The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1870-09-28
Circulation of Matter.

1t is obvious, at a glance, that
) the soil does not furnish all the
material which is required for the
wants Of vegetable life. The lcvc
Of our meadows is not lowered by
removal Of successive crops, nol
docs the forest dig it's own grave
at its roots rs it lifts its pondcrou$
trunks into the air. The atmos
! phcre, as well as the soil, contri.
butcs to the increase Of mass
whether Of wood or grain, and in.
directly feeds all races of animal
existence. The relation of the
three Kingdoms Of nature is thus
established.
Water is one of the principal
agents in the system of circulation
of matter, which constitutes the
life Of the globe we inhabit. In
the fulfillmcnt OF its Office, it Iasscs
inccssantly from sky to Garth,
now mingling with the currents
Of the atmosphere, and anon with
those which form the arteries and
veins Of the great world Of watcrs.
Lifted into the atmosphere By the
sun, it descends again in dew and
rain, corroding and dissolving the
rocks on which it falls, and dis
tributing them widely over land
and sea.
1t settles through :hc stony
crust Of the earth, into the dark
reccsscs Of the rocks where crys-
tails blossom out Of tho formless
stone, and supplies them with the
material for their wonderful archi-
lecture. 1t penetrates the soil,
and supplies the same material to
the roots Of plants for the still
more wonderful creations Of leaf,
and fruit, and flower. Again it
hastcns through brooks and rivers
on its course, and pours it's burden
into the sea, for the use Of the in
Vulnerable forms Of vegetable and
animal life which .inhabit it's wa.
ters. The coral insects build up
solid islands out Of the matter it
provides. Countless shell-fsh
clothe themselves in the same
rocky garments, and finally ca: t
them aside: to be buried under the
slime Of the sea and harden, in the
course Of ages, into stone. The
water which has served these va
rious Offices. climbs anew into the
heavens upon the solar rays, and
again descends in the rain, repeal
ing forever it's round of service .to
the earth.
The further relations Of the
three Kingdoms OF nature may b.
presented in a single picture. In
aginc giant tree, the representa-
tive Of all the vegetation Of tue
earth, spreading wide its branches
as a shelter for man and bcas!.
Let us suppose them to subsist en-.
tirely upon its fruit, and to warm
themselves by fires made from it,
branches. The tree, through its
leaves, draws it's supply of gaseous
food from the atmosphere, and
through its roots, its mineral sus.
tenance from the soil. 1t has pu.
rifed the air in the process, Of
gases which would become noxious
by accumulation, and returned to
it the oxygen which is the vital
izing breath Of the animal world.
The mingled material of its food,
worse than worthless to animals,
has, at the same time been trans
formed into wood and fruit, and
other forms of vegetable matter.
At this point, without Interrupt
tion in the circuit, commences the
return Of material to the atmos-
pherc from which it was derived.
Animals that feed upon the fruit
of the tree, already breathe much
Of it back again to the air while
they live, and the rest is restored
by their death and subsequent de-
cay. Leaves that fall and moulder,
and branches that are burned as
fuel, make the same return of the
elements of which they arc CON-
posed, to the great reservoirs Of
the atmosphere and earth. And
what happens thus to leaf and
fruit, happens also at last to the
parent tree itself. One by one it's
giant branches fall and moulder,
and melting again into the air,
add to its inexhaustible stores Of
fertility, and provide the material
for a new round in the grand sys-
tenn Of circulation.
What happens beneath the sim
gle tree, occurs also in every flow
er that lifts it's petals to the sun,
and is a thousand times repeated
in every forest upon the face of
the earth. No limits of distance
or of size restrict the mutual rela-
tions and dependencies of nature.
The cxhaled carbon Of the polar
bear feeds the lotus of Egyptian
plains, and the breath Of the south
>rn lion is rcdiStilled in tho fra