion.
809. Why does charcoal act as a powerful disinfectant ?
Because the carbon readily absorbs, and combines with various
gases, neutralising their offensive odours, and destroying their
unhealthy properties.
Let us now pause for a few moments to consider the importance of those two
great divisions of nature, Air and Water, and to reflect upon the wisdom of some
of those laws which are connected with the phenomena thereof, and which have
not yet been sufficiently explained.
We have seen that the air is a thin elastic body surrounding the globe ; tha*
TUB liEAsojy WHY. [79
1 Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the
mighty man glory in his might, let'not the rich man glory in his riches."
JEREMIAH ix.
it consists of certain gases essential to the life of animals, and to the growth of
plants ; and that it takes part in most of those chemical changes, which mark
the transformations of the inorganic creation. Whether it be the burning of a
piece of wood, the evaporation of a drop of water, the breathing of an animal,
the respiration of a plant, or the fermentation of bodies, the air in almost every
instance gives or receives and in most of the operations in which it engages, it
does both.
But there is one point of view, which we must add to those which have
already been considered : the order of nature consists of generation, life, and
death. Every beat of the watch signals the birth of millions of living things,
and the same beat proclaims that as many living organisms have yielded up their
vital spark, and that forthwith the elements of which they are composed must
be dissolved, and restored to the great laboratory of nature.
The air is the vast receptacle of those organic matters which are undergoing
dissolution. The body of the shipwrecked mariner, cast upon the shore of a
desolate island, blackens in the sun, and the full round form gradually dwindles
to skin and bone, until at last the few atoms that remain crumble into dust, and
are scattered to the wind. The same process occurs, with some modifications,
whether bodies are buried in the earth, or dissolve upon its surface. The
leaves of forests fall and accumulate in heaps, where they ferment and dissolve,
leaving only their more earthy particles behind.
The amount of matter which day by day passes from the state of the living to
that of the dead, must be enormous ; but from the difficulties of acquiring data,
beyond the possibility of calculation. Such statistics as we have, however,
enable us to form conclusions as to the mighty agencies in which the air is
constantly engaged. There are on tho earth 1,000,000,000 inhabitants of whom
nearly 35,000,000 die every year, 91,824 every day, 3,730 every hour, and 60 every
minute. But even the living die daily, and undergo an invisible change of
substance, as we shall hereafter explain.
The bodies of those many millions are dissolved in the air, in vapours and
gases which, before the dissolution of each corporeal organism is complete,
begin to live again in the various forms of vegetable and animal life.
Of the number of animals living and dying upon the face of the earth, we can
form no adequate estimate. Of mammals there are about 2,000 ascertained
species ; of birds 8,000 species ; of reptiles 2,000 species ; of fishes some 8,000
or 10,000 species ; of molluscs some 15,000 species ; of shell fish 8,000 species ;
of insects 70,000 species. And, including others not specified here, the total
number of species of animals probably amounts to no less than 250,000, each
species consisting of many millions of living creatures.
In the area of London alone, no less than 200,000 tons of fuel are annually cast
into the air in the form of smoke. And if we take into account the vast opera-
tions of nature in evaporation, fermentation, and putrefactive decomposition,
we may be enabled to form a conception of the mighty part which that thin air,
cf which we think so little, plays in the grand alchemy of nature.
In addition, also, to the facts already communicated, respecting the sound-
bearing and light-refracting properties of air, it must be remarked, that but for
the atmosphere, and the general refraction of light by its particles each atom
as it were catching a fairy taper, and dancing with it before fur view the con.
dition of vision would be widely opposite to that which exists, and totally
ISO THE EEAF.ON WRY.
* I will praise thee ; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made ; marvellous are
thy works ; and that my soul knoweth right well." PSALM cxxxix.
uusuited to our wants. The various objects upon which the illuminating rays
of the sun fell, would be lighted up with an intense glare, but all around would
be darkness, just as when a single ray of light is passed into a dark chamber,
and directed upon a solitary object. The air, without becoming itself visible,
diffuses luminous rays, in modified intensity, in every direction. If the ar
reflected so much light as to render itself visible, it would appear like the glit-
tering surface of the water reflecting the solar rays, and we should then be
unable to see the various objects which surround us.
Of the importance of Water in the scheme of creation, man generally
entertains an imperfect conception. It is simply supposed to aft*ord moisture
to plants, drink to animals, and to promote salubrity by its cleansing
properties. Let us, however, contemplate man as he stands before us, noble in
form, erect in position, full of strength, joy, ambition. How much of that
noble form is composed of water ? Suppose that it could all be instantaneously
withdrawn not the oxygen and t le hydrogen, which might combine to form
water but the fluid that exists in his body as water, unchanged except by
mechanical admixture with the secretions of the body Why then that beautiful
temple would collapse and become a mere shred, so thin, that it would seem
but a shadow of the body as it existed before, and the beholder might doubt
whether life ever inhabited a frame whose structure was so frail. It is said
that three-fourths by weight of the human body consist of water. Thus, if man
weighs 120bs., 90lbs. consist of water, and this substracted, only SOlbs. of solid
matter remain. This statement is rather under than over the fact.
The assertion is startling, but so true that it can be verified by simple
experiment. Apiece of lean flesh say of beef cut an inch thick, and placed in
a slow oven, and allowed to remain until all its water was driven off in vapour,
would become as thin as a wafer, and as light as a cork. With a more scientific
arrangement, it would be possible to collect the water, and the weights of the
condensed vapour, and of the solid residue, would together make up the
weight of the beef: if the piece weighed sixteen ounces, the weight of the water
would be about 14 ounces, and the solid matter about two ounces.
Water holds a similar proportion in the bodies of all animals, and of
vegetables. It is evident, therefore, that it occupies a more important place in
the scale of creation than is generally accorded to it by the unobservant mind.
We are indebted to it for those atmospheric changes which constitute the
peculiar feature of our varying climate. Rising in invisible vapours, it builds
palaces of glory in the skies, and often presents to the view of man the imagery
of heaven. Persons who have ascended above the altitude of the clouds, have
described the scene upon looking down towards them as the most celestial that
the mind can conceive. Fields of fleecy radiance, majestically rolling like a soa
of gold, occupied the whole range of vision, and seemed to embellish an eternity
of space. Those golden clouds that at one time are decked in the richest
splendour, and occupy the upper chambers of the Court of Nature, become
grave councillors when the earth grows thirsty, and the plant droops with
languor. They roll their heavy brows together, as in consultation upon some
grave necessity: down come the refreshing showers, the mighty tongue of
thunder rocks the air, the earth is drenched, and becomes fresh with the
salubrity of her toilette; obnoxious substances, with their offensive exhalations,
are swept away : living things rejoice, and beautiful flowers throw their incense
of thanksgiving into the air; the broad blue heavens for a time look down and
THE HEASON WHY.
How mighty are his wonders ! his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and
his dominion is from generation to generation." DANIEL rv.
smile upon the blessed work ; and then the clouds again gather In a golden
train, and one by one fill the high arches of the atmosphere, until the earth
once more grows thirsty, and the flower supplicates for drink.
"With reference to Light, its wonders, and the curious but imperfect theories
respecting it, we have little to add, except with regard to its physiological action
upon the eyes of man and of animals, which will be given in another place. But
of its sister, Darkness for it would not do now to call darkness the antagonist
of light, since it will be seen that they work harmoniously for good we have
to say, that recent discoveries indicate that darkness is as necessary to the
health of nature as light. Not only is it necessary to compose man. and animals
to sleep, to give rest to the over- wrought nerves of the industrious but
light is the quickening power of vegetation, and although plants grow by night,
they grow, as man does, when stretched upon his bed but some of their func
tions, which are actively excited in the presence of light, are at rest in dark-
ness. Nor is this all : there is not an atom upon the face of the earth which is
not affected by the rays of the sun, their light, their heat, their actinism. Colours
change : some are bleached, others are darkened. All bodies are expanded. The
hardest rock sustains an effect from the sun's rays ; and an unceasing sun, shining
upon the hardest granite, would in time produce such a disturbance of its
atomic condition, that adamant would crumble away to dust.
The going down of the sun, therefore, marks the period when not only does
the bird fly to her resting-place, and man turn to his couch ; but when every
atom of a vast hemisphere subsides into a state of quietude, and when homo-
geneous particles of matter return to their mutual rest.
In a few succeeding lessons, we intend to point out some of the scientific
truths that are illustrated in the use of toys. We think we shall be able to
show to our young readers, that even the hours of play may be made the
periods of delightful instruction ; and that there is no "reason why" the acquire-
ment of knowledge should not sweetly accord with the occasional pursuit of
those pastimes by which health of body and vigour of mind are induced.
But before we commence the discharge of that pleasant duty, let us say a few
words respecting Carbon, that important agent in the world's history. It is,
doubtless, perplexing to the minds of many persons, to understand how the
diamond can be pure carbon ; how charcoal can be carbon a little less pure
than the diamond ; and how coal and sugar can also be carbon, less pure than
the charcoal. The statement that in the diamond carbon exists in a different
atomic condition, is almost as instructive to the inquiring mind, as to say. " It
is so, because it is"
Diamonds are expensive things, and so difficult to experiment upon, even if
they were not expensive, that the doors of inquiry seem locked. To turn
diamonds into charcoal, or into carbonic acid gas, is a very costly formula of
experiment. Charcoal fires, thus sustained, would soon burn a man out of his
house; and soda water, impregnated with carbonic acid gas, produced from
diamonds, would be a very expensive beverage. If we could only turn charcoal
into diamonds, and carbonic acid gas into brilliants, that would be quite
another affair. A new Eldorado would be discovered, and there would be so
many experimenters that, when they all succeeded, they would find that
diamonds had lost their value. However, as a fact for the encouragement cf
those who would like to be early >n the race, \vo may state that the atoms of
182 THE SEASON WHY.
1 He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and
in earth." DANIEL vn.
charcoal which are repulsed from the charcoal points, during the electric agita-
tion which produces the electric light, acquire a hardness and a sharpness
almost equal to that of the diamond- only there is still the awkward obstacle
in the way, that they happen to be black.
We must see, therefore, whether there is anything in nature that we can
experiment upon, theoretically or practically, to give us a clearer conception of
this difficult matter. There is a large dew-drop resting upon a luxuriant
cabbage leaf -one of those great leaves that have nourished in defiance of the
snail, and now spreads out like the gigantic frond of the Victoria Regina.
That dew-drop is one of the beautiful diamonds which Nature sprinkles about
on cloudless nights, as if to show the stars, in answer to their twinkling, that wo
have something that will glisten and twinkle too.
The dew-drop is a very good imitation of a diamond, and to the lover of
God's works, quite as precious as the stone set in gold. It does not consist of
carbon it probably may have a mite of carbonic acid in its embrace but that
is not necessary to our purpose : all we want to know is, the different atomic
conditions of which bodies are susceptible, and the very dissimilar appearances
they exhibit under the variations of atomic states. It doesn't glisten so
much as the diamond, because it is round if we could cut it into a number of
facets, it would refract light almost as perfectly as the diamond. It is not
solid but we can freeze it, and we shall at once exhibit two different atomic
conditions, that will represent nearly enough the diamond, and the liquid
carbonic acid. Then, if we evaporate the dew-drop, we shall produce a volume*
of vapour nearly tivo thousand times as large as the dew-drop. The steam will
be white ; but we have only to imagine it black, and then we get an analo-.-y of
the differences of the atomic conditions that prevail in the diamond, carbonic
acid, and charcoal, tinder, lamp-black, or any light form of carbon. Of course
we have been illustrating atomic conditions only, and not chemical composition.
There are a few other facts connected with carbon that merit consideration.
Carbonic acid gas, entering the lungs, is a deadly poison; but entering the
stomach, which lies close under the lungs, and is over-lapped by them, it is a
refreshing beverage. Although charcoal, when burnt, gives off the most
poisonous gas, it seems to be very jealous of other gaseous poisons ; for if it be
powdered, and set about in pans where there is a poisonous atmosphere, it will
seize hold of poisonous gases, and, by absorbing, imprison them. Even in a
drop of toast and water, the charred bread seizes hold of whatever impurities
exist in the water ; and water passed through beds of charcoal, becomes filtered,
and made beautifully pure, being compelled to give up to the charcoal
whatever is obnoxious. If a piece of meat that has already commenced
putrifying, be sprinkled with charcoal, it will not only object to the meat
putrifying any further, but it will sweeten that ivhich has already undergone
putrefaction. Although, in the form of gas, it will poison the blood, and cause
speedy stupefaction and death ; if it be powdered, and stitched into a piece of
silk, and worn before the mouth as a respirator, it will say to all poisonous
gases that come to the mouth with the air, " I have taken this post to defend
the lungs, and I arrest you, on a charge of murderous intention." Such are tho
various facts connected with carbon ; and they forcibly indicate that those wh
(understand Nature's vyorks, are likely to receive her best protection.
THE BEASOX WHY. 183
" The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice ; and he that begetteth a wise
child shall have joy of him." PEOVEEBS xxm.
CHAPTER XXXVIIL
810. Why does a humming-top make a humming noise?
Because the hollow wood of the top vibrates, and the edges of the
hole in its sides strike against the air as it spins ; the air is
thereby set in vibration.
811. Why does a peg-top hum less than a humming-
top?
Because, being a solid body of wood, and having no hole in its
sides, its particles are not so easily thrown into vibration;
consequently it does not so readily impart vibrations to the air.
812. Why does a peg-top sometimes hum, and at other
times not ?
Because, if it is spun with great force, and its peg is struck
sharply against the pavement, the wood is set in vibration, and
the surface of the top, repelling the air by its rapid motion, causes
vibratory waves. But if it be spun with insufficient force, the
wood is not set in vibration.
Fig. 23. HTTMMING-TOP BEFOBE Fig. ^.-HUMMING-TCP
SPINNING. SPINNING.
813. Why do we see the figures painted upon the humming-
top, before it spins, but not while it is spinning ?
Because the rapid whirling of the top brings the images of its
different parts so quiokly in succession upon the retina of the eye,
[84 TI1E
'Train up a child in the way he should go ; and when he is old, he will not
depart from it." PROVERBS xxn.
that they deface each other, and impart an, impression of coloured
rings, instead of definite objects.
814. Why does a top stand erect when it spins, but fail
when it stops ?
Because the top is under the influence of, and is balanced
between opposing forces. The rapffi rotation of the top gives
to all its particles a tendency to fly from the centre. If the atoms
of the wood were not held together by the attraction of cohesion,
they would fly away in a circle outward from the top, just ax drop*
of water fly off from a mop, while it is being twirled. If you
take a spoonful of sand, salt, or dust, and drop it upon the top, it
will be scattered in a circle, just as the atoms of the top would be,
if they were free to separate, but not with the same force, because
the atoms of the salt, &c., not being in an active state of rotation,
would only be influenced by momentary contact with the rotating
body. This tendency of the particles of a rotating- body to fly
outward from the centre, is called the centrifugal force.
Centrifugal. From two Latin words meaning receding from the centre.
The other force influencing the top is the attraction of gravita-
tion: the attraction which, were the top not spinning, would draw it
towards the earth. The " spill " projecting from the bottom of the
top stands in the line in which the top is drawn towards the earth
and keeps it from obeying the law of gravitation. Therefore the
rotatory motion given to the top, by the rapid unwinding of the
string, and the tendency of its 'atoms to fly outward, balance the top
upon the line in which it is drawn to the earth, and which is occupied
by the spill, which prevents it fulling to the ground.
815. Why does a top Jirst reel around upon the spill, then
become upright, and "sleep" and then reel
again, and fall ?
Because, in being thrown from the hand, the
top is delivered a little out of the perpendicular,
but the spill is rounded off' at the point, and
when the top is rotating rapidly, the graviH-
tive force which attracts the top to the ground
continually acting upon it, draws the weight
Fi*. 86. pE<*-rop " KEELING."
THE SEASON WHY 185
Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether
it be right." PROVERBS xx.
of the top on to the extreme centre of the round point. When
the rotation subsides, and the centrifugal force is weakened,
then the top is no longer balanced upon the extreme point of
the spill, but falls upon it sides, until the force of gravita-
tion is exerted beyond the line of the spill, upon the body of the
top, and then it falls to the ground.
816. Why does a top " sleep T"
Because at that period of its spinning, which is called " sleeping,"
the centrifugal and the gravitative forces acting upon the top, are
nearly balanced; and the top, obeying chiefly the rotatory force,
appears to be in a state of comparative rest.
817. Why does the top cease to spin ?
Because the friction of the air against its sides, and the friction
of the spill against the around, act in opposition to the rotatory
force, which is a temporary impulse applied by external means the
hand of the person who spins it and as soon as this applied force
is expended, the top yields to the law of gravitation, which is a
permanent and ever-prevailing force.
818. Why does a marble revolve, as it is propelled along
the ground ?
Because, in propelling the marble, the thumb impels the upper
surf ace forward, and the finger draws the under surface back-
ward. This gives a tendency to the upper and lower hemispheres
of the marble to separate, which they would do, but for the
cohesion of the atoms of the marble. The upper part of the marble,
therefore, rolls forward, drawing after it the under part, which
acquires a forward motion by the force with which it is drawn
upward, and in this way the opposite portions of the marble act
upon each other in the successive revolutions.
When the marble strikes upon the earth, a new influence is
exerted upon it, which is the friction of the earth upon the surface
that comes in contact wjth it ; but the upper part of the marble,
being free, overcomes the friction acting upon the litwer part, and
thus the marble continues to progress, until the applied force
which projected it is expended.
186
THE BEASON WHY.
1 Better is a poor and a wise child, than an old and foolish king who will no
more be admonished." ECCLESIASTES iv.
819. Why does a striped marble appear to have a greater
number of stripes when rolling, than ichen at rest ?
Because the stripes are presented in rapid succession to the
eye ; and as the eye receives fresh impressions of stripes before
the previous impressions have passed away, the stripes appear
multiplied.
Fig. 26. MARBLE AT REST
Fig. 27. MARBLE ROLLING.
820. Why does a marble rebound when dropped upon the
pavement ?
Because the force of its fall to the earth compresses the atoms of
which the marble is composed ; and the atoms then exert the force
of elasticity to restore themselves to their former condition ; and
by the exercise of this force the marble is repelled, or thrown
upward from the pavement. Although a marble may be made of
very hard stone, yet that stone may be elastic, and possess, though
in a much less degree, the same kind of elasticity which causes
the India-rubber ball to rebound from the earth.
821. Why does a marble, assuming it to be impelled with
equal force, roll further on ice than on pavement, and further
on pavement than on a pebble walk?
Because the friction is greater upon pavement than upon ice,
and greater upon a pebble walk than upon pavement.
822. How many forces contribute to stay the progress of
rolling marble ?
THE BEASON WHY. 187
He shall turn the heart of the fathers towards the children, and the heart of
the children to their fathers." MALACHI iv.
The friction of the air, the friction of the earth, and the
attraction of gravitation, which tends to bring all bodies to a
state of rest.
823. Why do the stripes upon a marble disappear when it
is spun with great velocity ?
Because, as in the case of the
humming-top, the different parts
of the surface are brought so
HI \ ' rapidly in succession to the
fE^r sight, that they deface or con-
fuse the impressions upon the
-?L retina.
824. Why are rings most
perceptible at the opposite
Fig.28.-MA B BLE SPIKNIKaKAPIDLT. V ^ ^ Q/ fa ^^ ?
Because the point, or pole, upon which the marble spins, and
that which corresponds to it, on the upper surface, travel less
rapidly than the central portions, which being of a larger
circumference, pass through a greater amount of space, in the same
period of time. The stripes at the poles of the marble, are, therefore
visible, while those at its equator are imperceptible. (See 522.)
CHAPTER XXXIX.
825. Why are soap-bubbles round?
Because they are equally pressed upon all parts of their surface
by the atmosphere.
826. Why are bubbles elongated when being blown ?
Because the unequal pressure of the current oj breath by which
they are being filled, alters the relative pressure upon the outer
surfaces.
827. Why does the bubble close, and become a perfect
sphere, wlien shaken from the pipe?
188 THE REASON WHY.
' Children's children are the crown of old men ; and the glory of children are
their fathers." PKOVERBS xvn.
Because the attraction of cohesion draws the particles of soap
together, directly the bubble is set free from the bowl.
Fig. 29. BLOWING SOAP BUBBLES.
828. Why do bullies, blown in the sunshine, change their
colours ?
Because the films of the bubbles constantly change in thickness,
through the atoms from the upper part descending towards the
bottom, and therefore the varying thickness of film refracts, in
different degrees, the rays of light.
829. Why do bubbles burst ?
Because the atoms that compose their films fall towards the
earth by gravitation; the upper portion of the bubbles then
becomes very thin, and as the denser air of the atmosphere presses
towards the warm breath within the bubble, it bursts the Him.
See 236. 237, etc., 501, etc.
830. Why do balloons ascend in air ?
Because the air or gas which they contain is specifically lighter
than the atmosphere; the atmosphere, therefore, forces itself
underneath the balloon, by its own tendency towards the earth,
and the balloon is thereby raised upwards. A balloon is but a
larger kind of bubble, made of stronger materials.
831. Why does an air-balloon become inflated when the
spirit set upon the sponge is lit ?
THE BEABON WHY.
189
" A wise son heareth his father's instruction." PKO VERBS xill.
Because the heat of the flame,
and the burning of the spirit, A,
create a volume of rarefied, or thin
air, which inflates the balloon, and
makes it specifically lighter than
the surrounding medium.
832. Why do balloons some-
times burst when they ascend
very high ?
Because, as they get into the
thinner air, which exists at high
altitudes, the gas within them ex-
pands, and the coating of the balloon
is burcrt asunder.
Fig. 30. AIR-BALLOO*. 33 f^^y ^ Qes fa g aS O f
balloons expand in thin air ?
Because the air exerts a less amount of pressure upon the air or
gas contained in the balloons.
834. Why do parachutes fall very gradually to the
ground?
Because the air, coming n con-
tact with the under surface of the
expanded head of the parachute
resists its downward progress.
835. Why does a shuttlecock
travel slowly through the air?
Because the air acts upon the
feathers of the shuttlecock, in the
same manner as it does upon the
parachute it strikes against their
expanded surface, and resists their
progress through the air.
Fig. 31. PAPE3 PARACHUTE.
836. Why does the shuttle-
cock spin in the air ?
190 THE BEA80N WHY.
" Come ye children, hearken unto me, I will teach you the fear of the Lord."
PSALM XXXV.
Because the surfaces of the feathers fall upon the air obliquely, or
slantingly, and therefore, as the shuttlecock descends, it turns in
the air.
Fi. 32. BATTLEDORE AKD SHUTTLECOCK,
837. Why do we hear a noise when we strike the shuttle-
cock with the battledore ?
Because the percussion of the shuttlecock upon the parchment of
the battledore causes it to vibrate, and the vibrations are imparted to
the air.
838. Why is the sound a dull and short one ?
Because the vibrations of the parchment are not very rapid,
therefore there is little intensity in the vibrations of the air.
839. Why does the exercise, afforded by playing battle-
dore and shuttlecock, make us feel warm ?
Because it makes us breathe more freely, and causes the blood to
flow faster ; we, therefore, inhale more oxygen, which produces
heat by combining with the carbon of our blood.
840. Why does a kite rise in the air /
A kite rises in the air by the force of the wind, which strikes
obliquely upon its under surface. The string is attached to the
" belly-band " in such a manner that it is nearer the top than the
bottom of the band : this causes the bottom of the kite, when its
surface is met by the wind, to recede in the direction of the wind :
THE EEASCN WHY. J91
** Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children ; and walk in love, as Christ
also hath loved us." EPHESIANS v
the top is accordingly thrown forward, and the kite is made to lie
obliquely upon the current of air moving against it. The kite then
being drawn by the string in one direction, and pressed by the
air in another direction, moves in a line which describes a
medium between the two forces acting upon it.
841. Why does the kite-string feel hot when running
through the hand?
Fig. 83. DIAGRAM EXPLAINING THE FLIGHT OF A KITE.
Because the rapid friction sets free the latent heat of the
firing, attracts the heat of the hand to the spot where the
friction occurs, and sets free the latent heat of the air, which
follows the string through the hand, and is compressed by the
friction.
842. Why does running with the kite cause it to rise
higher ?
Because it increases the force with which the wind strikes upon
the surface of the kite. If a person were to run with a kite at the
rate of five miles an hour, through a still air, the effect would be
equal to a windjlying at the rate of jive miles an hour against a
kite held by a stationary string.
843. Why does the flying-top rise in the air ?
Because its wings meet the air obliquely, just as the surface of
the kite does. And the ticirling of the top, causing the oblique
192 THE SEASON WHY.
" Children obey your parents in the Lord : for this is right.
surfaces of its wing's to strike the air, produces the equivalent
effect of a wind from the earth blowing the top upwards.
844. Why does the flying-top return to the earth when its
rotations are expended ?
Because the reaction produced by its wings striking upon the
air, is insufficient to counteract the attraction of gravitation.
Fig. 34 PLYItfG-TOP. Fig* 35. PEA AND PIPE.
845. Why does a pea, into which a pin has been stuck,
dance in suspension upon a jet of air blown through a pipe ?
Because the jet of air, being slightly compressed under the
convex form of the pea, by the weight of the pin, forms a concave
cup of air, in which the pea rests.
In the case put, it is supposed that the pin is passed through the pea until its
head comes, in contact with it. The pin is dropped into the hole of the pipe,
and the breath is then applied, the pipe being held upright. The pea will rise
in the air, and be suspended upon the jet, while the point of the pin will rotate
around the stem of the pipe. There are other methods of fixing the pin which
alter the result, and require a different explanation to that given above.
LESSON XL.
846. Why does a mouse, painted upon one side of a
card, and a trap upon the other, represent to the eye a
THE KEASON WHY.
193
'' Honour thy father and thy mother * * That it may be well with thee, ana
thou mayest be long on the earth." EPHESIANS vi.
mouse in a trap when the card is rapidly twirled upon a
string ?
Because the image of the mouse is brought to the retina of the
eye before the image of the trap has passed away. The two
impressions, therefore, unite upon the retina, and produce the
image of a mouse in a trap.
3 '.CARD WITH
MOUSE-TRAP.
Fig. 37. BHTERSE OP CARD
WITH MOUSE.
847. Why ivill a bow stretched out of its natural position,
propel an arrow through the air ?
Because its substance, being highly elastic, the particles thereof
seek to restore themselves to their former state, as soon as the
resisting power is withdrawn. The force derived from this elas-
ticity, is communicated to the arrow by the string against which it
is placed.
848. Why is the arrow propelled forward ?
Because the elasticity of the bow, acting equally upon its two
ends, to which the string is fastened, produce a line of force in a
diagonal direction. It thus illustrates the law, that when a body
is acted upon by two forces at the same time, whose directions are
inclined to each other, it will not follow either of them, but will
describe a line between the two.
849. What forces tend to arrest the flight of the arrow?
The friction of the air, and the attraction of gravitation.
9
194 THE BEASON WHY.
1 My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession
unto him." JOSHUA vii.
850. Why are feathers usually fastened to the ends of
arrows ?
Because the greater friction of air acting upon them, opposes the
progress of that part of the arrow in a greater degree than it does
the other portion. The effect is, to keep the point of the arrow
forward, and in a straight line with its opposite extremity. If the
arrow were shot the reverse way from the bow, it would turn
round, in the course of its flight, in consequence of the friction of
the air, offering greater resistance to the progress of the feathered
end.
Fig. 38. BOW AND AEKOW. Fig. 39 JEW'S HABP.
851. Why does a Jew's harp give musical sounds ?
Because the vibrations of the metal tongue are communicated to
the ear.
852. Why will not the Jew's harp produce loud sounds
unless it is applied to the mouth ?
Because the vibrations are not very intense, but when it is blown
upon by the breath, the air is pressed upon it, and the vibrations
are thereby rendered more powerful.
853. Why does the alteration of the arrangement of the
mouth, affect the formation of the sounds ?
Because it sends the air to the tongue of the harp in a greater or
letter degree of compression.
THE BEASON WHY.
196
1 Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know under-
standing.." Pno VERBS iv.
854. Why does the pressure applied to the handle of an
air pistol propel the cork?
Because, between the cork A and the air-tight piston c, there is a
closed chamber of air B. When the handle D, which moves the
piston c, is rapidly pushed in, it compresses the air until it is so
much condensed, that it forces out the cork A.
Pig. 40. AIR PISTOL, OR " POP-GUN."
855. Why must the handle be drawn out, before the cork
is placed in ?
Because otherwise a partial vacuum would be formed between A
and c, and there would not be sufficient air to force out the cork by
the return of the piston c D.
856. Why does water rise in a syringe when the handle is
drawn out ?
Because the pressure of the air on the water outside of the
syringe, forces it into the space vacated by the drawing up of
the handle, and where, otherwise, a vacuum would be formed.
Fig 41 . SYEIKGE, WITH JET OP WATER.
857. Why does not the water run out when the syringe is
raised ?
Because the pressure of the air upon the small orifice resists the
weight of the water.
858. Why does the water leak out, but not run ?
Because v/nter has a tendency always to 'move to the lowest point.
THE SEASON WHY.
Remember now thy creator in the days of thy youth." ECCLESIASTES xi.
but as the air does not enter freely the water cannot escape. It
therefore drops, as small portions of the air enter.
859. Why cannot the handle be pressed in, if the finger is
applied to the orifice ?
Because water is not compressible, like air ; it must therefore
escape before the handle can be pressed in. Air may be forced into
a much smaller compass than is natural to it ; but it is impossible to
vnmpress water in any great degree.
Ffc. 42.-" SUCKEK." Fig. 43. -HOOP.
860. Why does a u sucker" raise a stone?
Because underneath the sucker a vacuum is formed and the
external air, pressing on all sides against the vacuum, lifts the
stone. The term " sucker " is founded upon the mistaken notion
that the leather " sucks," or " draws" the stone. That such is
not the case is evident : if, when the stone is suspended, a pin's
point be passed under the leather, so as to open a small passage
for the air, the stone will drop instantly.
* 7
861. Why does a hoop roll, ivithout Jailing to the ground ?
Because the centrifugal force gives it a motion which is called the
tangent to a circle that is, a tendency in all its parts to fly off in a
straight line. When a piece of clay adhering to the hoop flies off,
it leaves the hoop in a line which is straight with the part of
' THE EEASON WHY. }97
.
" Children obey your parents in all things : for this is well-pleasing unto the
Lord." COLOSSIANS in.
the surface from which it was propelled ; this line is the tangent U
the circle of the hoop ; and the tendency of all the parts of the
hoop to fly off in this manner, counteracts the attraction of the
earth, so long as the hoop is kept in motion.
862. Why does the hoop, in falling, make several side
revolutions ?
Because its onward movement, not being quite expended, in-
fluences the centre of gravity of the hoop, and changes its line of
direction. The hoop is also elastic, and when its sides strike the
earth, they spring up again, and continue turning until the
opposing forces are overcome by the attraction of gravitation.
863. Why will a little loy balance a large boy on a
see-saw ?
Because the " see-saw" may be placed so that its ends are at
unequal distances from the centre. This gives the little boy the
power of leverage, by which is meant the increase of power, or
weight, by mechanical means.
Tig. 44. BOYS AND " SEE-SAW.
864. Why does the little boy sink to the ground when the
larger loy slightly Icicles the earth ?
Because the larger boy, by kicking against the earth, opposes by
mechanical force the attraction of gravitation acting upon him,
and he becomes temporarily less attracted to the earth than the
little boy.
865. Why can the little loy, if he- choose, keep the ligloy
up, when once he is up ?
198
THE EEASON WHY.
"Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness
righteous, even as he is righteous."! JOHN in.
Because, as the big boy is then on an inclined plane with the
fulcrum, or centre upon which the see -saw moves, the arm of the
lever, upon which the big boy sits, is relatively shortened, and be
has then less mechanical power. Also, a portion of the weight ot
the larger boy is transmitted along the lever to the arm upon
which the little boy sits.
866. Why is the ball
propelled upward, in the
game of trap and ball, when
the trigger is struck ?
Because, when the trigger is
struck at A, it is forced down-
wards, turning upon the fulcrum
B, the opposite end, forming the
spoon, is thereby forced up-
Pig. 45. TRAP AND BALL. wards, describing a small arc, or
curved line ; but directly the ball is set free from the spoon, it rises
in a right line with the direction it was taking, at the moment it
nas set free.
*s. A
Pig. 46. BAT AND BALL.
867. What principles of natural philosophy are illustrated
by the results of bat and ball ?
Percussion, when the bat strikes the ball ; rotatory motion, when
the ball is sent whirling away ; momentum, which it acquires by
velocity ; elasticity, when it rebounds from an object against which
THE SEASON WHY. 199
' A wise son makes a glad father : but a foolish son is the heaviness of his
mother." PBOVEEBS x.
it strikes; reflected motion, when it is turned by a body upon
which it impinges ; friction, as it rolls along the ground ; the
communication of force, when it sets another body in motion against
which it strikes ; gravitation, when it falls to the earth ; and inertia,
when it lies in a state of rest.
868. Why do pith-tumblers always pitch upon one end?
Because the lead B is specifically heavier than
the pith to which it is attached ; it therefore
always falls undermost ; and as the lead is rounded
off, just like the spill of a top, after the head has
oscillated a little, and expended the force of the
momentum of its fall, it will settle upon its centre
of gravity t or the point through which it is
attracted to the earth.
869. Why do the figures upon the " Thau-
matrope" appear to dance, wlien they are
made to revolve before a mirror ?
Because the eye, in looking through the holes in
Pig. 47. the card, towards the reflections in the mirror,
PITH-TUMBLER. rece j v es a rapid succession of impressions.
As the figures upon the card are represented in a graduated
series of positions the first one standing upright, the second with
his knees a little bent, the third a little more bent, as in the act of
springing, and so on, the figure being in each case the same, but
the position slightly altered, imparts an impression to the mind,
through the eye, that one figure is passing through a series of
motions.
Thaumatrope.T?roTOi two Greek words, meaning wonder and to turn.
"We have said enough, we hope, to show that even the play -hours of children
may be made instructive to them ; and that the simplest toys may be used to
illustrate some of the grandest laws of nature* Nor may this kind of instruction
be confined to children alone. Grown-up people, whether participators in the
sports of youth, or simple observers of their games, may gain instruction for
themselves, and be the better teachers of their children, by taking an interest
in their enjoyments, and giving to their minds, through the attractiveness of
pastime, a taste for observing and estimating the varied phenomena which
present themselves.
Moreover, we think that parental government acquires a greater power when
200
THE BEASON WHY.
" Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me ; for
of such is the kingdom of heaven." MATTHEW xix.
it leans towards the natural desires of childhood, and wins those desires into
a proper direction. Love existing between parent and child is the best tie
to home, and the strongest incentive to duty. There is also something in the
gentleness of childish nature which may influence for good the sterner mould
of man, too often warped and clouded by the cares of life.
Fig. 48. THAUMATBOPE, OB " WONDEB-TTTENEB."
In Kay's " Life of Sir John Malcolm," we find an admirable and apt passage.
Sir John says : " I have been employed these last few hours with Johu Elliot,
and other boys, in trying how long we could keep up two cricket-balls. Lord
Minto caught us. He says he must send me on a commission to some very
young monarch, for that I shall never have the gravity of an ambassador for a
prince turned of twelve. He, however, added the well-known and admirable
story of Henry IV. of France, who, when caught on all fours carrying one of his
children, by the Spanish envoy, looked up and said, ' Is your excellency
married ?' ' I am, and have a family,' was the reply. ' "Wnll, then,' said the
monarch, 'I am satisfied, and shall take another turn round the room,' and off
he galloped, with his son on his back flogging and spurring him. I have
sometimes thought of breaking myself of what are termed boyish habits ; but
reflection has satisfied me that it would be very foolish, and that I should
esteem it a blessing that I can find amusement in everything, from tossing a
cricket-ball, to negotiating a treaty with tiie Emperor of China. Men who will
give themselves entirely to business, and despise (which is the term) trifles, are
very able, in their general conception of the great outlines of a plan, but they
feel a want of knowledge, which is only to be gained by mixing with all classes
in the world, when they come to those lesser points upon which its successful
execution may depend
THE SEASON WHY. 201
" Whether therefore y9 eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of
God." ( OKINTH. X..
CHAPTER XLI.
*869. Why do we eat food?
Because the atoms of which our bodies are composed are con-
tinually changing. Those atoms that have fulfilled the purposes
ot nature are removed from the system, and, therefore, new matter
must be introduced to supply their place.
870. Why do we eat animal and vegetable food ?
Because their substances are composed of oxygen, hydrogen,
carbon, and nitrogen the four chemical elements of which the
human system is formed. They are, therefore, capable of nourish-
ing the body, after undergoing digestion.
871. Why do we masticate our food ?
Because mastication is the first process towards the digestion
of food. Before animal or vegetable substances can nourish us,
their condition must be entirely changed, their organic states must
be dissolved, and they must become simple matter, in a homoge-
neous mass, consisting of the four chemical elements necessary to
nutrition, and they must again be restored to an organic condition.
872. Why does saliva enter the mouth when we are
eating ?
Because, in addition to the mechanical grinding of the food by
the action of the teeth, it is necessary that it should undergo certain
chemical modifications to adapt it to our use. There are placed,
therefore, in various parts of the body, glands, which secrete
peculiar fluids, that have a chemical influence upon the food.
The first of these glands are the salivary glands of the mouth,
which pour out a clear watery fluid upon the food we eat, and which
fluid has been found to possess a property which contributes to the
digestion of food.
The moisture afforded by the salivary secretion is also necessary
to enable us to swallow the food.
873. Why does the salivary juice enter the mouth just at
the moment that we are eating ?
9*
202 THE REASON WHY.
i
And the Lord said unto him, "Who hath made man's mouth ? or who.maketh
the dumb, or the seeing, or the blind P have not I the Lord ?" EXODUS rv.
Because the glands, which are buried in the muscles of the
mouth, and which in their form are much like bunches of currants,
are always full of salivary secretion. There are nerves which are
distributed from the brain to these glands, and when other nerves
which belong to the senses of taste, of sight, or of feeling, are
excited by the presence of food, a stimulus is imparted to the
salivary glands, through the nerves that surround them, their cells
collapse, and the juice which they contain is poured out through
their stems, or ducts, into the mouth.
874. How do we know that impressions imparted to one
set of nerves, may le imparted to another set, so as to put any
particular organ in action.
Because very frequently the mere sight of rich fruit, or asid sub-
stances, will cause the saliva to flow freely. In this case it is
evident that the salivary glands could not see or know that such
substances were present. An impression must, therefore, be made
upon the biain, through the organ of vision, and the desire to
taste the substances being awakened, a nervous stimulus is
imparted to the glands of the mouth, and they at once commence
their action, as if food were present.
875. Why does food descend into the stomach ?
Because, after the teeth, the tongue, and the muscles of the
mouth generally, have rolled the food into a soft bolus, it is con-
veyed to the back of the mouth, where it is set upon the opening of
the throat (cesophagus). It does not then descend through the
throat by its own gravity, because the throat is generally in a com-
pressed or collapsed state, like an empty tube ; and we know that
persons can eat or drink when with their heads downwards. The
cesophagus is formed of a number of muscular threads, or rings,
and each little thread is like a hand ready to grasp at the morsel
i\at is coming. As soon as the bolus is presented at the top of the
throat, these little muscular hands lay hold of it. and transmit it
downward, passing it from one to another, until it is conveyed
through the long passage, to tbe door of the stomach, which it
enters.
THE HEASON WHY. 203
Remove far from me poverty and lies; give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with food convenient for me." PROVERBS xxx.
Fig. 49. SECTION OP THE STOMACH, &C.
A. The inner coat of the stomach. (The stomach is here represented cut
through its length, so that wo can see its inside.)
B. The lower extremity of the throat, or oesophagus, through which food
enters the stomach.
C. The passage out of the stomach, called the pylorus, where a muscular con-
traction prevents the escape of undigested food.
D. The duodenum, and the ducts through which the bile and pancreatic
juices enter and mingle with our food.
876. Why do we not feel tlie food being transmitted
through the throat ?
Because the nerves of the body differ in their powers : some are
nerves of feeling ', some of motion, and others are nerves of the
senses. The nerves of feeling are most abundantly distributed to
those parts where feeling is most useful and necessary to us. But
the faculty of feeling our food undergoing digestion would be no
service to us whatever ; therefore the nerves of motion are plen-
tifully distributed to the throat and stomach, but very few of the
nerves of feeling just as many as will tell us when we eat
anything too hot, or too cold, or that the stomach is out of order.
877. Why do we feel uneasy after eating to excess?
Because the stomach is distended, and presses upon the other
organs by which it is surrounded.
204 THE BEA80N WHY.
' Wlio satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed
like the eagles." PSALM cm.
878. Why do we feel drowsy after eating heartily ?
Because, while the stomach is in action, a, great proportion of
the blood of the body is drawn towards it, and as the blood is
withdrawn from the other parts of the body, they fall into a state of
languor.
870. Why does blood flow more freely to the stomach
during digestion ?
Because the energy of an organ is increased by the flow of blood,
which supplies the material of which our organs are composed,
and in which the vital essence, supporting life, resides.
880. Why does excess in eating bring on indigestion ?
Because the power of the stomach to digest food is governed by
the amount of food required by the system. It seems to be an
instinct of the stomach to hold back food which is in excess, and by
indications of pain and disturbance to warn its master that excess
kas been committed.
881. Why is food digested in the stomach ?
Because it enters the stomach in the form of a paste, produced
by the action of the mouth ; and directly food enters, the gastric
juice, which is formed by glands embedded in the coats of the
stomach, trickles down its sides. This is a more powerful solvent
than the salivary juice it is like the same kind of fluid, only much
stronger, and it soon turns the food from a rough and crude paste
into a greyish cream (chyme). The heat of the stomach assists
the operation, and the muscular threads of the coats move the
cream along, in the same manner that the muscles of the oesophagus
brought down the food.
The cream is passed towards the door which leads outward from
the stomach (pylorus) ; but if, in the midst of the cream, there are
any undissolved particles of food, it closes upon them, and they
return again to the stomach to be further changed.
882. Why does indigestion bring on bilious attacks ?
THE EEASON WHY. 05
" V.'hen thou hast oaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God
for the good laud which he hath given thee." DETTT. vm.
Because the liver secretes a fluid to assist in the digestion of
food. The liver is a gland a similar organ to the glands of the
mouth and it forms bile in the same manner that they form the
salivary juice. Only the liver is a much larger gland, and a much
greater quantity of blood passes through it. The liver pours its
secretion into the biliary duct (Fig. 49) to mix with the grey cream
as it passes onward, and to further dissolve it. But when the
stomach is excited by food which it cannot dissolve, and when the
owner of the stomach, disregarding its remonstrances, will persist
in over-eating, or in eating things that disagree with the system,
then the liver and the stomach sympathise, and the muscular
threads, or hands, that prevail all through the alimentary organs,
instead of moving onward, move backward, and throiv some bile
into the stomach to assist to dissolve and remove the excessive or
improper food.
CHAPTER XLII.
883. Why does some portion of the food ice eat nourish the
system, while other portions are useless?
Because most food contains some particles that are indigestible, or
that, if digested, are innutritions, and not necessary for the system.
The liver is the organ by whose secretion the useful is separated
from the useless ; for when the bile enters through the duct (Fig.
49) and mixes with the grey cream coming from the stomach, it
remains no longer a grey cream, but turns into a mass coloured by
bile, having upon its surface little globules of milk, small, but very
white. Those minute globules of milk (chyle] are the nutritious
particles derived from the food ; the other portion, coloured with
bile, is the useless residue, or rather the bulk from ivhich the
nutrition has been extracted.
884. Why does the milky, or nutritious matter, separate
from the innutritions, upon admixture ivith bile ?
Because the bile contains an oily matter which repels the watery
milk of nutrition.
206
TUB KEASON WHY.
" God hatli made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of
the earth." ACTS xvii.
The pancreatic juice also enters through the same duct with the bile. But
its precise use is not understood. It is a fluid much like the salivary secretion
of the glands of the mouth.
A B. Jugular veins which return
blood from the head to the heart.
C. The superior venae cava, or
trunk vein, which pours the blood
returned from the upper part of th<?
system into the heart. There is a
similar large vessel which meets
this one and brings back blood from
the lower part of the body, and they
both pour the blood into the right
side of the heart.
D E. The branches of the venous
system which bring back the blood
Irom the arms.
F P. The great aorta, the blood
vessel which conveys arterial blood
from the heart, and gives off
branches that supply every part
of the body.
G. Another large vein which re-
turns the blood from the muscles of
the chest, &c.
H H. The thoracic duct,vfTnich re-
ceives the newly dissolved food from
the small absorbents, that collect
it from the intestines. It conveys
this nutrition (called chyle) upward
along the back, until it reaches
where the duct turns into the
junction of two veins, and pours
its contents into the veins bringing
blood back to the heart. The nu-
trition, therefore, is at this moment
Fig. 50. GREAT VESSELS OP THE mixed with the venous blood, and
CIRCULATION, AND THE DUCT is sent to the lungs to be oxygen-
WHICH CONVEYS NUTRITIVE . ,
MATTER TO THE BLOOD.
885. How is tlie nutrition taken away from the bilious
residue ?
The muscular threads (or hands, as we figuratively call them)
continue to push forward the digested matter through a long tube,
THE REASON WHY. 201
' But now hath God set the members in the body, every one as it pleased him."
1 COBINTHIANS XII.
called ike alimentary canal, or bowels. This canal is some thirty
feet in length, and is folded in various layers across the abdomen, and
tied to the edge of a sort of apron, which is gathered up and fastened
to the back- bone. All along this alimentary canal those muscular
hands are pushing the digested mass along. But upon the coat or
surface of the canal there are millions of little vessels called lacteals,
which look out for the minute globules of milk as they pass, and
absorb . them, which means that they pick them up, and carry them
away. There is an immense number of these little vessels, all busily
at work picking up food for the system.
Then there is a large vessel, called the thoracic duct, which comes
down and communicates with those little vessels (it is a sort of
overseer, having a large number of workmen,) and collects the
produce of their toil, and carries it upwards to the part where it
passes/row the organs of digestion into the vessels of circulation .
886. What becomes of the nutrition, when it has entered
the vessels of the circulation ?
It is sent through a large vein into the heart, entering that
organ on the right side, from which the heart propels it into the
lungs, mixed witli venous blood; and the venous, or blue blood, is
sent into the lungs, talcing with it the milk, the formation of
which we have traced.
887. Why are the venous blood and the chyle sent to the
lungs ?
Because the venous blood, in its circulation through the body,
has parted with its oxygen, and taken up carbon, and it requires
to get rid of the carbon, and take up more oxygen. The chyle,
also, now combined with the blood, requires oxygen, and having
obtained it, is converted into bright red blood, and the blue
blood of the veins, having got rid of its carbon, which formed the
carbonic acid of the breath, has again become bright red blood. We
must therefore, in pursuing our description, cease to speak of blue,
or venous blood, and of white milk, or chyle, for the two have now
combined, and, with the oxygen of the air, have formed arterial
blood.
WHY.
1 My flesh and ifiy heart fainteth ; but God is the strength of my heart, and my
portion for ever." PSALM LXXIII,
888. What becomes of tlie arterial Hood thus formed?
It is sent back from the lungs to the right side of the heart,
from which it is sent into the great trunk of the aorta, and from
thence it passes into smaller blood-vessels, until it finds its way tc
e-'-ery part of the system.
Fig. 61. THE OR&AKS OP RESPIRATION.
A. The heart.
BB. The lungs.
C. The aorta, and on either side of the aorta the vessels which convoy tlio
venous blood to the lungs to be oxygenised, and the corresponding vessels which
return it to the heart, after it has undergone that operation. (For aorta see
Fig. 50.)
D. The trachea,, or large air passage, through which the air passes into tho
spongy texture of the lungs, when we breathe.
E E. Arteries and veins, being the trunks of the vessels that supply tho
head, &c.
889. Why does the chest expand when we breathe ?
Because the lungs consist of millions of hollow tubes, and
cells, which, having been emptied by throwing off carbonic acid
gas and nitrogen, become compressed, and the atmospheric nil
THE REASON WHY. 209
"All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils, My
lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit." JOB xxvu.
flowing into these millions of spaces, and filling the lungs, just ag
water fills and swells a sponge, causes them to expand, and occupy
greater room.
890. How does the Hood communicate with the air in the
Through the sides of very minute vessels, of which, perhaps, a
fine hair gives us the best conception. But these vessels are
twisted and wound round each other in such a curious manner,
that they form millions of cells, and by being twisted and wound,
a much greater surface of air and Hood are brought to act upon
each other, than could otherwise be accomplished.
891. Why does the blood which is thus formed, impart
vitality to the parts to which it is sent ?
Because the blood is itself vitalised is, in fact, alive, and
capable of diffusing life and vitality to the organisation of which it
forms a part.
This is a very wonderful fact, but no less true than wonderful,
that dead matter which, but a little while ago, was being ground by
the teeth, softened by the saliva, and solved by the gastric juice and
bile, has now acquired life. Nobody can tell the precise stage or
moment when it began to live. But somewhere between the stomach
and the lungs, melted by the gastric juice, softened by the secretion
of the pancreas, separated by the bile of the liver, macerated by the
muscular fibres of the bowels, taken up by the absorbents, warmed
by the heat of the body, and aerated in the lungs, it has by one, or
by all of these processes combined, been changed from the dead to
the living state, and now forms part of the vital fiuid of the system.
CHAPTER XLIII.
892. Why do we know that the blood has become endowed
with vital powers ?
Because, in the course of its formation, it has not only undergone
change of conditioa and colour ; but, if examined now by the micro-
scope, it will be found to consist of millions of minute cells, or discs,
210 THE HEASON WHY.
"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall
mount up with wings as eagles ; they shall run and not be weary ;
and they shall walk and not faint." ISAIAH xx.
which float in a watery fluid. The paste produced by mastication con-
sisted of a crude admixture of the atoms of food ; the cream (chyme)
formed from this in the stomach, presents to the microscope a
heterogeneous mass of matter, exhibiting no appearance whatever of
a new organic arrangement ; the milk (chyle) which is formed in
the intestines is found to contain a great - number of very small
molecules, which probably consist of some fatty matter ; as the
chyle progresses towards the thoracic duct (Fig. 50), it appjars to
contain more of these, and slight indications present themselves of
the approach towards a new organic condition.
But wherever vitalisation begins, no human power can say
with confidence. Yet there can be no doubt that the blood is both
organised and vitalised, and that it consists of corpuscles, or little
cells, enclosing matters essential to life.
893. Why does the blood circulate ?
Because all the bones, muscles, blood-vessels, nerves, glands,
cartilages, &c., of which the body is composed, are constantly under-
going a change of substance. It is a condition of their life, health,
and strength, that they shall be " renewed," and the blood is the great
source of the materials by which the living temple is kept in repair.
894. How is the body renewed by the blood ?
Every drop of blood is made up of a large number of corpuscles,
each of which contains some of the elements essential to the wants
of the system.
Let us, to simplify the subject, consider the blood vessels of the
body to be so many canals, on the banks of which a number of
inhabitants live, and require constant sustenance. The corpuscles
of the blood are the boats which are laclen with that sustenance,
and when the heart beats, it is a signal for them to start on their
journey. Away they go through the arch of the great acrta, and
some of the earliest branches which it sends off convey blood to
the arms. We will now for a moment dismiss the word artery, and
keep up the figure of a system of canals, with a number of towns
upon their banks.
Well, away go a fleet of boats through the aorta canal, until
they reach a point which approaches Shoulder-town - t some of the
THE SEASON WHY.
211
1 Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished ; but the seed
of the righteous shall be de ivered." PEOVEBBS xxi.
boats pass into the axillary canal and Shoulder-town is supplied ;
the other boats proceed along the humeral canal until they ap-
proach Elbow-town, when another division of the boats pass into
other branch canals and supply the wants of the neighbourhood ;
the others have passed into the ulnar canals and the radial canals
until they have approached Wrist-town and Hand-town, which are
respectively supplied ; and then the two canals have formed a junc-
tion across the palm and supplied Palm-town, where they have
given off branches and boats to supply the four Finger-towns, and
Thumb-town.
Between A and B the brachial
canal, which gives off branches to
supply Elbow-town, &c., and then
divides into two main courses, di-
verging to the opposite sides of the
arm, and sending a smaller canal
down the centre.
D D. The point where the ulnar
canal and the radial canal, after
having passed and supplied Wrist-
town, form a junction, running
through Palm-town, and in their
course giving off branches to supply
the four Finger-towns and Thumb-
town.
For further explanations of the
engraving, see 57.
895. How does the blood
return to the lungs, after it
has reached the extremities ?
The veins corstitute a sys-
tem of vessels corresponding
to the arteries. We may say
that the arteries form the down
canal, and the veins the up
canal. The arteries, com-
mencing in the great trunk oi
the aorta, branch off into large
and then into smaller tubes,
until they form capillary or
5-2. ILLUSTRATION OP TUB hair-like vessels, penetrating
SYSTEM OP CANALS THAT SUPPLT
TUK FOUK-AIiM WITH BLOOD.
212 THE SEASON WHY.
' As for man his days are as grass ; as a flower of the field so he flourisheth."
PSALM cm.
The capillary extremities of the arteries, unite with the capillary
extremities of the veins, and the blood passes from the one set of
vessels into the other. As the arteries become smaller from the
point where they receive the blood, so the veins grow larger ; the
venous capillaries, pour their contents into small vessels, and these
again into larger ones, until the great venous trunks are reached,
and the blood is passed again into the heart as at first described.
(Fig. 50.)
896. Why do we see Hue marks upon our arms and
hands ?
Because large veins lie underneath the skin, through which the
blood of the fingers and hand is conveyed back to the heart.
897. WJiy are the veins more perceptible than the
arteries ?
Because the arteries are buried deeper in the flesh, for
protection. It would be more dangerous to life to sever by
accident an artery than a vein. A person might bleed longer
from a vein than from an artery, without endangering life ; because
the arteries supply the life sustaining blood. The Almighty,
therefore, has buried the arteries for safety.
898. Why when we prick the flesh with a needle does it
bleed?
Because the capillary arteries and veins are so fine, and are so
thickly distributed all over the body, that not even the point of a
needle can enter the flesh without penetrating the coats of several
of these small vessels.
899. What occurrs during the circulation of the blood ?
Not only do the various parts to which the boats are sent take
from them whatever they require, but the boats collect all those
matters for which those parts have no further use. The bones,
the nerves, the muscles, &c., all renew themselves as the
boats pass along; and all give something to. the boats to
bring back. One of the chief exchanges is that of oxygen for
THE REASON WHY. 213
w Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord."
PSALM CL.
carbon, by which a gentle heat is diffused throughout the sys-
tem. It is for this purpose that fresh air is so constantly
necessary.
But other exchanges take place. The blood, in addition to
oxygen and carbon, contains hydrogen and nitrogen. But it contains
its four elements in various forms of combination, producing the
following materials for the use of the body : of 1 ,000 parts of blood,
about 779 are tvater ; 141 are red globules ; 69 are albumen ; 3 are
fibrin ; 2 are fatty matter ; 6 are various salts.
Albumen and fibrin are a kind of flesh imperfectly formed, and
probably are chiefly used in repairing the muscles. The red
corpuscles contain the oxygen which goes to combine with the
superabundant carbon, and develope heat ; the fatty matters
probably repair the fatty tissues, and glands that are of a fatty
nature ; and the various salts contribute to the bones, and to the
chemical properties of those secretions which are formed by the
glands, &c., while the great proportion of water is employed in
cleansing, softening, and cooling the whole, or the living edifice,
and it is "the medium through which all the nutrition of the body is
distributed.
900. Why do we feel the pulse beat ?
Because every time that the heart contracts it send a fresh supply
of blood to the blood-vessels, and the motion thus imparted creates
a general pulsation throughout the system : but it is more distinctly
perceived at the pulse, because there a rather large artery lies near
to the surface.
901. What becomes of the matter collected ly the blood in
the course of its circulation ?
We have already explained that carbon is thrown off from the
lungs in the form of carbonic acid gas. But there are many other
matters to be separated from the venous blood, and its purification
is assisted by the action of the liver, which is supplied with a large
vein, called the portal vein, which conveys into the substance of the
liver, a large proportion of the venous blood, from which that organ
draws off those matters wliich form the bile, and other matters
which are transmitted with the bile to the bowels. The liver and
214
THE SEASON WHY.
"Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I
may learn thy commandments." PSALM cxix.
the lungs, therefore, are the great purifiers of the venous blood.
But there are also smaller organs that assist in the same work.
Fig. 53. SHOWING THE DISTRIBUTION OP BLOOD THEOUGH BRANCHES OP
THE AOETA.
A. The aorta.
B. Branches given off for the aorta to supply one portion of the intestines.
C. Branches given off by the aorta to supply other portions of the intestines.
A complete communication maybe traced between these vessels from the origin
of one to that of the other.
D. The pancreas, or sweetbread, a large gland that forms the pancreatic jnice,
which it pours in through the duct. See Fig. 50.
E E B. The large intestines, forming the termination of the alimentary canal
CHAPTER XLIV.
902. Why when we cut our flesh does it heal f
THE EEASON WHY. 215
" And God said, Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness ; and let
them have dominion over the flsb of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and
over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing." GEN. I.
Because the blood coagulates over the cut, and throws out a kind
of lymph, which forms an incipient flesh, and excludes the air while
the blood-vessels are engaged in repairing the part.
903. Why, since all the substance of the lody undergoes
change, do we preserve the same features throughout our
lives ?
Because our substance changes in the minutest atoms ; and each
separate atom has a life of itself, the maintenance of which pre-
serves the unity and permanence of the whole.
904. Why do moles upon the skin continue permanent,
while bruises and wounds disappear ?
Because moles are themselves organised formations, and repair
themselves just as any other part of the body does. But bruises
and wounds are the result of accidental disturbances, which in course
of time become removed.
905. Why do the marks of deep cuts sometimes remain?
If the cut is so deep and serious as to destroy the system of
vessels which supply and repair the part, then it is evident that they
cannot work so perfectly as when in their sound condition. Their
functions are, therefore, interfered with, and instead of having
flesh uniform with the other parts of the system; there results a
tear, or a wound imperfectly repaired.
906. Why when we hold our hands against a candle-
light do we perceive a beautiful crimson colour ?
Because the fluids and vessels of the body are in some degree
transparent, and the thin textures of the sides of the fingers allows
the light to pass, and shows the beautiful crimson colour of the
blood.
If the web of a frog's foot be brought iu the field of a good microscope, and
.set against a strong light, the blood may be seen in circulation, with the most
wonderful effect. Each vessel, and every globule of blood, can be seen most
distinctly, and the junction of the arteries and veins can be clearly traced. The
little boats of nutrition may be seen chasing each other in rapid succession,
and when the animal exerts itself to escape, the flow of the blood increases ; and
not unfrequently, under these circumstances of agitation, have we seen
two or three blood discs struggling together to enter a vessel that was too
small for them. Again and again they have endeavoured to find a passage, until
one of them happening to slip forward, got away, followed by the others 1
216 ^ HE SEASON WHY.
"' Know ye that the Lord ho is God: it is he that hath made us, and not \\*
ourselves : we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture." PSALH c.
907. Why does the flesh underneath the nails look red ?
Because the transparent texture of the nails enables us to see the
colour of the vascular structure that lies underneath the skin.
Vascular Full of vessels. In this instance, full of capillary blood-vessels.
908. Why have we nails at our fingers' ends ?
Because they give firmness to the touch, and enable us to apply the
extremities of the fingers to many useful purposes for which they
would otherwise be unfitted. They enable us to press the tips of the
fitigers, where the highest degree of sensitiveness prevails, so as to
bring the largest amount of nervous perception into the sense of
touch.
909. Why do white spots occur upon the nails ?
Because the vascular surface underneath is attached to the horny
texture of the nail ; but by knocks and other causes, the nail some-
times separates in small patches from the membrane below, and
becomes dry and opaque.
910. Why is there a circular line of whitish colour at
the root of the nail ?
Because there the nail is newly formed by the vascular substance
out of which it grows, and has not yet assumed its proper horny
and transparent nature.
911. Why is the eye-ball white ?
Because the blood-vessels that supply its surface are so very fine
that they do not admit the red corpuscles of the blood.
912. Why does the eye-ball sometimes become blood-shot ?
Because, under exciting causes of inflammation, the blood-vessels
become distended, and the red corpuscles enter, producing a net-
work of red blood-vessels across the white surface of the eye.
913. Why are the lips red?
Because the lips are formed of the mucous membrane that lines the
body internally, and covers the surface of most of the internal parts.
This membrane con:ains a great number of minute red vessels,
which give softness and moisture to the surface. A very beautiful
THE KEASOS \VJIY. 217
" Hast thou not known, hast thou not hoard, that the everlasting God, the
Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary ?
there is no searching of his understanding "ISAIAH XL.
illustration of the softness, moisture, and delicate colour of the
mucous membrane is afforded by turning up and examining the
under surface of the upper eye -lid.
914. Why do delicate persons look pale and languid ?
Because, generally from the want of exercise and fresh air, their
blood is deficient of the healthy proportion of red corpuscles.
915. Why does exercise and fresh air impart to healthy
persons a red and fresh appearance ?
Because the redness of the blood is due to the amount of oxygen
which it contains, and air and exercise oxygenize the blood, and
diffuse it throughout the system.
916. Sow is the blood propelled through the arteries ?
By the very powerful contraction (and alternate dilation) of the
thick muscles of the heart, assisted also by the muscular cords of the
blood-vessels themselves, and in many instances by the compression of
the muscles in which the arteries lie embedded.
917. Why are the capillary arteries capable of receiving
the great quantity of Hood sent out through the larger
vessels ?
Because the capillary vessels are so numerous, that though they
are infinitely smaller, they are capable of receiving in their minute
tubes the whole of the quantity of blood transmitted to them through
the larger vessels.
918. Why, when we sit with our legs crossed, do we see
the foot that is raised move at regular intervals ?
Because the pressure upon the muscles of the leg retards the
progress of the blood until it forces itself through the compressed
vessels, and thereby imparts a pulsation which moves the leg and
foot.
919. Why are capillary blood-vessels found in every part
of the system ?
Because it is through these small vessels alone that the substances
of the body are renewed and changed. Even the larger blood-
10
218 THE REASON WHY.
" All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto thee, which deliverest the pooi
from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy
from him that spoileth him ?" PSALM xxxv.
vessels do not sustain themselves upon the blood ivhich they contain,
but receive into their coats numerous capillary vessels by which
they are nourished.
920. How much Hood does the human body contain ?
From twenty -five to thirty -five pounds. (See 623.)
921. Sow does the Hood ascend in the veins, in opposition
to gramtation ?
In addition to the muscular coats of the veins, and the influence
of muscular action upon them, there are in the veins numerous
semi-circular valves, which are not found in the arteries. These
valves extend from the sides of the veins in such a manner that they
allow the free passage of the blood upwards, but a backward motion
of the blood would expand the cup-like valves and stop the passage ;
so that the blood can only move in one direction, and that towards
the heart.
922. How frequently does the total amount of Hood circu-
late through the system ?
The blood circulates once through the body in about two minutes.
If, therefore, we estimate the amount of blood at twenty-four pounds,
it follows that no less than twelve pounds of blood pass through the
heart every minute ; and it is estimated that if the blood moved with
equal force in a straight line it would pass through one hundred and
fifty feet in a minute.
CHAPTER XLV.
923. How many bones are there in the human body f
There are two hundred and forty-six, and they are apportioned
to the various parts of the body in the following numbers :
Head * v . "],."' . ' , ; . .8
Ears .:..'- - , . >: . f . 6
Face ,-'. -''* '.' $$#)., . . . 14
Teeth 32
Back-bone and its base . . .26
Chest, &c. , 26
THE REASON WHY. 219
"Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth, as when one cutteth and
cleaveth wood upon the earth." PSALM CXLI.
Arms and Hands . * . .64
Legs and Feet '-, 62
Small moveable bones ... 8
924. Of what substances are the bones composed ?
One hundred parts of bone consist of
Cartilage . . . . 3217 parts
Blood-vessels *. - . '. T13
Carbonate of lime .... 11*30
Phosphate of lime . . . 51'04
Fluate of lime 2'00
Phosphate of Magnesia . . 1'16
Soda, chloride of sodium . . 1'20
100-00
925. What are the uses of the bones ?
They protect soft and delicate organs ; they form a framework to
vhich the organs are attached, and by which they are kept in their
places; and they supply a mechanism, by which the motions of the
body are produced, in combination with the muscles.
926. Why is the brain placed within the skull ?
Because that delicate and vital organ, being the centre and the
root of the nervous system, requires a position of the greatest safety.
927. Why are the bones that constitute the vertebrae
(back-bone) \ollowed out, so as to form a continuous groove?
Because thiough that groove the spinal cord passes out from the
brain. Being in the centre of that column of bones, the spinal cord
receives from them a similar protection to that which the brain
obtains from the skull.
928. Why is the head set upon the neck ?
Because in that position it obtains the freest motion, can turn in
any direction, and is placed relatively to the other parts of the
body, in that situation where it acquires the greatest possible
advantage.
929. Why are the eyes placed in the sockets of the skull ?
Because the bones of the skull afford protection to the delicate
220
THE EEASOJS WHY.
"Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones, Behold I will cause breath to enter
into you, and ye shall live :
and complicated structure of the eyes, and supply points of
attachment, and grooves, by which the muscles are enabled to turn
the eyes freely, and thereby extend the field of vision.
930. Why are the bones of the skull arched ?
Because in that form they acquire greater strength, and hence
the utmost degree of safety is combined with extreme lightness of
material.
Fig. 54. VIEW OP THE BONES OF THE THORAX, OB CHEST, SHOWING THE
PROTECTION AFFORDED TO THE ORGANS OF CIRCULATION AND BESPIHA-
TION.
A. The sternum, or breast-bone.
B B. The ribs, which rise a little from behind, and fall as they come for-
ward, by which they acquire a greater flexibility.
C 0. The cartilaginous points of the short ribs, by which their expansive
and compressive powers are much increased.
D E. Part of the vertebral column, or back-bone.
931. Why are the bones of the skull divided by sutures
(seams), with, points which, fit into each, other like small teeth ?
Because, by that arrangement, concussions of the skull, which
might be fatal to the brain, are deadened, and injuries from
accident greatly modified.
.HE SEASON WHY.
221
"And I will lay the sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and
cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live ; and ye shall know
that I am the Lord." EZEKIEL xxxvii.
932. Why are the heart, lungs, fyc., placed within the chest ?
Because the functions of those organs require considerable
space, while their importance in the system of life, renders it
essential that they should be securely protected from the
probabilities of accident.
933. Why are the heart and lungs enclosed for protection
in a series of ribs, and not in a close case, like the brain ?
Because, by the inflation and contraction of the lungs, their
capacity is constantly changing. When man takes a moderate
inspiration, he inhales about thirty cubic inches of air, and the
lungs increase in size one-eighteenth of their whole capacity.
Consequently, were they enclosed in a frame of fixed dimensions, it
must needs be, to that extent at least, larger than is necessary,
when the frame is made to dilate and contract with the capacity of
the lungs.
So perfect is the Almighty contrivance, that not only are the ribs
made to protect the lungs, but, by their elasticity, and the contrac-
tions and dilations of the muscles which lie between them, they assist
the lungs in their labours, and work with them in perfect harmony.
934. Why are the bones of the arms,
legs, fyc., made hollow ?
Because lightness is thereby combined with
strength. There is a provision by which, in
the extremities of bones, where an enlarged
surface is required, lightness is still com-
bined with the necessary degree of strength.
The bones are made up of a cellular forma-
tion ; and this generally occurs in parts
which are much called into action, in the
various movements of the body.
A. Lower part of the bone of the thigh.
B. Head of the bone of the leg.
C. The knee cap, showing its relation to the other
THE CELLULAR STEUC- bones, and the manner in which it is enclosed by the
TURE OP BONE, BY tendons seen at Fig. 58.
D. A pad of fat, lessening the frictipn of the bones,
and modifying the shocks produced by jumping, Ac.
WHICH LIGHTNESS AND
222 THE SEASON
" Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O y
dry bones, hear the word of the Lord." EZEKIEL xxxvu.
935. Why are the 'bones of the arms and legs formed in
long shafts ?
Because a considerable leverage is gained, by which the advan-
tages of quickness of motion, and increase of mechanical power,
are secured.
936. Why are the bones of the hands and feet numerous
and small ?
Because the motions of the hands and feet are very varied and
complicated. There are no less than twenty-eight bones in one
hand and wrist; and about as many in a foot and ankle. To
these are fastened a great number of ligaments and muscles, by
which their varied compound movements are controlled. But for
the complexity of the mechanism of our hands and feet, our motions
would be extremely awkward, and many of the valuable mechanical
inventions which now benefit mankind, could never have been
introduced. The bones of the hands and feet are in number equal
to one-half of the whole of the bones of the body.
CHAPTER XLVI.
937. What are ligaments ?
Ligaments consist of bands and cords of a tough, fibrous, and
'smooth substance, by which the bones are bound together and held
in their places, allowing them freedom to move, and supplying
smooth surfaces over which they glide.
938. W hy are the joints bound with ligaments ?
Because the bones would otherwise be constantly liable to slip
from their placet.
THE SEASON WHY. 223
1 That which *a born of the flesh is flesh ; and that which is born of the Spirit
is spirit." JOHN ill.
939. What are tendons ?
Tendons are long cords, of a substance similar in its nature to
cartilage, by which the muscles are attached to the bones.
Fig. 86. SHOWING A BALL AND SOCKET JOINT, AND THE MANNEB IK WHICH
LIGAMENTS AEE EMPLOYED TO HOLD BONES IN THEIE POSITIONS.
A. The ball, or head of the thigh bone.
B. The socket, showing the ligament in the socket, which holds the head of
the bone in its place, but allows it free motion.
C. JJigaments tied from bone to bone, giving firmness to the parts.
940. Why are tendons used to attach the muscles to the
bones ?
Because, by this arrangement, the large muscles "by which the
extremities are moved, may be placed at some distance from the
bones upon which they act, and thus the extremities, instead of
being large and clumsy, are small and neat.
941. How many muscles are there in the human body ?
There are about four hundred and, forty-six muscles that
have been dissected and described, and the actions of which are
perfectly understood. But there is probably a much larger number
of muscles, and of compound actions of muscles, than the skill of
man has been able to recognise.
224
THE BEASON WHY.
** All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another
flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds." COEINTHIANS xvi.
57. _ ILLUSTRATION OF THE
BELATION OP MUSCLES, TEUTONS,
AND BONES.
942, What is the consti-
tution of a muscle ?
Every muscle is made up of
a number of parallel fleshy
fibres, or threads, which are
bound together by a smooth
and soft tissue, forming 1 a
sheath or case to the muscle,
and enabling it to glide freely
over the surfaces upon which
it moves.
A. Lower extremity of the muscle
which draws the fore-arm towards
the upper-arm, bends the elbow,
raises the hand to the head, and is
powerfully exerted in pulling, lift-
ing, &c.
0. A muscle which gives off four
long tendons, which pass under the
ligaments of the wrist, one to each
finger, and by which the fingers are
bent upon the palm of the hand, as
in grasping, &c.
F. Tendon of a muscle which
draws the little finger and the thumb
towards each other.
The ligaments may be seen enfold-
the finger-joints, and also crossing
the wrist, underneath the tendons.
The muscles are compressed into tendinous cords at their ends.
by which they are united to the bones.
They are arranged in pairs, having reciprocal actions each
muscle having a companion muscle by which the part which it
moves is restored to its original position, when the influence of the
first muscle is withdrawn, and the stimulus given to bring back the
part.
943. Why can we raise our fingers ?
Because muscles which lie on the fore-arm, and have their
THE BEASON WHY. 225
" Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced ine with bones and
sinews." JOB xi.
tendons fastened at the ends of the fingers, contract, and by
becoming shorter, draw the fingers upward, and towards the
arm.
944. Why can we throw back the fluff ers after they have
been raised?
Because the muscles at the back of the arm, whose tendons are
attached to the back of the fingers, contract and restore them
to their former position.
945. What degree of strength do the muscles possess ?
The degree of strength of a muscle depends upon the healthy
condition of the muscle, the amount of stimulus which it receives at
the time of exertion, and the manner in which its powers are
applied*.
The great muscle of the calf of the leg has been found, when
removed from a dead body, to be capable of sustaining a weight
equal to seven times the weight of the entire body
But the contractile power of the living muscles is very great :
the thigh bone has frequently been broken by muscular contractions
in fits of epilepsy. And in cases where there has been a dislocation
of the thigh, the head of the thigh-bone being thrown out of its
socket, (Fig. 56) it has been found necessary to employ strong
ropes, attached to a wheel turned by several hands, in order to
overcome the contraction of the excited muscles, and to enable the
operator to restore the bone to its place.
946. What is the stimulus which sets the muscles in
action ?
The muscles are excited to action by the nerves, which they
receive from the spinal cord.
9^7. Why does it require the influence of the will to set
the arms in motion?
Because the muscles which form their mechanism are voluntary
uuusfles that is, they are subject to the will of man, and infli*-
* 10
226
THE REASON WHY.
' And he took him by the right iiaiid, and lifted him up ; and immediately his
feet and ancle bones received strength." ACTS in.
enced by impulses directed to them
through the nervous system by the
mind, which is the governing power.
948. Why does the heart beat
without any effort of the will?
Because the muscles of the heart are
involutary muscles that is, they are
independent of the will, and receive a
continuous nervous stimulus which is not
under the controul of the mind.
A. A large ligament, which covers the knee
pan, or moveable bone of the knee, by whic-h
the ends of the bones of the thigh and leg are
kept from slipping over each other.
B. A muscle which passes underneath the
cartilages of the ankle, and gives off four ten-
dons, which are distributed to the toes, and by
which they are extended in elongating the foot,
walking, &c.
U. Part of the muscle which forms the fleshy
bulb of the calf of the leg, and which terminates
in the large tendon attached to the heel, called
the tendon of Achilles.
D. One of the ligaments which bind the
tendons and the bones of the ankle.
E. Arteries proceeding from the large vessel
descending the leg, by which the toes are sup-
plied.
949. Why are the muscles of the
arms, fyc., made subject to the con-
troul of the will ? 9 ..
Fig. 58. MUSCLES AND VES-
SELS OF THE LEG- AND
FOOT.
Because, as they supply the mechanism through which we adapt
ourselves to our varying wants and circumstances, it was necessary
that they should be placed under the controul of the mental power,
and be moved only in accordance with mans necessities.
THE SEASON WHY. 227
'' If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not ; doth not he that pondereth the heart
consider it ? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it ? and shall noi
he render to every man according to his works ?" PROVEEBS xxiv.
950. Why are the motions of the heart, <$fc. } made
independent of the will ?
Because, as the necessity for the heart's motion is fixed and
unalterable, the constant motion of the heart could be best secured
by giving it a fixed nervous influence, by which it might be
unfailingly prompted to fulfil its functions.
If the movements of man's heart were subject to his will, he
would be constantly required to regard the operations of that
organ ; and so large an amount of mental care and physical
exertion would have to be employed in that direction, that man's
sole work would be to keep himself alive. Hence we see the
goodness of the Creator in giving life to man, and in keeping the
vital impulses under his divine care.
CHAPTER XLVII.
951. What are nerves ?
The nerves are branches of the brain and the spinal cord ; they
are distributed in great numbers to all the active and sensitive parts
of the body.
952. What is the spinal cord ?
The spinal cord is a long and large cord of nervous matter,
which extends from the brain through a continuous tube formed by
corresponding hollows in the bones of the back. It serves as a
nervous trunk for the distribution of nerves, just as the aorta dis-
tributes branches of blood-vessels.
953. Why is the spinal cord placed in the grooves formed
ly the back-bone ?
Being a very vital part of the system, and from the delicacy of
its structure liable to injuries, it is set in the back-bone for
protection ; and so great is its security that it is only by force of
an unusual kind that it can be injured.
228
TITE REASON WHY.
- A sound heart L the life of the flesh : but envy is the rottenness of the
bones." PROVERBS xiv.
Fig. 59. SHOWING THE
DISTRIBUTION OP NERVES
AND VEINS, AND ILLUS-
TRATING THE MANNER
IN "WHICH THEY PASS
THROUGH THE FLESH TO
BEACH THE PARTS TO
WHICH THEIE FUNCTIONS
BELONG.
954. How can branches proceed
from it, if it is so securely encased
in bone ?
Because in the bones, on each side of
of the spinal cord, there are smaller
grooves for the transmission of the
nervous branches.
955. Of what does the nervous sys-
tem consist ?
Of the brain, the spinal cord, and the
branches which are called nerves.
A B. Veins of the fore-arm.
B. C;mal formed in the muscle, through which
a trunk-vein emerges.
0. Canal formed in the muscle, through which
a large nerve emerges.
D. Canal through which a vein enters to
communicate with the deep muscles of the
arm.
956. What is the constitution of a
nerve ?
It consists of a thin membrane, or sheath, surrounding a greyish
oily matter, which forms the nervous marrow. In the centre of
this marrow is usually found a small fibre, which is supposed to be
the essential part of the nerve ; and most nerves consist of a number
of these sheaths enclosing fibres running in parallel directions.
957. What is the nervous fluid ?
The term nervous fluid is used to express our ideas of the mode
by which the brain and spinal cord influence the remote parts : just
as we say the electric fluid, without knowing that such a fluid
exists. It is the most convenient form of expression.
958. How many classes of nerves are there T
There are :
1. The nerves of motion.
2. The nerves of sensation.
THE SEASON WHY. 229
M Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink;
but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy
may be full." n JOHN.
3. The nerves of special sense.
4. The nerves of sympathy.
959. What are the nerves of motion?
The nerves of motion are those which, in obedience to the will,
stimulate the muscles to act, and apportion the amount of
stimulation they convey to the degree of exertion required.
Fig. 60. MUSCLES OF THE HEAD AND FACE, WITH NERVES DISTRIBUTED
THERETO.
A A A. The facial nerve emerging from underneath the ear, and distributing
branches to the cheeks, temple, forehead, &c. This nerve excites the muscles
of the face, and is chiefly instrumental iu producing the expressions of the
countenance under the changing emotions of the mind.
B B B. Muscles by which various motions are imparted to the head, face,
Oiouth, &c., under the stimulus of the nerves.
960. W hat are the nerves of sensation ?
The nerves of sensation are those which impart a consciousness
to the brain that its commands to the nerves of motion have beeu
obeyed, and how far they have been fulfilled.
230 THE REASON WHY.
" Oil that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful
works to the children of men." PSALM evil.
Let us perform a simple experiment, which will more clearly illustrate the
phenomena of motion and of sensation, which we are now describing, than
a great deal of writing upon the subject. You hold in your hand thin book :
close it, and set it upon the table ; lay your hands passively upon your lap,
and then will your hand, to take up the book, which is the same as to say, com-
mand your hand" to take up the book. What occurs ? The hand, immediately
obeying your desire, stretches forward to the book, and takes hold of it. How
do you know that you have hold of it ? You see that you have : but were your
eyes closed, you would be equally aware that the hand had reached the book,
and fulfilled your wishes. It is by the nerves of sensation that you are made
aware that the hand has fulfilled your instructions.
Consider what took place in the simple action. In the first instance, a
desire arose in your mind to take up the book. The brain is the organ of the
mind ; and having branches either proceeding from itself, or from the spinal
cord, to every part of the body branches that traverse like telegraphic wires
throughout every part of the system, it transmitted instructions along the
nerves that proceed to the muscles of the arm and hand, directing them to take
up the book. This was done instantly ; and as soon as it was done you became
conscious that your will had been obeyed because the nerves sent back a sen-
sation to the brain acquainting it that the book had been taken up, and that at
the moment of the dispatch it was in the firm hold of the hand.
In all the varied motions of the body this double action of the nerves takes
place. It is obvious that without an outivard impulse from the brain, upon
which the desire of the mind first made an impression, no motion of the mus-
cles of the arm and the hand could have taken place ; and it is also obvious that
without an inward impulse from the nerves to the brain you would not havo
known that the muscles had fulfilled your instructions. The hand might have
dropped by the side of the bouk, or have gone too far, or not far enough, and you
would not have been waare of the result, but for an inward communication
through the nerves.
We are not now speaking of the nerves which endow us with the sense of
feeling; because they are regarded as separate and distinct from those nerves
that produce in us consciousness of muscular response. When we walk, rise, or
sit, we are made conscious, without any special feeling being exerted, that the
muscles have placed the limb, or the body, in the desired position, that it is
set down safely and firmly, and that we may repose upon it securely without
further attention. We refer the impressions made by the book upon the nerves
of the hand, and which enable us to tell whether it feels hot or cold,
whether its surface is rough or smooth, and so on, to the special sense of feeling.
The consciousness of muscular action is a separate and distinct function ; and
it is generally believed that the same nerves that convey the command of the
will outward, bringing back the intimation that the will has been obeyed, but
that different fibres of the nerves convey the outward and the imoard impulses.
A single nerve may therefore be .'ikened to a double wire connected with the
electric telegraph : one transmitti, g despatches in one direction, and the other
in the opposite direction.
961. What are the nerves of special sense ?
The nerves of special sense ar those throusrh which we hear, see t
feel, smell, and taste.
THE SEASON WHY. 231
; For the Lord seeth not as man seeth ; for man looketh on the outward appear*
ance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." SAMUEL xvi.
962, What are the nerves of sympathy ?
The nerves of sympathy, or the system of sympathetic nerves,
are those which are distributed to the internal organs, and which
are independent of the will. They regulate the motions of the
heart, the lungs, the stomach, &c., and stimulate the organs of
secretion, so that those organs work in harmony with each other.
As the internal organs are all more or less dependent upon each
other, and unite their functions for similar ends, it is obvious that
there should prevail among them a mutual consciousness of their
state. Otherwise, when the stomach had formed chyme, the liver
might have no bile ready to fulfil its office ; the absorbents might
be in a state of rest at the moment when nutrition was set before
them ; and the heart might beat slowly, while the lungs were in
active exertion to obtain additional blood to support an active
exercise. The sympathetic system of nerves therefore regulates
and harmonises these internal functions.
CHAPTER XLVIII.
963. Why do we see objects ?
Because the light which is reflected from them enters our eyes
and produces images of their forms upon a membrane of nerves
called the retina, just as images are produced upon a mirror.
964. Why does this enable us to see ?
Because the membrane which receives the images of objects is
connected with the optic nerve which transmits to the brain impres-
sions made by the reflections of light, just as other nerves convey
the effects of feeling, hearing, tasting, &c.
965. Why are we enabled to move our eyes ?
Because various muscles are so placed in relation to the eye-
ball, that their contraction draws the eye in the direction required.
We are thus enabled to adjust the direction of the eye to the position
of the objects we desire to see, in other words to set the mirror in
such a 2 osition that it will receive the reflection. (See 517.)
232 THE REASON WHY.
' Truly the light is sw eet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the
sun." ECCLESIASTES xi.
966. Why are we enabled to see large objects upon so
small a surface ?
Because the lenses and humours of the eye collect the rays of
light coming from every direction, and, bringing them into a focus,
transmit them to the retina, where each ray impresses upon the
nervous surface the qualities it received from the object which
reflected it.
I
Fig. 61. THE EYEBALL AND ITS MUSCLES.
A. Portion of bone through which the optic nerve passes in its communication
between the brain and the eye.
B. The optic nerve, from before which an external muscle has been cut away,
leaving its two attachments.
C. The globe of the eye.
D. The muscle which turns the eye outward, and which is counteracted by a
muscle on the other side.
E. The muscle which passes through a loop, or staple of cartilage I, and turns
the eye obliquely. It is counteracted by a muscle situated underneath.
F. The muscle situated underneath, which turns tlie eyeball upwards, and is
counteracted by
G. The muscle which turns the eyeball downwards.
H. The muscle attached to a bone which turns the eyeball upwards.
I. The cartilaginous loop through which a muscle passes.
J. The front chamber of the eye filled with a clear fluid.
K. Fragment of the bone by which one of the muscles is fastened.
967. Why do some persons squint ?
Because it sometimes happens that a muscle of the eye acts too
powerfully for its companion muscle, and draws the eye too much
on one side.
968. Why does the pupil of the eye look Hack ?
Because the pupil is an opening through which the rays of light
pass into the chamber of the eye. There is, therefore, nothing in
the pupil, of the eye to reflect light.
THE REASON WHY. 233
** Keep me as the apple of thine eye ; hide me under the shadow of thy
wings." PSALM xvn.
969. Why is the pupil of the eye larger sometimes than
it others ?
Because the iris, a ring of extremely fine muscles which surround
the pupil, contracts when too much light falls upon the retina, and
dilates when the light is feeble. It therefore enlarges or
diminishes the size of the pupil to regulate the admission of
light.
Fig. 62. SECTION OF THE EYE SEEN FROJI BEHIND
A. The pupil of the eye through which the li'j;ht enters.
B. The iris, which dilates or contracts, and thereby increases or lessens the
size of the pupil.
C C. The three coats of the eye, called the sclerotic, choroid, and retina.
D. The ciliary processes, or hair-like muso'es, which have a slight vibratory
motion which they impart to the fluids of the eye.
E. The dark coat of the choroid, the coat forming the retina removed.
970. Why have we two eyes ?
Because the field of vision is thereby much extended; the
intensity of sight is also increased, the impressions upon the brain
being clearer and better defined, just as in a stereoscope the effect of
vision is heightened by a double picture ; the sense of sight being
more constantly exercised than any other sense during our waking
moments, one eye is frequently called upon to give rest to the
other ; and the important faculty of vision, being endangered by
the necessary exposure of some parts of the eye, and the equally
-234 THE SEASON WHY.
' The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their
cry." PSALM xxxiv.
necessary delicacy of an organ formed to receive impressions from
so ethereal an element as light, is rendered the more secure to us,
since though one eye may become enfeebled, diseased, or wholly
lost, the other eye will retain the blessing of sight.
971. Why, having two eyes, and each eye receiving a
reflection upon its retina, does the brain experience only one
impression of an object?
Because, besides those optical laws which bring upon the two
retinas the exactly corresponding images of the same objects, the
optic nerves meet before they reach the brain, and blend the
impulses which they convey.
972. Why are the eyes provided with eye-lids?
Because the eyes require to be defended from floating particles in
in the air, and to be kept moist and clean. The eye -lids form the
shutters of the eye, defending it when waking, by closing upon its
surface whenever danger is apprehended, moistening its surface when
it becomes dry, and covering it securely during the hours of sleep.
973. Why are the eye-lids fringed with eye-lashes?
Because the eye-lashes assist to modify the light, and to protect
the eye, without actually closing the eye-lids. When the eye -lids
are partially closed, as in very sunny or dusty weather, the
eye-lashes cross each other, forming a kind of shady lattice-work,
from the interspaces of which the eye looks out with advantage,
and sees sufficiently for the guidance of the body.
974. Why are we able to see at long or short distances ?
Because the crystalline lens of the eye is a moveable body, and
is pushed forward, or drawn back by fine muscular fibres, acccording
to the distances of the objects upon which we look. By these means
its focus becomes adjusted.
975. Why do we wink ?
Because, by the repeated action of winking, the eye is kept
moist and clean, and the watery fluid secreted by little glands in
the eye-lids, and at the sides of the eye, is spread equally over the
surface, instead of being allowed to accumulate. But the action of
THE EEASON WHY. 235
1 And tl.e eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee ; nor again the
head to the feet, I have no need of you." CORINTH, xii.
winking, or brightening the eye, is so instantaneous that it does not
impede the sight.
976. Whence are the humours and secretions of the eye
derived ?
From the blood, which flows abundantly to the eyes, and ia
circulated in capillary vessels that are spread out upon the
membranous coats of the eye-balls.
Fig. 63. SECTION OF THE EYE.
A and B. Tne sclerotic, choroid, and retina, the three layers or coats which
form the walls of the globe of the eye, and enclose its humours.
C C. The iris.
D. The front chamber of the eye, filled with watery humour .
E. The pupil, through which the rays of light pass to
F. The crystalline lens.
G G. The vitreous humour enclosed in cells formed by the hyaloid membrane.
H. An artery which supplies blood to the crystalline lens, and which passes
ihrough the centre of the optic nerve.
G. The optic nerve, showing the sheath in which the nerve is enclosed.
977. Why do tears form in the eyes ?
Because, under the emotions of the mind, the circulation of blood
in the brain, and in its nearest branches, becomes considerably
quickened. The eyes receive a larger amount of blood, and the
secretion of the lachrymal glands being increased, the fluid
overflows, and tears are formed. The use of tears is probably to
keep the eyes cool during the excitement of the brain. They are
formed also during laughing, but less frequently.
236 THE REASON WHY.
If the whole body were an eye, where were hearing ? if the whole were hearing
where were smelling ?" CORINTHIANS zir.
978. Why do we feel inconvenienced by sudden light?
Because an excess of light enters the eye before the iris has had
time to adjust the pupil to the amount of light to be received.
979. Why if we look upon a very bright light, and then
turn away, are we unable to see ?
Because the iris has so reduced the pupil while we were looking
at the bright light, that immediately upon turning to a darker object,
the pupil is too small to admit sufficient rays to enable us to see.
Fig. 64. CAPILLARY BLOOD-TESSELS OP THE BT.
A A. Capillary veins distributed over the sclerotic coat.
B. One of the trunks of the optic nerve.
0. A nerve communicating with the ciliary processes.
D. A vein running parallel with the nerve to the ciliary processet.
E. Side view of the iris.
980. Why do we see better after a short time ?
Because the iris has relaxed and enlarged the pupil, therefore we
receive more rays of light from the comparatively dark object, and
are enabled to see it more clearly.
981. Why do cats, bats, owls, Sfc., see in the dark ?
Because their eyes are made highly sensitive to small quantities
of light. It is also believed that there are certain properties of
light which affect their eyes, but do not affect ours. In other words,
THE BEASON WHY. 237
" He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." MATTHEW xi.
that there are some rays which are luminous to them which are
not luminous to us. Hence they find light in what we call darkness.
982. Why does the pupil of a cat's eye appear nearly closed
by day?
Because the cat's eye is so sensitive to light that the iris closes
the pupil almost entirely to shut out the too powerful light.
CHAPTER XLIX.
983. Why do we hear ?
Because the tympanum of the ear receives impressions from
sounds, and transmits those impressions to the brain in a similar
manner to that in which the retina of the eye transmits the
impressions made upon it by light.
984. Why is one part of the ear spread out externally ?
The external ear is a natural ear-trumpet, and serves to collect
the vibrations of sound, and to conduct them towards the internal
ear.
985. Why is the ear allowed to project, whilst the eye is
carefully enclosed ?
Because the external ear, being formed of tough cartilaginous
substance, and being very simple in its organisation, is but little
liable to injury.
986. Why do hairs grow across the entrance of the ears ?
Because they prevent the intrusion of insects, and of particles of
dust, by which otherwise the faculty of hearing would be impaired.
The insect called the ear-wig is popularly supposed to be so named from its
tendency to get into the human ear, and cause pain and madness by
penetrating to the brain. An earwig, however, is no more likely to get into
the ear than any other insect whose habit it is to penetrate the corollas of
flowers; and should an insect enter the ear, i could get no further than the
membrane of the tympanum,which spreads all over the auditory passage, just as
the parchment of a drum spreads over the entire circumference of that
instrument. The fact is, that the wing of the insect, when spread, resembles
the external ear in phape. I" is similar 4 o the wing of the stag beetle (see
Illustration), and this fancied resemblance of the wing of the insect to the ear
of man may have given rise to the name of ear-wing, which became corrupted
K> ear-wig.
238 THE EEASO WHY.
" Doth not the ear try words ? and the mouth taste his meat." JOB xn,
987. Why is wax secreted at the entrance of the ear?
Because, by the peculiar resinous property which it possesses, it
improves the sound-conducting power of the auditory canal through
which it prevails.
Fig. 63. THE STRUCTURE OP THE EAR.
A A. G lands which secrete wax in the walls of the tube of the ear.
B. The membrane of the tympanum, or drum of the ear, formed in the shaj o
of a funnel.
C C. Bones which act as a sort of sounding-board to the ear, giving strength to
the vibrations.
D. The Eustachian tube, which opens into the root of the mouth, and which
serves to p reserve an equilibrium in the density of the air occupying the tubes
of the ear.
E and F The labrynth of the ear, consisting of folds of membraneous tubes,
filled with fluid, which serves to undulate with the vibrations of the tympanum,
and thu s gives clearness and precision to the sounds.
The auditory nerves are distributed in the tubes above described (the vestibule
and the cochlea E F), and the nerves receive their impressions from the undu-
ations of the fluid.
983. W hy do we sometimes hear singing noises in the ear ?
Because the ear is liable to inflammation from various causes, and
THE KEASON WHY. 239
1 Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of
knowledge." PROVERBS xxiii.
when the blood flows unduly through the vessels of the ear it
produces a slight sound.
989. Why do people become deaf?
Because the ear may be injured in various ways : the tympanum
may be impaired, the fluid of the ear dried up, or the nerves be
pressed upon by swellings in the surrounding parts. When,
therefore, the mechanism of hearing is impaired, the sense of
hearing becomes weakened, or altogether lost.
990. Why do persons accustomed to loud noises feel no
inconvenience from them ?
Because the sensitiveness of the nerves of the ear becomes
deadened. They do not convey to the brain such intense impulses
when they are frequently acted upon by loud sounds.
991. Why do persons engaged in lattle often lose their
hearing ?
Because the vibrations caused by the sounds of artillery are so
violent that they overpower the mechanism of the ear, and
frequently rupture the connection of the fine nervous filaments
with the textures through which they spread.
The violent concussions of the air produced by volleys of cannon, or by loud
peals of thunder, have an overpowering effect upon persons nervously con-
stituted, and upon the organ of hearing, which is more especially affected. As
persons have been struck blind by intense light, so others have been deafened
by intense sounds. In 1697 a butcher's dog was killed by the noise of the
firing to celebrate the proclamation of peace. Two troops of horse were
dismounted, and drawn up in a line to fire volleys. At the moment of the
first volley a large and courageous mastiff, belonging to a butcher, was lying
asleep before the fire. At the noise of the first volley the dog started up, and ran
into another room, where it hid itself behind a bed ; on the firing of the second
volley, it ran several times bout the room, trembling violently ; and when the
bird volley was fired it ran around once or twice with great voilence, and then
dropped down dead, with blood flowing from its mouth and nose. Persons
who are painfully affected by loud noises should put a little wool in their ears
when such noises are occurring; they will thereby save themselves from
temporary inconvenience, and probably preserve the sense of hearing from
permanent injury.
992. Why do we smell ?
Because minute particles of matter, diffused in the air, come in
210 THE SEASON VHY.
" And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into
his nostrils the breath of life ; and man became a living soul." GENESIS u.
contact with the filaments of the olfactory nerve, which are spread
out upon the walls of the nostrils, and those nerves transmit
impressions to the brain, constituting what we call the odour of
substances.
Fig. 66. BKOWITSIQ THE DISTEIBUTION OF THE NEBVOUS FILAMENTS UPON
SENSITIVE MEMBBANES.
A. The olfactory nerve, distributed in minute branches upon the membrane
of the nostril.
B. The bulb of the olfactory nerve.
C. The roots from which the olfactory nerve originates.
D E. Nerves of the palate, showing the manner in which they are passed
through the bones of the roof of the mouth.
993. Why do hairs grow across the passages of the
nostrils ?
Because they form a defence against the admission of dust and
insects, which would otherwise frequently irritate i^e nenrous
Btructure of the nose.
994. Why are the nostrils directed downwards t
Because, as odours and effluvia ascend, the nose is directed
THE SEASON WHY. 241
" Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in
the white of an egg ?" JOB vi.
towards them, and thereby receives the readiest intimation of tho?e
bodies floating in the air which may be pleasurable to the sense, or
offensive to the smell, and injurious to life.
995. Why is the nose placed over and near the mouth ?
Because, as one of the chief duties ot that organ is to exercise a
watchfulness over the purity of the substances we eat and drink,
it is placed in that position which enables it to discharge that duty
with the greatest readiness.
CHAPTER L.
996. Why do we taste ?
Because the tongue is endowed with gustatory nerves, having the
function of taste as their special sense, just as the optic, the
auditory, and the olfactory nerves, have their special duties in the
eyes, ears, and nose.
997. Why do some substances taste sweet, others sour,
others salt, fyc. ?
It is believed that the impressions of taste arise from the various
forms of the atoms of matter presented to the nerves of the tongue.
998. Why do we taste substances most satisfactorily after
they have remained a little while in the mouth ?
Because the nerves of taste are most abundantly distributed to
the under surface of the tongue ; and when solid substances have
been in the mouth a little while, they impregnate the saliva of the
mouth with their particles and come in contact in a fluid solution
with the gustatory nerves.
999. Why if we put a nub of sugar to the tip of the tongue
has it no taste ?
Because the gustatory nerves are not distributed to that part of
thi tongue.
11
242 THE EEASON WHY.
'Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging; and whosoever is deceived thereby
is not wise." PBOYERBS xx.
1000. Why, when toe draw the tongue in, do we recognise
the sweetness of the sugar ?
Because the dissolved particles of sugar are brought in contact
with the nerves of taste.
1001. TJirough what nerves are we made sensible of the
contact of sugar with the tip of the tongue ?
Through the nerves of feeling, which are abundantly distributed
to the tongue to guide it in its controul over the mastication of
food.
1002. Why do conniseurs of wines close their mouths and
distend their chins for a few seconds, when tasting wines ?
Because they thereby bring the wine in contact with the under
surface of the tongue, in which the gustatory nerves chiejly reside.
1003. Why do they also pass the fumes of the wines through
their nostrils?
Because flavour, in its fullest sense, comprehends not only the
taste, but the odour of a substance ; and, therefore, persons of
experience attend to both requisites.
The various conditions of taste are denned to be :
1. Where sensations of touch are alone produced, as by glass, ice,
pebbles, &c.
2. Where, in addition to being felt upon the tongue, the
the substance excites sensation in the olfactory nerves, as by lead,
tin, copper, &c.
3. Where, besides being felt, there are peculiar sensations of
taste, expressive of the properties of bodies, as salt, sugar, tartaric
acid, &c.
4. Where, besides being felt and tasted, there is an odour
characteristic of the substance, and essential to the full develope-
ment of its flavours, as in cloves, lemon-peel, carri way -seed, and
aromatic substances generally.
1004. Why do we feel ?
Because there are distributed to various parts of the body fine
nervous filaments, which have for their special duty the trans-
mission to the brain of impressions made upon them by contact
Kith substances.
THE REASON WHY. 243
" The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure
therein." PSALM cxi.
1005. In what parts of tlie lody does the sense of touch
wore especially reside ?
In the points of the fingers and in the tongue. By laying a
piece of paper upon a table, and upon the paper a piece of cloth, on
the piece of cloth a bit of silk, and on the bit of silk a piece of
leather, so that the edge of each would be exposed to the extent of
half-an-inch, it would be possible by the touch to tell when the
finger passed successively over the leather, silk, cloth, or paper, and
arrived on the table.
Those impressions of touch must have been communicated, with
their extremely nice distinctions, to the sensitive nerves that lie
underneath the skin, and must have been transmitted all the way
through the arm to the brain, although the touch itself was so
light as scarcely to be appreciable with regard to the force applied.
A hair lying on the tongue will be plainly perceptible to the touch
of the tongue ; and the surface of a broken tooth will often causes
the tongue great annoyance, by the acute perception it imparts
of the roughness of its surface.
The toes are also highly sensitive, though their powers of touch
are seldom fully developed. Persons who have lost their arms, how-
ever, have brought their feet to be almost as sensitive as fingers.
Blind persons increase, by constant exercise, their powers of touch
to such a degree that they are able to read freely by passing their
fingers over embossed printing ; and they have been known to
distinguish colours by differences in their grain, quite unappreciable
by other persons.
1006. Why is feeling impaired ivhen the Tiands are cold?
*J / / x
Because, as the blood flows slowly to the nerves, they are less
capable of that perception of touch which is their special sense. The
skin contracts upon the nervous filaments, and impairs the contact
between them and the bodies which they touch.
1007. WTiy do the fingers prick and sting when they again
become warm ?
Because, as the warmth expands the cuticle, and the blood begins
to flow more freely through the vessels, the nerves are made
conscious of the movements of the blood, and continue to be so
until the circulation is equally restored to all the parts.
244 THE SEASON WHY.
" In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return to the ground ;
for out of it thou wast taken : for dust thou art, and unto dust
shalt thou return." GENESIS in.
1008. Why do persons ivhose legs and arms have teen
amputated fancy they feel the toes or fingers of the amputated
limb ?
Because the nervous trunk which formerly conveyed impressions
from those extremities remains in the part of the limb attached to
the body. The mind has been accustomed to refer the impulses
received through that nervous trunk to the extremity where the
sensations arose. And now that the nerve has been cut, the
painful sensation caused thereby is referred to the extremity which
the nerve supplied, and the sufferers for a time appear to continue
to feel the part which they have lost*
CHAPTER LL
1009. Why do we perspire ?
Because the skin is filled with very minute pores, which act as
outlets for a portion of the water of the blood, that serves to
moisten and cool the surface of the body, and to carry away some
of the matter no longer needed in the system'.
1010. How is the perspiration formed ?
By very small glands, which lie embedded in the skin. It is
estimated that there are about 2,700,000 perspiratory glands
distributed over the surface of the body, and that these glands find
outlets for their secretion through no less than seven millions of
pores.
10.11. What is insensible perspiration ?
Insensible perspiration is that transmission of watery particles
through the skin which is constantly going on, but which takes
place so gently that it cannot be perceived. It is, however, very
important in its results, as no less than from twenty to thirty-
three ounces of water may pass imperceptibly throi yh the skin in
twenty -four hours.
1012. What is sensible perspiration t
THE EEASOS WHY. 245
'.ir.dElisha sent a message unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven
times, and thy flesh shall come agrahi to thee, and thou shalt
be clean." ii KINGS v.
Sensible perspiration is that moisture which exudes upon the
skin in drops large enough to be perceptible, when the body is
heated by exercise or other means.
1013. Why does a sudden change from lieat to cold bring
on illness ?
Because the effect of cold arrests the action of the vessels of the
skin, and suddenly throws upon the internal organs the excretory
labour which the skin should have sustained.
1014. Why does a chill upon the sJcin frequently produce
inflammation of the lungs ?
Because the lungs and the skin together discharge the chief pro-
portion of the watery fluid of the body. When the skin's action
is checked, the lungs have to throw off a much greater amount of
fluid. The lungs, therefore, become over worked, and inflam-
matory action sets in.
1015. Why does cleanliness promote health ?
Because every atom of dirt which lodges upon the surface of the
body serves to clog and check the working of those minute pores, by
which much of the fluid of the body is changed and purified.
In the internal parts of the system, the Creator has made ample
provision for cleanliness. Every organ is so constituted that it
cleanses and lubricates itself. Every surface of the inner body is
perfectly clean, and as soft as silk
Mature leaves to man the care of those surfaces which are under
his immediate observation and controul ; and he who, from idleness,
or indifference to nature's laws, is guilty of personal neglect,
opposes the evident intentions of the Creator, and must sooner or
later pay the penalty of disobedience.
1016. Why does exercise promote health?
Because it assists all the functions upon which life depend. It
quickens the circulation, and thereby nourishes every part of the body,
causing the bones to become firm, and the muscles to become full and
healthy. It promotes breathing, by which oxygen is taken into the
system, and carbon thrown off, and thereby it produces a higher
degree of organic life and strength than would otherwise exist. It
246 THE EEASON WHY.
" Love not sleep lest tliou come to poverty : open thine eyes, and thou shalt be
satisfied with bread." PEOV. xx.
promotes perspiration, by which, through the millions of pores
of the skin, much of the fluid of the body is changed and purified.
And it induces that genial and diffused warmth, which is one of the
chief conditions of a high degree of vitality.
1017. Why do we feel fatigue ?
Because those organs which stimulate the mechanism of the
body to act, themselves require rest and repair. When the brain
and nerves arrive at that state, they make their condition known to
the system generally, by indications which we denominate fatigue.
1018. Why, after rest, do we return invigorated to our
labours ?
Because the nervous system has accumulated, during the hours
of rest, a fresh amount of that vital force which we call the nervous
fluid, ad by which the various organs of the body are excited to
perforri the duties assigned to them.
1019. What is sleep?
Sleep is understood to be that state of the body in which the
relation of the brain to some parts of the body is temporarily
There are some parts of the body that never sleep : such are the
heart, the lungs, the organs of circulation, and those parts of the
nervous system that direct their operations.
But when sleep overtakes the system, it seems as if the relations
of those parts under the controul of the will were temporarily
suspended ; as if, for instance, those nerves which move the arms,
the legs, the eyes, the tongue, &c., were all at once unfastened,
just as the strings of an instrument are relaxed by the turning of
a key, or the throwing down of a bridge over which they were
stretched.
\Vliat is mear,t by the temporary suspension of the relation of the brain to
some parts of the body, may be thus explained. Notice a man when he sits
dosing in a chair: at first his head is held up, the brain controlling the muscles
of the neck, and keeping the head erect. But drowsiness comes on, the brain
begins to withdraw its influence, and the muscles of the neck becoming as
it were " unstrung," the head drops down upon the breast. But the sleep is
unsound, and disturbed by surrounding noises. The brain is therefore fre-
quently excited to return i l s influence to the muscles, and draw up the head of
THE BBASON WHY. 247
HP I !..- .!! -. !!! !! . . , . . ,^|
1 Yet a little sleep, & little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep : So
shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth ; and thy want <*s an
armed man." PBOVEBBS xxr.
the sleeper. He gives a sudden start, every muscle is tightened in an instant,
up goes the head, the eyes open, the ears listen, until a feeling of security and
composure returns ; the sleep again deepens, the nervous connection is again
withdrawn, and then down drops the head as before.
1020. Why do we dream ?
Dreams appear to arise from the excitement of the brain
during those hours when its connection with the other parts of
the living organism is suspended. For instance : a man dreams
that he is pursued by a furious animal, and the mind passes
through all the excitement of flying from danger j but the
connection between the moving power, and the machinery of motion
being suspended, no motion takes place. The same impressions
upon the brain, when the nerves were " strung" to the muscles,
would have caused a rapid flight, and a vigorous effort to escape
from the apprehended danger.
1021. Why do suppers, when indigestible substances are
eaten, produce dreaming ?
Probably because, as the digestive organs are oppressed, and
those parts of the nervous system which stimulate the organs of
digestion are excited by excessive action, those portions of the brain
which are not immediately employed by the digestive process are
disturbed by that sympathy which is observed to pievail between
the relative parts and functions of the body.
1022. Why do we yawn ?
Because, as we become weary, the nervous impulses which direct
the respiratory movements are enfeebled. It has been said that
those movements are involuntary, and that the parts engaged in
producing them are not subject to fatigue. But the operation of
breathing is, to some extent, voluntary, though when we cease to
direct it voluntarily, it is involuntarily continued by organs which
know no fatigue.
When, therefore, we feel weary still controuling our breathing
in our efforts to move or to speak there frequently arrives a period
when, for a few seconds, the respiratory process is suspended. It
seems to be the point at which the voluntary nerves of respiration
are about to deliver their office over to the involuntary nerves ; but
248 THE REASON WHY.
"And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou ? that thou
shalt answer, For the tidings, because it cometh ; and every heart shall
melt, and all hands shall be feeble." EZEKIEL xxi.
the pause in the respiration has caused a momentary deficiency of
breath, and the involuntary nerves of respiration, coming 1 suddenly
to the aid of the lungs, cause a spasmodic action of the parts
involved, and a yawn, attended by a deep inspiration to compensate
for the cessation of breathing, are the result.
1023. Why do we cough ?
Because the respiratory organs are excited by the presence of
some body foreign or unnatural to them. A cough is an effort on
the part of the air tubes to free themselves from some source of
irritation. And so important are the organs of breathing to the
welfare of the body, that the muscles of the chest, back, and
abdomen, unite in the endeavour to get rid of the exciting
substance.
1024. Why do we sneeze ?
Because particles of matter enter the nostrils and excite the
nerves of feeling and of smell. In sneezing, as in coughing, the
effort is to free the parts affected from the intrusion of some matters
of an objectionable nature. And in this case, as in the former one,
there is a very general sympathy of other organs with the part
affected, and an energetic effort to get rid of the evil.
1025. Why do we sigh ?
Thi action of sighing arises from very similar causes to those of
yawning. But in sighing, the nervous depression is caused by
grief', while in yawning, it is the result of fatigue. In sighing, the
effect is generally caused by an expiration in yawning by an
inspiration. The mind, wearied and weakened by sorrow,
omits for a few seconds to continue the respiratory process ; and
then suddenly there comes an involuntary expiration of the breath,
causing a faint sound as it passes the organs of the voice.
1026. W hy do we laugh ?
Laughing is caused by the very opposite influences that produce
sighing. The nervous system is highly excited by some external
cause. The impression is so intense, and the mind so fixed upon it,
that the respiratory process is irregular, and uncontrolled. Persona
THE REASON WHY.
249
Except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be
known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air." CORINTH, xiv.
excited to a fit of laughter generally hold their breath until they
can hold it no longer, and then suddenly there is a quick expiration
causing eccentric sounds, the mind being too intently fixed upon the
cause of excitement, either to moderate the sounds, or to confront
the breathing.
1027. Why do we hiccough ?
Hiccough is caused by a spasmodic twitching of the diaphragm,
a thin muscular membrane which divides the chest from the
abdomen. It generally arises from sympathy with the stomach;
and it is highly probable that the muscular twitches and jerks are
so many efforts on the part of the diaphragm to assist the stomach
to get rid of some undigested matter.
1028. Why do we snore ?
Snoring is caused by air sweeping through the passages that lead
from the mouth through the nostrils, and which, in our waking
moments, are capable of certain muscular modifications to adapt
them to our breathing. But as in sleeping the nervous controul
over them is withdrawn, they are left to the action of the air which,
in sweeping by them, sets them in vibration.
"We have endeavoured, by the employment of the simplest language, and by
reference to some of the most familiar phenomena of nature, to impart to tho
reader a clear conception of those sublime laws which controul our being, and
afford evidence of the goodne>.s and power of that Almighty God to whom we
are indebted for the life that we enjoy, and the varied and beautiful existences
which, to the rightly constituted mind, make the earth a vast aggregation of
interesting objects. We will now, before we pass on to the final section of our
work, review some of the more important facts that have been communicated,
and devote a few pages to meditations upon the formation of the human body
that wonderful temple of which each of us is a tenant.
We have described man's organisation. What is that organisation for / It is
to make use of the elements upon which man exists. The lungs mal use of the
air; the eye makes use of the light; the stomach, and the system generally,
make use of water ; every part of the body uses heat ; and all pai'ts of the sys-
tem demand food. The hand feeds as constantly as the mouth. The mouth i
the receptacle of food, by which the body is to be fed ; the stomach is tho
kitchen in which food is prepared for the use of the body ; and the blood-vessels
are the canals through which the food is sent to those members of the body
that are in need of it. When we speak of man's " organs " or " members," we
speak of those parts of the living machinery by which the elements are used up,
or employed, for man's benefit. And this view of the subject, bearing in mind
that the body is held together as the temple of a living Spirit, superior to mere
tjesh and blood, gives us a higher and clearer perception of the distinction
II*
250 THE REASON WHY.
' Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy
mercy, and. for thy truth's sake." -PSALM cxv.
between the body and the soul than that which we might otherwise entertain.
The body is a machine, working for the spirit, which is its owner. While the
machine works, the spirit directs and influences its actions. But when the
machine stops, the spirit resigns its power over a ruined temple, quits it, and
flies to a region where, as a spirit, it becomes subject to a new order of existence
consistent with its severance from earthly things and laws, and there it enters
upon its eternal destiny, according to the judgments and appointments of God.
It is no longer dependent upon a relation between spiritual and material laws.
Suppose that the air which man breathes, instead of returning from his lungs
clear and imperceptible to sight, were tinged with colour; we should see,
that every time a man breathed, the air would rush in a stream into his mouth,
and then return again ; and the air which returned would, being warm, be
lighter than the outer air, and would rise upward over the man's head, whe - e,
cooling and mingling with the outer air, it would descend again. We do, in
fact, see this action evidenced ; when in winter time the cold condenses the vapour
of the breath, we see the little cloud constantly rising before the breather's face,
and dispersing in the surrounding air.
Is it not a wonderful thing that that clear and elastic substance, which you
cannot feel, though it touches every part of your body, and which you cannot
see, is composed of two distinct bodies, having very different properties ; and
that the two bodies can easily be separated from each other?
Air is of the first importance to life. Hence it is provided for us every-
where. We require air every second, water every few hours, and food at inter-
vals considerably apart. Air is therefore provided for us everywhere. Whether
we stand or sit ; whether we dwell in a valley or upon a mountain ; whether we
go into the cellar under our house, or into the garret at the top of it, air is there
provided for us. God, who made it a law that man should breathe to live, also
sent him air bundantly, that he might comply with that law. And all that is
required from man in this respect is, that he will not shut out God's bounty, but
receive it freely.
As we have employed the idea that if tho air were coloured we should have
the opportunity of marking the process of breathing, let us enlarge upon this,
and suppose that every time the air were returned from the lungs it became of a
darker colour, the darkness denoting increasing impurity. If we placed a man
in a room full of pure air, we should see the air enter his lungs, and sent back
slightly tinged; but this would disperse itself with the other air of the room
and scarcely be perceptible. As the man continued to breathe, however, each
measure of ah* returning from the lungs would serve to pollute that abiding
in the room, until at last the whole mass would become cloudy and discoloured,
and we should sees such a change as occurs when water is turned from a pure and
clear state into a muddy condition. '1 he air does become polluted with each
respiration, and although it is colourless, it is as impure as if with every breath
given oif from the lungs it becamu of a dark colour in proportion to its
impurity.
Thus we see how important it is that we should provide ourselves with pure
air ; and tnat, in seeking warmth and comfort in our houses, we should provide
an adequate supply of fresh atmosphere because it is more vital to life than
either water or food.
Indeed, so constant is our requirement of air, that if ice had to fetch U,fot
THE REASON WHY. 251
"There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body." i COETNTHIASS xv.
purposes of breathing, or simply to raise it to our moutlis, as we do water
when we drink, it would be the sole occupation of our lives we could do
nothing else. For this reason, God has sent the air to us, and not required us
to go to the air. And the great error of man is, that in too many instances,
he shuts off the supply from himself, and brings on disease and pain by
inhaling a poisonous compound, instead of air of a healthful kind, which bears
an adaptation to the wants of life.
Whilst the rooms of our house are filled with air, it is otherwise with water,
which we require in less degree than air. If we have not the artificial
means by which water is brought to our houses, through th ; pipes of a water
company, there is a spring or a pump in the garden ; or in the absence of these,
a good sound cask, standing at the end of our house, forming a receptacle
to the water-pipes that surround it, provides us with a supply of water distilled
from the clouds. If we were to drink a good draught of water once a day, that
would be sufficient for all the purposes of life, as far as regards the alimentary
uses of water. Man is, tharefore, allowed to go to the stream for his drink, and
is required to raise it to his lips at those moments when he uses it.
Although, in breathing, man separates the oxygen of the air from the
nitrogen thereof, he does not separate the oxygen of the water from the hydrogen
Water, in fact, undergoes no change in the body, excepting that of admixture
with the substances of the body. And its uses are, to moisten, to cool, to
cleanse, and also to nouri-.li the parts with which it comes in contact. But it
affords no nourishment of itself; it mixes with the blood, of which it forms a
material part, and is the means of conveying the nourishment of the blood to
every part of the system. After it lias filled this office, and taken up impurities
that required to be removed, it is cast out of the system again, without
undergoing any chemical change.
Man's body is to his Soul, in many respects, what a house is to its occupant.
But how superior is tho dwelling which God erected, to that which man has
built. Reader, come out of yourself, and in imagination realise the abstraction
of the Soul from the body. Make an effort of thought, and do not relinquish
that effort, until you fancy that you see your image seated on a chair before
you. And now proceed to ask yourself certain questions respecting your bodily
tenement questions which, perchance, have never occurred to you before ; but
which will impress themselves the more forcibly upon you, in proportion as you
realise for a moment the idea of jour Soul examining the body which it
inhabits. There sits before you a form of exquisite proportions, with reference
to the mode of life it has to pursue the wants of the Soul for which it has
to care, and which it has to guard, under the direction of that Soul, its
owner and master.
Over the brows that mark the intellectual front of that fine form, there
fall the auburn locks of youth, or the grey hair of venerable age. Each
of those hairs is curiously organised. If you take a branch of a tree, and
cut it across, you will find curious markings caused by vessels of various
structure, all necessary to the existence of the plant. In the centre will be
found cither a hollow tube, or a space occupied by a soft substance called
pith. Each hair of your head is as curiously formed as the branch of a
tree, and in a manner not dissimilar, though its parts are so minute
that the unaided eye cannot discern them. Every hair has a root, just as a
tree has, and through this root it receives its nourishment. As the vessel!
252 THE REASON \VIIT.
" The very hairs of your head are all numbered." M ATTIIEVT XI.
which feed a plant are always proportionate to the size of the plant itself, how
fine must be those vessels which form the roots of the hair, being in proportion
to the size of the hair, which is in itself so small that the eye cannot see
its structure? The hair is, in fact, an animal plant, growing upon the
body in much the same mariner that plants grow upon the surface of the
earth. But how does this hair grow ? Not alone by the addition of matter
at its roots, pushing up and enlor.gating its stem : nourishment passes
up through its whole length, and is deposited upon its end, just as the
nourishment of a tree is deposited upon its extreme branches. If, after
having your hair cut, you were to examine its ends by the microscope, you
would discover the abrupt termination left by the scissors. But allow the hair
to grow, and then examine it, and you will discover that it grows from its point
which, in comparison with its former state, is perfect and fine. The reason
why the beard is so hard is, that the ends of the hair are continually being
shaved off. The hair of the beard, if allowed to grow, would become almost as
soft as the hair of the head.
But why is man's head thus covered with hair? For precisely the same reason
that a house is tha'ched to keep the inmates warm. We might add, also, to
give beauty to the edifice. But as beauty is a conventional quality and if men
were without it they would consider themselves quite as handsome as they do
now we will not enlarge upon the argument. Our bald-headed friends, too,
might have reason to complain of such a partial hypothesis. The brain
is the great organ upon which the health, the welfare, and the happiness of the
system depends. The skull, therefore, may be regarded as analagous to the
" strong box," the iron chest in which the merchant keeps his treasure. There
is no point at which the brain can be touched to its injury, without first doing
violence to the skull. Even the spinal cord runs down the back through a
tunnel or tube, formed in a number of strong bones, so closely and firmly jointed
together, that they are commonly termed " the back-bone."
Look at the eyebrows. What purpose do they fulfil ? Precisely that of a
shed, or arch placed over a window to shelter it from ra ; n. But for (he eye-
brows the perspiration would frequently run from the brow into the eyes, and
obscure the sight ; a man wa'king in a shower of rain would scarcely be able to
see ; and a mariner in a storm would find a double difficulty in braving the
tempest.
Now we come to the eye, which is the window of the Soul's abode. And what
a window ! how curiously constructed ! how wisely guarded ! In the eyelashes,
as well as the eyebrows, we see the hair fulfilling a useful purpose, differ 'ng
from any already described. The eyelashes serve to keep cold winds, dust, and
too bright sun, from injuring or entering the windows of the body. When we
walk against the east wind, we bring the tips of our eyelashes together, and in
that way exclude the cold air from the surface of the eyo ; and in the samo
manner we exclude the dust and modify the light. The eyelashes, therefore,
are like so many sentries, constantly moving to and fro, protecting a most
important organ from injury. The eyelids are the shutters by which tht
windows are opened and closed. But they al o cleanse the eye, keeping it
bright and moist. There are, moreover, in the lids of each eye or window,
little glands, or springs, by which a clear fluid is formed and supplied for
cleansing the eye. The eye is placed in a socket of the skull, in which it has
free motion, turning rigV.t or left, up or down, to serve -.the purpose of tlie
TiJE KEASON WHY. 252
"Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity."
HABAKKUK i.
inhabitant of the dwelling. Of the structure of the eye itself we will not say
much, for the engravings will afford a clearer understanding than a lengthy
written description. But we would have you examine the formation of the
iris of the living eye, the ring which surrounds the pupil. Ilold a light to it,
and you w 11 find that the iris will contract and diminish the pupil ; withdraw
the light, and the iris will relax, and the pupil expand, thus regulating tha
amount of light. The images of external objects ate formed upon the retina of
the eye, a thin membrane, spread out upon the extremity of a large nerve,
which proceeds immediately to the brain, and forms the telegraphic cord by
which information is given to the mind, of everything visible going on within
t he range of sight.
Now, think for a few moments upon the wonderful structure of those windows
of the body. Can you fancy, in the walls of your house, a window which
protects itself, cleanses itself, and turns in any direction at the mere will of the
tenant; and when that tenant is oppressed by excess of light, draws its own
curtain, and gives him ease ; and when he falls asleep, closes its own shutters,
and protects itself from the cold and dust of night, and the instant he awakes
in the morning, opens, cleanses itself with a fluid which it has prepared during
the night, and kept in readiness ; and repeats this routine of duty day after day
for half a century, without becoming impaired ? Such, nevertheless, is the
wonderful structure of the window of the body the ey.
In some scientific works that have recently been published, curious investiga-
tions have been made known. It has been shown that the eye is impressed
momentarily, as a photographic plate is impressed by the rays of the sun. But
the photography of the eye has this extraordinary quality that one imago
passes away, and another takes its place immediately, without confusion or
indistinctness. But the most wonderful assertion of all is, that under the
excitement of memory these photographic images are restored; and that whon
" in our mind's eye," we see the image of some dear departed friend, the retina
really revives an image which once fell upon its sensitive surface, and which
image has been stored up for many years in the sacred portfolio of its
affections !
Another extraordinary assertion is one which comes supported by a degree of
authencity that entitles it to consideration. It is said that the eye of a dead
man retains an impression of the last picture that fell upon the faithful retina.
Dr. Sandford, of America, examined the eye of a man named Beardley, who had
been murdered at Auburn, and he published in the Boston Atlas the following
statement : " At first we suggested the saturation of the eye in a weak solution
of atrophine, which evidently produced an enlarged state of the pupil. On
observing this, we touched the end of tlie optic nerve with the extract, when the
eye instantly became protuberant. We now applied a powerful lens, and
discovered in the pupil, the rude, worn-away figure of a man, with a li-ht coat,
beside whom was a round stone, standing or suspended in the air, with a small
hand.e, stuck in the earth. The remainder was debris, evidently lost from
the destruction of the optic, and its separation from the mother brain. Had we
performed the operation when the eye was entire in the socket, with all its
powerful connection with the brain, there is not the least doubt but that we
should have detected the last idea and impression made on the mind and eye of
ihe unfortunate man. The picture would evidently be entire ; and perhaps we
should have had the contour, or better still, the exact figure of the murderer.
254 THE REASON WHY.
"Ke not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything
before God : for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth ; therefore let thy
words be few." ECCLESIASTES v.
The last impression on the brain before death is always more terrible from fear
than any other cause, and figures impressed on the pupil more distinct, which
w attribute to the largeness of the optic nerve, and its free communication with
the brain." Whether the supposition, which seems to be supported by the
experiment above detailed, be correct or not, it is in no sense more wonderful
than the facts which are already known respecting this curious aud perfect organ.
The nose is given us for two purposes to enable us to respire and to smell.
As odours arise from the surface of the earth, the cup or funnel of the nose
is turned down to meet them. In the nostrils hair again serves a useful
purpose. It not only warms the air which enters the nostrils, but it springs
out from all sides, and forms an intersecting net, closing the nostrils against
tlust, and the intrusion of small insects. If by any means, as when taking a
sharp sniff, foreign matters enter the nostrils, the nose is armed with a set of
nerves which communicate the fact to certain muscles, and the organs of
respiration unite with those muscles to expel the intruding substances. In this
action, the diaphragm, or the muscle which divides the abdomen from the
chest, is pressed down, the lungs are filled with air, the passage by which that
air would otherwise escape through the mouth, is closed up, and then, all at
once, with considerable force, the air is pressed through the nostrils, to fr>
them from the annoying substance. So great is the force with which this
action takes place, that the passage into the mouth is generally pushed open
occasioning the person in whom the action takes place, to cry " 'tsha !" and
thus is formed what is termed a sneeze. As with the eye, so with the nose
innumerable nerves are distributed over the lining membrane, and these nerves
are connected with larger nerves passing to the brain, through which
everything relating to the sense of smell is communicated.
The nose acts like a custom-house officer to the system. It is highly sensitive
to the odour of most poisonous substances. It readily detects hemlock,
henbane, monk's hood, and the plants containing prussic acid. It recognises
the foeted smell of drains, and warns us not to breathe the polluted air. The
nose is so sensitive, that air containing a 200,000th part of bromine vapour will
instantly be detected by it. It will recognise the I,b00,000th part of a grain of
otto of roses, or the 13,000,000th part of a grain of musk ! It tells ns in the
mornings that our bed-rooms are impure ; it catches the first fragrance of the
morning air, and conveys to us the invitation of the flowers to go forth into the
fields, and inhale their sweet breath. To be "led by the nose," has hitherto been
used as a phrase of reproach. But to have a good nose, and to follow its
guidance, is one of the safest and shortest ways to the enjoyment of health.
The mouth answers the fourfold purpose of the organ of taste, of sound, of
mastication, and of breathing. In all of these operations, except in breathing,
the various parts of the mouth are engaged. In eating we us*e the lips, tho
tongue, and the teeth. The teeth serve the purpose of grinding the food, tho
tongue turns it during the process of grinding, and delivers it up to the throat
for the purposes of the stomach, when sufficiently masticated. The lips serve to
confine the food in the mouth, and assist in swallowing it, and there are glands
underneath the tongue, and in the sides of the mouth, which pour in a fluid to
moisten the food. And so watchful are those glands of their duty, that the mere
imagination frequently causes them to act. Their fluid is required to modify
TJ1K EEASON WHY. 255
" I say unto you, Swear not at all ; neither by heaven, for it is God's throne ;
Nor by the earth ; for it is his footstool." MATTHEW v.
the intensity of different flavours and condiments in which man, with his love of
eating, will indulge. Thus, when we eat anything very acid, as a lemon, or any-
thing very irritating, as Cayenne pepper, the effect thereof upon the sensitive
nerves of the tongue is greatly modified by a free flow of saliva into the mouth.
And if we merely fancy the taste of any such things, those glands are so watch-
lul, that they will immediately pour out their fluid to mitigate the supposed
effect.
In speaking, we use the lips, the teeth, the tongue ; and the chest supplies
air, which, being controlled in its emission, by a delicate apparatus at the
mouth of the wind-pipe, causes the various sounds which we have arranged into
speech, and by which, under certain laws, we are enabled to understand each
other's wants, participate in each other's emotions, express our loves, our hopes,
our fears, and gle.ni those facts, the accumulation of which constitutes know-
ledge, enhances the happiness of man, and elevates him, in its ultimate results
above the lower creatures to which the blessing of speech is denied.
The curious structure of the tongue, and the organs of speech, would fill a
very interesting volume. The tongue is unfortunately much abused, not only
by those who utter foul words, and convert the blessing of speech, which
should improve and refine, into a source of wicked and profane language ; but it
constantly remonstrates against the abuse of food, and the use of things which
are not only unnecessary for the good of our bodies, but prejudicial to their
health. When the body is sufficiently fed, the tongue ceases its relish, and
derives no more satisfaction from eating : but man contrives a variety of inven-
tions to whip the tongue up to an unnatural performance of its duty, and thus
we not only over-eat, but eat things that have no more business in our stomachs,
than have the stones that we walk upon. Can we wonder, then, that disease is
so prevalent, and that death calls for many of us so soon.
That wonderful essence, the Soul of man, rises above all finite knowledge.
Its wonders and powers will never, probably, be understood until when, in a
future state of existence, the grandest of all mysteries shall be explained.
When we talk of the brain, we speak of that which it is easy to comprehend as
the organ, or the seat of the mind ; when we speak of the mind, we have
greater difficulty in comprehending the meaning of the term we employ ; but
when we speak of the Soul, we have reached a point which defies our under-
standing, because our knowledge is limited. The brain may be injured by a
blow ; the mind may be pained by a disagreeable sight, or offended by a harsh
word ; but the Soul can only be influenced secondarily through the mind,
which is primarily affected by the organs of the material senses. Thus the hap-
piness or the misery of the Soul depends to a very great extent upon the proper
fulfilment of the duties of the senses, which are the servants of tho Soul, over
which the mind presides, as the steward who mediates between the employer
and the employed
The Ear, which is taught to delisrht in sweet sounds, and in pure language,
is a better servant of the master Soul, than one which delights not in music,
and which listens, with approbation or indifference, to the oaths of the profane.
The Eye which rejoices in the beauties of nature, and in scenes of domestic
happiness and love, is a more faithful servant than one that delights in wit-
nessing scenes of rtvelry, dissipation, and strife. The Nose which esteems the
sweet odour of flowers, or the life-giving freshness of the pm-e air, is more
dutiful to his master than one that rejects not the polluted atmosphere of
256 THE BKASOX WHY.
"Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these
things ought not so to be." JAMES in.
neglected dwellings. The Mouth which thirsts for morbid gratification of
taste, is more worthless than one which is contented with wholesome viands,
aud ruled by the proper instincts of its duty. Who that can understand tho
wonderful structure of the tongue, and the complicated mechanism of tho
organs of speech and of hearing, could be fouid to take pleasure in the utter-
ance of oaths, and of words of vulgar meaning? Were those beautiful cords
that like threads of silk are woven into the muscular texture of the mouth, and
along which the essence of life travels with the quickness of thought, to do the
bidding of the will were they given for no higher use than to sin against the
God who gave them, and upon whose mercy their existence every mon.ent
depends ?
The actions of the senses must necessarily affect the mind, which is the head
steward of the Soul; and the Soul becomes rich in goodness, or poor in sin, iu
proportion as the stewardship, held by his many servants, is rightly or wrong-
fully fulfilled. As in an establishment where the servants are not properly
directed and ruled, they often gain the ascendancy, and the master has no power
over them, so with man, when he gives himself up to sensual indulgences. The
Soul becomes the slave of the senses the master is controlled by the servants.
With regard to the mechanism of motion, let us take the case of a man who
is walking a crowded thoroughfare, and we shall see how active are all the
servants of the Soul, under the influence of the mind. He walks along in a
given direction. But for the at of volition in the mind, not a muscle would
stir. The eye is watching his footsteps. There is a stone in his path, the eye
informs the mind, the mind communicates with the brain, and the nerves
stimulate the muscles of the leg to lift the foot a little higher, or turn it
on one side, and the stone is avoided. The eye alights on a familiar face,
and the mind remembers that the eye has seen that face before. The man
goes on thinking of the circumstance under which he saw that person, and
partially forgets his walk, and the direction of his steps. But the nerves of
volition and motion unite to keep the muscles up to their work, and he walks
on without having occasion to think continually, " I must continue walking."
He has not to make an effort to lift his leg alorg between each interval of medi-
tation : he walks and meditates the while. Presently a danger approaches him
from behind. The eye sees it not knows no more, in fact, than if it were dead.
But the ear sounds the alarm, tells the man, by the rumbling of a wheel, and tho
tramp of horses' feet, that he is in danger; and then the nerves, putting forth
their utmost strength, whip the muscles up to the quick performance of their
duty ; the man steps out of the vay of danger, and is saved. He draws iu-.ar to
a sewer, which is vomiting forth its poisonous exhalations. The eye is again
unconscious it cannot see tho poison lurking in the air. The ear, too, is
helpless ; it cannot bear witness to the presence of that enemy to life. Hut the
nose detcx5'.s the noxious agent, and then the eye points out the direction of
the sewer, and guides his footsteps to a path where he may escape the injurious
consequences. A clock strikes, the ear informs him that it is the hour of an
appointment; the nerves stimulate the muscles again, and he is hastened
nward. He does not know the residence of his friend, but his tongue asks for
him, and his ear makes known the reply. He reaches the spot sits rests.
Tho action of the muscles is stayed ; the nerves are for a time time at rest. Tho
blood which had flown freely to feed the muscles while they were working;
THE EEASON WHY. 257
1 1 am but a little child : I know not how to go out or come in." i KiifGs m.
goes more steadily through the arteries and veins, and the lungs, which had
been purifying the blood in its course, partake of the temporary rest.
Let us remember that there are two sets of muscles, acting in unison with
each other, to produce the various motions ; they are known by the general
terms of flexors and extensors; the first enable us to bend the limbs, the other
to bring the limbs back to their former position. The flexors enable us to close
the hand, the extensors to open it again. The flexors enable us to raise the foot
from the ground ; the extensors set the foot down again in the place desired.
Consider for a moment the nicety with which the powers of these muscles must
be balanced, and the harmony which must subsist between them in their
various operations. When we are closing the hand, if the extensor muscles did
not gradually yield to the flexors if they gave up their hold all at once, th:j
hand, instead of closing with gentleness and ease, would be jerked together in
a sudden and most uncomfortable manner. If, in such a case, you were to lay
your hand with its back upon the table, and wish to close the hand, the fingers
would fall down upon the palm suddenly, like the lid of a box. Again, consider
how awkward it would be in such a case ; our walk through the streets would
become a series of jumps and jerks ; when a man had raised his foot, after it had
been jerked up, there it would stand fixed for a second before the opposite
muscles could put on their power to draw it down again. This case is not at
all suppositions: there is a derangement frequently observed in horses, in
which one set of muscles becomes injured, and we may see horses suffering
from this ailment, trotting along with one of their legs jerking up much
higher than the others, and set down again with difficulty, just in the manner
described.
It is also to be observed that very nice proportions must exist between the
sizes of the muscles and the sizes of the bones. If this were not the case, our
motions, instead of being firm and steady, would be all shaky and uncertain.
In old persons the muscles become weak and relaxed ; hence there is a tendency
in the movements of the aged to fall, as it were, together ; the head is no longer
erect, the body bends, the knees totter, and the arms lean towards the body as
for support.
In the child a somewhat similar state of things exists. The muscles have
not been properly developed, nor have they been brought sufficiently under
;he controul of the nervous system. The child, therefore, totters and tumbles
about, and it is not until it has stumbled and tumbled some hundreds of times
in its little history, that the muscles have become strong enough to fulfil their
office, or have been brought sufficiently under the controul of the nervous
system, to perform well the various duties required from them.
In all these things, we recognise the perfection of the divine works. \Ve are
apt, too apt, to overlook this perfection, because it prevails in everything; but
by speculating upon what inconveniences we might suffer, were not things
ordained as they are, we obtain most convincing evidences of divine goodness
and wisdom.
Having taken this view of the muscular system of the external man, let us
turn our attention to the muscles of the internal organs. The musclos of which
we have been speaking are called the voluntary muscles, because we have them
under our own controul they are subject to the influences of our will. But
there is the other set of muscles. What are they ? We talk of the beating, or o f
258 THE BEA80N WHY.
" Watchman, what of the night ? The watchman said, The morning cometh,
and also the night : if ye will enquire, enquire ye; return, come." ISAIAH xxi.
the palpitation, of the heart. But, what is it that causes the heart to beat ? You
cannot, if you wish it, make your heart beat more quickly or more slowly. Place
your finger upon your pulse, and notice the degree of rapidity with which its
pulsations follow. Now think that you should like to double the frequency of
those pulsations. Say to the heart, with your inner voice, that you wish it to
beat 120 times in a minute, instead of 60. It does not obey you ; it does not
appreciate your command. Now place your finger on the table, and ycur watch
by the side of your hand, and tell your finger to beat 60 times in the minute, or
100 times, or 150 times, or 200 times, and the finger will obey you because it is
moved by imtscles which are subject to the will, while the heart is composed of
muscles which are not subject to the will. Why should this be? AVhy should
man have the power to regulate his finger, and not to regulate his heart ?
For the sustentatiou of our bodies it is needful that the blood should ever be
in circulation. If the heart were to cease beating only for three or four minutes
(perhaps less) life would be extinct. In this short time the whole framework of
man, beautiful in its proportions, perfect in its parts, would pass into the state
of dead matter, and would sim ply wait the decay that follows death. The eye
would become dull and glazed, the lips would turn blue, the skin would acquire
the coldness of clay love, hope, joy, would all cease. The sweetest, the fondest
ties would be broken. Flowers might bloom, and yield their fragrance, but they
would be neither seen nor smelt ; the sun might rise in its brightest splendour,
yet the eye would not be sensitive to its rays ; the rosy-cheeked child might
climb the paternal knee ; but there, stiff, cold, without joy, or pain, or emotion
of any kind, unconscious as a block of marble, would sit the man whose heart
for a few moments had ceased to beat.
How wise, then, and how good of God, that he has not placed this vital organ
under our own care ! How sudden would be our bereavements how frequent
our deaths, how sleepless our nights, and how anxious our days, if we had to
keep our own hearts at work, and death the penalty of neglect.
And yet, before we were born, until we reach life's latest moment
through days of toil, and nights of rest -even in the moments of our deepest sin
against the God who at the time is sustaining us, our hearts beat on, never
stopping, never wearying, never asking rest.
This brings us to another reflection. Our arms get weary, our legs falter
from fatigue, the mind itself becomes overtaxed, and all our senses fall to sleep.
The eye sees not, the ear is deaf to sound, the sentinels that surround the
body, the nerves of touch, are all asleep you may place your hand upon the
brow of the sleeping man, and he feels it not. Yet, unseen, unheard, without
perceptible motion, or the slightest jar to mar the rest of the sleeper, the heart
beats on, and on, and on. As his sleep deepens, the heart slackens its speed,
that his rest may be the more sound. He has slept for eight hours, and the
time approaches for his awakening. But is the heart weary tha^, heart which
has toiled through the long and sluggard night ? No ! The moment the waking
sleeper moves his arm, the heart is aware that a motion has been made, that
effort and exercise are about to begin. The nerves are all arousing to action ;
the eyes turn in their sockets, the head moves upon the neck ; the sleeper leaves
his couch, and the legs are once more called upon to bear the weight of the
body. Blood is the food of the eye, the food of the ear, of the foot, the hand,
and every member of the frame. \Vhile they labour they must be fed that u
THE REASON WHY. 259
1 Awake up, my glory ; awake, psaltery and harp : I myself will awake early."
PSALM LTII.
the condition of their life, the source of their strength. The heart, therefore,
so far from seeking rest, is all fresh and vigorous for the labours of the day, and
proceeds to discharge its duty so willingly, that we do not even know of the
movements that are going on within "us.
Thus we have seen the difference between the voluntary and the involuntary
muscles, and we have perceived the goodness of our Creator in not entrusting
to our keeping the controul of an organ so vital to life, as the heart.
But the heart is not the only organ which thus works unseen and unfelt.
There are the lungs and the muscles of the chest, the stomach, and other parts
occupying the abdomen, together with all those muscular filaments which enter
into the structure of the coats and valves of the blood-vessels, and which assist
to propel the blood through the system. All these are at work at every moment
of man's life; and yet, so perfect is this complicated machinery, that we really
do not know, except by theory, what is going on within us.
During the time that the sleeper has been at rest, the stomach has been at
work digesting the food which was last eaten. Then the stomach has passed the
macerated food into the alimentary canal, the liver has poured out its secretion,
and produced certain changes in the condition of the dissolved food : and the
lacteals, of which there may be many thousands, perhaps millions, have been
busy sucking up those portions of the food which they knew to be useful to the
system, whilst they have rejected all those useless and noxious matters upon
which the liver, like an officer of health, had set his mark, as unfitting for the
public use. This busy life has gone on uninterruptedly ; every member of that
body, every worker in that wonderful factory, has been unremitting in his duty,
and yet the owner, the master, has been asleep, and wakes up finding every
bodily want supplied !
Notwithstanding that much has already been said of the wonders that
pertain to the eye, it has not yet been considered as the seat of tears, those
mute but eloquent utterers of the sorrows of the heart. Beautiful Tear!
whether lingering upon the brink of the eyelid, or darting down the furrows of
the care- worn cheek thou art sublime in thy simplicity great, because of thy
modesty strong, from thy very weakness. Offspring of sorrow ! who will not
own thy claim to sympathy ? who can resist thy eloquence ? who can deny
mercy when thou pleadest ?
Every tear represents some in-dwelling sorrow preying upon the mind and
destroying its peace. The tear comes forth to declare the inward struggle, and
to plead a truce against further strife. How meet that the eye should be the
seat of tears where they cannot occur unobserved, but, blending with the
beauty of the eye itself, must command attention and sympathy !
Whenever we behold a tear, let our kindliest sympathies awake let it have a
sacred claim upon all that we can do to succour and comfort under affliction.
What rivers of tears have flown, excited by the cruel and perverse ways of man !
War has spread its carnage and desolation, and the eyes of widows and orphans
have been suffused with tears! Intemperance has blighted the homes o
millions, and weeping and wailing have been incessant ! A thousand other evils
\i hich we may conquer have given birth to tears enough to constitute a flood
.1 groat tide of grief. Suppose we prize this little philosophy, and each one
determine it-tver to excite a tear in anothe*: Watching the eye as the telegraph
2GO THE REASON WHY.
"Who is as the wise man? and who knowcth the interpretation of a thing V a
man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall
be changed." ECCLESIASTES vm.
of the mind within, let us observe it with anxious :egard; and whether we are
moved to complaint by the existence of supposed or real wrongs, let the
Indication of the coming tear be held as a sacred truce to unkindlj feeling, and
our efforts be devoted to the substitution of smiles for tears !
There is only one other matter to which we think it necessary to allude, before
we pass to the concluding section of our work. It has been said (162) , that snow
which is white, keeps the earth warm ; that white as a colour is cool, and that
black absorbs heat (23)). These assertions may appear to be contradictory, and.
taken in connection with the fact of the blackness of the skin of negroes in hot
climates, may at a first glance be considered unsatisfactory. They are, however,
perfectly reconcileable, and that too, without the slightest evasion of the real
bearing of the asserted facts. White snow is warm on account of its texture, \\\\\c\\,
being woolly, forms a layer of non-conducting substance ever the surface ol the
earth, and keeps in its warmth ; white clothing, worn as a garment consisting of
a thin material, is cool, because the white colour turns back the rays of the sun
that fall upon it. Swansdown, although white, being a non-conductor, would be
warm, because, though it would reflect the light and heat, it would confine and
accumulate the heat of the body. The black skin of the negro is a living texture,
and is not subject to the same laws that govern dead matter. The skin of the
negro is largely provided with cells which secrete a fatty matter that acts as a
aon-conductor of the external heat, and also a much larger number of perspira-
tory glands than exist in the skins of Europeans. The perspiration cools the
blood, and carries off the internal heat, while the oily matter gives a shining
surface to the skin, and reflects the heat, to which the fatty matter presents
itself as a non -conductor. We see, therefore, that there are two express provi-
sions for the cooling of the negroes' skin, independent of the colour. The skin of
the Esquimaux who inhabits a cold country is white, though it might be supposed
that a black skin would best conduce to the warmth of his body. But tho
Esquimaux has, underneath his skin, a thick coating of fat, by which the
internal heat of the body is prevented from escaping.
This resume of the subjects embodied in the form of question and answer iu
the previous pages, will serve to impress the more important truths upon the
mind of the reader, while it has enabled us to fill up many omissions necessi-
tated by the arbitrary form of catechetical composition.
THE KEASON WHY. 261
"Ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and
they shall tell thee." JOB xn.
CHAPTER LII.
1029. Will) are there so many bodily forms in the animal
creation ?
Because the various creatures which God has created have
different modes of life, and the forms of their hodies will be found
to present a perfect adaptation to the lives allotted to them.
Because, also, the beauty of creation depends upon the variety of
objects of which it consists. And the greatness of the Creator's
power is shown by the diversity of ends accomplished by different
means.
1030. Why are birds covered with feathers ?
Because they require a high degree of warmth, on account of the
activity of their muscles ; but in providing that warmth it was
necessary that their coats should be of the lightest material, so as
not to impair their powers of flight; and feathers combine the
highest warming power, with the least amount of weight.
1031. Why have ostriches small ivings ?
Because, having long legs, they do not require their wings for
flight ; they are merely used to steady their bodies while running.
1032. Why are ostrich feathers soft and downy ?
Because, as the feathers are not employed for flight, the strength
of the feather as constructed for Jly ing is unnecessary, and the
feathers therefore consist chiefly of a soft down.
1033. Why have water-birds feathers of a close and
smooth texture ?
Because such feathers keep the body of the bird warm and drv,
by repelling the water from their surface. A bird could scarcely
move through the water, with the downy feathers of the ostrich,
because of the amount of water the down would absorb.
1034. Why is man born without a covering ?
Because man is the only animal that can clothe itself. As in
26'2 THE REASON WHY.
' "Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser tfcan
the fowls of heaven ?" JOB xxxv.
the various pursuits of life he wanders to every part of the globe,
he can adapt himself to all climates and to any season.
1035. Why do the furs of animals become thicker in the
winter than in the summer ?
Because the creator has thus provided for the preservation of
the warmth of the animals during the cold months of winter.
1036. Why does a Hack down grow under the feathers of
birds as winter approaches ?
Because the down is a non-conductor of heat, and black the
warmest colour. It is therefore best adapted to keep in their
bodily warmth during the cold of winter.
1037. W r hy has man no external appendage to his mouth ?
Because his hands serve all the purposes of gathering food, and
conveying it to the mouth. Man's mouth is simply an opening;
in other animals it is & projection.
1038. Why have dogs, and other carnivorous animals, long
pointed teeth, projecting above the rest ?
Because as they have not hands to seize and controul their food,
the projecting teeth enable them to snap and hold the objects
which they pursue for food.
1039. Why is the under jaw of the hog, shorter and
smaller than the upper one ?
Because the animal pierces the ground with its long snout, and
then the small under jaw works freely in the furrow that has been
opened, in quest of food.
1010. Why have lirds hard leaks ?
Because, having no teeth, the beak enables them to seize, hold,
and divide their food.
1011. Why are the beaks of birds generally long and
sharp ?
Because the greater number of birds live by picking up small
THE SEASON WHY.
263
As the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in
the snare ; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth
suddenly upon them." ECCLESIASTES ix.
objects, such as worms, insects, seeds, &c. The sharp beak,
therefore, serves as a fine pincers, enabling them to take hold of
their food conveniently.
1042. Why have snipes and woodcocks long tapering bills ?
Because they live upon worms which they find in the soft mud of
streams and marshy places ; their long bills, therefore, enable them
to dig down into the mud after their prey.
1043. Why have woodcocks, snipes, c., nerves running
down to the extremities of their bills ?
Because, as they dig for their prey in the soft sand and mud,
they cannot see the worms upon which they live. Nerves are,
therefore, distributed to the very point of their bills (where, in other
birds, nerves are entirely absent) to enable them to prehend their
food.
Fig. 67. SPOONBILL.
1044. Why have ducks and geese square-pointed bills ?
Because they not only feed by dabbling in soft and muddy soil,
but they consume a considerable quantity of green food, and theif
square bills enable them to crop off the blades of grass.
264 THE EEASON WHY.
" Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and everything that moveth
therein." PSALM LXIX.
1045. Why Jias the spoon-bill a long expanded bill, lined
internally with sharp muscular points ?
Because the bird lives by suction, dipping its broad bill in search
of acquatic worms, mollusks, insects and the roots of weeds. The
bill form? a natural spoon, and the muscular points enable the
bird to filter the mud, and to retain the nourishment which it finds.
1016. Why has the spoon-bill long legs?
Because it wades in marshy places to find its food. Its legs
are therefore long, for the purpose of keeping its body out of the
water, and above the smaller acquatic plants, while it searches for
its prey.
1017. Why have the parrots, fyc., crooked and hard bills ?
Because they live upon nuts, the stones of fruit, and hard seeds.
The shape of the bill, therefore, enables them to hold the nut or
seed firmly, and the sharp point enables them to split or remove
the husks.
1048. Why can a parrot move its upper as well as its
lower lill?
Because by that means it is enabled to bring the nut or seed
nearer the fulcrum, or joint of the jaw. It, therefore, acquires
greater power, just as with a pair of nut-crackers we obtain
increased power by setting the nut near to the joint.
1049. Why have animals with long necks large throats ?
Animals that graze, or feed from the ground, generally have a
more powerful muscular formation of the throat than those which
feed in other positions, because a greater effort is required to force
the food upward, that would be needed to convey it down.
1050. Why are the bones of birds hollow ?
Because they are thereby rendered lighter, and do not interfere
with the flight of the bird as they would do if they were solid.
Greater strength is also obtained by the cylindrical form of the
"botw, and a larger surface afforded for the attachment of powerful
m uscles.
THE REASON WHY. 265
"And my hand hath found, as a nest, the riches of the people; and as one
gathereth eggs that are left, have [ gathered all the earth ; and there was none
that moved the wing:, or opened the mouth, or peeped." Is AIA.H x.
1051. Why do all bints lay eggs ?
Because, to bear their young in any other manner, would
encumber the body, and materially interfere with their powers of
flight.
As soon as an egg becomes large and heavy enough to be
cumbersome to the bird, it is removed from the body. A shell,
impervious to air, protects the germ of life within, until from two to
twenty eggs have accumulated, and then, although laid at different
intervals, their incubation commences together, and the young
birds are hatched at the same time.
CHAPTER LIU.
1052. Why have birds with long legs short tails ?
Because the tails of birds are used to guide them through the
air, by a kind of steerage. When birds with long legs take to
flight, they throw their legs behind, and they then serve the same
purpose as a tail.
Fig. 68. PEBCH.
1053. Why have fishes fins ?
The fins of fishes are to them, what wings and tails are to birds,
enabling them to rise in the fluid in which they live by the reaction
of the motions of the fins upon its substance.
12'
266 THE SEASON WHY.
" Speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee ; and the fishes of the sea shall
declare unto thee. Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the Lord hath
wrought this." JOB xn.
1054. Why are the fins of fishes proportionately so much
smaller than the wings of birds?
Because there is less difference between the specific gravity of
the body of a fish, and the water in which it moves, than between
the body of a bird, and the air on which it flies. The fish, therefore
does not require such an expanded surface to elevate or guide it.
1055. Why have fishes scales ?
Because scales, while they afford protection to the bodies of fish,
are conveniently adapted to their motions ; and as the scales present
no surface to obstruct their passage throuyh the water, as hair or
feathers would do, they evidently form the best covering for the
acquatic animal.
1056. Why do fishes float in streams (when they are not
swimming) with their heads towards the stream ?
Because they breathe by the transmission of water over the
surface of their gills, the water entering at the mouth, and passing
over the gills behind. When, therefore, they lie motionless with
their heads to the stream, they are in that position which naturally
assists their breathing process.
1057. Why have fishes air-bladders ?
Because, as the density of water varies greatly at different depths,
the enlargement or contraction of the bladder regulates the relation
of the specific gravity of the body of the fish to that of the water
in which it moves.
1058. Why have whales a very large development of oily
matter about their heads ?
Because their heads are thereby rendered the lighter part of their
bodies, and a very slight exertion on the part of the animal will
bring its head to the surface to breathe air, which it constantly
requires.
1059. Why have birds that swim upon water web-feet ?
Because the spreading out of the toes of the bird brings the
membrane between the toes into the form of a fin, or water -winy,
THE BEASON WHY. 267
" And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have
nests ; but the sou of man hath not where to lay his head." MATTHEW xm.
by striking which against the water, the bird propels itself
along.
1060. Why have birds that swim and dive short legs ?
Because long legs would greatly impede their motions in the
water, by becoming repeatedly entangled in the weeds, and by
striking against the bottom. Waders, however, require long legs
because they have to move about through the tall vegetation of
marshy borders.
Fig. 69. STILT-PLOVEB AND DUCK.
1001. Why have the feet of the her on, cormorant, fyc., deep
rough notches upon their under surface ?
Because, as those birds live by catching fish, they are enabled by
the notches in their feet, to hold the slippery creatures upon which
they feed.
1062, Why have otters, seals, $c., web-feet ?
Because, while the feet enable them to walk upon the land, they
are equally effective in their action upon the water, and hence they
are adapted to the amphibious nature of the animals to which they
belong.
1063. Why do the external ears of animals of prey, such
as cats, tigers, foxes, wolves, hyenis, tyc., bend forward ?
Because they collect the sounds that occur in the direction of the
268 THE BEASON WHY.
' Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south ?
" Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her aest on high ?
pursuit, and enable the animal to track its prey with greater
certainty.
*. Why do the ears of animals of flight, such as hares,
rabbits, deer, fyc., turn backward ?
Because they thereby catch the sounds that give them warning
of the approach of danger.
1065. Why has the stomach of the camel a number of
distinct lags, like so many separate stomachs ?
Because water is stored up in the seoarate chambers of the
stomach, apart from the solid aliment, so that the animal can feed,
without consuming all its drink. It is thereby able to retain
water to satisfy its thirst while travelling across hot deserts,
where no water could be obtained.
1066. Why do woodpeckers " tap" at old trees ?
Because by boring through the decayed wood, with the sharp
and hard bills with which they are provided, they get at the haunts
of the insects upon which they feed.
1067. Why are woodpeckers' tongues about three times
longer than their bills ?
Because, if their bills were long, they would not bore the trees so
efficiently ; and when the trees are bored, and the insects alarmed,
they endeavour to retreat into the hollows of the wood ; but the
long thin tongue of the woodpecker fixes them on its sharp horny
point, and draws them into the mouth of the bird.
1068. Why have the Indian hogs large horns growing
from their nostrils and turning lack towards their eyes ?
Because the horns serve as a defence to the eyes while the
animal forces its way through the thick underwood in which it
lives.
1069. Why have calves and Ismbs, and the young of
horned cattle generally, no horns while they are young ?
Because the presence of horns would interfere with the suckling
THIS SEASON WHY. 269
" She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, upon the crag of the rock, and the
strong place.
From thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes behold afar off. Her young
ones also suck up blood: and where the slain are, there is she." JOB xxxix.
of the young animal. When, however, it is able to feed itself by
browsing, then the horns begin to grow.
1070. Why have infants no teeth ?
Because the presence of teeth would interfere with their suckling,
while the teeth would be of no service, until the child could take
food requiring mastication.
1071. Why cannot flesh-eating animals live upon vege-
tables ?
Because the gastric juice of a flesh-eating animal, being adapted
to the duty which it has to perform, will not dissolve vegetable
matter.
1072. Why have birds gizzards ?
Because, having no teeth, the tough and tibrous gizzards are
employed to grind the food preparatory to digestion.
1073. Why are small particles of sand, stone, fyc., found
in the gizzards of birds ?
Because, by the presence of those rough particles, which become
embedded in the substance of the gizzard, the food of the bird is
more effectively ground.
"When our fowls are abundantly supplied with meat, they soon fill their craw,
but it does not immediately pass thence into the gizzard ; it always enters in
small quantities, in proportion to the progress of trituration, in like manner, as
in a mill, a receiver is fixed above the two large stones which serve for grinding
the corn, which receiver, although the corn be put into it by bushels, allows
the grain to dribble only in small quantities into the central hole in the upper
mill-stone. Paley.
CHAPTER LIV.
1074. Why has the mole hard and flat feet, armed with
sharp nails?
Because the animal is thereby enabled to burrow in the earth, in
search for worms. Its feet are so many shovels.
1075. Why is the mole's far exceedingly glossy and
smooth ?
Because its smoothness enables it to work under ground without
270
THE BEASON WHY.
I know all the fowls of the mountains, and the wild beasts are mine."
PSALM L.
the soil sticking to its coat, by which its progress would be impeded.
From soils of all kinds, the little worker emerges shining and clean.
"What I have always most admired in the mole is its eyes. This animal
occasionally visiting the surface, and wanting, for its safety and direction, to bo
informed when it does so, or when it approaches it, a perception of light was
necessary. I do not know that the clearness of sight depends at all upon the
size of the organ. What is gained by the largeness or prominence of the globe
of the eye, is width in the field of vision. Such a capacity would be of no use to
an animal which was to seek its food in the dark. The mole did not want to
look about it ; nor would a large advanced eye have been easi'y defended from
the annoyance to which the life of the animal must cjnstantly expose it. How
indeed was the mole, working its way under ground, to guard its eyes at all?
In order to meet this difficulty, the eyes are made scarcely larger than the head
of a corking-pin ; and these minute globules are sunk so deeply in the skull, and
lie so sheltered within the velvet of its covering, as that any contraction of what
may be called the eye-brows, not only closes up the apertures which lead to the
eyes, but presents a cushion, as it were, to any sharp or protruding substance
which might push against them. This aperture, even in its ordinary state, is
\ike a pin-hole in a piece of velvet, scarcely pervious to loose particles of ear h.
-Paley.
Fig. 70. ELEPHANTS DBUfKING.
1076. Wliy lias the elephant a short unbending neck ?
Because the elephant's head is so heavy, that it could not have
been supported at the end of a long neck (or lever), without a
provision of immense muscular power.
THE REASON WHY. 271
"Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness de
spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig-tree and the vine do yield
their strength." JOEL n.
1077. Why has the elephant a trunk ?
The trunk of an elephant serves as a substitute for a neck,
enabling the animal to crop the branches of trees, or to raise water
from the stream.
1078. Why do the hind legs of elephants bend forward?
Because the weight of the animal is so great, that when it lay
down it would rise with great difficulty, if its legs bent outward,
as do the legs of other animals. Being bent under the body, they
have a greater power of pushing directly upward, when the
powerful muscles of the thighs straighten them.
According to Cuvier, the number of muscles, in an elephant's trunk, amounts
to forty thousand, all of which are under the will, and it is to these that the
proboscis of this animal owes its flexibility. It can be protruded or contracted
at pleasure, raised up or turned to either side, coiled round on itself or twined
around any object. With this instrument the elephant collects the herbage on
which he feeds and puts it into his mouth ; with this he strips the trees of their
branches, or grasps his enemy and dashes him to the ground. But this admi-
rable organ is not only adapted for seizing or holding substances of magnitude ;
it is also capable of plucking a single leaf, or of picking up a straw from the
floor. The orifices of the canals of the extremity are encircled by a projecting
margin, produced anteriorly into a finger-like process endowed with a high
degree of sensibility and exceedingly flexible. It is at once a finger for grasping
and a feeler: the division between the two nasal orifices or their elevated sides
serves as a point against which to press ; and thus it can pick up or hold a small
coin, a bit of biscuit, or any trifling thing with the greatest ease. Knight's
Animal Kingdom.
1079. Why have bats hooked claws in their wings ?
Because bats are almost destitute of legs and feet ; at least those
organs are included in their wings. If they alight upon the ground,
they have great difficulty in again taking to the wing, as they
cannot run or spring to bring their wings in action upon the air.
At the angle of each wing there is placed, therefore, a bony hook,
by which the bat attaches itself to the sides of rocks, caves, and
buildings, laying hold of crevices, joinings, chinks, &c. ; and when
it takes its flight, it unhooks itself, and its wings are at once free
to strike the air.
1080. Why does the bat fly by night ?
Because it lives chiefly upon moths, which are night-flying
insects.
272 THE SEASON WHY.
1 So are the paths of all that forget God ; and the hypocrite's hope shall perish ;
Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider's
web." JOB vni.
1081. Why does the bat sleep during the winter ?
Because, as the winter approaches, the moths and flying insects
upon which it feeds, disappear. If, therefore, it did not sleep
through the winter it must have starved.
Fig. 71. BAT WITH HOOKED WINGS.
1082. Why has the spider the power of spinning a web ?
Because, as it lives upon flies, but is deficient of the power of
flying in pursuit of them, it has been endowed with an instinct to
spread a snare to entrap them, and with the most wonderful
machinery to give that instinct effect.
There are few things better suited to remove the disgust into which young
people are betrayed on the view of some natural objects, than this of the spider.
They will find that the most despised creature may become a subject of admira-
tion, and be selected by the naturalist to exhibit the marvellous works of the
creation. The terms given to these insects, lead us to expect interesting par-
ticulars concerning them, since they have been divided into vagrants, hunters,
swimmers, and water spiders, sedentary, and mason-spiders ; thus evincing a
variety in their condition, activity, and mode of life ; and we cannot be sur-
prised to find them varying in the performance of their vital functions (as, for
example, in their mode of breathing), as well as in their extremities and instru-
ments. Of these instruments the most striking is the apparatus for spinning
and weaving, by which they riot only fabricate webs to entangle their prey, but
form cells for their residence and concealment ; sometimes living in the
ground, sometimes under water, yet breathing the atmosphere. Corresponding
with their very singular organisation are their instincts. We are familiar with
the watchfulness and voracity of some spiders, when their prey is indicated by
the vibration of the cords of their net- work. Others have the eye and dis-
position of the lynx or tiger, and after couching in concealment, leap upon
their victims. Some conceal themselves under a silken hood or tube, six eyes
only projecting. Some bore a hole in the earth, and line it as finely as if it
were done with the trowel and mortar, and then hang it with delicate curtains.
A very extraordinary degree of contrivance is exhibited in the trap-door spider.
This door, from which it derives its name, has a frame and hinge on the mouth
of the cell, and is so provided that the claw of the spider can lay hold of it, and
THE REASON WHY.
273
1 The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in king's palaces."
PROVERBS xxx.
whether she enters or goes out, says Mr. Kirby, the door shuts of itself. But
the water-spider has a domicile more curious still : it is under water, with an
opening at the lower part for her exit and entrance ; and although this cell ba
under water, it contains air like a diving-bell, so that the spider breathes the
atmosphere. The air is renewed in the cell in a manner not easily explained.
The spider comes to the surface ; a bubble of air is attracted to its body ; with
this air she descends, and gets under her cell, when the air is disengaged and
rises into the cell ; and thus, though under water, she lives in the air. There
must be some peculiar property of the surface of this creature by which she can
move in the water surrounded with an atmosphere, and live under the water
breathing the air.
Fig. 72. WEB O* THE GEOMETRICAL SPIDER.
The chief instrument by which the spider performs these wonders is the
spinning apparatus. The matter from which the threads are spun is the liquid
contained in cells ; the ducts from these cells open upon little projecting teats,
and the atmosphere has so immediate an effect upon this liquid, that upon
exposure to it the secretion becomes a tough and strong thread. Twenty- four
of these fine strands form together a thread of the thickness of that of the
silk-worm. We are assured that there are three different sorts of material thus
produced, which are indeed required for the various purposes to which the
12*
274 THE 11EASON WHY.
1 For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills."
L.
are applied as, for example, to mix up with the earth to form the cells ; to line
these cells as with fine cotton ; to make light and floating threads by which they
may be conveyed through the air, as well as those meshes which are so
geometrically and correctly formed to entrap their prey. Note by Lord
Brougliam to Paley's Natural Theology.
1083. Why have many insects a great number of eyes ?
Because the orb of the eye is fixed ; there is therefore placed over
the eye a multiple-lens, which conducts light to the eye from every
direction; so that the insect can see with a fixed eye as readily as
it could have done with a moveable one. As many as fourteen
hundred eyes, or inlets of light, have been counted in the head of a
drone-bee. The spider has eight eyes, mounted upon different parts
of the head j two in front, two in the top of the head, and two on
each side.
1084. Why have birds of prey no gizzards ?
Because their food does not require to be ground prior to
digestion, as does the food of grain-eating birds.
1085. Why have earth worms no feet ?
Because the undulatory motion of their muscles serves them for
all the purposes of progression needed by their mode of life.
1086. Why have mussels strong tendinous threads
proceeding from their shells ?
Because as they live in places that are beaten by the surf of the
sea, they moor their shells by those threads to rocks and timbers.
1087. Why have cockles stiff muscular tongues?
Because, having no threads to moor themselves, as the mussels
have, they dig out with their tongues a shelter for themselves in
the sand.
1088. Why do oxen, sheep, deer, fyc., ruminate ?
Becauss they have no front teeth in the upper jaw, the place of
which is occupied by a hardened gum. The first process, therefore,
consists simply of cropping their food, which is passed into the
paunch, to be brought up again and ground by the back teetk
wlien the cropping process is over.
Because, in a wild state, they are constantly exposed to the
THE SEASON WHY. -</5
' A righteous na^n regardeth the life of his bea* t : but the tender mercic - <fhe
wicked are cruel." PBOVEKBS xn.
attacks of carnivorous beasts, and as the mastication of the arge
amount of vegetable food required for their sustenance would ike a
considerable time, they are provided with stomachs, by whio* they
are enabled to fill their paunches quickly, and then, retirii^ to a
place of safety, they bring their food up again, and chevr it at
leisure.
1089. Why can ruminating animals recover the food from
their paunches ?
Because they have a voluntary power over the muscles of the
throat, by which they can bring up the food at will.
1090. Why can they keep the unchewed food in the
paunch, from the "cud" they have chewed for nourishment ?
Because their stomachs are divided into three chambers : 1, the
paunch, where the unchewed food is stored ; 2, the reticulum,
where portions of the food are received from the paunch, and
moistened and rolled into a " cud," to be sent up and chewed ; and
3, the psalterium, which receives the masticated food, and con-
tinues the process of digestion.
In quadrupeds the deficiency of teeth is usually compensated by the faculty
of rumination. The sheep, deer, and ox tribe, are without fore-teeth in the
upper jaw. These ruminate. The horse and ass are furnished with teeth in the
upper jaw, and do' not ruminate. In the former class, the grass and hay descend
into the stomachs nearly in the state in which they are cropped from the
pasture, or gathered from the bundle. In the stomach, they are softened by
the gastric juice, which in these animals is unusually copious. Ihus softened
and rendered tender, they are returned a second time to the action of the
mouth, where the grinding teeth complete at their leisure the trituration which
is necessary ; but which was before left imperfect. I say, the trituration which
is necessary ; for it appears from experiments, that the gastric fluid of sheep, for
example, has no effect in digesting plants, unless they have been previously
masticated ; that it only produces a slight maceration, nearly as common water
would do in a like degree of heat ; but that when once vegetables are reduced
to pieces by mastication, the fluid then exerts upon them its specific operation.
Its first effect is to softon them, and to destroy their natural consistency ; it
then goes on to dissolve them, not sparing even the toughest parts, such as the
nerves of the leaves. I think it very probable, that the gratification also of the
animal is renewed and prolonged by this faculty. Sheep, deer, and oxen, appear
to be in a state of enjoyment whilst they are chewing the cud. It is then,
perhaps, tha; ;"iey best relish their food. Paley.
276
THE SEASON WHY.
'I am like a pelican of the wilderness : I am like an owl of the desert. I watch,
and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top." PSAXM en.
CHAPTER LV.
1091. Why do quadrupeds that are vegetable eaters feed
so continually ?
Because their focc contains but a small proportion of nutrition,
so that it is necessary to digest a large quantity to obtain
sufficient nourishment.
1092. Why do flesh eating animals satisfy themselves with
a rapid meal ?
Because the food which they eat is rich in nutritious matter,
and more readily digestible than vegetable food; it does not
therefore, require the same amount of -grinding with the teeth.
Fig. 73. PELICAN WITH DILATED POUCH.
1093. "Why has the pelican a large pouch under its lill
Because it subsists upon fish, generally of the smaller kind, and
uses its pouch as a net for catching- them ; the pouch also serves as
THE SEASON WHY. 277
* And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which
the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged
fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good." GENESIS i.
a paunch, in which the fish are stored, until the bird ceases from
the exertion of fishing, and takes its meal at leisure.
In their wild state they hover and wheel over the surface of the water,
watching t?v5 shoals of fish beneath, and suddenly sweeping down, bury them-
selves in the foaming waves; rising immediately from the water by their own
buoyancy, up they soar, the pouch laden with the fish scooped up during their
momentary submersion. The number of fish the pouch of this species will con-
tain may be easily imagined when we state that it is so dilatable as to be
capable of containing two gallons of water; yet the bird has the power of
contracting this membranous expansion, by wrinkling it up under the lower
mandible, until it is scarcely to be seen. In shallow inlets, which the pelicans
often frequent, it nets its prey with great adroitness.
The pelican chooses remote and solitary islands, isolated rocks in the sea, the
borders of lakes and rivers, as its breeding place. The nest, placed on the ground,
is made of coarse grasses, and the eggs, which are white, are two or three in
number. While the female is incubating, the male brings fish to her in his
pouch, and the young, when hatched, are assidiously attended b.y the parents,
who feed them by pressing the pouch against the breast, so as to transfer the
fish from the former into the throats of the young. This action has doubtless
given origin to the old fable of the pelican feeding its young with blood drawn
from its own breast. Knight's Animal Kingdom.
1094. Why do the smaller animals breed more abundantly
than the larger ones ?
Because the smaller ones are designed to be the food of the
larger ones, and are therefore created in numbers adapted to that
end. An elephant produces but one calf; the whale but one young
one ; a butterfly lays six hundred eggs ; silk-worms lay from 1,000
to 2,000 eggs ; the wasp, 5,000 ; the ant, 4,000 to 5,000 ; the queen
bee, 5,000 to 6,000, or 40,000 to 50,000 in a season ; and a species
of white ant (termes fatalis) produces 86,400 eggs in a day. Birds
of prey seldom produce more than two eggs ; the sparrow and duck
tribe frequently sit upon a dozen ; in rivers there prevail a thousand
minnows for one pike ; and in the sea, a million of herrings for a
single shark; while of the animalcules upon which the whale
subsists, there must exist hundreds of millions for one whale.
1095. Why has the whale feathery-liJce lamincs of whale*
lone extending from its jaws 'f
Because these feathery bones, lying side by side, form a sieve, or
strainer, for the large volumes of water which the whale receives
into its its mouth, drawing off therefrom millions of small animals,
278 THE BEASON WHY.
' Hast thou given the horse strength ? hast thou clothed his neck with thunder ?
* * He paveth the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength : he goeth on
to meet the armed men." JOB xxxix.
which form a jelly-like mass upon which the whale feeds. A whale
has been known to weigh as much as 249 tons, and its blubber
yielded 4,000 gallons of oil. How many millions of living creatures
must have gone to make up that enormous mass of animal matter !
1096. Why have cats, and various other animals, whiskers ?
The whiskers of cats, and of the cat tribe, are exceedingly
sensitive, enabling them, when seizing their prey in the dark, to feel
its position most acutely. These hairs are supplied, through their
roots, with branches of the same nerves that give sensibility to the
lips, and that in insects supply their "feelers."
1097. Why lias the horse a smaller stomach proportion-
ately than other animals ?
Because the horse was created for speed. Had he the
ruminating stomach of the ox, he would be quite unfitted for the
labour which he now so admirably performs.
1098. Why has the horse no gall-bladder ?
Because the rapid digestion of the horse, by which its fitness for
speed is greatly increased, does not require the storing up of the
bile as in other animals in which the digestive process is a slower
operation.
1099. Why do certain butterflies lay their eggs upon
callage leaves ?
Because the cabbage leaves are the food of the young
caterpillars; and although the butterfly does not subsist herself
upon the leaf, she knows by instinct that the leaf will afford food to
her future young ; she therefore lays her eggs where her young ones
will find food.
This explanation applies to many insects that lay their eggs upon other
plants
1100. Why have insects long projections from their heads,
like horns or feathers ?
Because those organs (the antennae), are those through which
some insects hear and others feel; and the projecting of these
antennas from their bodies probably enables them to hear or feel
THE EEASON WHY. 270
" My son, eat thou honey, because it is good ; and the honey-comb, which is
sweet to thy taste." PEOVEEBS xxiv.
more acutely while their wings are in motion, without the inter-
ference of the vibrations of their wings.
1101. Why have bees stings ?
Because they gather and store up honey which would constantly
attract other insects, and the bees would be robbed of their food
but for the sting, which is given to them for protection.
1102. Why have flies fine hairs growing at the extremities
of their legs?
Because they require to cleanse their bodies and wings, and to
free them from particles of dust. And as they cannot turn their
heads for this purpose, they have hairy feet, which serve as brushes,
by which any part of their bodies can be reached and cleaned.
CHAPTER LVI.
1103. Why when the perfume of flowers is unusually
perceptible may wet weather be anticipated ?
Because when the air is damp it conveys the odours of flowers
mora effectively than it does when dry.
1104. Why when swallows fly low may wet weather be
expected ?
Because the insects which the swallows pursue in their flight are
flying low, to escape the moisture of the upper regions of the
1105. Why do ducks and geese go to the water , and dash it
over their backs on the approach of rain ?
Because by wetting the outer coat of their feathers before the
rain falls, by sudden dashes of water over the surface, they prevent
the drops of rain from penetrating to their bodies through the open
and dry feathers.
1106. Why do horses and cattle stretch out their necks
and snuff the air on the approach of rain?
Because they smell the fragrant perfume which is diffused in the
air by its increasing moistness.
280 THE EEASON WHY.
'I will remember the works of the Lord: Surely I will remember thy wonders
of old." PSALM LXXVII.
1107. Why may change of weather be anticipated when
domestic animals are restless ?
Because their skins are exceedingly sensitive to atmospheric
influences, and they are oppressed and irritated by the changing
condition of the atmosphere.
1108. Why may fine weather be expected when spiders
are seen busily constructing their webs ?
Because those insects are highly sensitive to the state of the
atmosphere, and when it is setting fine they build their webs,
because they know instinctively thatjlies will be abroad.
1109. Why is wet weather to be expected when spiders
hide ?
Because it shows that they are aware that the state of the
atmosphere does not favour the flight of insects.
1110. Why if gnats fly in large numbers may fine weather
be expected ?
Because it shows that they feel the state of the atmosphere to be
favourable, which induces them all to leave their places of shelter
1111. Why if owls scream during foul weather, will it
change toflne ?
Because the birds are pleasurably excited by a favourable change
in the atmosphere.
1112. Why is it said that the moping of the owl foretels
death ?
Because owls scream when the weather is on the change ; and
when a patient is lingering on a death bed, the alteration in the
state of the atmosphere frequently induces death, because the
faint and expiring flame of life has not strength enough to adapt
itself to the change.
1113. Why may wet weather be expected when spiders
break off their webs, and remove them?
Because the insects, anticipating the approach of rain, remove
their webg for preservation.
THE SEASON WLIT. 281
" There shall the great owl make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under
her shadow : there shall the vultures also be gathered, every one with her
mate." ISAIAH xxxiv.
1114. Why may we expect a continuance of fine weather
when lees wander far from their hives ?
Because the bees feel instinctively that from the state of the
atmosphere they may wander far in search of honey, without th*
danger of being overtaken by rain.
1115. Why if people feel their corns ache, and their bones
rheumatic, may rain be expected ?
Because the dampness of the atmosphere affects its pressure upon
the body, and causes a temporary disturbance of the system. All
general disturbances of the body, manifest themselves in those
parts which are in a morbid state as in a corn, a rheumatic bone,
or a decayed tooth.
1116. Why if various flowers close may rain be expected ?
Because plants are highly sensitive to atmospheric changes, and
close their petals to protect their stamens.
1117. Why when moles throw up their hills may rain be
expected ?
Because the moles know instinctively, that on the approach of
wet, worms move in the ground; the moles therefore become
active, and form their hills.
1118. Why is a magpie, when seen alone, said to fortell
bad weather ?
Because magpies generally fly in company ; but on the approach
of wet or cold, one remains in the nest to take care of the young,
while the other one wanders alone in search of food.
1119. Why do sea-gulls appear numerous in fine weather ?
Because the fishes swim near to the surface of the sea, and the
birds assemble over the sea to catch the fish, instead of sitting on
rocks, or wading on the shore.
1120. Why do sea-gulls fly over the land, on the approach
^of stormy weather?
Because in stormy weather they cannot catch fish ; and the
earth-worms come up on tht land when the rain falls.
282 THE SEASON WHY.
"And I said, Oh, that I had wings like a dove ! for then would I fly away, and be
at rest." PSALM. LV.
1121. Wliy if birds cease to sing, may wet, and proldbly
thunder, be expected.
Because birds are depressed by an unfavourable change in the
atmosphere, and lose those joyful spirits which give rise to their
songs.
1122. Why if cattle run around in meadows, may thunder
be expected t
Because the electrical state of the atmosphere has the effect of
making them feel uneasy and irritable, and they chase each other
about to get rid of the irritability.
1123. Why if birds of passage arrive early, may severe
weather be expected ?
Because it shows that the indications of unfavourable weather
have set in, in the latitudes from which the birds come, and that
they have taken an early flight to escape it.
1124. Why if the webs of the gossamer spider fly about in
the autumn, may east winds be anticipated ?
Because an east wind is a dry and dense wind, and suitable to the
flight of the gossamer spider ; the spider feeling instinctively the
dry ness of the air, throws out its web, and finds it more than
usually buoyant upon the dense air.
The observation of the changing phenomena which attend the various states
of the weather is a very interesting study, though no general rules can be
laid down that can be relied upon, because there are modifying circum-
stances which influence the weather in various localities and climates.
To observe weather indications accurately, no phenomenon should be taken
alone, but several should be regarded together. The character and the duration
of the weather of the preceding days, the direction of the wind, the forms of the
clouds, the indications of the barometer, the rise or fall of the thermometer, and
the instinctive forewarnings of birds, beasts, insects, and flowers, should all be
taken into accouut. Although no direct material advantages attend such a
study, it induces a habit of observation, and developes the inductive faculty of
the mind, which, when applied to more significant things, may trace important
effects to their greater causes.
THE EEASON WHY. 283
' Go to the ant, thou sluggard ; consider her ways, and be wise. ' PHOT. VI.
CHAPTER LVII.
1125. Why can gossamer spiders float through the air ?
Because, having no wings, and being deficient in the active
muscular powers of other spiders, they have been endowed with the
power of spinning a web which is so light that it floats in the
air, and bears the body of the gossamer spider from place to place.
Each web acts as a balloon, and the spider attached thereto is a
little aeronaut.
1126. Why do crickets make a peculiar chirping sound ?
Because they have hard wing cases, by the friction of the edges
of which they cause their peculiar noise, to make known to each
other where they are, in the dark crevices in which they hide.
Fig. 74. GLOW-WORM USING HIS BETTSH.
1127. Why has the glow-worm a brush attached to its
tail ?
Because it is necessary to keep its back very clean, that the light
which its body emits may not be dimmed.
1128. Why does the glow-worm emit a light ?
Because the female glow-worm is without wings, but the male is
a winged insect. The female, therefore, is endowed with the power
of displaying a phosphorescent light. The light is only visible by
284 THE SEASON WHY.
" They that go down to the sea in great ships, that do business in great waters
these see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep." PSALM cvn.
night, but it is, nevertheless, beautifully adapted for the purpose
stated, because the male is a night-flying insect, and never ventures
abroad by day.
There exists some difference of opinion between naturalists upon the uses of
the light of a glow-worm ; there are some who doubt that it is exhibited to
attract the flying insect. The objectors, however, offer no explanation of the
luminous properties of the worm. Sir Charles Bell says the preponderance of
tlie argument is decidedly in favour of the explanation we have given.
1129. Why does not the iris of the fish's eye contract ?
Because the diminished light in water is never too strong for
the retina.
1130. Why is the eye of the eel covered with a transparent
horny covering ?
Because, as the eel lives in holes, and pushes its head into mud,
and under stones, &c., it needed such a covering to defend the eye.
1131. Why is the whale provided with an eye, having
remarkably thick and strong coats ?
Because, when he is attacked by the sword-fish and the shark, he
is almost helpless against his enemies, as they fix themselves upon
his huge carcase. He therefore dives with them down to a depth
where the pressure of the water is so great that they cannot bear it.
The eye of the whale is expressly organised to bear the immense
pressure of extreme ocean depths, without impairing the sight.
1132. Why have fishes no eye-lids?
Because the water in which they swim keeps their eyes moist.
Eyelids would therefore be useless to them.
1133. Why have fishes the power of giving their eye-balls
very sudden motion T
Because, having no eyelids (such organs being unnecessary to
keep their eyes moist), they still need the power of freeing their
eyes from the contact of foreign matters ; and this is secured to
them by the power they have of giving the eye-ball a very rapid
motion, which causes reaction in the fluid surrounding it, and sweep*
the surface.
This motion may frequently be seen in the eyes of fishes, in glass globes.
THE EEASON WHY. 285
"And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their
kind, and everything that creepeth upon the earth after his kind :
and God saw that it was good." GENESIS i.
1134. Why is the lachrymal secretion of the horse's eye
thick and glutinous ?
Because, as his eye is large, and constantly exposed to dust on
journies, it is provided with a viscid secretion, which cleanses the
eye, and more instantly and securely removes the dust, than a
watery secretion would.
1135. Why does the lower bill of the sea-crow project
beyond the upper one ?
Because the bird obtains his food by skimming along the water,
into which he dips his bill, and lifts his food out.
1136. Why do the mandibles of the cross-bill overlap
each other ?
Because the bird requires a peculiar bill, to enable it to split
seeds into halves, and to tear the open cones of the fir-tree.
1137. W hy are the tails of fishes so much larger than their
fins?
Because their tails are their chief instruments of motion, while
their fins are employed simply to direct their progress, and steady
their movements.
1138. Why have oxen, and other quadrupeds a tough
ligament called the "pax-wax" running from their backs to
their heads ?
Because their heads are of considerable weight; and having
frequent occasion to lift them, they are provided with an elastic
ligament, which is fastened at the middle of their backs, while its
other extremity is attached to the head. This enables them to
raise their heads easily ; otherwise the effort to do so would be a
work of great labour. To the horse, the pax-wax acts as a natural
bearing-rein, assisting it to hold its head in that position which adds
to the grace and beauty of the animal.
In carving beef, this ligament may be seen passing along the vertebra of the
neck, the chuck, and the fore ribs.
286 THE SEASON WHY.
" He shall feed his flock like a shepherd ; he shall gather the lambs with
his arm, aud carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those
that are with young." ISAIAH XL.
1139. Why have the females of the kangaroo and opossum
tribes pouches, or pockets, formed in the skin of their breasts
for the reception of their young ?
Because their young ones are remarkably small and helpless ;
in fact, more so than those of any other animal of equal proportions.
Besides which, the full grown animals have very long hind-legs,
and they progress by a series of extraordinary leaps. It would
consequently be impossible for their helpless young ones to follow
them : God has therefore given to female kangaroos and opossums
curious pockets, formed out of their own skin, in which they place
their little young ones, and bear them through their surprising leaps
with the greatest ease and safety.
CHAPTER LVIII.
1140. What is the difference between an animal, a plant,
and a mineral ?
The great naturalist, Linnaeus, used to say that minerals, and
animals grow, live, and feel; plants grow and live; and minerals
grow.
Animals are here defined to enjoy three conditions of existence ;
plants two conditions ; and minerals one condition.
This definition has, in latter days, been held to be unsatisfactory,
since there are a few plants that are supposed to feel, and a few
animals that are supposed to have even less feeling than the
sensitive plants alluded to.
The concise definition by Linnaeus, nevertheless, is true, as far as
regards a vast majority of the bodies constituting the three great
kingdoms of nature. And it may be sufficient to say that
Animals grow, live, feel, and move,
Plants grow and live.
Minerals grow, by the addition of particles of inorganic matter.
If we now state the few exceptions that are admitted to this definition, we
uhall bring the explanation as near to the truth, as the present state of
knowledge will permit.
THE EEASON WHY. 287
"And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is
upon the face ef all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit
of a tree, yielding seed ; to you it shall be for meat." GKBTESIS I.
1141. Why is it understood that some plants feel ?
Because the sensitive plant closes its leaves on being touched;
the Venus 's fly trap closes its leaves upon flies that alight upon
them ; others close upon the approach of rain, and at sunset, and
open at sunrise, and turn towards the sun during its daily transit.
1142. Why is it understood that some plants move ?
Because certain sea-weeds throw off undeveloped young plants,
which move through the water by the aid of fine cilia, or mus-
cular hairs, until they find a suitable place upon which to attach
themselves.
The roots of plants will penetrate through the ground in the
direction of water, and of favourable soil.
1143. Of what elementary substances are plants composed?
Of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen.
1144. Whence do plants derive those substances ?
From the air, the earth, and water.
1145. How do plants obtain carbon ?
They obtain it chiefly from the air, in the form of carbonic acid
gas. The carbon, of the carbonic acid gas, which is thrown out
by the breath of animals, and by other processes in nature, is
absorbed by the leaves of plants, and the oxygen which had united
with the carbon to form the carbonic acid gas, is again set
free for the use of animals.
1146. How do plants obtain oxygen ?
They obtain it from the atmospheric air. But as they do not
require a large amount of oxygen for their own use, they throw off
the amount which is in excess, after having separated it from the
other elements with which it was combined when taken up by them.
From the humble blade of grass, to the stately tree of the forest,
plants operate to purify the air, and to correct and counteract the
corruption of the air, by the myriads of animals inhabiting the
earth.
It has been generally stated that plants in rooms purify the air by absorbing
carbonic acid by day, and releasing a part of the oxygen ; but that, as the pre-
sence of light is necessary to produce this action, they do not restore oxygen to
288 THE REASON WHY.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God : and the firmament showeth his handj
work. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night untq night showeth
knowledge." Ps AJLM xix.
the air, by night, but, on the contrary, give off carbonic acid gas. Therefore il
has been stated that plants in rooms by night are unhealthy. Mr. Robert
Hunt, one of the ablest chemists of the present time, makes the following
remarks upon this subject in his " Poetry of Science :"
" The power of decomposing carbonic acid is a vital function which belongs
to the leaves and bark. It has been stated, on the authority of Leibig, that
during the night the plant acts only as a mere bundle of fibres that it allows
of the circulation of carbonic acid and its evaporation, unchanged. In his
eagerness to support his chemical hypothesis of respiration, the able chemist
neglected to enquire if this was absolutely correct. The healthy plant never
ceases to decompose carbonic acid during one moment of its existence ; but
during the night, when the excitement of light is removed, and the plant
reposes, its vital powers are at their minimum of action, and a much less
quantity is decomposed than when a stimulating sun, by the aciion of its rays,
is compelling the exertion of every vital function."
In hot, swampy countries, where vegetation is very rapid, and the soil loaded
with decomposing carbonic matter, the plants absorb more carbonic acid than
they require, and they then evolve carbonic acid gas from their leaves. Hence
such climates as the West Indies are injurious to life, though favourable to
vegetation.
1147. How do plants obtain hydrogen ?
They obtain liydrogen in combination with oxygen in water, and
with nitrogen, in the form of ammonia, as which it exists in animal
manures.
1148. How do plants obtain nitrogen ?
From the atmospheric air, and from the soil, in which it is
combined with other elements.
1149. How do plants apply these elements to the formation
of their own structures?
When those substances which form the food of plants are absorbed,
either by their leaves or their roots, they are converted, with the
aid of water, into a nutritive sap, which answers the same purposes
in plants as blood does in animals.
1150. How is the nutritive sap applied to the growth and
enlargement of the plant f
Every seed contains a small amount of nutrition, sufficient for the
sustentation of the germ of the plant, until those vessels are
formed, by which the nutritive elements can be absorbed and used
for the further development of the living structure.
The earth, penetrated by the sun's rays, warms the sleeping
germ, and quickens it into life. For a short time the germ lives upon
THE BEASON WHY. 289
: He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man :
that he may bring forth food out of the earth." PSALM civ.
the seed, which, moistened and warmed by the soil, yields a kind of
glutinous sap, out of which the first members of the plant are
formed. And then the tender leaf, looking up tc the sky, and the
slender rootlet penetrating the soil, begin to draw their sustenance
from the vast stores of nature.
1151. Of 'what do vegetable structures consist?
Of membranes, or thin tissues, which, being variously arranged,
form cells, tubes, air passages, &c. Of 'fibres, which form a stronger
kind of membrane, and which is variously applied to the production
of the organs of the plants. And of organs, formed by those
elementary substances, by which the plants absorb, secrete, and
grow, and fulfil the conditions of their existence.
1152. Why are seeds generally enveloped in hard cases ?
Because the covering of the seed, like the shell of an egg, is
designed to preserve the germ within from the influence of external
agencies, until the time for development has arrived, and the
conditions of germination are fulfilled.
1153. Why does a seed throw out a root, before it forms a
leaf?
Because moisture, which the root absorbs from the earth, is
necessary to enable the germ to use the nutrition which the seed
itself contains, and ou\, of which the leaf must be eliminated.
Moisture forms a kind of gluten, in which the starch of the seed is
dissolved, and converted into sugar, the sugar into carbonaceous sap,
and the sap into cellular tissue and woody fibre, as the leaves
present themselves to the influence of the air and light.
1154. Why does a plant grow ?
Because, as soon as membranes and vessels are organised in the
young germ, the nutritive fluid, formed by its first organs, begins to
move through the fine structures, and from that time the plant
commences to incorporate with its own substance the elements
with which it is surrounded, that are suitable to its development.
13
290 THE REASON WHY.
' Can the rush grow up without mire ? can the flag grow without watr
Whilst it is yet in his greenness, and not cut down, it withereth before
any other herb." JOB viu.
CHAPTER LIX.
1155. Why, if we break the stem of a hyacinth, do we se6
a glutinous fluid exude ?
Because, by breaking the stem, we rupture the vessels of the
plant, and cause the nutritive fluid to escape. The sap of the plant
is analagous to the Hood of man, and the vessels, to the arteries
and veins of the animal body.
1156. Why, if we split the petal of a tulip, do we see cells
containing matter of various colours?
Because, by splitting the petal of the flower, we disclose the
anatomy of its structure, and bring to view those cells, or organs,
of the vegetable body, by which the different colouring matters
are secreted.
1157." Why, if we break a pea-shell across, do we discover
a transparent membrane which may be removed from the
green cells underneath ?
Because we separate from the cellular, or fleshy part of the shell,
the membrane, which forms the epidermis, and answers to the
skin of the animal body.
1158. Why, if we cut through a cabbage stump, do we find
an outer coat of woody fibre, and an inner substance of cellular
matter ?
Because the woody fibre forms a kind of skeleton, which supports
the internal stricture of the plant, and gives form and character to
its organisation. The woody fibre of plants is analagous to the
bony structure of animal bodies.
1159. W^hy, if we cut across the stem of a plant do we see
umerous tubes arranged in parallel lines ?
Because we thereby bring to view the vessels formed by the
membranes and fibres of the vegetable body, for the transmission of
the fluids, by which the structure is sustained.
Skeleton leaves, and seed vessels of plants, form exceedingly interesting
THE EEASON WHY 291
" It was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it might bring forth
branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly
vine." EZEKIEL xvn.
objects, and serve to illustrate the wonderful structure of plants. With patience
and care, they maybe produced by any person, and will afford an interesting
occupation. The leaves should be gathered when they are in perfection that
is, when some of the earliest leaves begin to fall from the trees. Select perfect
leaves, taking care that they are not broken, or injured by insects. Lay them
in pans of rain water, and expose them to the air to undergo decomposition.
Renew the water from time to time, taking care not to damage the leaves. They
imed not be examined more than once a week, and then only to see that the
water is sufficient to cover them. Give them sufficient time for their soft parts
to become decomposed, then take them out, and laying them on a white plate
M ith a little water, wash away carefully, with a camel-hair pencil, the green
matter that clings to the fibres. The chief requirement is patience on the part
of the operator, to allow the leaves and seed vessels sufficient time to decompose.
Some leaves will take a few weeks, and others a few months, but a large panful
may be put to decompose at the same time, and there will always be some
ready lor the process of cleansing. When they are thorougly cleaned, they
should be bleached, by steeping fora short time in a weak solution of chloride of
lime. They should then be dried, and either pressed flat, or arranged in boquets
for preservation under glass shades. The result will amply reward the perse-
v erauce of the operator.
1160. Why are clayey soils unfavourable to vegetation ?
Because the soil is too close and adhesive to allow of the free
passage of air or water to the roots of the plants ; it also obstructs
the expansion of the fibres of the roots.
1161. Why are sandy soils unfavourable to vegetation ?
Because they consist of particles that have too little adhesion
to each other ; they do not retain sufficient moisture for the
nourishment of the plants ; and they allow too much solar heat
to pass to the roots.
1162. Why are chalk soils unfavourable to vegetation ?
Because they do not absorb the solar rays, and are therefore
cold to the roots of plants.
1163. Why are mixed soils favourable to vegetation ?
Because they contain the elements of nutrition essential to the
development of the vegetables, and the plants absorb from them
those constituents which are necessary to their growth.
1164. Why do farmers sow different crops in rotation ?
Because every plant takes something from the soil, and *ivcs
292 THE KEASOJT WHY.
1 He watereth the hills from his chambers ; the earth is satisfied with the
fruit of thy works." PSALM civ.
something back ; but all kinds of plants do not absorb nor restore
the elements in the same proportions. Therefore a succession of
crops of one kind would soon impoverish the soil; but a succes-
sion of crops of different kinds will compensate the soil, in some
degree, for the nourishment withdrawn.
1165. IV hy do farmers manure their lands ?
Because, as soils vary, and crops impoverish tke soils, the farmer
employs manure to restore fertility, and to adapt the soils to the
wants of tlie plants he desires to cultivate.
It is remarkable that Nature herself points out to man the necessity for
changing the succession of vegetable growths.
\Vhen plants have exhausted the soil upon which they grow, they will push
their roots far in search of sustenance, and in time migrate to a new soil, while
other plants will spring up and thrive upon the area vacated. When a forest in
North America is destroyed by fire, the trees that grow afterwards are unlike
those that the fire consumed, and evidently arise from seeds that have long lain
buried in the earth, waiting the time when the ascendancy of the reigning order
of plants should cease.
1166. Why are grasses so widely diffused throughout nature?
Because they form the food of a very large portion of the animal
kingdom. They have therefore been abundantly provided. No
spot of earth is allowed to remain idle long. When the foot of man
ceases to tread down the path, grass immediately begins to appear ;
and by its universality and the hardihood of its nature, it clothes
the earth as with a carpet.
Many grasses, whose leaves are so dry and withered that the plants appear
dead, revive and renew their existence in the spring by pushing forth new leaves
from the bosom of the former ones. Withering" s Botany,
Grasses are Nature's care. With these she clothes the earth ; with these she
sustains its inhabitants. Cattle feed upon their leaves; birds upon their
smaller seeds ; men upon the larger ; for, few readers need be told that the
plants which produce our bread-corn, belong to this class. In those tribes
which are more generally considered as grasses, their extraordinary means and
powers of preservation and increase, their hardiness their almost unconquer-
able disposition to spread, their faculties of revivisccnce, coincide with the
intention of nature concerning them. They thrive under a treatment by which
other plants are destroyed. The more their leaves are consumed, the more
t heir roots increase. The more they are trampled upon, the thicker they grow.
Many of the seemingly dry and dead leaves of grasses revive, and renew their
verdure in the spring. In lofty mountains, where the summer heats are not
sufficient to ripen the seeds, grasses abound which are viviparous, and
consequently able to propagate themselves without seed. It is an observation,
likewise, which has often been made, that herbivorous animals attach
themselves to the leaves of grasses ; and, if at liberty in their pastures to rango
and choose, leave untouched the straws which support the flowers. Paley.
THE REASON WHY. 293
' For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear,
after that the full ear in the corn." MABK v.
CHAPTER LX.
1167. W hy do some plants droop, and turn to the earth
after sunset ?
Because, when the warmth of the sun's rays is withdrawn, they
turn downwards, and receive the warmth of the earth by radiation.
1167* Why does the young ear of corn first appear
enfolded in two green leaves ?
Because the light and air would act too powerfully for the young
ear; two leaves therefore join, and embrace the ear, and protect it
until it has acquired strength, when they divide, and leave the ear
to swell and ripen.
1168. Why are the seeds of plants usually formed within
the corollas of flowers ?
Because the petals of the flowers, surrounding the seeds, afford
them protection until they are ripened, when the flower dies, and
the petals fall to the ground.
1169. Why does the flower of the poppy turn down during
the early formation of seed?
Because the heat would probably be too great for the seed in its
early stage. The plant is therefore provided with a curious curv6
in its stalk, which turns the flower downward. But when the
seeds are prepared for ripening, the stalk erects itself, and the
seeds are then presented to the ripening influences of the sun.
1170. Why have plants of the pea tribe, a folding blossom
called the " boat," or " keel?"
Because, within that blossom the pea is formed, and the shape
of the blossom is exactly suited to that of the pea which is formed
therein. The blossom is itself protected by external petals ; and
when the wind blows, and threatens to destroy the parts upon
which the seeds depend, the plants turn their backs to the wind,
and shelter the seed.
294 THE REASON WHY.
"The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life ; and he that winneth souls
is wise." PHOVEKBS xr.
1171. Why are the leaf buds enclosed in scales which
fall off as the leaf opens?
Because the scales serve as a shelter to the tender structure of
the young leaf. The scales are rudimentary leaves, formed at the
end of the previous season, and which, being undeveloped then, serve
to guard the young leaves of the future year.
In trees, especially thosi "which are natives of colder climates, this point is
taken up earlier. Many of these trees (observe in particular the ash and the
horse-chestnut) produce the embryos of the leaves and flowers in one year, and
bring them to perfection the following. There is a winter therefore to be gotten
over. Now what we are to remark is, how nature has prepared for the trials
and severities of that season. These tender embryos are, in the first place
wrapped up with a compactness, which no art can imitate ; in which state they
compose what we call the bud. This is not all. The bud itself is enclosed in
scales ; which scales are formed from the remains of past leaves, and the rudi-
ments of future ones. Neither is this the whole. In the coldest climates, u
third preservative is added, by the bud having a coat of gum or resin, which,
being congealed, resists the strongest frosts. On the approach of warm weather
this gum is softened, and ceases to be an hinderance to the expansion of the
leaves and flowers. All this care is part of that system of provisions which has
for its object and consummation, the production and perfecting of the seeds.
Paley.
1172. Why are the seeds of many plants enclosed in a
rich juice, or pulp ?
Because the matter by which the seed is surrounded, as well as
being intended fix the nourishment and care of the seed, is
designed for the use of man and of animals, by whom the seed is
set free to take its place in the earth.
By virtue of this process, so necessary, but so diversified, we have the seed, at
length, in stone-fruits and nuts, incased in a strong shell, the shell itself
enclosed in a pulp or husk, by which the seed within is, or hath been, fed ; or,
more generally (as in grapes, oranges, and the numerous kinds of berries),
plunged overhead in a glutinous syrup, contained within a skin or bladder ; at
other times (as in apples and pears) embedded in the heart of a firm fleshy
substance ; or (as in strawberries) pricked into the surface of a soft pulp.
These and many more varieties exist in what we call fruits. In pulse, and
grain, and grasses ; seeds (as in the pea tribe) regularly disposed in parchment
pods, which, though soft and membranous, completely exclude the wet even in
the heaviest rains; the pod also, not seldom, (as in the bean), lined with a fine
down; at other times (as in the senna) distended like a blown bladder ; or we
have the seed enveloped in wool (as in the cotton-plant), lodged (as in pines)
between the hard and compact scales of a cone, or barricadoed (as in the
artichoke and thistle) with spikes and prickles ; in mushrooms, placed under a
pent-house ; in ferns, within slits in the back part of the leaf; or (which is the
THE EEASON WHY. 295
And J will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest
and be full." DEUTERONOMY xi.
most general organisation of all) we find them covered by strong, close tunicles,
and attached to the stem according to an order appiopriated to each plant, as
is seen in the several kinds of grains and of grasses.
In which enumeration, what we have first to notice is, unity of purpose under
variety of expedients. Nothing can be more single than the design; more
diversified than the means. Pellicles, shells, pulps, pods, husks, skin, scales
armed with thorns, are all employed in prosecuting the same intention.
Secondly ; we may observe, that in all these cases, the purpose is fulfilled within
a just and limited degree. We can perceive, that if the seeds of plants were
more strongly guarded than they are, their greater security would interfere with
other uses. Many species of animals would suffer, and many perish, if they could
not obtain access to them. The plant would overrun the soil ; or the seed be
wasted for want of room to sow itself. It is, sometimes, as necessary to destroy
particular species of plants, as it is, at other times, to encourage their growth .
Here, as in many cases, a balance is to be maintained between opposite uses. The
provisions for the preservation of seeds appear to be directed, chiefly against
the inconstancy of the elements, or the sweeping destruction of inclement
seasons. The depredation of animals, and the injuries of accidental violence, are
allowed for in the abundance of the increase. The result is, that out of the
many thousand different plants which cover the earth, not a single species,
perhaps, has been lost since the creation.
When nature has perfected her seeds, her next care is to disperse them.
The seed cannot answer its purpose, while it remains confined in the capsule.
After the seeds therefore are ripened, the pericarpium opens to let them out,
and the opening is not like an accidental bursting, but for the most part, is
according to a certain rule in each plant. What I have always thought very
extraordinary; nuts and shells, which we can hardly crack with our teeth,
divide and make way for the little tender sprout which proceeds from the
kernel. Handling the nut, I could hardly conceive how the plantule was ever to
get out of it. There are cases, it is said, in which the seed-vessel, by en elastic jerk,
at the moment of its explosion, casts the seeds to a distance. We all, however,
know, that many seeds (those of most composite flowers, as of the thistle, dande-
lion, &c.) are endowed with what are not improperly called wings; that is,
downy appendages, by which they are enabled to float in the air, and are
carried oftentimes by the wind to great distances from the plant which pro-
duces them. It is the swelling also of this downy tuft within the seed-vessel
that seems to overcome the resistance of its coats, and to open a passage for the
seed to escape.
But the constitution of seeds is still more admirable than either their
preservation or their dispersion. In the body of the seed of every species
of plant, or nearly of every one, provision is made for two grand purposes :
first, for the safety of the germ ; secondly, for the temporary support of the
future plant. The sprout, as folded up in the seed, is delicate and brittle
beyond any other substance. It cannot be touched without being broken.
Yet in beans, peas, grass-seeds, grain, fruits, it is so fenced on all sides,
so shut up and protected, that whilst the seed itself is rudely handled,
tossed into sacks, shovelled into heaps, the sacred particle, the miniature plant
remains unhurt. It is wonderful, also, how long many kinds of seeds, by the
ielp of their integuments, and perhaps of their oils, stand out against decay.
A grain of mustard-seed has been known to lie in the earth for a hundred
296 THE BEA8ON WHY
" Say not ye, There are four months, and then cometh harvest ? behold, I say
unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields ; for they are white
already to harvest." JOHN iv.
years; and as soon as it had acquired a favourable situation, to shoot as
vigorously as if just gathered from the plant. Then, as to the second point, the
temporary support of the future plant, the matter stands thus. In grain, and
pulse, and kernels, and pipins, the germ composes a very small part of the
seed. The rest consists of a nutritious substance, from which the sprout draws
its aliment for some considerable time after it is put forth ; viz., until the
fibres, shot out from the other end of the seed, are able to imbibe j uices from
the earth, in a sufficient quantity for its demand. It is owing to this constitu-
tion that we see seeds sprout, and the sprouts make a considerable progress,
without any earth at all.
From the conformation of fruits alone, one might be led, even without ex-
perience, to suppose, that part of this provision was destined for the utilities of
animals. As limited to the plant, the provision itself seems to go beyond its
object. The flesh of an apple, the pulp of an orange, the meat of a plum, the
fatness of the olive, appear to be more than sufficient for the nourishing of the
seed or kernel. The event shows, that this redundancy, if it be one, ministers to
the support and gratification of animal natures ; and when we observe a provi-
sion to be more than sufficient for one purpose, yet wanted for another purpose,
it is not unfair to conclude that both purposes were contemplated together.
Paley.
1173. Why have climbing plants tough curly tendrils?
Because, having no woody stalks of their own to support them,
they require to take hold of surrounding objects, and raise them-
selves from the ground by climbing. Their spiral tendrils are,
therefore, so many hands, assisting them to rise from the earth.
1174. Why does the pea put forth tendrils, and the lean
not?
Because the bean has in its stalk sufficient woody fibre to support
itself, but the pea has not. We do not know a single tree or shrub
having a firm strong stem sufficient for its support which is also
supplied with tendrils.
1175. Why do the ears of wheat stand up by day, and turn
down ly night ?
Because, when the ear is becoming ripe, the cold dew falling into
the ear, might induce blight; the ears therefore turn down to the
earth, and receive warmth by radiation.
1176. Why have grasses, corn, canes, fyc., joints, or
knots in their stalks.
Because a long hollow stem would be liable to bend and break.
But the joints are so many points where the fibres are bound
together, and the structure greatly strengthened
THE EEASON WHY. 297
"Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall
bless us." PSALM; XLVII.
1177. Why have the berries of the mistletoe a thick viscid
juice ?
Because the mistletoe is a parasitical plant, growing upon the
bark of other trees. It will not grow in the ground ; its seeds are
therefore filled with an exceedingly sticky substance, which serves to
attach them to the bark of trees, to which the berries attach them-
selves at once, by throwing out tough fibres ; and the next year the
plant grows.
Fig. 75. THE MISTLETOE.
1178. Sow are the seeds of the mistletoe transferred from
its own stem to the bark of trees.
Various birds, and particularly the missel thrush, feed upon the
berries. As the bird moves in pursuit of its food, the viscid berries
attach themselves to its feathers, and in this way the thrush is the
instrument which conveys the seed to the spot to which it adheres,
and from which the tree ultimately grows.
1179. What is the circulation of the sap in plants ?
The circulation of the sap is the movement of the nutritive juices
by which the plant is sustained. There is a slow uninterrupted
13*
298 THE REASON WHY.
" For the sun is no sooner arisen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass,
and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth :
so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways." JAMES i.
movement of the sap from the root through the stems to the leaves,
and downwards from the leaves through the bark to the root.
1180. Why does the sap of plants thus ascend and
descend ?
Because it conveys upward from the ground some of the matter
by which the plant is to be nourished, and which must undergo
digestion in the leaves ; and it brings downward from the leaves
the matters absorbed, for the nourishment of the plant, and dis-
charges through -the root the substances which the plant cannot use.
The movement of the sap is most active in the spring ; but in
the depths of the winter it almost ceases.
There are other motions of the sap in plants, whioh are called special, in
distinction from the ascending and descending of the sap, which is called
general, or common to all plants. The special movements of the sap are
peculiar to certain plants, in some of which a fluid, full of little green cells, is
found to have a rotatory motion ; in other plants, a milky fluid is found to
move through particular tissues of the vegetable structure.
1181. Why are the leaves of plants green ?
Because they secrete a carbonaceous matter, named chlorophyl,
from which they derive their green colour.
1182. Why are the hearts of cabbages, lettuces, Sfc., of a
pale yellow colour ?
Because the action of light is necessary to the formation of
chlorophyl ; and as the leaves are folded upon each other, they
exclude the light, and the green matter is not formed.
1183. Why do leaves turn brown in the autumn ?
Because, when their power of decomposing the air declines, the
oxygen absorbed in the carbonic acid gas, lodges in the leaf,
imparting to it a red or brown colour.
1184. Why do succulent fruits, such as gooseberries,
plums, fyc., taste acid ?
Because, in the formation of juices, a considerable amount of
oxygen is absorbed, and the oxygen imparts acidity to the taste.
THE SEASON WHY. 299
1 The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord." PSALM xxxm.
1185. Why do ripe fruits taste sweet, and unripe fruits
taste sour ?
Because the juices of the ripe fruit contain a large proportion of
sugar, which in the unripe fruit has not been formed.
1186. Why do some leaves turn yellow ?
Because they retain an excess of nitrogen. Leaves undergoing
decay turn either yellow, red, crimson, or violet. Yellow is due to
the excess of nitrogen ; red and crimson to various proportions of
oxygen ; violet to a mixture of carbon ; and green to chlorophyl.
1187. Why do leaves fall off in the autumn ?
Because they have supplied for a season the natural wants of the
tree. Every part has received nutrition through the spring and
summer months ; and the wants of the tree being supplied, the
chief use of the leaf ceases, and it falls to the ground to decay, and
enrich the soil.
1188. Why do plants suffer from the smoke of cities ?
Because the smoke injures the porous structure of the leaves,
and interferes with their free respiration.
LESSOIT LXI.
1189. Wliy are vegetable productions so widely diffused ?
Because they everywhere form the food of the animal creation,
Without them, neither man nor beast could exist. Even the flesh-
eating animals are sustained by them, since they live by preying
upon the bodies of vegetable -eaters.
They also enrich and beautify the earth. They present the most
charming diversities of proportions and features. From the
cowslip, the primrose, and the blue-bell of our childish days, to
the broad oak under which we recline, while children gambol round
us, they are all beautiful or sublime, and eminently useful in
countless ways to man.
They spread a carpet over the surface of the earth ; they cling to
old ruins, and c! ver hard rocks, as though they would hide decay, and
300 THE SEASON WHY.
"The glory of the Lord shall endure for ever: the Lord shall rejoice in his
works." PSALM civ.
give warmth to the coldness of stone. In tropical climates they
supply rich fruits full of cool and refreshing juices, and they
fcpread out upon the crests of tall trees those broad leaves which
shelter the native from the scorching heat of the sun.
They supply our dwellings with furniture of every kind, from
the plain deal table, to the handsome cabinet of satin or rosewood ;
they afford rich perfumes to the toilette, and luscious fruits and
wines lo the desert ; they charm the eye of the child in the daised
field; they adorn the brow of the bride ; they are laid in the coffin
with the dead ; and, as the cypress or the willow bend over our
graves, they become the emblems of our grief.
1190. What is mahogany ?
Mahogany is the wood of trees brought chiefly from South
America and Spain. The finest kind is imported from St. Domingo,
and an inferior kind from Honduras.
We all keow the beauty of mahogany wood. But we do not all know that
mahogany was first employed in the repair of some of Sir 'Walter Raleigh's ships
at T: inidad in 1597. The discovery of the beauty of its grain for furniture and
cabinet work was accidental. Dr. Gibbons, a physician of eminence, was build-
ing a house m King-street, Covent-garden ; his brother, captain of a West
Indiaman. had brought over some planks of mahogany as ballast, and he thought
that the wood might bd used up in his brother's building, but the carpenters
found the wood too hard for their tools, and objected to use it. Mrs. Gibbons
shortly afterwards wanted a small box made, so the doctor called upon his
cabinet-maker, and ordsred him to make a box out of some wood that lay in his
garden. The cabinet-maker also complained that the wood was too hard. But
the doctor insisted upon its being used, as he wished to preserve it as a memento
of his brother. When the box was completed, its fine colour and polish attracted
much attention ; and he, therefore, ordered a bureau to be made of it. This was
done, and it presented so fine an appearance that the cabinet-maker invited
numerous persons to see it, before it was sent home. Among the visitors was her
Grace the Duchess of Buckingham, who immediately begged some of the wood
from Mr. Gibbons, and employed the cabinet-maker to make her a bureau
also. Mahogany from this time became a fashionable wood, and the cabinet-
milker, who at first objected to use it, made a great success by its introduction.
1191. What is rosewood ?
Rosewood is the wood of a tree which grows in Brazil. It is,
generally speaking, too dark lor large articles of furniture, but is
admirably adapted for smaller ones. It is expensive, and the
hardness of the wood renders the cost of making articles of it
very high.
THE SEASON WHY. 301
" I am come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and will
cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof."
ii. KINGS xxin.
Respecting the other woods used in the manufacture of furniture, we havo
nothing special to say, except of the oak the emblem of our native land. This
tree yields a most useful and durable wood, and as it not only defends our
country by supplying our "wooden walls," but gives to/us the floors of our
houses, furnishes our good substantial tables, and comfortable arui-trhairs.it
will be well for us to know a few facts about this celebrated tree. It is sai<l
that there are no less than one hundred and fifty species of the oak. The
importance of the growth of oaks may be gathered from the fact, that tho
building of a 70-guu ship would take forty acres of timber. The building of a
70-gun ship is estimated to cost about 70,000. Oak trees attain to the age of
1,000 years. The oak enlarges its circumference from 10$ inches to 12 inches in
a year. The interior of a great oak at Allonville, in Normandy, h^j been
converted into a place of worship. An oak at Kiddington, served as a village
prison. A large oak at Sa,lcey, was used as a cattle fold ; and others have served
as tanks, tombs, prisons, and dwelling-houses.
The Mammoth tree, which is exhibiting at the Crystal Palace, is one of the
great wonders of the vegetable creation. It is the grand monarch of the
Californian forest, inhabiting a solitary district on the elevated slopes of th.i
Sierra Nevada, at 5,000 feet above the sea-level. From 80 to 90 trees exist, all
within the circuit of a mile, and these varying from 250 to 321) feet in height,
and from 10 to 20 feet iu diameter. The bark is from 12 to 15 inches in
thickness; the branchlets are somewhat pendent, and resemble those of
cypress or juniper, and it has the cones of a pine. Of a tree felled in 1853,
21 feet of the bark from the lower part of the trunk were put in the natural form
as a room, which would contain a piano, with seats for forty persons ; and on one
occasion 150 children were admitted. The tree is reputed to have been above
3,000 years old ; that is to say, it must have been a little plant when Samson
was slaying the Philistines. The portion of the tree exhibiting at the palace is
1 03 feet in height, and 32 feet in diameter at the base.
1192. What is tea ?
Tea is the leaf of a shrub (Thea CJiinensis}. The plant usually
grows to the height of from three to six feet, and resembles in
appearance the well-known myrtle. It bears a blossom not unlike
that of the common dog-rose. The climate most congenial to it is
that between the 25th and 33rd degrees of latitude. The growth of
good tea prevails chiefly in China, and is confined to a few provinces.
The green and black teas are mere varieties, depending upon the
culture, time of gathering, mode of drying, &c. Coffee was used
in this country before tea. In 1664, it is recorded, the East India
Company bought 21b. 2oz. of coffee as a present for the king. In
the year 1832, there were 101,687 licensed tea dealers in the
United Kingdom. Green tea was first used in 1715. A dispute
with America about the duty upon tea led to the American war, out
of which arose American independence. The consumption of tea
302 THE REASON WHY.
44 Erery man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it ii
the gift of God." -ECCLESIASTES in.
throughout the whole world is estimated at above 52,000,000 Ibs.,
of which the consumption of Great Britain alone amounts to
30,000,000. (See 1225).
1193. What is coffee ?
Coffee is the berry of the coffee plant, which was a native of that
part of Arabia called Yemen, but it is now extensively cultivated in
India, Java, the West Indies, Brazil, &c. (See 1224).
The first coffee-house iu London was opened in 1652, under the following
circumstances. A Turkey merchant named Edwards, having brought along
with linn from the Levant, some bags of coffee, and a Greek servant who was
skilful in making it, his house was thronged with visitors to see and taste this
new beverage. Being desirous to gratify his friends without putting himself
to inconvenience, he allowed his servant to open a coffee-houre, and to sell
coffee publicly.
Here we have another illustration of the great results springing from trifling
causes. Coffee soon became so extensively used that taxes were imposed upon
it. -In 1660 a duty of 4d. a gallon was imposed upon all coffee made and sold.
Hefore 1732 the duty upon coffee was 2s. a pound ; it was afterwards reduced to
Is. <5d., at which it yielded to the revenue, for many years, 10,000 per annum.
The duty has been gradually reduced, and the consumption has gone on
increasing, until at last above 25,000,000 of pounds are consumed annually!
Fancy this great result springing from a " friendly coffee party" that assembled
in the year 1652.
1194. What is chocolate ?
It is a cake prepared from the cocoa-nut. The nut is first
roasted like coffee, then it is reduced to powder and mixed with
water, the paste is then put into moulds and hardened. The
properties are very healthful, but its consumption is very insignifi-
cant, as compared with tea or coffee. The cocoa tree grows chiefly
in the West Indies and South America.
1195. What is cocoa ?
Cocoa is also a preparation from the seeds or beans of the cocoa
tree. But the best form of cocoa for family use is to obtain the
beans pure, as they are now commonly sold ready for use, and to
break them and then grind them in a large coffee mill.
1106, W hat is chicory ?
Chicory is the root of the common endive, dried and roasted as
coffee, for which it is used as a substitute. Some persons prefer
the flavour of chicory admixed with coffee. But very opposite
THE BEASON WHY. 303
" He that tilleth the land shall have plenty of bread : but he that followeth after
vain persons shall have poverty enough." PBOVEBBS xxvm.
opinions prevail respecting the qualities of chicory. We belive it
to be perfectly healthful, and attribute the prejudice that prevails
against it, to its having been used, from its cheapness, to adulterate
coffee.
1197. What is sugar?
Sugar is a sweet granulated substance, which may be derived
from many vegetable substances, but the chief source of which is
the sugar cane. The other chief sources that supply it are the
maple, beet-root, birch, parsnip, &c. It is extensively used all over
the world. Sugar is supposed to have been known to the ancient
Jews. It was found in the East Indies by Newcheus, Admiral of
Alexander, 325 B.C. It was brought into Europe from Asia.
The art of sugar refining was first practised in England, in 1659, and sugar
was first taxed by name by James II., 1 685. Sugar is derived from the "West
Indies, Brazil, Surinam, Java, Mauritius, Bengal, Siam, the Isle de Bourbon,
&c. &c. Before the introduction of sugar to this country, honey was the chief
substance employed in making sweet dishes ; and long after the introduction of
sugar it was used only in the houses of the rich. The consumption in England
in 1700 reached only 10,000 tons ; in 1834. it had reached 180,000 tons. The
English took possession of the West Indies in 1672, and in 1646 began to export
sugar. In 1676 it is recorded that 400 vessels, averaging 150 tons, were
employed in the sugar trade of Barbadoes. Jamaica was discovered by
Columbus, and was occupied by the Spaniards, from whom it was taken by
Cromwell, in 1656, and has since continued in our own possession. When it was
conquered there were only three sugar plantations upon it. But they rapidly
increased. Until the abolition of slavery in the West Indies, the production of
sugar was almost exclusively limited to slave labour. (See 1226).
1198. What is wheat?
Wheat, rye, barley, oats, millet, and maize, all belong to tho
natural order of grain-bearing plants. They all grow in a similar
manner, and all yield starch, gluten, and a certain amount of phos-
phates. They are commonly spoken of as farinaceous foods.
From tho Sacred writings we learn that unleavened- bread was common in the
days of Abraham. In the earlier periods of our own history, people h^ no other
method of making bread than by roasting corn, and beating it in mortars, then
wetting it into a kind of coarse cake. In 1596, rye bread and oatmeal formed a
considerable part of the diet of servants, even in great families. In the time of
Charles tlis First, barley bread was the chief food of the people. In many parts
of England it was more the custom to make bread at home then at present. In
1804, there was not a single public baker in Manchester. In France, when the
use of yeast was first introduced, it was deemed by the faculty of medicine to be
so injurious to health that its use was prohibited under tho severest penalties
304 THE REASON WHY
** I clotlied theo also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers' skin,
and I girded thce about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk."
EZEKIEL XVI.
Herault says that, during the siege of Paris by Henry the Fourth, a famine
raged, and bread sold at a crown a pound. When this was consumed, the dried
bones from the charnel house of the Holy Innocents were exhumed, and a kind
of bread made therefrom. Bread-street, in London, was once a bread market.
From the year 1265, it had been customary to regulate by law the price of brea-.l
in proportion to the price of wheat or flour at the time. This was called tlio
assize of bread ; but, in 1815, it was abolished. In the year 272 there was a
famine in Britain so severe that people ate the bark of trees ; forty thou .arid
persons perished by famine in England in 310 ! In the year 450 there was a
famine in Italy so dreadful that people eat their own children. A famine, com-
mencing in England, Wales, and Scotland, in 954, lasted four years. A famine in
England and France, in 1193, led to a pestilential fever, which lasted until 1195-
In 1315 there was again a dreadful famine in England, during which people
devoured the flesh of horses, dogs, cats, and vermin ! In the year 1775, 16,000
people died of famine in the Cape de Verds. These are only a few of the remark-
able famines that have occurred in the course of history. Let us thank God
that we live in times of abundance, when improved cultivation, the pursuit of
industry, and the settlement of the laws, render such a calamity as a famine
almost an impossibility.
1199. What is cotton?
Cotton is a species of vegetable wool, produced by the cotton
shrub, called, botanically, G-ossypium herbaceum, of which there are
numerous varieties It grows naturally in Asia, Africa, and
America, and is cultivated largely for purposes of commerce.
The precise time when the cotton manufacture was introduced into England is
unknown ; but probably it was not before the 17th century. Since then, what
wonderful advances have been made ! The cotton trade and manufacture have
become a vast source of British industry, and of commerce between nations. It
was some years ago calculated that the cotton manufacture yielded to Great
Britain one thousand millions sterling. The names of Hargreaves, Arkwright,
Crompton, Cartwright, and others, have become immortalised by their inventions
for the improvement of the manufacture of cotton fabrics. Little more than
half a century has passed since the British cotton manufactory was in its infancy
now it engages many millions of capital keeps millions of work people
employed; freights thousands of ships that are ever crossing and re-crossing
the seas ; and binds nations together in ties of mutual interest. The present
yearly value of cotton manufactures in Great Britain is estimated at 34,000,000.
About 6,014,000 of the above sum is distributed yearly among working people
as wages.
1200. What is silk?
Silk, though not directly a vegetable product, is, nevertheless,
indirectly derived from the vegetable creation, since it is a thread
spun by the silk -worm from matter which the worm derives from
the mulberry leaf.
Silk is uppMed by various parts of the world, including China, the East
THE EEASON WHY. 305
" And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel ; and the
mau was very great, and ho had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats :
and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel." I SAMUEL xxv.
Indies, Turkey, &c., where the silk-worm has been found to thrive. The attempts
that have been hitherto made to cultivate it in this country have proved
unsuccessful. At Rome, in the time of Tiberius, a law passed the senate which,
as well as prohibiting the wearing of massive gold jewels, also forbade the men
to debase themselves by wearing silk. There was a time when silk was of the
same value as gold weight for weight and it was thought to grow upon trees.
It is recorded that silk mantles were worn by some noble ladies at a ball at
Kenilworth Castle, 1286. It was first manufactured in England in 1604. In the
reign of Elizabeth, the manufacture of silk in England made rapid strides. In
1666, there were 40,000 persons engaged in the silk trade. The silk throwsters
of the metropolis were enrolled in a fellowship in 1562, and were incorporated
in 1629. In 1635, a considerable impetus was given to the English silk manu-
factures. Louis the Fourteenth of France revoked the edict of Nantes. The
edict of Nantes was promulgated by Henry the Fourth of France in 1598. It
pave to the Protestants of France the free exercise of their religion. Louis
the Fourteenth revoked this edict in 1685, and thereby drove the Pro-
testants as refugees to England, Holland, and parts of Germany, where they
established various manufactures. Many of these French refugees settled in
Spitalfields, and there founded extensive manufactories, which soon rivalled
those of their own country ; and thus the intolerance of the king was justly
punished. What important facts we see connected with the simple thread of
the silk-worm !
1201. What is wool?
Wool is a kind of soft hair or coarse down, produced by various
Animals, but chiefly by sheep.
This is another of the useful productions of nature, for which we are
Indirectly indebted to the vegetable kingdom ; for were it not for the rich
pastures forming the green carpet of the earth, it would be impossible for man
to keep large flocks of sheep for the production of wool. Wool, like the hair of
most animals, completes its growth in a year, and then exhibits a tendency to
fall off. For the production of wool in England arid Wales it has been estimated
that there are no less than 27,000,000 sheep and lambs; and, in Great Britain
and Ireland, the total number is estimated at 32,000,000. Wool was not
manufactured in any quantity in England until 1331, when the weaving of it
was introduced by John Kempe and other artizans from Flanders. The expo, -
tation or non -exportation of wool has from time to time formed a vexed subject
for legislators. Woollen clothes were made an article of commerce in the rcigu
of Julius Caesar. They were made in England prior to 1200. Blankets were
first made in England in 1340. The art of dyeing wools was first introduced
into England in 1608. The annual value of the raw material in wool is set down
at 6,000,000 ; the wages of workmen engaged in the wool trade, 9,600,000.
The number of people employed is said to be 500,000.
1202. What is starch ?
Starch is one of the most useful products of the vegetable
kingdom, A* a rule, a vegetable, if nutritious at all, is so
306 ' THE REASON WHY.
' Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from
the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow
of turning." JAMES i.
according to the amount of starcli which it contains. It is most
abundantly found in the seeds of plants, and especially in the
wheat tribe.
It is also met with in the cellular tissues of plants, and especially
in such underground stems as the potatoe, carrot, turnip, Sfc., and
the stems of the sago-palm fig, &c. It is also found in the lark of
some trees.
1203, Why is the horse chesnut, though, containing a great
quantity of starch, unfit for food?
Because (like many other vegetable productions) it contains with
the starch an acrid juice, which renders it unhealthy j and although
the juice can be separated from the starch, the process is too
expensive to be made generally available.
The starch which is used for domestic purposes is an artificial preparation,
and does not properly represent the starch of nutrition. A better idea of it is
afforded by the meal of a flowery potatoe. The starch used by laundresses is
frequently prepared from diseased potatoes. This does not impair the quality
of the starch, for the purposes of the laundress, and the reason why potatoes
that are diseased are thus applied is, that it is one method of saving some part
of their value. The finest kinds of starch are prepared from rice. It is
prepared by breaking the pulp, and disengaging the starch from the cells ; and
it is then put through other processes to remove the fragments of the broken
cells. But in the flowery meal of the potatoe, the starch cell may be seen
entire.
CHAPTER LXII.
1204. What are vegetable oils and fats ?
Vegetable oils and fats constitute, next to starch and sugar, the
most important secretion of the vegetable creation. There are very
few plants from which some amount of oil cannot be obtained ; and
those which are famed for yielding it owe their celebrity rather
to the abundance that they yield, and the peculiar qualities of their
oil, than to the secretion of oil being rare for probably there is no
plant without it.
Oil is most commonly found in seeds, as rape-seed, linseed, &c.,
but it is found also in leaves, as in the rose, sweet-briar, peppermint,
&c., where its presence may be recognised by the distinguishing
THE SEASON WHY. 307
" Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart ; so doth the sweetness of a man's
friend by hearty counsel." PKOVEBBS xxvu.
perfume ; and it is also found in the wood of a few trees, such as the
sassafras and the sandal- wood j the bark frequently yields an oily
secretion.
The London and North "Western Railway Company alone use about 60,000
gallons of oil yearly.
1205. Why are fat and oil found most abundantly in the
bodies of animals in cold climates ?
Because they contribute to keep the bodies of animals warm,
not only by their non-conducting property keeping in the heat of
the aniinals, but by supplying carbon abundantly to combine with
oxygen during respiration, and thereby developing animal heat.
1206. Why are oil and fat-forming trees found most
abundantly in hot climates ?
Because, in hot countries, the formation of large quantities of fat
in animal bodies would oppress living creatures with heat ; fats and
oils are, therefore, produced in those countries chiefly by vegetables,
and are used externally by the Asiatics and Africans as an external
unction for cooling the skin, and as perfumes which give inspiriting
properties to the air, rendered oppressive by excess of heat.
1207. Why are succulent fruits most abundant in tropical
climates ?
Because they are rendered necessary in those climates by the
excessive heat, and are found to have a most beneficial effect in
cooling, purifying the blood of the inhabitants of tropical countries ;
while the grandeur of their foliage, and the richness of their flowers,
are in perfect keeping with the intensity of light and heat, and
serve, by throwing dense shades over the earth, to cool its surface,
and to offer to living creatures a pleasant retreat from the rays of
the burning sun.
The following sketch of Botanical Geography should, be read attentively after
the reader has gone through the whole of the Chapters of " Reasons." The
technical terms employed in the course of the article are nearly all explained at
1212. and should be committed to memory at the commencement of the perusal.
Mimosa means a sensitive plant ; concentric zones, circular lines spreading from
a centre ; arborescent, resembling trees ; Graminece, grass-like. The botanical
names represent individual plants.
1208. \Vhen treating of the geographical distribution of vegetables, we have to
mark the general arrangements indicated, and the agencies that have evidently
308 THE REASON WHY.
"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor
standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful : "
operated in promoting the diffusion of floral tribes. Vegetation occurs over tha
whole globe, therefore, under the most opposite conditions. Plants flourish in
the bosom of the ocean as well as on land, under the extremes of cold and heat
in polar and equatorial regions, on the hardest rocks and the soft alluvium uf
the plains, amidst the perpetual snow of lofty mountains, and in springs at tho
temperature of boiling water, in situations never penetrated by the solar rays,
as the dark vaults of caverns, and the walls of mines, as well as freely exposed.
to the influences of light and air. But these diverse circumstances hav
different species and genera. There is only one state which seems fatal to tho
existence of vegetable life the entire absence of humidity.
1209. By species we understand so many individuals as intimately resemble
each other in appearance and properties, and agree in all their permanent
characters, which are founded in the immutable Laws of creation. An
established species may frequently exhibit new varieties, depending upon local
and accidental causes, but these are imperfectly, or for a limited time, if at all,
perpetuated.
1210. A genus comprises one or mere species similar to each other, but
essentially differing in formation, nature, and in many adventitious qualities
from other plants. A tribe, family, group, or order, comprises several genera.
1211. The known number of species in the vegetable kingdom has been
gradually enlarged by the progress of maritime and inland discovery; bufc
owing to great districts of the globe not having yet been explored by the
botanist, the interior of Africa, and Australia, with sections of Amerif-a, Asia.
and Oceanica, it is impossible to state the exact amount. The successive
augmentation of the catalogue appears from the numbers below :
Species.
Theophrastua 500
Pliny 1,000
Greek, Roman, and Arabian botanists . . 1,400
Bauhin 6,000
Linnaeus 8,800
Persoon 27,000
Humboldt and Brown 38,000
DeCandolle .... ., ',. *. '. ; . '. . 66,000
Lindley . . . . . . . . . 86,000
Hinds. . . ...... . . . 89,000
1212. Vegetable forms are divided into three great classes which diiTer
materially in their structure:!. Cryptogamous plants those which have
no flowers, properly so called, mosses, lichens, fungi, and ferns : as distinguished
from those which are phaenogamous, or flower-bearing, to which the two
following classes belong. 2. Endogenous plants, which have stems increasing
from within, also called Monocotyledons, from having only one seed-lobe, as tho
numerous grasses, lilies, and the palm family. 3. Exogenous plants, which
have stems growing by additions from without, also called Dicoteledons, from
the seed consisting of two lobes, the most perfect, beautiful, and numerous
class, embracing the forest trees, and most flowering shrubs and herds.
1213. The exogens furnish examples of gigantic size, and great longevity. In
South America on the banks of the Atabapo, Humboldt measured a Bombax
eaiba more than 120 feet high, and 15 in diaunetor ; and near Cumana, he found
THE JiEASON WHY. 309
He shall oe like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his
fruit in season: his leaf also shall riot wither; and whatsoever he doeth
shall prosper," PSALM i.
the Zamang del Guayra, a species of mimosa, the pendant branches of tho
hemispherical head having a circumference of upwards of 6i0 feet. '] \M
Adansonia, or baobab of Senegal, though attaining no great height, rarely more
than fifty feet, has a trunk with a diameter sometimes amounting to 3i feet ;
waile the Pinus Lambertiana, growing singly on the plains west of the Rorky
Mountains, has been found 250 feet high, 60 feet in circumference at the I..IM-,
4' feot in girth at the height of 190 feet, yielding cones 11 inches round, and l*i
long. The Ficus Indicus, or banian tree, sending out shoots from its horizontal
branches, which reaching the ground take root, and form new stems till a
single tree multiplies almost to a forest, has been observed covering an an a of
1700 square yards.
1214. From the number of concentric zones observed in a transverse section
of the stems De Caudolle advances proof of the following ages :
Elm . . . . ... ... 335 years.
Cypress about 350
Cheirostemon ,,400
Ivy .... ., ... ... . 450
Larch . . . \ ,' .'.' i . . 576
Orange . . . . .. 630
Olive . , -..' . ... 700
Oriental Plane ,, 720 and upwards.
Cedar of Lebanon ,,800
Oak . . . . . 810, 1080, 1500
Lime . . . ." . . . 1076; 1147
Yew . . . . . 1214, 1458, 2588, 2880
Taxodium . . ... 4000 to 6000
Boabab 5150
1215. Admitting, with Professor Henslow, that De Candolle overrated the aires
of these trees one-third, they are examples of extraordinary longevity. Yew
trees upwards of 700 years old remain at Fountains Abbey, Yorkshire, as thera
is historic evidence of their existence in the year 1133. But a yew in the church-
yard of Darley-in-the-Dale, Derbyshire, is considered by Mr. Bowman as 2 ;oo
years old.
1216. The cryptogamous plants afford the most numerous examples of wide
diffusion. A lichen indigenous in Cornwall, sticta aurata, is also a native of tho
West India Islands, Brazil, St Helena, and the Cape of Good Hope ; while 3 >
lichens and 28 mosses are common to Great Britain and Australia, though th;>
general vegetation of the two districts is remarkably discordant. Some species
of endogenous plants are also widely distributed, the Phleum alpinum of
Switzerland occurring without the slightest difference at the Strait of Magellan,
and the quaking grasses of Europe in the interior of Southern Africa. But only
in very few instances are the same species of exogenous plants met with in
regions far apart from each other ; and generally speaking, in passing from one
country to another, we encounter a new flora ; for if the same genera occur, the
species are not identical, while in distr cts widely separated the genera are
different.
1217. The cryptogamic plants, mosses, lichens, ferns, and fungi, are to the
whole mass of phaenogainic vegetation in the following proportions in different
districts: Equatorial latitudes, deg. to 10 deg.; on the plains, l-25th, on tb>
mountains, l-5tb ; mean latitudes, 45 deg. to 52 deg. \ ; high latitudes, 67 <tec.
310 THE REASON WHY.
"To give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of
praise for the spirit of heaviness ; that they might be called Trees of righteous-
ness, The planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified." ISAIAH LXI.
70 deg., proportion about equal. Thus the proportion of the flowerless vegetation
to the flowering increases from the equator to the poles. But the family of ferns,
filices, viewed singly, forms an exception to this law, decreasing as we depart
from equinoctial countries, being l-20th in equatorial and l-70th in mean
latitudes, and not found at all in the high latitudes of the new world.
1218. In equinoctial and tropical countries, where a sufficient supply of moisture
combines with the influence of light and heat, vegetation appears in all its
magnitude and glory. Its lower orders, mosses, fungi, and confervse, are very
raro. The ferns are aborescent. Reeds ascend to the height of a hundred feet,
and rigid grasses rise to forty. The forests are composed of majestic leafy ever-
green trees bearing brilliant blossoms, their colours finely contrasting, scarcely any
^ two standing together being of the samespecies. Enormous creepers climb their
trunks; parasitical orchidse hang in fostoons from branch to branch, and
augment the floral decoration with scarlet, purple, blue, rose, and golden dyes.
Of plants used by man for food, or as luxuries, or for medicinal purposes,
occurring in this region, rice, bananas, dates, cocoa, cacao, bread-fruit, cotfee, tea,
sugar, vanilla, Peruvian bark, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmegs, arc cither
characteristic of it as principally cultivated within its limits, or entirely confined
to them.
1219. Rice (Oryza-sativa), the chief food of, perhaps, a third of the human
race, is cultivated beyond the tropics, but principally within them, only where
there is a plentiful supply of water. It has never been found wild; its native
country is unknown ; but probably southern Asia.
1220. Bananas, or plantains (Musa sapientum et paradisiaca), are cultivated
in intertropical Asia, Africa, and America. The latter species occur in Syria. The
banana is not known in an uncultivated state. Its produce is enornv. us.
estimated to be on the same space of ground to that of wheat, as 133 to 1 , and to
Uiat of potatoes as 44 to 1.
1221. Dates (Pfuenix dactylifera), and cocoa (Cocos nucifera), belonging to
the family Palmce. The palms, remarkable for the:r elegant forms and impor-
tance to man, contribute moie than any other trees to impress upon the vege-
tation of tropical and equinoctial countries its peculiar physiognomy. The
date palm is a native of northern Africa, and is so abundant between the
Barbary states and the Sahara, that the district has been named Biledul end,
the land of dates. As the desert is approached, the only objects that break the
monotony of the landscape are the date palm, and the tent of the Arab. It
accompanies the margin of the mighty desert in all its sinuosities from the
shores of the Atlantic to the confines of Persia, and is the only vegetable
affording subsistence to man that can grow in such an arid situation. The
annual produce of an individual is from 150 to 2601bs. weight of fruit. The
cocoa palm famishes annually about a hundred cocoa-nuts. It is spread
throughout the torrid zone ; but occurs most abundantly in the islands of the
Indian archipelago. The family of palms is supposed to contain a thousand
species, some of large size, forming extensive forests.
1222. Cacao (Theobrama cacao), from the seeds of which chocolate is
prepared, grows wild in central America, and is also extensively cultivated in
Mexico, Guatamala, and on the coast of Cumana.
1223. Bread-fruit tree (Artooarpus incisa}, a native of the South Sea Islands,
and Indian archipelago, grows also in Southern Asia, and has been introduce*
THE SEASON WHY. 311
"And they returned and prepared spices and ointments ; and rested the
Sabbath-day, according to the commandment." LUKE xxiv.
Into the tropical parts of America; but the fruit is not equal to the banana as
an article of human food.
1224. Coffee (Coffea Arabica). The bush has probably for its native region
the Ethiopian Highlands, from whence it was taken in the fifteenth century
to the Highlands of Yemen, the southern part of the Arabian peninsula. It
has been introduced, and is now extensively cultivated in British India, Java,
Ceylon, the Mauritius, Brazil, and the West Indies, but the quality is inferior,
which makes the climate of the Mocha coffee district of importance, as
peculiarly favourable to the plant. It grows there on hills described by
Niebuhr as being soaked with rain every day from the beginning of June to the
end of September, which is carefully collected for the purpose of irrigation during
the dry season. Forskhal gives the following temperatures in the district :
\ Boit el Fakih ... March 16, 7 A.M. 76 deg. 1 P.M 95 deg. 10 P.M. 81 deg.
18, 77 ,, 95 81
Hodeida , 18, 72 92f 78
Bulgosa, a village
in the hills ... 20, 69J 854 73
1225. Tea (Thea Chinensis). The plant is indigenous in China, Japan, and
Upper Assam. In the latter country, it has recently been found in a wild state,
and is in process there of extensive cultivation. As the plant is hardy, its culture
has very lately been attempted in the South of France, and apparently with
complete success. A similar experiment on the burning plains of Algeria com-
pletely failed, all the plants being killed by the heat, notwithstanding every
precaution. Tea was first introduced into Europe by the Dutch in 1666. The
leaves of the coffee-plant have long been used as a substitute for tea, by the
lower classes in Java and Sumatra ; and recently, Professor Blume, of Leyden,
exhibited samples of tea pre pared from coffee-leaves, agreeing entirely in ap-
peaiunce, odour, and taste, with the genuine Chinese production.
1226. Sugar-cane (Saccharum officinaramj, a species of Graminece, occurs to
some extent without the tropics, having been cultivated centuries ago in
Europe, as at present scantily in the South of Spain. But it properly belongs to
the torrid zone, and has for its principal districts, the Southern United States,
the West Indies, Venezuela, Brazil, the Mauritius, British India, China, the
Sunda and Philippine Islands. The plant was found wild in several parts of
America on the discovery of that continent, and occurs in a wild state on many
of the islands of the Pacific.
1227. Vanilla (Vanilla aromatica), the fruit of which forms the well-known
aromatic, grows wild principally in Mexico.
1228. Peruvian bark (Cinchona offidnalis), a forest tree, of which there are
several species, furnishing the valuable medicine so called. Tt is exclusively
confined to South America, and grows chiefly on the Andes of Loxa and
Venezuela.
1229. Pepper (Piper nigrum) belongs exclusively to the Malabar coast,
where it has been found wild, Sumatra, which produces the greatest quantity,
Borneo, the Malay peninsula, and Siam. Other species of Piperacecc occur in
tropical America.
1280. Cinnamon (Laurus Cinnamomum), a small tree yielding the aromatic
bark, is found native only in the island of Ceylon ; but another species occurs in
Cochin China.
312 THE REASON WHY.
' I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman." Jonw xv.
1231. Clove (Myrtus caryophyllus) , an evergreen small tree, the dried flower-
buds of which form the celebrated aromatic, grows naturally in the Moluccas,
whence it has been conveyed to other tropical districts. The island ot
Amboyna, one of that group, is the principal seat of its cultivation. The lowest
temperature there is 72 degs. ; the mean temperature of the year 82 degs.
1232. Nutmeg (Myrstica moschata} grows naturally in several islands of the
eastern archipelago, but is principally cultivated in the Banda Isles.
Tropical families and forms successively vanish with an increase of distance
from the equator, and new phases of vegetation mark the transition from hot to
temperate climates. Vivirlly green meadows, abounding with tender herbs,
replace the tall rigid grasses which form the impenetrable jungle; and instead
of forests composed of towering evergreen trees, woods of the deciduous class
appear, which cast their leaves in winter, and hybernate in the colder season,
the oak, ash, elm, maple, beech, lime, alder, birch, and sycamore. The cultiva-
tion of tho vine becomes characteristic, with the perfection of the cereal
grasses, and a larger proportion of herbaceous annuals and cryptogamic plants.
1233. The vine (Vitis viniferaj is less impatient of a cold winter than a cool
summer. Hence its northern limit, which coincides with lat. 47 deg. 30 min. on
the west coast of France, rises in the interior, where, though the winters are
colder, the summers are warmer, to lat. 49 degs., cuts the Rhine at Coblentz in
lat. 50 deg. 20 min., and ascends to 52 deg. 31 min. in Germany.
1234. Receding further from the equator, magnificent forests of the fir and
pine tribe prevail, as in the central parts of Russia, on the southern shores of
the Baltic, in Scandinavia, and North America. But some of the cereals are no
longer cultivatable, and several timber-trees common to the temperate zone do
not reach its northern limits. Gradually all ligneous vegetation disappears
entirely as higher latitudes are approached, the woods having first dwindled to
mere dwarfs in struggling with the elements, hosti e to that state which nature
destined them to assume. The limit of the forests is a sinuous line running
along the extreme north of the old world ; and extending from Hudson's Bay,
lat. 60 deg., to the Mackenzie River, lat. 63 deg., and thence to Behring's Strait.
The dwarf birch (Betula nana), a mere bush, is the last tree found on drawing
near the eternal snow of the pole. At th ) island of Hammerfest, lat. 70 deg.
40 min., near the North Cape, it rises to about the height of a man, in sheltered
hollows between the mountains, its lower branches trailing on the ground,
affording a shelter to the ptarmigan. In the polar zone, some low flowering
annuals, saxifrages, ranunculi, gentians, chickweeds, and others, flourish
during the brief ardent summer; a few perennials also accommodate them-
selves to the rigorous climate by spreading laterally, never rising higher than
four or five indhes from the ground ; till finally no development of vegetable life
is met with, but lichens, and the microscopic forms that colour the snow.
1235. In Europe, wheat ceases with a line connecting Inverness in Scotland,
lat. 58 de?., Drontheim in Norway, lat. 64 deg., and Petersburgh in Russia lat.
60 deg. 15 min. Oats reach a somewhat higher latitude. Barley and rye ascend
to lat. 70 deg., but require a favourable aspect and season to produce a crop.
1236. The northern limit of the growth of oak, lat. 61 deg., falls short of that
of wheat. The oak makes a singular leap at the confines of Europe and Asia,
disappearing towards the Ural mountains. This is the casea !so with the wild-
nut and apple. The oak and the wild- nut, however, re-appear iuddenly in
THE SEASON WHY. 313
" He hath made the earth by his power, he hath establishd the world by his
wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion." JEREMIAH x
Eastern Asia, on the banks of the Argoun and the Amour; and the apple occurs
again in the Aleutian Isles.
1237. The following are the northern limits of several trees in Scandinavia:
Lai.
Beech, Fagus silvatica ... 60 deg. mill.
Hard Oak ,Quercus robur . . 61
Common Elm, Ulmus campestris . 61
Common Lime, Tilia communis . 61
Common Ash, Fraxinus excelsior . 62
Fruit trees 63
Hazel, Corylus avellana " . . 64
Spruce Fir, Abies excelsa . . . 67 *0
Service Tree, Sorbus aucuparia . 70
Scotch Fir, Pimis silvestris . . 70
White Birch, Betula alba . . 70 40
Dwarf Birch, Betula nana . . 71
1238. TJus distinct vegetable regions are observed on passing from south to
north through different climatic zones, defined as to their limits by the
isothermal curves, and not by the parallels of latitude. Similar changes of vege-
tation mark a perpendicular transit through varying climates. A succession of
plants appear on the tropical mountains which rise above the snow line, corres-
ponding to those which are encountered in mean and high latitudes. The
higher we ascend, the more does the number of the phzenogamic class diminish
in proportion to the cryptogann'c, till only members of the latter family are
found, whose further progress upward is arrested by the everlasting snow. The
last lichen met with by Saussure on Mont Blanc, Silene acaulis, was also
observed by M. Brevais in the neighbourhood of Bosekop, lat. 69 deg. 58 min.
where it was vegetating on the sea-shore, shaded by the last pines of Europe.
1239. Isolated mountains display to the best advantage the effuct of climatic
change of vegetation.
1240. Etna is divided into three great regions: La Regions Culta, or fertile re-
gion ; La Regione Sylvosa, or woody region ; La Regions Deserta, the bare or
desert region. But each of these is susceptible of sub-divisions, defined by the
presence of certain families of plants, forming seven botanical zones.
1. The sub-tropical zone, which does not rise more than 100 feet above the
evel of the sea, is characterised by the palm, banana, Indian fig, sugar-cane,
varities of mimosa and acacia, which with us are only found in conservatories.
2. Th6 hilly zone, rises about 2,000 feet, characterised by the orange, lemon,
shaddock, maize, cotton, and grape plants.
3. The woody zone lies between the height of 2,OCO and 4,000 feet, where the
cork-tree flourishes, several kinds of oak, the maple, and enormous chesuuts.
4. The zone between the height of 4,000 and 6,000 feet is distinguished by the
beech, Scotch fir, birch, and, among small plants, by clover, sandwort, chick-
weed, dock, and plantain.
5. The sub-alpino zone, between the elevation of 6,000 and 7,500 feet, produces
the barberry, soap-wort, toad-flax, and juniper.
6. The zone between 7,500 and 9,000 feet, has almost all the plants of the pre
ceding, with the fleshy and jagged groundsel.
14
314 THE SEASON WHY.
" In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it ; and it shall bring
forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar : and under it shall dwell all
fowl of every wing ; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell."
E/5EKIEL XVII.
7. The narrow zone between 9,000 and 9,200 feet, only produces a few lichens.
Icyond which, there is complete sterility.
' 1241. The Peak of Teneriffe exhibits five botanical districts, thus distinguished
by Von Buch :
1. The region of Africa forms, 1,248 feet, comprising palms, bananas, the
sugar-cane, various species of arborescent Euphorbice, Mesembryanthema, the
Dracaena, and other plants, whose naked and tortuous trunks, succulent leaves,
and bluish-green tints, are distinctive of the vegetation of Africa.
2. Region of Vines and Cereals, 1,2482,748 feet, comprising also the olive,
and the fruit-trees of Europe.
3. Region of Laurels, 2,748 -4,350 feet, including lauri of four species, the wild
olive, an oak, the iron -tree, the arbutus, and other evergreens. The ivy of the
Canaries and various twining shrubs cover the trunks of the trees, and nume-
rous species of fern occur, with beautiful flowering plants.
4. Region of the Pines, 4,3506,270, characterised by a vast forest of trees
resembling the Scotch fur, intermixed with juniper.
5. Region of the Retama, 6,27011,061 feet, a species of broom, which forms
oases in the midst of a desert of ashes, ornamented with fragrant flowers, and
furnishing food to the goats which run wild on the Peak. A few gramineous
and cryptogamic plants are observed higher, but the summit is entirely des-
titute of vegetation.
1242. There are many plants which can accommodate themselves to the most
diverse climates and localities; and therefore ascend from the plains close to the
boundary of vegetable life on the highest mountains. But it is the general law
in these cases for such plants to be singularly modified in appearance and
anatomical structure as they ascend. The spring gentian, Gentiana verna,
is one of the exceptions, which Raymond found unaltered at all heights in the
Pyrenees.
1213. Trees, plants, and bushes, of humbler growth, which occur on the plains
and at great heights, are usually much smaller in the latter situation. r i he
leaves, and everything green about them, dwindle with the increased elevation ;
and the pure, well defined green is exchanged for an ill-defined light yellow.
Singular enough, those parts which seem most capable of resisting cold, as tho
leaves and stalks, are uniformly subjected to a diminution of their . vital
functions; while the flowers remain of the same size, are never deformed, and
become more dense and richer in their colours. While the Hyosotis silvestris
becomes stunted, its flowers assume an intense blue the-admiration of the
traveller. The flowers of the pale primrose have a much deeper colour on the
top of the Faulhorn, while the plant itself is much smaller than its congener on
tlie Swiss plains. The observations of M. Parrot, among others, are to this
effect on the flora of the Caucasus, of Ararat, the Swiss and Italian Alps, and
the Pyrenees. The arctic flora ii similarly distinguished.
1241. The preceding references to different climatic states are, however,
perfectly inadequate to explain the phenomena of vegetable distribution. While
an analogy is often observable between the plants of different regions under
corresponding circumstances of latitude, elevation, and soil, the species are
generally found to be different ; and usually the botanical character of countries
THE SEASON WHY. 315
From the rising of the sun, unto the going down of the same, the Lord's name
is to be praised." PSALM cxm.
not widely apart from each other, is totally different, though under the same
parallels.
1245. Some plants are entirely confined to one side of our planet. The
beautiful genus Erica, or heath, of which there are upwards of 300 species,
occurs with breaks over a narrow surface, extending from a high northern
latitude to the Cape of Good Hope. But the whole continent of America does
not contain a single native specimen ; nor has a Paenia been found in it, except
a solitary one to the west of the Rocky Mountains. On the other hand, the New
World contains many families, as the Cacti, which are not found naturally in
the Old.
1246. Some plants occur in a single specific locality, frequently a contracted
area, and nowhere else. The beautiful Disa grandiflora is limited to a spot on
the top of the Table Mountain at the Cape ; and the celebrated cedar of Leba-
ii n appears to be restricted in its spontaneous growth to the Syrian moun-
tains. The small island of St. Helena has an indigenous flora, with a few excep-
tions different from that of the rest of the globe.
1247. Mountain chains of no great width very commonly divide a totally dis-
tinct botany. There is a marked difference iu the vegetation of the Chilian and
opposite side of the Andes, though the climate as well as the soil is nearly the
same, and the difference of longitude very trifling. In North America, two com-
pletely different classes of vegetation appear on the two sides of the Rocky
Mountains. A variety of oaks, palms, magnolias, azaleas, and magnificent
rhododendrons occur on the eastern side, all of which are-tinkn own on the
western, the region of the giant pine.
1248. The distinct vegetation possessed by various parts of the globe, has led
to its division into botanical kingdoms or phyto-geographical regions, named in
general after the genera thac are either peculiar to them, or predominant in
them. The arrangement of M. Schouw which is usually adopted, discriminates
twenty-five great provinces of characteristic vegetation upon the surface of the
earth.
In constituting any portion of the globe into a phyto-geographical region, M.
Schouw has proceeded upon the following principles : 1. That at least one- half
of the species should be indigenous in it. 2. That a-quarter of the genera
should also be peculiar to it, or _at least should have a decided maximum. ?,
That individual families of plants should either be exclusively confined to the
region, or have their maxima there.
1249. The phenomena of botanical geography, and the facts of geology, are
mutually illustrative. The existing dry land having been upheaved above the
waters at different epochs, it may be reasonably inferred that each portion on
its emergence received a vegetable creation in harmony with its position. The
ultimate constitution of the general surface into different botanical kingdoms
would hence follow, each of which has preserved its primitive features, while
adjoining, and even far distant foci, have to some extent intermingled their
respective products, under control of the natural agencies of diffusion.
1250. The agents that involuntarily officiate in the diffusion of vegetable pro-
ducts are the atmosphere, the waters, and many animals.
1. The impulsion of the atmosphere in its calmest state, is quite sufficient to
transport to considerable distances seeds furnished with downy appendages or
winglots, as is the case with many plants, with the minute sporules of
316
THE EEASOX WHY.
1 He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass, as showers that water the
earth." PSALM LXXII.
cryptogamia, which are light as the finest powder. When ordinary breezes
convey the sand -dust of the Sahara a thousand miles or more from the desert,
it may be conceived that seeds, which are comparatively heavy, are borne far
from home by the hurricane. Two Jamaica lichens, which had never been seen
in France before, were found by De Candolle growing on the coast of Brittany,
the offspring of sporules which had been swept over the Atlantic.
2. The mountain torrent washes down into the valley the seeds that have
accidentally fallen into it, or have been swept away by its overflows ; and hence
the plants of the High Alps occur on the plains of Switzerland, which are
entirely wanting in France and Germany. Rivers answer the same purpose
more extensively, and also the oceanic currents. The nicker-tree, one of the
leguminous tribe, has been raised from seed borne across the Atlantic by the
Gulf stream.
3. Animals of the sheep and goat kinds, with the horse, deer, buffalo, and
others, widely disperse several species of plants, the seeds of which, furnished
with an apparatus of barbs and hooks, adhere to their coating. Seeds also of
various kinds pass through the digestive organs of birds, uninjured as to their
vitality. The little squirrel buries the acorn in the ground for winter
provender, and sows an oak, if prevented from returning to the spot.
1251. Plants capable of extended naturalisation, and serviceable as articles of
food or luxury, have been widely disseminated by the human race in their
migrations. The^cerealia afford a striking example. These important grasses
known to the ancients, wheat, barley, oats, and rye, were the gifts of the Old
World to the New. They are also importations into Europe; but the loose
reports of the ancients, and the diligent researches of the moderns, alike leave us
in ignorance of their native seat. Probability points to the conclusion that they
have spread from the neighbourhood of the great rivers of Western Asia, the
primitive location of the human family ; and it is not impossible that in that
imperfectly explored district, or further east on the Tartarian table-land, some
of the cereals may yet be found growing spontaneously. The first wheat sown
in North America, consisted of a few grains accidentally found by a negro slave
of Cortes, among the rice taken for the support of his army. In South America
the first wheat was brought to Lima by one of -the early colonists, a Spanish lady,
Maria d'Escobar. An ecclesiastic, Jose Rixi, was the first to sow it in the
neighbourhood of Quito.
1252. Maize, or Indian corn (Zeamays), has been dispersed in the Old World
from the New; and also a more important product, the potato (Solanum
tuberosum), the use of which now extends from the extremity of Africa to
Lapland. In Chili, the native country of the plant, it occurs at present in a
wild state. The Spaniards imported it into Spain, and from thence it was
communicated to Italy. It was first made known in England at a subsequent
period from Virginia, having been received there from the Spanish colonists in
South America, as it is not a native of intervening Mexico.
1253. The grape-vine, so extensively spread over Europe, is probably net
indigenous in any part of it. It chiefly owes its diffusion there to the Romans,
who received it from the Greeks, to whom it most likely immediately came
from the country between the Black and Caspian Seas. The Romans intro-
duced most of the finer European fruit-trees, some from Africa, as tho
THE SEASON WHY. 317
" To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven."
ECCLESIASTES III.
pomegranate, but the great majority from Western Asia, as the orange, fig,
cherry, peach, apricot, apple, and pear. A variety of the plum, the damson, or
damascene, came from the neighbourhood of Damascus during the Crusades.
The name of the damask-rose points to the importation of the plant from the
same quarter into Europe.
The ocean as well as the land has different botanical regions ; and changes
of the vegetation are observed with the depth analogous to the variations of
terrestrial plants with the height. Marine vegetation seems to have its vertical
extent determined by the range of light in water, which varies with the
power of the sun and the transparency of the water.
CHAPTER LXIII.
1254. What are vegetable gums ?
Vegetable gums are secretions of plants which are generally
soluble in water, and which subserve various useful purposes.
Gum Arabic is one of the most important of this class of vegetable
productions.
G-utta-percha is an invaluable substance lately added 4q
the list of known vegetable productions. It is obtained by
cutting the bark of trees of the class called Sapotacea. Its
proper name is gutta Pulo Percha, gutta meaning gum, and Pulo
Porcha is the island whence it is obtained. But gutta-percha is
not, strictly speaking, a gum.
India-rubber is also a vegetable secretion, improperly called
elastic gum. It is obtained from the milky juice of various trees
and plants, especially from the syringe tree, of Cayenne.
1255. What are vegetable resins ?
Vegetable resins are derived from the secretions of plants, and
j>re generally distinguished from gums by being insoluble in
water, but being soluble in spirits.
When one of these substances is soluble in either water or spirits
it is called a gum-resin.
1256. What are vegetable acids ?
Vegetable acids are chiefly obtained from fruit ; but also abun-
dantly from wood, by distillation.
818 THE SEASON WHY.
" Thou art the God that doest wonders." PSALM ixxvn.
1257. What is tannin ?
Tannin is a vegetable production, obtained chiefly from the oak-
bark, and from a variety of other vegetable sources. It possesses
the peculiar chemical property which renders it valuable in tanning
leather.
1258. What is opium?
Opium is the produce of the poppy, and is obtained from the seed.
1259. What are vegetable dyes ?
Vegetable dy3s are the various colours derived from the secretions
of plants, such as indigo, madder, logwood, allcanet-root, Sfc.
1260. What is silica ?
Silica is a mineral substance, commonly known as flint ; and it
is one of the wonders of the vegetable tribes, that, although flint is
so indestructible that the strongest chemical aid is required for its
solution, plants possess the power of dissolving and secreting it.
Even so delicate a structure as the wheat straw dissolves silica,
and every stalk of wheat is covered with a perfect, but inconceivably
thin coating of this substance.
Amid all the wonders of nature which we have had occasion to explain, there
is none more startling than that which reveals to our knowledge the fact that a
flint stone consists of the mineralised bodies of animals, just as coal consists of
masses of mineralised vegetable matter. The animals are believed to have been
infusorial animalculae, coated with silicous shells, as the wheat straw of to-day
is clothed with a glassy covering of silica. The skeletons of animalcules
which compose flint may be brought under microscopic examination. Geologists
have some difficulty in determining their opinions respecting the relation which
these aiiimalculse bear to the flint stones in which they are found. Whether
the animalculae, in dense masses, form the flint; or whether the flint merely
supplies a sepulchre to the countless millions of creatures that, ages ago, enjoyed
each a separate and conscious existence, is a problem that may never be solved.
And what a problem ! The buried plant being disentombed, after having
lain for ages in the bowels of the earth, gives us light and warmth; and the
animalcule, after a sleep of ages, dissolves into the sap of a plant, and wraps the
coat it wore, probably " in the beginning, when God created the heavens and the
earth, and when the earth first brought forth living creatures," around the
Blender stalk of waving corn !
1261. Why is silica diffused over the stems of tvheat,
grasses, canes, Sfc. ?
Because it affords strength, density, and durability, to structure*
THE BEASON WHY. 319
1 For in this mountain shall the hand of the Lord rest, and Moab shall be trodden
down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill."
ISAIAH xxv.
that are very light, and which, but for this beautiful provision, would
be exceedingly perishable.
1262. Why is guano a productive manure ?
Because it contains, with other suitable elements, an abundance
of the silicons skeletons of animalcule.
1263. W hy does a wheat-crop greatly exhaust the soil ?
Because, as well as the carbon, and the salts, which form the
straw and the grain, it draws off from the soil a great amount of
silica.
1264. Why is straw frequently used as a manure?
Because it gives back, with other substances, a considerable
proportion of silica, in that form which adapts it to the use of the
succeeding crop.
1265. Why is the structure of herbaceous plants less
consolidated than that of woody plants ?
Because, for the most part, herbaceous plants last only a single
year ; they, therefore, do not require the enduring qualities of plants
that have to sustain the influences of the elements for a succession
of seasons.
1266. Why are the stalks of plants of light structure
generally cylindrical ?
Because the cylindrical form is stronger than any other; a
hollow cylinder, with moderately thick walls, is stronger than a
solid rod, containing the same amount of material.
1267. Why do the stalks of plants become hollow ?
Because the parallel and perpendicular fibres of the stalk are
developed more rapidly than the horizontal. The growth of the
plant, therefore, consists of a kind of divergence from the centre.
1268. Why are the stomata, or pores of leaves, generally
placed on their under surface ?
Because, being placed on the under surface, they are shaded
from the action of the sun's rays, and so carry on the Function of
320 THE EEASON WHY.
- - - -- --
" The trees of the Lord are full of sap : and the cedars of Lebanon which he hath
planted." PSALM crv.
respiration more actively than if subjected to direct heat ; they are
also protected from the injurious effects of dust ; and are moistened
by evaporation from the earth's surface.
1269. Why have plants a formation of pith in their
centre ?
The pith is the chief organ of nutriment, especially in the young-
plant. It is the structure which first conveys fluids to, and
receives them from, the newly-formed leaf. It communicates
with every branch, leaf, bud, and flower ; and also with the
bark, through the medullary rays, which radiate horizontally
from the centre of the plant. It is the centre of the movements of
the sap which occur in the horizontal vessels ; and it holds an
important influence over the life of the plant.
1270. Why are trees covered with lark ?
Because the bark serves to protect the woody structure, and also
to give a passage to the descending sap which flows abundantly in
the spring, and out of which the woody fibre is formed. It is also,
from its peculiar nature, well fitted to endure the changes of the
seasons for many years ; and from its non-conducting properties it
serves to maintain the equal temperature of the vital parts of the
tree.
1271. What is cork?
Cork is the bark of a description of oak-tree, which grows in
great abundance in Spain, Italy, and France.
1272. Why does the cork-tree release its own lark ?
Because it possesses a bark which is exceedingly useful to man ;
and it seems, therefore, to have been the design of providence that
the tree should cast it off, to be applied to the wants of the human
family ; for the cork-tree does not discharge its bark by the mere
cracking, or exfoliation, of its substance ; the tree retains the bark
for a number of years, until it has attained that consistency and
thickness which renders it useful, and then the tree forms within
the bark a series of tabular cells, which cut off the connection
of Ihe bark with the internal structure, after which it peels off
in l.irsre sheets.
THE EEASON WHY. 321
" And all the trees of the field shall know that I the Lord have brought down the
high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have raade
the dry tree to flourish : I the Lord have spoken, and have done it. EZEK. xvn.
Man assists this evident intention of nature, by slitting the bark
from the top of the tree to its base ; but even were this not done,
the bark would be cast off by the tree itself
Another proof of design in this useful adaptation of the cork -
tree is to be found in the fact, that it thrives under treatment that
would destroy other trees. The cork-tree will endure the barking
process for seven or eight successive years.
CHAPTER LXIV.
1273. Why are there curious markings in walnut, maho-
gany, rose-ivood, satin-wood, c. ?
Because those markings are produced by the various structure of
the vessels by which the wood is formed ; and by successive zones
of wood, which indicate the periods of growth.
The inclosure of zone within zone is owing to the mode in which the wood is
produced, and the position in which it is deposited. Wood is formed by the
leaves during the growing season, and passes down towards the root between
the bark and the wood of the previous year (if any), or in the position in which
cambium is effused ; and, as the leaves more or less surround the whole stem,
the new layer at length completes a zone, and perfectly encloses the wood of all
former years. This is the explanation of the term exogenous, which is derived
from two words signifying to grow outwardly, for the stem increases in thickness
by successive layers on the outer side of the previously-formed wood. That
this is the mode of growth has been abundantly proved by experiment, and de-
monstrated by accidental discoveries. Thus, if a plate of metal be inserted
between the bark and wood, it will, in progress of time, become inclosed by the
new wood which has overlaid them. So in like manner if letters be cut deeply
through the bark and into the wood, the spaces will not be filled up from the
bottom, but may be seen in subsequent years overlaid by new wood. A state-
ment appeared in a daily paper, during the past year, to the effect that in cut-
ting down a tree a cat had been discovered inclosed in the wool of the trunk,
These facts prove that the wood is applied from without. Again, if a branch be
stripped of its leaves down to a cortaia point, it will not grow above that point ;
and so, in like manner, if branches bo stripped from one side of a tree, the tree
will not grow on that side. If a circle of bark be removed from a branch above
and also below a leaf, it will be found that increase of size will occur below, but
not above that bud ; and so, likewise, whenever a ring of bark is removed from a
tree, the new woody fibre will not proceed from the lower but from the upper
edge. Orr's Circle of the Sciences.
14*
322 THE REASON WHY.
" And when he sa\v a fis? tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon,
but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for
ever. And presently the tree withered away." MATTHEW xxt.
1274. Why have trees with large trunks a great number
of leafy brandies ?
Because it is by the leaves that the secretion is formed which
supplies the woody fibre. The number of leaves on a tree, therefore,
generally bears a relation to the size of its trunk, and the number
of its branches.
1275. Why have poplar-trees comparatively few branches
and leaves ?
Because their trunks are comparatively small, although they
grow to a great height.
1276. Why had the mammoth-tree comparatively few leaves
in relation to the immense size of its bark?
Because the woody texture of this tree (Wellingtonea
gigantea) is exceedingly light and porous. It is, in fact, lighter
than cork, and, therefore, requires less leaf-produce in its formation.
1277. Why have oak-trees an abundance of leaves?
Because their wood is so dense that they require a larger amount
of the wood-forming secretion which is supplied by the leaves.
1278. Why are the trunks of trees round?
Because, generally speaking, the leaves are distributed upon
branches around the trees in every direction. They consequently
send down the wood-forming principle on all sides. When a trunk
is unduly developed on one side, it may generally be traced to the
unequal distribution of the branches.
1279. What are exogenous stems ?
Exogenous stems are those that grow by the addition of wood
on their outer surface, underneath the bark.
1280. What are endogenous stems ?
Endogenous stems are those that grow inwardly, from the
centre. Trees of this class, of which palms are the bc>st
example, are almost peculiar to tropical climates.
1281. Why do endogenous stems chiefly abound in tropical
climates ?
Because, probably, the excessive heat of those climates wouW
THE EEA80N WHT. 323
'* I have caused thee to multiply as the hud of the field, and thou hast increased
and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments."
EZEKIEL xvi.
interfere with the formation of wood from the sap upon the outer
surface.
The vascular structure of endogenous stems lying more
abundantly towards their centre, tends to conserve the juices which
in hot climates are so highly valued. Palm-wine is a delicious and
cooling beverage, and is procured from various kinds of palms, but
especially from the cocoa-nut palm. Even the fresh sap is very
refreshing. The juice is procured by cutting the tree in the upper
part, and attaching a vessel to the opening, to receive the sap.
Its flow is increased by cutting off a slice of the wood daily.
1282. Why have endogenous stems no bark?
Because, one of the chief functions of the bark in exogenous trees,
is to protect the sap from which the wood is formed on the outward
surface ; and as there is no such external flow of sap in endogenous
trees, the bark is unnecessary to them, and is therefore withheld.
They are furnished instead with a thin cuticle.
1233. Why do endogenous stems grow to a great height ?
Because, as the stem grows from the centre, it soon reaches that
limit of diameter which its vascular structure is calculated to
support ; and, therefore, the wood-forming sap is deposited chiefly
at the top of the stem, causing it to grow to a considerable height.
1284. Why do the various vegetable fruits ripen in
succession ?
Because the Author of Nature has thus arranged its economy, in
order that the wants of living creatures may be adequately provided
for. Some vegetable productions arrive at their perfection in the
spring ; others in summer ; and others in autumn. Among the
latter are many that require to come slowly to maturity after they
are gathered; by these the winter season is provided for, and a surplus
of the winter stock goes to supply the natural deficiency of spring.
1285. Why, when seeds are sown, and germination begins,
does the leaf-germ seek the light, and the root-germ grow
down into the earth ?
Because the Creator has endowed every single seed with a
324 THE SEASON WHY.
" O sing unto the Lord a new made song ; for he hath done marvellous things."
PSALM xcvm.
vital instinct which governs its development. The rootlet could
more easily grow upward than downward, because of the looser
earth, and of the exciting influences of light and moisture. Yet
it takes the contrary course, leaving the leaf-germ to come up to
meet the sun-light, and to send down to the stem arid roots, the
matter needed for their growth.
Frequently, indeed, when seeds are thrown into the earth, their
natural position is reversed, and when the germs first start from
the seed, the root-germ is directed upward and the leaf-germ,
downward. What then occurs? They each turn, and, in doing
so, frequently cross each other. Each goes to its particular duty
the duty that God appointed.
CHAPTER LXV.
1286. Why are the seeds of plants indigestible ?
Because they are encased in a hard covering upon which the
gastric juice of animals takes no effect. This provision has been
made by the Creator, for the preservation of seeds, the productions
of which are so essential to animal life.
The gastric juice can dissolve' any other part of the plant, even
the woody fibre, and yet upon the seed it takes no effect. When,
however, the seed is crushed, and, thereby, the vital principle de-
stroyed, so that no plant can spring from it, the gastric juice acts
upon it, and it is soon dissolved.
Hence graminivorous birds are provided with gizzards to break
the protecting coats of the grain ; and animals that feed on seeds
and nuts strip them of their shells and husks.
It is remarkable that in the succulent fruits, such as the straw-
berry, the raspberry, currant, apple, orange, melon, &o., and
which, from their very nature, are likely to attract animals to use
them, and in eating which the seeds are likely to be swallowed, they
are fortified by a doubly-protective coating ; the pips of the apple,
orange, &c., and the seeds of the strawberry and raspberry, pnss
through the digestive organs, not only unharmed, but their
THE REASON WHY. 32.1
1 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth,
neither any green thing, neither any tree." REVELATION ix.
germinating powers are even improved by the warmth and
trituration of the stomach, -Indeed, the stomachs of quadrupeds
and birds have been made the vehicles of propagating plants, and
distributing them to the widest geographical latitudes. It is even
said of some seeds that they will not germinate until they have
passed through the digestive ogans of an animal.
1287. Why do animals that graze, crop the tender Hades
of grass, but avoid the tall stems ?
Because they are tempted by the greater sweetness and tenderness
of the young blades ; and in this temptation a very important end
is served ; for, by avoiding the stems that have grown up, the animals
spare the matured plant by which seeds are borne, and by which
the supply of food is to be continued.
1288. Why do the eggs of butterflies lie dormant during
the winter ?
Because the coldness of the winter would be fatal to the life of
the young insects ; and the absence of vegetation would leave the
caterpillars to perish of starvation, if they were developed during
the winter months.
Fig. 70. CATEKPILLAK FEEDING.
1289. Why do caterpillars appear in the spring ?
Because the increasing warmth of the sun developes the living
embryo, at the same time that it developes the vegetable germ.
The warmth, therefore, that calls the caterpillar from its embryo
sleep, also kindles the germinating power of the vegetable upon
which it is destined to feed. The worm awakes aud finds the
bountiful table of nature spread for it.
326 THE SEASON WHY.
"Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress them, but shalt neither drink of tho
wine, nor gather the grapes : for the worms shall eat them."
DEUTERONOMY xxviu.
1290. Why does the caterpillar eat voraciously ?
Because it grows rapidly, and a large amount of vegetable
matter is necessary to supply the rapid growth of its animal
substance. Caterpillars in the course of a month devour 60,000
times their own weight of aliment.
Fig. 77. THE UNDER 8II>E OP Fig. 78. THE SAME CHET8ALIS, WITH PAST
THE CHRYSALIS OF THE PEA- OP ITS SHEATH RAISED TO SHOW TUB
COCK BUTTERFLY. PARTIALLY-FORMED WINGS, &C.
1291. Why do caterpillars pass into the state of the
chrysalis ?
Because they are thereby prepared for the new existence which
they are about to enjoy ; new organs must be perfected in them to
adapt them to the altered conditions of their lives.
Because, also, in the transformation of their bodies, differing
materially from the laws of existence that pertain to other creatures,
the Creator affords another illustration of his Omnipotence.
Because, also, during the stage that the insect sleeps in the
chrysalis, the flowers and their sweet juices, upon which the fly is to
feed, are being prepared for it, just as, when it was sleeping in the
egg, the green food was being prepared for the caterpillar. When,
therefore, the beautiful fly spreads its silken wings, it finds a second
time that, while it has slept, its meal has been prepared, and it now
flies away joyously to feed upon the milk and honey of beautiful
flowers which, at the time it passed into the chrysalis, had not yet
unfolded their petals.
THE SEASON WHY. 327
" For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them
like wool : but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation
from generation to generation." ISAIAH LI.
Paley observes, that " the metamorphosis of insects from grubs
into moths and flies, is an astonishing process. A hairy caterpillar
is transformed into a butterfly. Observe the change. We have
four beautiful wings where there were none before ; a tubular
proboscis, in the place of a mouth with jaws and teeth ; six long
legs, instead of fourteen feet. In another case, we see a white,
smooth, soft worm, turned into a black, hard, crustaceous beetle,
with gauze wings. These, as I said, are astonishing processes, and
must require, as it should seem, a proportionably artificial apparatus.
Fig. 79. THE PEACOCK BUITEBFLY.
The hypothesis which appears to me most probable, is that, in the
grub, there exists at the same time three animals, one within
another, all nourished by the same digestion, and by a communica-
ting circulation ; but in different stages of maturity. The latest
discoveries made by naturalists, seem to favour this supposition.
The insect, already equipped with wings, is descried under the
membranes both of the worm and nymph. In some species, the
proboscis, the antennae, the limbs, and wings of the fly, have been
observed to be folded up within the body of the caterpillar ; and with
such nicety as to occupy a small space only under the two first
wings. This being so, the outermost animal, which, besides its
own proper character, serves as an integument to the other two,
being the farthest advanced, dies, as we suppose, and drops off first.
The second, the pupa or chrysalis, then offers itself to observation.
This also, in its turn, dies ; its dead and brittle husk falls to pioces,
and makes way for the appearance of the fly or moth. Now, if this
be the case, or indeed whatever explication be adopted, we have a
328 THE SEASON WHY.
1 That which the palmer-worm hath left hath the locust eateu ; and that which
the locust hath left hath the canker-worm eaten ; arid that which the
canker-worm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten." JOEL i.
prospective contrivance of the most curious kind ; we have organi-
sations three deep ; yet a vascular system, which supplies nutrition,
growth, and life, to all of them together."
Lord Brougham, in a note upon the above, does not support
Pnley's view. He says "It is more than probable that the parts
which are to appear in the perfect insect do not exist in the larvae,
where there is not much difference between the larva and pupa,
excepting at the time just previous to its becoming a pupa, at
which time the larva is motionless and torpid. The caterpillar of a
moth, when about to turn into a pupa, provides for the protection
of the latter state, either by surrounding itself with a web, or by
some other means. Soon after this is accomplished, the caterpillar
becomes motionless, or nearly so ; it can neither eat nor crawl. At
this time, and not before, the parts of the pupa are forming within
the skin of the caterpillar, which may be easily seen by dissection."
It appears to the author, however, that Paley is partially right,
and Lord Brougham totally wrong, in these remarks. When Lord
Brougham asserts that the parts of the pupa are forming within
the skin of the caterpillar at that time when the transformation
begins, " and not before, which may be easily seen by dissection,"
he forgets, that although in some instances it is the first moment
when, to the human eye, the organs of the new creature become
perceptible, that the " three deep " nature which Paley attributes
to the grub, must really have existed in the egg that the butterfly
originated in the egg, as certainly as did the caterpillar, or the
crysalis, and that unless that egg had possessed its three myste-
rious embryos, it would have been impossible for the grub to have
progressed to the stages of transformation. No one has ever known
the embryo of a bird's egg to pass through three distinct and dis-
similar states of existence ; nor has any one ever known the embryo
of the butterfly's egg to stop short at either of the stages, if the
proper conditions of its existence and development were supplied to
it. Why ? Because the embryo of the insect has a threefold
nature, while that of the bird is single.
THE EEASON WHY. 329
* They shall cut down her forest, saith the Lord, though it cannot be searched ;
because they are more than the grasshoppers, and are innumerable."
JEREMIAH XLVI.
CHAPTER LXVI.
1292. Why does the caterpillar become torpid when
passing into the state of the chrysalis ?
Because in all probability, where the difference between the first
and the ultimate form is considerable, the organs of the insect
haring to undergo great changes, it would suffer considerable pain.
Torpor comes upon the insect, it is thrown into a state similar to
that of a person who has inhaled chloroform and after what has,
in all probability, proved a pleasant dream, the insect awakes to
find itself changed and beautified.
1293. Why are the pupcs of grasshoppers and other
insects, when about to undergo transformation, still active
and sensitive ?
Because, as there is but a slight difference between the form
which they have in the pupa state, and that which they ultimately
assume, they do not require the state of torpidity to save them from
pain, nor to arrest their movements while their organs are being
changed. With them the outer slcin is thrown off, and they are
then perfect insects.
1294. Why do caterpillars, when about to pass through the
chrysalis state, attach themselves to the leaves of plants, 8fc. ?
Because they know instinctively that for a time they will be
unable to controul their own movements, and to avoid danger.
They therefore choose secure and dry places, underneath leaves, or
in the crevices of old and dry walls, and there they firmly attach
themselves, to await the time of their liberation.
1295. Why do insects attach their eggs, to leaves fyc. ?
Because, as the eggs have to be preserved during the winter, the
insect attaches them to some surface which will be a protection to
them. Generally speaking, the eggs are attached to the permanent
stems of plants, and not to those leafy portions which are liable to
fall and decay. The spider weaves a silken bag in which it deposits
its eggs, and then it hangs the bag in a sheltered situation. Naturg
330 THE SEASON WHY.
1 Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth
corrupt, and where thieves do not break through and steal." MATT. vi.
keeps her butterflies, moths, and caterpillars, locked up during the
whiter, in their egg-state; and we have to admire the various
devices to which, if we may so speak, the same nature has resorted
for the security of the egg. Many insects enclose their eggs in a
silken web j others cover them with a coat of hair, torn from their
own bodies ; some glue them together ; and others, like the moth
of the silkworm, glue them to the leaves upon which they are
deposited, that they may not be shaken off by the wind, or washed
away by rain ; some again make incisions into leaves, and hide an
egg in each incision ; whilst some envelope their eggs with a soft
substance, which forms the first aliment of the young animal ; and
some again make a hole in the earth, and, having stored it with a
quantity of proper food, deposit their eggs in ib.
1296. Why do butterflies fly by day ?
Because they are organised to enjoy light and warmth, and they
live upon the sweets of flowers which by day are most accessible.
1297. Why do moths fly by night ?
Because they are organised to enjoy subdued light and cool air ;
and as they take very little food during the short life they have in
the winged state, they find sufficient by night. Some of the moths,
like that of the silk- worm, take no food from the time they escape
from the chrysalis until they die.
Because, also, they form the food of bats, owls, and other of the
night-flying tribes.
1298. Why are the bodies of moths generally covered with
a very thick down ?
Because, as they fly by night, they are liable to the effects of cold
and damp. The moths, therefore, are nearly all of them covered
with a very thick down, quite distinguishable from the lighter down
of butterflies.
1299. Why do moths fly against the candle flame ?
Because their eyes are organised to bear only a small amount of
light. When, therefore, they come within the light of a candle,
their sight is overpowered and their vision confused ; and as they
cannot distinguish objects, they pursue the light itself, and fly against
the flame.
THE REASON WHY. 331
" Let him that glorieth c-Tory in this that he understandeth and knoweth me,
that I am the Lord which exercise loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness
in the earth : for in these things I delight, saith the Lord." JEB. ix.
1300. Why do insects multiply so numerously ?
Because they form the food of larger animals, and especially of
birds. A single pair of sparrows and a nest of young ones have
been estimated to consume upwards of three thousand insects in. a
week.
1301. Why does the " death-watch''' make a ticking noise?
Because the insect is one of the beetle tribe, having a horny case
upon its head, with ivhich it tags tipon any hard substance, the
ticking is the call of the insect to its species, just as the noise made
by the cricket is a note of communication with other crickets.
There is a superstition connected with tho death-watch, which, like most super-
stitions, is hased upon the theory of probabilities. The death-watch is usually
heard in the spring of the year, and a superstition runs to the effect that some
one in the house will die before the year has ended. Persons who are super-
stitious are never very strict in the interpretation of their predictions ; and
therefore, whether a person dies in the house or out of it, in the same room
where the death-watch was heard, or across the wide Atlantic, so that there
be some kind of relationship, or even acquaintance, between the person who
hears the omen, and the person dying, the event is sure to be connected with
the prophetic sounds of the death-watch. Little weens the small timber-
boring beetle, when he is tapping gently to call his mate, and perhaps peeping
into every corner and crevice to find her, that he is sending dismay into the
heart of some superstitious listener, who, in ignorance of a simple fact, over-
whelms herself with an imaginary grief.
1302. Why are insects in thejlrst stage, after leaving the
egg, said to be in the " larva " state ?
Because the term larva is derived from the Latin larvated,
meaning masked, clothed as with a mask ; the term is meant to
express that the future insect is disguised in its first form.
1303. Why are insects in the second state said to be in
the "pupa" state?
Because the term is derived from the Latin pupa, from a slight
resemblance in the manner in which the insects are enclosed, to
that in which it was the fashion of the ancients to bandage their
infants.
1304. Why are insects in the "pupa" stage also called
' chrysalides?"
Because, as the Latin term implies, it is adorned with gems.
Many chrysalides arc studded with golden and pearl-like spots.
332 THE SEASON WHY.
'Thou hast set all the bordeis of the earth: thou hast made summer and
winter." PSALM JLXXIV.
1305. Why are the perfect insects said to be in the
"nymph" state ?
Because their joyful existence, and their beautiful forms, give
them a fancied resemblance to the nymphs of the heathen
mythology. The nymphs were supposed goddesses of the moun -
tains, forests, meadows, and waters.
This term has generally, but very improperly, been also applied to the pupa
state, so that pupa, chrysalis, and nymph have all been employed to represent
one state. This is obviously an error, as there is nothing in the condition of tho
pupa or chrysalis that can at all accord with the mythological idea of a nymph,
and which, in reference to the beautiful and joyous fly, finds a much truer
application.
CHAPTER LXVIL
1306. Whence does the snail obtain its shell ?
Young snails come from the egg with a shell upon their
backs.
1307. Sow does the shell grow with the increase of size
of the animal ?
The soft slime which is yielded by the body of the animal,
hardens upon the orifice of the shell, and thus increases its size.
Fig. 80. COMMON GARDEy 8JTAIL.
1308. Why is the shell spiral ?
Partly because of its original formation ; but also because, as the
thett grows, the opening is elongated; and thrown up, causing the
THE REASON WHY. 333
" Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses ; but some of them left it
until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank : and Moses was wrath
with them." EXODUS xvi.
Kpiral body of the shell to turn, and so to wind its growth around
the centre.
1309. Why has the snail four tentacula attached to its
head?
Because the insect, having no other limbs, is provided with
those projecting members, the lower two serving as feelers
and the upper two also as feelers and eyes. These, projecting
in the front of the animal, impart to it a consciousness of surrounding
objects, and especially of those which lie in its path.
1310. Why is the snail able to move, without feet ?
Because it has attached to its body a fringe of muscular skin,
which is capable of considerable contraction and expansion, and by
alternately stretching and shortening this, the snail is able to draw
himself along.
1311. Why do we see no snails in the winter time ?
Because they bury themselves in the ground, or in holes, where
they remain in a torpid state for several months. Before th<>y
enter into the torpid state, they form with their slimy secretion, and
with some earthy matters which they collect, a strong cement with
which they seal up the opening to their shells.
1312. Why can snails live in shells thus sealed ?
Because they leave, in the thin wall by which they close them-
selves in, a small hole, too small to admit water, but large enough
to let in sufficient air to carry on their feeble respiration during
their winter sleep.
1313. Why do insects abound in putrid waters, and in
decaying substances ?
Because they have been endowed with appetites and with
constitutions that enable them to live upon and to enjoy corrupt
matter. In this point of view the maggots of flies are exceedingly
useful; a dead carcass is speedily threaded by them in every
direction ; thus that corrupt matter which, in a large mass, would
poison the air, is taken up in small portions by millions of living
bodies, and by them dispersed, and becomes innoxious.
334
THE REASON WHY,
' For he maketh small the drops of water : they pour down rain according to
the vapour thereof." JOB xxxv.
1314. Why do we see, in tanks of rain water, insects
rising to the surface ?
Because numerous insects pass through their first stages of
existence in water, and among them the common gnat. The gnats
of the previous season having deposited their eggs on the sides of
the water-butt, the warm water developes them, and the larvae of
the gnats appear (Fig. 81 ; c natural size of larva ; b larva
magnified).
Fig. 81. LAEVA AND PTTPA OP GNAT.
(Greatly magnified.)
1315. Why do they continually rise to the surface of the
water ?
Because they require to breathe air, and therefore they come up
to the surface, where, elevating the tube (b) above the surface of the
water, they are enabled to breathe.
1316. Why do some appear to have larger heads than
others ?
Those that have apparently larger heads, and that breathe
through tubes attached to their heads (d) are in the pupa, or
second stage of development, and underneath the large shield by
THE EEASON WHY. 335
1 Because thy loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee."
PSALM LXIII.
which their heads are marked, their wings, feet, &c., are being
formed.
1317. Why, when the water is disturbed, do the larvae
descend more rapidly than the pupce ?
Because the pupae are in a torpid condition, awaiting the
formation of their perfect organs.
1318. Why are the flies able to escape from the ivater ?
Because, as their formation becomes perfected, and the fluids of
the body of the pupa become absorbed in the production of the
light texture of the wings, &c., the body and its case become
lighter than the water, and rise and float upon the surface. The
pupa-case then forms a natural boat, from which the fly emerges,
an*' spreading its wings, enters upon the final state of its existence.
Fig. 82. THE PEEFECT GNAT. ESCAPING FBOM THE PUPA-CASE.
(Greatly magnified.)
This interesting metamorphosis may be seen going on in the summer time,
iu every pond, brook, and reservoir. A fine sunny morning calls up millions of
these little boats from beneath the surface, and the diver within that wonderful
little bell breaks its sealed doors, and flies away to enjoy the bright sunshine.
1319. Why are beetles denominated " coleoptera?"
Because they have wings protected by horny sheaths ; the terra
coleoptera signifies wings in a sheath.
336
THE SEASON WHY.
" They shall lie down in the dust ; and the worms shall cover them." JOB xxi
1320. Why have beetles hard horny wing-cases ?
Because they live underground, or in holes excavated in wood,
&c. If, therefore, their wings were not protected by a hard and
firm covering-, they would be constantly liable to destruction from
the movement of the insect within hard and rough bodies.
Pig. 83. STAG-BEETLE, SHOWING ITS WINGS UNFOLDED, AND THE WI3VO-
CASES OPEN.
The elytra, or scaly wings of the genus of scarabams, or beetle, furnish an
example of this kind. The true wing of the animal is a light, transparent
membrane, finer than the finest gauze, and not unlike it. It is also, when
expanded, in proportion to the size of the animal, very large. In order to
protect this delicate structure, and, perhaps, also to preserve it in a due state of
suppleness and humidity, a strong, hard case is giv^en to it, in the shape of the
horny wing which we call the elytron. When the animal is at rest, the gauze
wings lie folded up under this impenetrable shield. When the beetle prepares
for flying, he raises the integument, and spreads out his thin membrane to the
air. Aud it cannot be observed without admiration, what a tissue of cordage,
i. <9. of muscular tendons, must run in various and complicated, but determinate
directions, along this fine surface, in order to enable the auimal, either to gather
THE EEASON TTHY. 337
" The Lord is good ; his mercy is everlasting ; and his truth endureth to all
generations." PSAXH c.
it up into a certain precise form, whenever it desires to place its wings under
the shelter which nature hath given to them, or to expand again their folds
when wanted for action.
In some insects, the elytra cover the whole body ; in others, half; in others
only a small part of it ; but in all, they completely hide and cover the true
wings. Also,
Many, or most of the beetle species lodge in holes in the earth, environed by
hard, rough substances, and have frequently to squeeze their way through
narrow passages; in which situation, wings so tender, and so large, could
scarcely have escaped injury, without both a firm covering to defend them, and
the capacity of folding themselves up under its protection.
1321. Why have many of the beetle tribe large strong
horns ?
Because, as they live in holes in the earth, or in excavations in
wood, they use their horns to dig out their places of retreat.
1322. Why has the giraffe a small head ?
Because, being set upon the end of a very long neck, the animal
would be unable to raise it if it were heavy.
1323. Why has the giraffe a long neck ?
Because it feeds upon the branches of tall trees.
1324. Why has the giraffe a long and flexible tongue ?
Because it is thereby enabled to lay hold of the tender twigs and
branches, and draw them into its mouth, avoiding the coarser
parts of the branches.
1325. Why are the nostrils of the giraffe small and
narrow, and studded with hairs ?
Because the hairs and the peculiar shape of the nasal passages
are designed as a protection against the insects which inhabit the
boughs of the trees upon which the giraffe feeds ; and also against
the sands of the desert, which storms raise into almost suffocating
clouds.
1326. The distribution of animals, or Zoological Geography, is a of great
interest, and should be carefully studied in connection with Botanical Geo-
graphy (sea 1208). The highest department of the animal kingdom (writes the
Rev. W. Milner) commences with the class of Birds, which may be naturally
divided into the three great orders of serial, terrestrial, and aquatic. Aggre.
15
338
THE REASON WHY.
Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion : bless the Lord, O
my soul." PSALM cm.
gation into immense flocks is a distinguishing feature of several species, espe-
cially of the aquatic order, which form separate colonies, building their nests in
the same state, though other spots equally adapted are at no great distance.
Fig. 8k-GIKAFFE FEEDING.
Hence the Vogel-bergs, or bird -rocks of the northern seas, one of which at West-
mannsharn in the Faroe group of islands, seldom intruded upon by man, pre-
sents a most extraordinary spectacle to the \isitor. The Vogel-berg lies in a
frightful chasm in the precipitous shores of the island, which rise to the height
of a thousand feet, only accessible from the sea by a narrow passage. Hero con-
gregate a host of bird**. Thousands of guillemots and auks swim in groups
THE EEASON WHY. 339
He rained flesh upon them as dust, and feathered fowls like as the sand of the
sea." PSALM LXXVIII.
around the boat which conveys man to their domain, look curiously at him, and
vanish beneath the water to rise in his immediate neighbourhood. The black
guillemot comes close to the very oars. The seal stretches his head abive the
waves, not comprehending what has disturbed the repose of his asylum, while
the rapacious skua pursues the puffin and gull. High in the air the birds seem
like bees clustering about the rocks, whilst lower they fly past so close that they
might be knocked down with a stick. But not less strange is the domicile of
this colony. On some low rocks scarcely projecting above the water sit tho
glossy cormorants, turning their long necks on every side, Next are the skua
gulls, regarded with an anxious eye by the kittiwakes above. Nest follows nest
in crowded rows along the whole breadth of the rock, and nothing is visible but
the heads of the mothers and the white rocks between, A little higher on the
narrow shelves sit the guillemots and auks, arranged as 0:1 parade, with their
white breasts to the sea, and so close that a hailstone could not pass between
them. The puffins take the highest station, and, though scarcely visible, betray
themselves by their flying backwards and forwards. The noise of such a multi-
tude of birds is confounding, and in vain a person asks a question of his nearest
neighbour. The harsh tones of the kittiwakes are heard above the whole, the
intervals being filled with the monotonous note of the auk, and the softer voice
of the guillemot. When Graba, from whose travels this description is principally
drawn, visited the Vogel-berg, he was tempted by the sight of a crested cormo-
rant to fire a gun, but what became of it, he remarks, it was impossible to ascer-
tain. The air was darkened by the birds roused from their repose. Thousands
hastened out of the chasm with a frightful noise, and spread themselves over
the ocean. The puffins came wandering from their holes, and regarded the
universal confusion with comic gestures. The kittiwakes remained composedly
in their nests, whilst the cormorants tumbled headlong into the sea. Similar
great congregations of the feathered race appear where the shores are rocky
high, and precipitous, but this is strikingly the case, whcro
" The northern ocean, in vast whirls.
Boils round the naked melancholy isles
Of farthest Thule; and the Atlantic surga
Pours in among the stormy Hebrides.
Who can recount what transmigrations there
Are annual made ? what nations come and go?
And how the living clouds on clouds arise?
Infinite wings ! till all the plume-dark air
And rude resounding shore are one wild cry."
1327. Most terrestrial birds, unacquainted with man, exhibit a remarkable
tameness, and are slow in acquiring a dread of him, even after repeated lessons
that danger is to be apprehended from his neighbourhood. Mr. Darwin speaks
of a gun as almost superfluous in the unfrequented districts of South America,
for with its muzzle he pushed a hawk off the branch of a tree. Once, whilo
lying down, a mocking thrush alighted on the edge of a pitcher, made of the
shell of a tortoise, which he was holding in his hand, and began very leisurely to
sip the water, even alitwing him to handle it while seated on the vessel. In
Charles Island, which had been colonised about six years, he saw a boy sitting
by a well with a switch in his hand, with which he killed the doves and finches
as they came to drink ; and for some time had been constantly in the habit
of waiting by the well for the same purpose, to provide himself with his dinners.
In the Falkland Islands, at Bourbon, and at Tristan d'Acunha, the same tame-
340 THE REASON WHY.
4 As a bird that wandereth from her nest ; so is a man that wandereth from his
place." PSALM xxvii.
ness was noticed by the early visitors. On the other hand, the small birds in
the arctic regions of America, which have never been persecuted, exhibit the
anomalous fact of great wildness. From a review of various facts, Mr. Darwin
concludes, " first, that the wildness of birds with regard to man is a particular
instinct directed against him, and not dependent on any general degree of
caution arising from other sources of danger ; secondly, that it is not acquired
by individual birds in a short time, even when much persecuted ; but that in
the course of successive generations it becomes hereditary. Comparatively few
young birds in any one year have been injured by man in England, yet almost
all, even nestlings, are afraid of him ; many individuals, however, both at *he
Galapagos and at the Falklands, have been pursued and injured by man, but
yet have not learned a salutary dread of him."
1328. Numerous species of birds may be regarded as the favourites of nature
on account of the gracefulness given to their shape, and the richly-coloured
plumage with which they are adorned, as evidenced in the gaudy liveries of
many of the parrot tribe, and the forms and hues of the birds of paradise. But
they are especially interesting to man for the faculty of song with which they
are endowed ; in some, " most musical, most melancholy," in others, sprightly
and animating, inspiriting the sons of toil under the burdens peculiar to
their station. It deserves to be remarked, as an instance of compensation and
adjustment, that whilst the birds of the temperate zone are far inferior to those
of tropical climes in point of beauty, they have far more melodious notes in con-
nection with their less attractive appearance.
1329 From the powerful means of locomotion possessed by several of the bird
tribe, and their great specific levity, air being admitted to the whole organi-
sation as water to a sponge, it might DC inferred, that the entire atmosphere
was intended to be their domain, so that no species would be limited to a
particular region. The common crow flies at the rate of twenty-five miles an
hour ; the rapidity of the eider-duck, Anas mollissima, is equal to ninety miles an
hour ; while the swifts and hawks travel at the astonishing speed of a hundred
and fifty miles in the same time. It is true that some species have a very exten-
sive range, as the nightingale, the common wild goose, and several of the
vulture tribe. The same kind of osprey or fishing-eagle that wanders along the
Scottish shores appears upon those of the south of Europe, and of New Holland.
The lammergeyer haunts the heights of the Pyrenees, the mountains of
Abyssinia, and the Mongolian steppes; and the penguin falcon occurs in
Greenland, Europe, America, and Australia. In general, however, like plants
and terrestrial quadrupeds, the birds are subject-to geographical laws, definite
limits circumscribing particular groups. The common grouse of our own
country affords a striking exemplification of this arrangement, as it is nowhere
met with out of Great Britain ; and other examples occur of a very scanty area
containing a species not to be found in any other region. The celebrated birds
of paradise are exclusively confined to a small part of the torrid zone, embracing
New Guinea and the contiguous islands ; and the beautiful Lories are inhabi-
tants of the same districts, being quite unknown to the New World. Parroquets
are chiefly occupants of a zonr extending a few degrees beyond each trop c, but
the American group is quite distinct from the African, and neither of these
have one in common with the parrots of India, The great eagle is limited to
the highest summits of the Alps; and the condor, which soars above the peak
of the tGftiest of the Andes, never quits that chain. Humming-birds are
THE SEASON WHY. 341
' There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture's eye hafli not
seen." JOB xvui.
entirely limited to the western hemisphere, where a particular species is some-
times bounded by the range of an island, while others are more extensively
spread, the Trochilus Jlammifrons, common to Lima, being observed by Captain
King upon the coast of the Straits of Magellan, in the depth of winter, sucking
the flowers of a large fuschia, then in bloom in the midst of a shower of snow.
Among the birds incapable of flight, which rival the quadrupeds in their size,
the intertropical countries of the globe have their distinct species, presenting
similar general features of organisation, as the ostrich of Africa and Arabia,
the cassowary of Java and Australia, and the touyou of Brazil. In the arctic
regions, we meet with species peculiar to them, the Strix laeponicus or Lapland
owl, and the eider-duck, an inhabitant of the shores, from whose nests the
eider-down is obtained. Several families of maritime birds are likewise limited
to particular oceanic localities. Approaching the fortieth parallel of latitude,
the albatross is seen flitting along the surface of the waves, and soon afterwards
the frigate and other tropical birds appear, which never wander far beyond the
torrid zone. It thus appears, that, notwithstanding the great locomotive
powers of birds, particular groups have had certain regions assigned to them
as their sphere of existence, which they are adapted to occupy, and to which
they adhere in the main, though it is easy to conceive of natural causes
occasionally constraining to a migration into new and even distant territories.
Captain Smyth informed Mr. Lyell, that when engaged in his survey of the
Mediterranean, he encountered a gale in the Gulf of Lyons, at the distance of
between twenty and thirty leagues from the coast of France, which bore along
many land-birds of various species, some of which alighted on the ship, while
others were thrown with violence against the sails. In this manner, many an
islet in the deep, after ages of solitude and silence, uninterrupted except by the
wave's wild dash, and the wind's fierce howl, may have received the song of
birds, forced by the tempest from their home, and compelled to seek a new one
under its direction.
1330. There is no feature more remarkable in the economy of birds than the
periodical migrations, so systematically conducted, in which five-sixths of the
whole feathered population engage. In the case of North America, according to
an estimate by Dr. Richardson, the passenger-pigeons form themselves into vast
flocks for the journey, one of which has been calculated to include 2,230,000,000
individuals. We are familiar with the cuckoo as our visitor in spring, and with
the house-swallow as our guest through the summer, the latter usually depart-
ing in October to the warmer regions of the south, wintering in Africa, return-
ing again when a more genial season revives its insect food. By cutting off two
claws from the feet of a certain number of swallows, Dr. Jenner ascertained the
fact of the same individuals re-appearing in their old haunts in the following
year, and one was met with even after the lapse of seven years. The arctic birds
migrate farther south, when the seas, lakes, and rivers become covered with
unbroken sheets of ice ; the swans, geese, ducks, divers, and coots flying off in
regular phalanxes to regions where a less rigorous winter allows of access to the
means of life. Hence, soon after, we lose the swallows, we gain the snipes and
other waders, which have fled from the hard frozen north to our partially
frozen morasses, where their ordinary nutriment may still be obtained. The
equinoctial zone, where the seasonal change is that of humidity and drought
furnishes an example of the same phenomenon. As soon as the Orinoco is
swollen by the rains, overflows its banks, and inundates the country on eithe*
842 THE BEA80N WHY.
'The Lord is my light and my salvation ; whom shall I fear P the Lord is the
strength of my life ; of whom shall I be afraid ?" PSALM xxvn.
side, an innumerable quantity of aquatics leave its course for the West Iiidrv
islands on the north, and the valley of the Amazton on the south, the increased
depth of the river, and the flooded state of the shores, depriving thcin of tho
usual supply of fish and insects. Upon the stream decreasing, and retiring
within its bed, the birds return.
1331. A comparison between the quadrupeds of the Old and New Worlds i> i i
every point strikingly in favour of the former. Not only has the western
continent no animals of such giant bulk as those of the eastern, but no
examples of such high organisation, such power and courage, as the African lion
and the Asiatic tiger display. Buffon's remark must indeed be considerably
modified, respecting the cowardice of the American feline race; for the jaguar
of the woods about the Amazon, when attacked by man, will not hesitate to
accept his challenge, will even become the assailant, nor shrink from an
encounter against the greatest odds. The following passages from the writings
of Humboldt show that this transatlantic animal is not to be despised :
" The night was gloomy ; the Devil's Wall and its denticulated rocks appeared
from time to time at a distance, illuminated by the burning of the savannahs,
or wrapped in ruddy smoke. At the spot where the bushes were the thickest,
our horses were frightened by the yell of an animal that seemed to follow us
closely. It was a large jaguar, that had roamed for three years among these
mountains. He had constantly escaped the pursuit of the boldest hunters, and
had carried off horses and mules from the midst of enclosures ; but, having no
want of food, had not yet attacked men. The negro who conducted us uttered
wild cries. He thought he should frighten the jaguar ; but these means were of
course without effect. The jaguar, like the wolf of Europe, follows travellers
even when he will not attack them: the wolf in the open fields and in
unsheltered places, the jaguar skirting the road, and appearing only at intervals
between the bushes."
The same illustrious observer also remarks,
" Near the Joval, nature assumes an awful and savage aspect "We there saw
the largest jaguar we had ever met with. The natives themselves were
astonished at its prodigious length, which surpassed that of all the tigers of
India I had seen in the collections of Europe."
Still these were extraordinary specimens of the race, and leave the fact
undoubted, that the most formidable of the western Ferae has no pretensions to
an equality with his congener, the tyrant of the jungles of Bengal.
1332. In vain also we look among the tribes of America for a rival in outward
appearance to the giraffe, so remarkable for its height, its swan-like neck, gentle
habits, and soft expressive eye; while of the animals most serviceable to mankind
the horse, the ox, the ass, the goat, and the hog not a living example of either
was known there before its occupancy by the Europeans. But, however inferior
the animal race of the New may be as compared to those of the Old world, the
balance between the two appears to have been pretty equal in remote ages ;
geological discovery has disproved the assertion of Buffon, that the creative
force in America in relation to quadrupeds never possessed great vigour, and
has established the fact, that it is only the more recent specimens of its energy
that are upon an inferior scale. The relics of the un wieldly magatherium, of
the gigantic sloth, and armadillo-like animals, discovered in great abundance
imbedded in its soil, prove that at a former period it swarmed with monsters of
equal bulk with those that now roam in the midst of Africa arid Asia. The
estuary deposit that forms the plains westward of Buenos Ayres, and covers the
gigantic rocks of the Bando Oriental, appears to be the grave of extinct gigantic
THE REASON WHY. 343
* But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there : and their houses shall be full
of doleful creatures ; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance
there." ISAIAH xiy.
1333. There are various animals which are very widely dispersed, enduring
the extremes o.' tropical heat and of polar cold, which are either in a wild
condition or in a state of domestication. Wild races, considered to be varieties
of the domestic dog, occur in India, Sumatra, Australia, Beloochistan, Natolia,
Nubia, various parts of Africa, and both the Americas; while in subjection to
man, the dog is his faithful companion, and has followed his steps into every
diversity of climate and of situation to which he has wandered. The north
temperate zone of the Old Continent appears to be the native region of the ox,
which passes in Lapland within the arctic circle, and has been spread over South
America since its first introduction by the Spaniards. The horse, originally an
inhabitant of the temperate parts of the Old World, has shared in a similar
dispersion, and now exists in the high latitude of Iceland, in the desolate regions
of Patagonia, and roams wild in immense herds over the Llanos of the Orinoco,
leading a painful and restless life in the burning climate of the tropics.
Humboldt draws a striking picture of the sufferings of these gifts of the Old
World to the New, returned to a savage state in their western location.
" In the rainy season, the horses that wander in the savannah, and have not
time to reach the rising grounds of the Llanos, perish by hundreds amidst the
overflowings of the rivers. The mares are seen, followed by their colts.
swimming, during a part of the day, to feed upon grass, the tops of which alone
wave above the waters. In this state they are pursued by the crocodiles ; and
it is by no means uncommon to find the pnnts of the teeth of these carnivorous
reptiles on their thighs. Pressed alternately by excess of drought and of humi-
dity, they sometimes seek a pool, in the midst of a bare and dusty soil, to quench
their thirst; and at other times flee from water and the overflowing rivers, as
menaced by an enemy that encounters them in every direction. Harassed during
the day by gad-flies and mosquitoes, the horses, mules, and cows find themselves
attacked at night by enormous bats, that fasten on their backs, and cause
wounds which become dangerous, because they are filled with acaridse and other
hurtful insects. In the time of great drought, the mules gnaw even the fiorny
melocactus (melon-thistle), in order to drink its cooling juice, and draw it forth
as from a vegetable fountain. During the great inundations, these same animals
lead an amphibious life, surrounded by crocodiles water-serpents, and manatees.
Yet, such are the immutable laws of nature, their races are preserved in the
struggle with the elements, and amid so many sufferings and dangers. When
the waters retire, and the rivers return into their beds, the Savannah is spread
over with a fine odoriferous grass ; ai.d the animals of old Europe and Upper
Asia seem to enjoy, as in their native climates the renewed vegetation of
spring."
1334. The first colonists of La Plata landed with seventy-two horses, in the
year 1535, when, owing to a temporary desertion of the colony, the animals ran
wild ; and in 1580, only forty-five years afterwards, it had reached the Straits of
Magellan. The ass has a more restricted range than the horse, not being
capable of enduring so great a degree of cold, though usually far from being
considered a delicate animal. To the warmer parts of the temperate zone,
between the 20th and the 40th parallels of latitude, the ass seems best adapted,
not propagating much beyond the 60th, and only occurring in a state of degene-
ration beyond the 52nd. The sheep and goat tribe are widely spread, equa'ly
supporting the extremes of temperature. According to Zimmerman, the Art/act
or Mouflon, the original race of sheep, still exists on all the great mountains of the
two continents ; and the Capricorn and Ibex, the ancestors of the common goat
inhabit the high European elevations. From the 64th degree of north latitude
the hog is met with all over the old continent, ana also in the islands of the
Indian Ocean, peopled by the Malay race; and since its introduction into the
S44 THE SEASON WHY.
' His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of
it ; and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof." PSALM xix.
New World, it has diffused itself over it, from the 50th parallel north as far as
Patagonia. Originally the cat was not known in America, nor in any part of
Oceanica ; but it has now spread into almost every country of the globe. Anxmg
animals entirely wild, the most extensively diffused, are the fox, hare, squirrel,
and ermine ; but the species are different in every region of the world ; nor is
there perhaps one example to be found of a species perfectly identical naturally
existing in distant localities of the earth.
Respecting the internal constitution and heut of the earth, differences of
opinion, and some very wild speculation have existed. We find in Humboldt's
" Cosmos " the following remarks :
1335. "It has been computed at what depths liquid and even gaseous
substances, from the pressure of their own superimposed strata, would attain
a density exceeding that of platinum, or of iridium ; and in order to bring the
actual degree of ellipticity, which was known within very narrow limits, into
harmony with the hypothesis of the infinite compressibility of matter, Leslie
conceived the interior of the Earth to be a hollow sphere, filled with "an
imponderable fluid of enormous expansive force." Such rash and arbitrary
conjectures have given rise, in wholly unscientific circles, to still more fantastic
notions. The hollow sphere has been peopled with plants and animals, on
which two small subterranean revolving planets, Pluto and Proserpine, were
supposed to shed a mild light. A constantly uniform temperature is supposed
to prevail in these inner regions, and the air being rendered self-luminous by
compression, might well render the planets of this lower world unnecessary.
Near the north pole, in 82 deg. of latitude, an enormous opening is imagined,
from which the polar light visible in Aurora streams forth, and by which a
descent into the hollow sphere may be made. Sir Humphry Davy and myself
were repeatedly and putlicly invited by Captain Symmes to undertake this
subterranean expedition ; so powerful is the morbid inclination of men to fill
unseen spaces with shapes of wonder, regardless of the counter-evidence of
well-established facts, or universally recognised natural laws. Even the
celebrated Halley, at the end of the 17th century, hollowed out the earth in his
magnetic speculations ; a freely rotating subterranean nucleus was supposed to
occasion, by its varying positions, the diurnal and annual changes of the
magnetic declination. Ic has been attempted in our own day, in tedious
earnest, to invest with a scientific garb that which, in the pages of the
ingenious Holberg, was an amusing fiction."
The following are among the speculations which Hurnboldt thus severely but
justly condemns :
" The increase of temperature observed is about 1 do g. Fahr. for every fifteen
yards of descent. In all probability, however, the increase will be found to be
in a geometrical progression as investigation is extended; in which case the
present crust will be found to be much thinner than we have calculated it to
be. And should this be found to be correct, the igneous theory will become a
subject of much more importance, in a geological point of view, than we are at
present disposed to consider it. Taking, then, as correct, the present observed
rate of increase, the temperature would be as follows :
Water will boil at the depth of 2,430 yards.
Lead melts at the depth of 8,400 yards. '
There is red heat at the depth of 7 miles.
Gold melts at 21 miles.
Cast iron at 74 miles.
Soft iron at 97 miles.
And at the depth of 100 miles there is a temperature equal to the greatest
artificial heat yet observed ; a temperature capable of fusing platina, porcelain,
and indeed every refractory substance we are acquainted with. These tempera-
tures are calculated from Guyton Morveau's corrected scale of Wedgwood's
pyrometer ; and if we adopt them, we find that the earth is fluid at the depth
THE EEASON WHY. 345
He hath filled the hungry with good things ; and the rich he hath sent empty
away." LUKE i.
of 100 miles from the surface, and that even in its present state very little
more than the soil on which we tread is fit for the habitation of organised
beings."
The above is to be found in Mr. Timbs's " Things not Generally Known," a
little book which professes to set people right upon points on which they are in
error!
Upon this subject Mr. Hunt, in his " Poetry of Science," says :
133(5. " A question of great interest, in a scientific point of view, is the tempe-
rature of the centre of the earth. We are, of course, without the means of solving
this problem ; but we advance a little way onwards in the inquiry by a careful
examination of subterranean temperature at such depths as the enterprise of
man enables us to reach. These researches show us, that where the mean
temperature of the climate is 50 deg., the temperature of trie rock at 59 fathoms
from the surface is 60 deg.; at 132 fathoms it is 70 deg; at 239 fathoms it is 8<>
deg. ; being an increase of 10 deg. at 59 fathoms deep, or 1 deg. in 35.4 feet ; of
10 deg. more at 73 fathoms deeper, or 1 deg. in 43.8 feet ; and of 10 deg. more at
1 1* fathoms still deeper, or 1 deg. in 64.2 feet.
Although this would indicate an increase to a certain depth of about one
degree in every fifty feet, yet it would appear that the rate of increase diminishes
w ith the depth. It appears therefore probable, that the heat of the earth, so far
as man can examine it, is due to the absorption of the solar rays by the surface.
The evidences of intense igneous action at a great depth cannot be denied, but
the doctrine of a cooling mass, and of the existence of an incandescent mass, at the
earth's centre, remains but one of those guesses which active minds delight in."
Upon the subject of hunger and tJiirst, by which living creatures are prompted
to feast upon the bounties of nature, Sir Charles Bell says, in "Appendix to
Paley's Natural Theology :"
1337. "Hunger is defined to be a peculiar sensation experienced in the stcmach
from a deficiency of food. Such a definition does not greatly differ from the
notions of those who referred the sense of hunger to the mechanical action ol
the surfaces of the stomach upon each other, or to a threatening of chemical
action of the gastric juice on the stomach itself. But an empty stomach does
i;ot cause hunger. On the contrary, the time when the meal has passed the
stomach is the best suited for exercise, and when there is the greatest alacrity
f f spirits The beast of prey feeds at long intervals ; the snake and other cold-
blooded animals take food after intervals of days or weeks. A horse, on the con-
trary, is always feeding. His stomach, at most, contains about four gallons, yet
throw before him a truss of tares or lucerne, and he will eat continually. The
emptying of the stomach cannot, therefore, be the cause of hunger.
" The natural appetite is a sensation related to the general condition of the
system, and not simply referable to the state of the stomach; neither to its
action, nor its emptiness, nor the acidity of its contents ; nor in a starved
creature will a full stomach satisfy the desire of food. Under the same impulse
which makes us swallow, the ruminating animal draws the morsel from its own
stomach.
1338. " Hunger is well illustrated by thirst. Suppose we take the definition of
thirst that it is a sense of dryness and constriction in the back part of the mouth
and fauces ; the moistening of these parts will not allay thirst after much fatigue
or d uring fever. In making a long speech, if a man's mouth is parched, and t ho
dryness is merely from speaking, it will be relieved by moistening, but if it
comes from the feverish anxiety and excitement attending a public exhibition,
his thirst will not be so removed. The question, as it regards thirst, was brought
to a demonstration by the following circumstance. A man having a wound low
down in his throat, was tortured with thirst : but no quantity of fluid passing
through his mouth and gullet, and escaping by the wound, was found in airy
degree to quench his thirst.
" Thirst, then, like hunger, has relation to the general condition of the animal
ystem to the necessity for fluid in tb e circulation. For this reason, a man dying
15*
346 THE BEASON WHY.
1 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter ; Fear God, and keep his
commandments : for this is the whole duty of man." ECCLESIASTES xii.
from loss of blood suffers under intolerable thirst. In both thirst and liuncer,
the supply is obtained through the gratification of an appetite; and as to the:-e
appetites, it will be acknowledged that the pleasures resulting from thi-in far
*xeved the pains. They gently solicit for the wants of the body ; they are tho
perpetual motive and spring to action."
Our task draws near to a conclusion ; and we hope that those
who have followed our teachings will thirst after further know-
ledge ; that they will henceforward regard the great Book of
Nature as the work of an Almighty Hand, and endeavour to find,
for everything that Nature does, the Reason Why.
A high perception of the wisdom of the Divine Being, must
necessarily be the result of an intelligent contemplation of the
Divine works. To the ignorant, the name of God is an unmeaning
word ; it may inspire fear, but it does not develope love. To the
dark mind of the untaught man, God is no more than one of those
mysterious existences that awe the superstitious, and deter the
wicked. There is no grafting of the soul of the man upon the
eternal love. But knowledge brings man into communion with that
Almighty wisdom which is the fountain of all truth and happiness.
To the enlightened man, God is the sun of all goodness, around
whom the attributes of Power, Wisdom, and Love, radiate and fill
the universe. As man's physical eye cannot withstand the light of
the sun, neither can man's spiritual eye see the whole glory of God.
But as we can rejoice in the sunshine, and interpret the mission of
the sunbeam, so can we find happiness in the Divine presence, and
gather wisdom by the contemplation of the Creator's works.
Nature is a great teacher. What a lesson may be gathered from
the germination of a seed ; how uniformly the germs obey their
destiny. However carelessly a seed may be set in the ground, the
germ which forms the root, and that which is the architect of the
stem, will seek their way the one to light, the other to darkness
to fulfil their duty. The obstruction of granite rocks, cannot force
the rootlet upward, nor drive the leaflet down. They may kill the
germs by exhausting their vital powers in an endeavour to find the
proper elements ; but no obstruction can make a single blade of
grass do aught but strive to fulfil the end for which it was created.
Would that man were equally true to the purpose of his existence,
and suffered neither the rocks of selfishness, nor the false light of
temptation, to force or allure him from duty to his God.
THE E\D.
A BOOK OF UNIVERSAL KNOWLEDGE.
JUST PUBLISHED, THE MOST USEFUL AND
EXTRAORDINARY VOLUME
Ever yet issued from the Press, as it comprises all the essence contained in
a Dozen of any other Books of Information that have
hitherto been printed.
THE TITLE OP THIS WONDERFUL BOOK, 13 AS FOLLOWS :
INQUIRE WITHIN
FOR ANY THING YOU WISH TO KNOW; OR
OVER 3,700 FACTS FOR THE PEOPLE.
A Large Volume of 436 pages Cloth, gilt Price $1. Sent free of Postage.
This Book, as its title imports, will give yon correct information on
every possible subject that you ever heard or thought of ! It tells you
how to cook a dinner to cure a sick friend, or cut an acquaintance to
get up a dinner parly, or dine abroad to play at cards, at chess, or any
other popular game, whether you wish to establish yourself in life accord-
ing to the rules of etiquette, to get up a sumptuous entree for the dinner
table, or arrange a plain dinner to fold fancy napkins to start business
to make money to dress with taste to conduct a courtship to tie any
kind of a knot to get married to give an evening party to your friends
to behave well in company to keep house properly to dance to make
ornamental vases, by the new art of Porchomanie, or Wax work, and other
fancy employments for the ladies : to establish acquaintances according
to the rules of etiquette to enjoy an hour at curious puzzles and arith-
metical questions to do up a neat parcel to relieve the invalid to ac-
quaint yourself with the technical terms in literature, law, and medicine
in short, to do every useful thing that can be thought of or imagined,
whether at home or abroad, or among your friends, or in your business, or
on your farm, or in your garden, or at a public meeting, or at a private
assembly. It contains tables of all weights and measures ; Interest Tables
from $1 to $ 10,000 at six and seven percent., besides innumerable tables on
Interesting and Curious Subjects. It gives complete directions how to
was h, starch, and iron how to keep the eyes, hair, teeth and complexion in
perfect order how to punctuate, spell and write correctly bow to com-
pose all kinds of letters, from the billet-deaux to the business letter how
to clean furniture, take care ofpeJ animals how to measure all kinds of
mechanic's work how to detect fraudulent scales and all about the proper-
ties and uses of different medicines. Indeed this is really and truly ore of
the most wonderful and valuable books ever printed. Besides all this in-
formation and we have not room to give an idea of a hundredth part of it
it contains so many Valuable and Useful receipts that an enumeration of
them requires SEVENTY-TWO COLUMNS OF FINE TYPE FOE THE
INDEX. If you wish to consult law or physic, buy this book ! If you
want to learn mechanically how to do a httle of everything that is useful,
buy it ! If you have any literary vanity, and wish to become a blue-stock-
ing or if yon desire to make e sensation in almost any way, this book
wUl tell you exactly how to do it ! It is no collection of ancient sayings
*nd receipts, but the whole are fresh and new, and suited to the present
times. As a book to keep in the family for reference, it is unequaled, com-
prising as it does all kinds of Hooks of In formation in a single volume.
Send cash orders to DICK & FITZGERALD.
No. 18 Ann.Street, New York.
LIVE AND LEARN ;
A GUIDE FOR ALL WHO WISH TO
SPEAK AND WRITE CORRECTLY:
particularly intended as a Book of Reference for the Solution of Difficulties
connected with Grammar, Composition, Punctuation, &c., with Explanations
of Latin and French words and Phrases of frequent occurrence in Newspa-
pers, Reviews, Periodicals, and Books in general containing Examples of
ONE THOUSAND MISTAKES
of Daily Occurrence, in Speaking, Writing and Pronunciation. Together
with Detailed Instructions for Writing for the Press, and forms of Articles
in the various departments of Newspaper Literature. 216 pages, bound in
Cloth, 12mo, price 50 cents, and sent to any address f-ee of postage.
' Live and Learn" is a most usutul book, designed as a Guide to Gram
mar, Composition, and Punctuation. So few people speak or write really
good grammar, and fewer still punctuate decently, that a book that informs
them how to do so and not ouly that indicates their faults, but shows them
how they are to be corrected cannot fail to be popular; there is not a
person indeed, who might not learn something from it.
No work heretofore written on this subject contains one half the really
useful information that the present docs. It should be in the hand of every
man, woman and child in the country, and is alike invaluable to the Scholar,
the Merchant, the Farmer, and the Artizan.
There are hundreds of persons engaged in professional and commercial
pursuits, who are sensible ol their deficiencies on many points oounected
with the gr vmmar of their own tongue, and who. by self-tuition, are anxious
to correct such deficiencies, and to acquire the means of speaking and
writing, if not with elegance at least with a due regard to grammatical ac-
curacy, to whom this little work is " indispensible." Asa book of refer-
ence, " Live and Learn" will settle many disputes. It ought to be on every
table, and be particularly recommended to the young, before habit makes
common blunders uncommon hard to cure.
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.
" Live and Learn" is an excellent book. To show our appreciation of its
merits we have had it cased in leather, and have made a pocket companion
of it. We look upon it as really indispensible. We advise our readers to
imitate our example procure the book and sell it not for any price Edu-
cational Gazette.
Such a book as this has long been wanted by those who entertain the
wish alluded to in the title. It is suitable for all classes. We have atten-
tively conned its pages, and can recommend it as one of the best works of
reference for the young student, or even the ripe scholar, and as deserving
to be generally consulted. The work is altogether useful and indispensible.
New York Tribune.
This book, particularly intended as a work of reference for the solution
of difficulties connected with grammar, composition and punctuation, etc.,
etc., will be found useful by those who have not received a sound elementa-
ry education and who neverthsless move in position. Daily Times.
This capital work not only gives examples of over 1000 mistakes, but it
gives rules for their correction so clear, so terse, and at once so simple that
the most ordinary mind cannot fail to comprehend their meaning. This is
one of the chief beauties of " Live and Learn," for what is the use of point-
ing out a grammatical error without giving a key to its correction ? There
has been several catchpenny works on this subject lately issued. They tell
the reader that mistakes exist, but give no rule for their avoidance. If you
want a really go.-/d work, buy " Live and Learn."
Send cash orders to DICK & FITZGERALD,
No. 18 Ann St. N. Y.
EVERY MAN A MAGrlCIAN.
THE MAGICIAN'S OWN BOOK;
OR,
lri 0f
Being a Complete Hand-Book of Parlor Magic, containing over One Thousand
Optical, Chemical, Mechanical, Magnetical, and Magical Experiments,
Amusing Transmutations, Astonishing Sleights and Subtleties, Cele-
brated Card Deceptions, Ingenious Tricks with Numbers, Curious
and Entertaining Puzzles Together with all the most Noted
Tricks of Modern Performers. The whole Illustrated with
GOO "WOOD CTJTS,
And intended as a source of amusement for
ONE THOUSAND AND ONE EVENINGS.
12mo., cloth, 400 pages ; gilt side and back stamp. Price, ONE DOLLAR, sent
free of postage.
Here is a book for the long winter evenings, and one that will make all
merry and happy. It contains over a THOUSAND TRICKS, of every descrip-
tion, and they are all explained so clear and explicitly that any person can
comprehend and perform them with ease. 1 1 also contains numerous CURIOUS
PUZZLES, with patterns showing how they are done, any one of which will
afford amusement enough for a whole evening. There is, aiso, the best collec-
tion of wonderful CARD DECEPTIONS ever yet published, any one of which
is worth more than double the price of the book. This work also contains a
splendid collection of CURIOUS TRICKS WITH NUMBERS, and embraces
several hundred tricks never before in piint. It is no catchpenny affair, but a
standard work, containing every variety of Experiment in Conjuring, Cards,
Legerdemain, Transmutations, the Magic of Chemistry, the Magic of Me-
chanics, the Magic of Pneumatics, the Magic of Numbers, the Magic of Art,
the Magic of Strength, the Magic of Magnetism, the Magic of Secret Writing,
Miscellaneous Curious Tricks and Fancies, &c. This book is beautifully bound
in One cloth, with gilt side and back stamp, and is illustrated with
OVER 500 WOOD ENGRAVINGS,
Besides a Tinted Title Page and Frontispiece. Price, ONE DOLLAR, and
sent to any address, free of postage.
Send cash orders to
DICK & FITZGERALD,
INo. 18 Ann Street, New York.
THE FOUNTAIN OF ALL KNOWLEDGE.
THE REASON WHY:
A CAREFUL COLLECTION OF
Some &fron-$mtb& of ^Lessons for Swings fojiitlj, %n0(j faera
Jiuofcojt, are ^mperfettlg ^nberstooir.
A BOOK OF CONDENSED SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE FOR THE MILLION.
BY THE AUTHOR OF "I]VQ,UIRE WITHIN."
This is a goodly sized volume of 356 pages, comprising a sort of Encyclo-
pedia of Scientific Information of all kinds. It is arranged with an Alpha-
betical Index, in referring to which you can solve almost any problem in
Natural Philosophy or Learned Science that may come up. It is a book that
will give you the cream of the information that a long course of practical ex-
periments and profound study has imparted to the savants and philosophers
of this progressive age. It contains a collection and solution of
Thirteen Hundred & Thirty-Two Facts In Science & Philosophy,
some of which , on there first discovery , puzzled the most learned an d apt scholars.
It is useless to go into details of this excellent work. Suffice it to say,
that it treats on every imaginable subject pertaining to Causes and Effects,
and must necessarily be invaluable to all persons who desire KNOWLEDGE,
and whose means and position in life have prevented them from acquiring it
by a regular and tedious course of Study.
We hesitate not to say, that any one who closely reads this volume will ob-
tain as much real learning in a few days as years of study and patient research
would afford them in a regular course. In a word it makes you a learned and
refined person with spending but very little money, tune or trouble.
No pains have been spared by the Author to make this a popular book, in
fact a book for the million, and some idea may be formed of its vast usefulness
when we inform the reader that THE REASON WHY has an
Index of Contents requiring Forty Columns of Fine Type.
No person who desires to figure in refined and intelligent circles should delay pur-
chasing a copy of this capital work, for it will furnish thousands of ideas and im-
portant topics of conversation, so that the most ignorant person by reading it will
be posted up on all scientific subjects.
What Haydn's Dictionary of Dates is in regard to historical events, this wonderful
book is in respect to scientific facts. The plan of the book and its execution, leave
nothing to be desired. We cftn cordially recommend this work to all those inquirers,
young and old, of both sa^es, who are never satisfied until they know the
" reason whv-"
The man who goes out into the world, or attempts to attend properly to his
domestic duties, -will find himself, however abundantly supplied with books or
bullion, perpetually embarrassed for the want of small facts and small change.
This volume supplies the
Ready Coin of Conversation,
In the shape of SCIENCE FOR THE MILLION, and makes even the neglected in
early studies feel quite at home upon every topic likely to be discussed within the
ordinary range of the social circle. It imparts
Practical Information on the Subject of Practical Facts.
It may be denominated, Science made easy, or a world of useful every-day learn-
ing condensed into a volume for your pocket!
THE IB, IE .A. S O INT
Is a handsome 12mo. volume of 356 pages, printed on fine paper, bound in cloth, gilt,
and embellished with a large number of Wood Cuts, illustrating the various subjects
treatedof. PRICE ONE DOLLAB.
BcF" Copies mailed to any address in the United States or Canada, free of postage.
Send your Cash orders to PICK & FITZGERALD, Publishers,
No. 18 ANN STREET, NEW YOKE.
SAM SLICK'S NEW WORK.
" Buy it, and if you don't laugh, then there is no laugh in you." OHIO STATESMAN.
JUST PUBLISHED,
NATURE AND HUMAN NATURE
A Sequel to " Wise Saws ; or, Sam Slick in Search of a Wife,"
BY JUDGE II A I, III UR TON,
r of "atn ltcft, tfe CTIocftmafttr," "ft 3ufco;*," &c., *r.
NEATLY BOUND IN MUSLIN, 75 CENTS ; IN PAPER, 50 CENTS.
CONTENTS.
A Surprise.
Clippers and Steamers.
Unlocking a "Woman's Heart.
A Critter with a Thousand Vir-
tues and but One Vice.
A New Way to Learn Gaelic.
The Wounds of the Heart-
Fiddling and Dancing, and Serv-
ing the Devil.
Stitching a Button- Hole.
The Plural of Moore.
A Day on the Lakes.
The Betrothal.
Female Colleges.
Gipseying.
The World before the Flood.
Lost at Sea.
Holding up the Mirror.
The Bundle of Sticks.
Town and Country.
The Honeymoon.
A Dish of Clams.
The Devil's Hole ; or, Fih and
Flesh.
The Cucumber Lake.
The Recall.
A Foggy Night.
NOTICES OF THE PRESS.
"The writings of Judge Hali burton hare long been regarded as the production
of the finest humorist that has ever attempted the delineation of Yankee charac-
ter, and the entertaining work before us shows that he has lost none of his original
wit and humor. It will be difficult to find a volume so full of fun and good sense
as this, which chronicles the last experiences of Sam Slick." Commercial Advertiser.
' ; Since Sum Slick's first work he has written nothing go fresh, racy, and genii*
infly humorous as this. Every line of it tells, some way or other instructively.
satirically jocosely or wittily." London Observer.
' We sincerely pity the man who cannot find in it the materials for the loosen-
ing of several of his coffin nails. It is full of oddity and fun, and must sell like
now tomatoes." Buffalo Express.
Published by DICK & FITZGERALD, 18 Ann St, N. Y
And for sale by all the principal Booksellers.
er sons for war ding the price by mail will receive the Work FREE OF POSTACK."*
DICK & Co.'s LIST OF PUBLICATIONS.
A Book for Housekeepers.
THE AMERICAN HOME COOK-BOOK.
Containing several hundred
EXCELLENT RECIPES.
The whole based on many years' experience of an American Housewife. Illustrated !
with engravings. Price 26 cents.
All the Recipes in this book are written from actual experiments in Cooking.
There are no copying from theoretical cooking recipe*. They are inteudvd tor
American families, and may be depended upon as good and practicable. The author-
ess is a lady who understands how cooking ought to be rtone, and has here given her
experience. It is a book of 128 pages, and is CHEAP at 25 cents. We expect to aell
a yery large number at this low price.
Works for the Ladies.
THE LADIES' GUIDE TO BEAUTY.
A COMPANION FOR THE TOILET.
Paper 25 cts.
Cloth 37$"
Containing Practical Advice on Improving the Complexion, the Hair, the Hands.
the Form, the Teeth, the Eyes, the Feet, the Features, so as to insure the highest
degree of perfection of which they are susceptible. And also upwards of One Hun-
dred Recipes for various Coometics. Oils, Pomades, etc., etc., being the rr.sult of a
combination of Practical and Scientific Skill. By Sir James Clark, Private Physi-
cian to Queen Victoria. Revised and edited by an American Physician and Chemist.
Price 25 cents, and we send it free of postage.
LADIES' GUIDE TO CROCHET
BY MRS. ANN S. STEVENS.
Copiously illustrated with original and very choice Designs iu Crochet, etc , print-
ed in colors, separate from the letter-press, on tinted paper. Also with numerous
wood-cuts printed with the letter-press, explanatory of terms, etc. Oblong, pp. 117,
beautifully bound in extra cloth, gilt. Price 75 cents.
This is by far the best work on the subject of Crochet yet published. There are
plenty of other books containing Crochet patterns, but the difficulty is, they do not
hare the necessary instructions how to work them, and are, therefore, useless. This
work, however, supplies this much felt and glaring deficiency, aud has the terms in
Crochet so clearly explained that any Crochet pattern, however difficult, m-iy be
worked with ease.
Copies of the above mailed to any address in the United States free of postage.
DICK & C<*/6 LIST OF PUBLICATIONS.
Books by Celebrated Authors.
WHICH THE RIGHT OR THE LEFT?
A Religious Xove 1 Royal 12mo., cloth. 634 pages. Price $1 25.
This work has received favorable notice from the entire secular as well as the reli-
gious press. The main design of the author is the illustration of the fact that suc-
cess in business may easily consort with fervid piety and the strictest honesty on
the part of those engaged in it. The story is that of a young man, the son of a
country pastor, who goes as an assistant into a dry goods store, at New York : and
not only maintains his religious principles amidst the allurements of the capital, but
succeeds in drawing within their happy influence a number of the clerks and other
assistants, who a* first scoffed at his " rural piety," as they termed it. but were at
length led by him to abandon the frivolities which had formed their former delight,
and devote themselves to religious exercises and the visitation of the ick and poor.
His influence reached even a higher circle ; and the author gives us some lively
sketches of the insipidity and heartlessness of fashionable life, whose unhappy devo-
tees choose to live for society and self, rather than for Religion and their fellow-
creatures.
*** The Publishers have in their possession, tectimonials from over three hundred
of the principal Clergymen in the United States and Canada, pronouncing this to be
the best work that has been published for years, and in every instance they are the
honest convictions formed alter an actual perusal of the volume itself. This work
has also received high laudation from almost every paper of character and standing
in this country. Added to which it has been read by thousands, and baa received
universal commendation.
ESTELLE GRANT ; OR, THE LOST WIFE.
Large 12no, cloth. Price $1 00.
This is a book so thoroughly excellent, so exalted in its character, so full of exqui-
site pictures of society, and manifesting so much geniu*. skill, and knowledge of
human nature, that no one can p >ss:bly read it without admitting it to be, in every
way, a noble book. The story, too, is one of stirring interest ; and it either sweepa
you along with its powerful spell, or beguiles you with its tenderness, pathos, aud
geniality.
THE PILGRIMS OF WALSINGHAM.
A Romance of the Middle Ages, from the accomplished pen of Agneg Strickland.
Large 12mo., pp. 460. Price $1 00.
Truly a charming book ! Full of the profoundest interest, yet not one improbable
incident not one prurient Idea. You will sooner find spots upon the leaves of the
silvery lily than an impure sentence iu a book by this author. Buffalo Courier.
NA MOTU ; OR, REEF ROVINGS IN THE SOUTH SEAS.
A Narrative of Adventures in the Hawaiian, Georgian, and Society Islands, with
original illustrations.
BY EDWARD T. PERKINS
12mo. Cloth. $1 00
Na Motu is the quaint title of a handsome volume of voyage and adventure in the
South Seas. Mr. Perkins, the author, a schoolmate of Ike Marvel, has spent seve-
ral years before the mast, and on the salt water in other capacities, and his style is
characterized bv a straightforward, honest nonchalance and idiomatic flavor, redolent
of Old Ocean from stem to btern. His daguerreotype of nautical dialogues is only a
little too perfect, occasionally, for good taste ; a large portion of his experience being
gained on a whaling ship. New York Chur.h Jour.
6
SAM SLICKS YANKEE COURTSI'IP.
RECENTLY PUBLISHED,
WISE SAWS;
OR,
SAM SLICK IN SEARCH OF A WIFE.
By the Author of "Sam Slick In England," "Wature and Hu-
man Nature," "Sam Slick's Sayings and Doings," &c.
In One Elegant Volume, neatly bound in Muslin ;
Price 75 Cts.tn Paper 50 Cts.
3Ej:tvact from tfce preface:
* * * * p un h as no H m itg. It is like the human race and face ; there is a
family likeness among all the species, but they all differ. New combinations pro-
duce new varieties. A man who has an eye for fun sees it in everything. * * *
There is a work called ' The Horse.' and another The Cow,' and ; The Dog,' and so
on ; why should' nt there be one on ' The Galls ?' They are about the most diffi-
cult to choose and to manage of any created critter, and yet there aint any de-
pendable directions about pickin' and choosiu' of them. Is it any wonder then so
many fellows get taken in when they go for to swap hearts with them ? Besides;
any one can find a gentleman that keeps a livery stable to get him a horse to order,
but who can say, ' Thin is the Gall for your money!' "
Introductory Letter,
Chat with the President,
Stealing a Speech,
Everything in General, and
Nothing in Particular,
The black Hawk : or Life
in a Ko re -and- After,
Old Blowhard,
The Widow's Son,
The Language of Mackeiel,
The Best-natured Man in
the World,
CONTENTS.
The Bait-Box,
The Water-Glass; or a Day-
Dream of Life,
Old Sarsaparilla Pills,
Our Colonies and Sailors,
The House that Hope Built
The House without Hone,
An Old Friend with a New
Face,
That in a Calm,
The Sable Island Ghost,
The Witch of Eslusoony,
Jericho beyond Jordan,
Three Truths for One Lie,
Aunt Thankful & herRooin
A Single Idea.
An Excellent Plan of Re-
form,
Goose Van Dam,
A Hot Day,
A Pic-Nicat LaHaire,
A Narrow Escape.
Published by DICK & FITZGERALD, 18 Ann St., N. Y.
Jlndfor sale fty dl tht principal Book tellers.
THE ARTIST'S BRIDE ;
OR, THE PAWNBROKER'S HEIR.
A Novel, by EMERSON BENNET.
12mo. Cloth, 420 pages, Price 1 00.
" We have perused this work with some attention, and do not hesitate
to pronounce it one of the very best productions of the talented author.
There is not a page that does not glow with thrilling and interesting
incident, and will well repay the reader for the time occupied in pe-
rusing it. The characters are most admirably drawn, and are perfect-
ly natural throughout. We have derived so much gratification from
the perusal of this charming novel, that we are anxious to make our
readers share it with us : and, at the same time, to recommend it to
be read by all persons who are fond of romantic adventures. Mr.
Bennett is a spirited and vigorous writer, and his works deserve to be
generally read ; not only because they are well written, but that they
are, in most part, taken from events connected with the history of our
own country, from which much valuable information is derived, and
should, therefore, have a double claim upon our preference, over those
works where the incidents are gleaned from the romantic legends of
old castles and foreign climes. Louisville Journal.
DICK TARLETOJST;
OB,
THE LAST OF HIS RAOE.
Containing 112 very large octavo pages. Price 25 cts., and the book
eent free of postage. This well written work has been pronounced by
good judges to be the best ot Mr. Smith's production. This is saying
a great deal, considering that gentlemen is the author of " Minnie
Grey," and " Woman and her Master," works which iave become
famous with novel readers.
A ROMANCE.
BY THE AUTHOR OF THE INITIALS.
Large Octavo. Price 50c.
Every person who has read that charming novel, <; The Initials,"
should purchase a copy of " Cyrilla." It is one of the best novels that
has been published in the past ten years. There is, probably no work
of fiction now before the public that surpasses it for power, pathos,
depth of plot, delineation of character and brilliancy of sentiment. It
forcibly shows that " Many who have perished have erred and sinned
for woman."
Copies of the above books sent by mail free of postage. Send cash
orders to DICK & FITZGERALD,
No. 18 Ann st., New York.
New Works by Miss E. Marry att.
(DAUGHTER OF CAPTAIX MARRYATT.)
HENRY LYLE ; OR LIFE AND EXISTENCE.
12mo. Cloth, Price $1 00.
TEMPER; A TALE.
12mo. Cloth, Price $1 00.
The above novels, by the talented daughter of the late Captain Mar-
ry att, were written in compliance with the wishes of her father, ex-
pressed a short time previous to his death ; and the fair authoress al-
ludes to this circumstance by way of apology, in the preface to " Tem-
per." We predict lor them a wide spread popularity. They are ori-
ginal in style, truly moral and religious in tone, and are calculated to
accomplish much good, as the author aims some telling blows at the
tendency of the present generation towards Infidelity, and other mod-
ern evils.
Works by the Author of "Zaidee."
ADAM GRAEME OF MOSSGRAY.
12mo. Cloth. Price $1 00.
The characters are painted in bold relief, and seem to live, move
and speak before you. Not one is overdrawn, and yet each comes up
to the popular standard, in point of interest, individualization, and
spirit. The tale is, indeed, " sad, high and working ; full of state
and woe ;" but it is pleasant enough for all that, and the sober, truth-
ful earnestness with which it is related, will at once communicate it-
self to the mind of the most fastidious and hypercritical peruser of
modern volumes.
MAGDALEN HEPBURN;
A Story of the Scottish Reformation.
12mo. Cloth, Price $1 00.
This charming novel, by the author of " Zaidee," will be welcomed
by all who have had the pleasure of reading the former production.
The quaint originality, tho healthy and cheerful religious tone, and
charming simplicity and good sense of this volume, will render it a
general and permanent favorite. A work which will be read as long
as any volume of our time. We know of no fiction, in fact, that we
would sooner recommend ; for, while it will fascinate all who merely
read for amusement, it will delight as well as improve thore who seek
for something even in a novel. It is fascinating from beginning to
ending, and no reader will lay it down, after perusal, without wishing
the author had extended its pages.
A REPLF TO " BRED," AND " UNCLE TOM."
TIT FOR TAT ;
A NOVEL,
BY A LADY OF NEW ORLEANS.
12rno. Ciolh, Price $1. Seut free of postage.
This the title of a most wonderful book, written by a lady of New
Orleans, and issued from the press for the perusal of all persons whose
minds have been poisoned by the pernicious exaggerations of Ameri-
can life and Negro Slavery to be found in " Uncle Tom's Cabin" and
" Dred." The lady of New Orleans has done her work manfully. The
book shows clearly that those who cry out against Negro Slavery, and
utter the rankest falsehoods about that institution, are the supporters
and proprietors of a system of white slavery more cruel and debasing
in its character and operations than the most skilful romancist could
imagine. All this is shown in a Tale abounding with spirited and
dramatic scenes and incidents. * TIT FOH TAT'' embraces forty chap-
ters of astonishing interest. MILLIONS of copies of this work should
be circulated.
OPINIONS OF I'll 10 PRESS.
" It recounts, in a forcible manner, the evils of the English social system.
We only wish it tarnished any sufficient apology for our shortcom-
ings " Commercial, Buffalo.
"One of the most powerfully written novels of the day." Springfield
Republican.
' It is a poem in all its parts ; fervid, womanly and eloquent." Galveston
News.
" She shows clearly that those who cry out against Negro Slavery are the
supporters of a system of white Slavery, most cruel and depiavecl." Savan-
nah News.
Th* is ' carrying the war into Africa" with a vengeance. It is more
than " a Kolaiid for an Oliver." It is more caustic than even "Change for
Dickens' American Notes. By a lady." "Dred, a Tale of the Dismal
Swamp," the offspring of foreign influence ; British influence ; subsidising
and Anglicising the Yankee pen of Harriet Beecher Stowe, is answered
most effectually in a tale of white slavery, far more dismal than all the carrica-
tures that have ever been painted of Negro servitude in the South. Our
bane and antidote are both before us. " Tit for Tat " is confined to England
and the English, and is, therefore, a more direct and appropriate reply to the
Duchess ot Sutherland's minion. The bold, startling pictures are drawn
from real life, and their darkest shadows do not exaggerate the depths of de-
gradation and misery into A'hichthe fairest specimens of God's handiwork
are plunged ; white men capable of appreciating misery in its highest forms,
aud oi enjoying all its benefits and renuemeiits. And all the suffering and
woe depicted by the author with masculine vigor are the direct results of the
cruel oppression of the arristocracy, to whom Mrs. Stowe plays the flunkey,
fla'ttering in their vices, the tyrants who wallow in Juxury upon the toil and
blood of the people New York Citizen.
Copies of the above books sent per mail free of postage. Send cash orders
to DICK & FITZGERALD.
No. 18 Ann Street, New York.
* . "*-
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY
This book is DUE on the last date stamped below.
on first day ov
fourth
MOV 101947
LD 21-100TO-12,'46(A2012sl6)4120
YB
756W58
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY