The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1882-11-03

mouths the plant has all over its leaves.
These mouths bring both food TO nour-
ish and air to sustain the plant. A fish
keeps itself alive by sucking the water
it lives in al the while through its gills.
Ii gets out of the wa'er whatever it
needs-air and some food. The plants
are like fishes: their water Is the
greater ocean OF air that hes on the
surface Of the earth They draw it in
through their mouths, take ont of it all
they need, and then breathe the rest
out again.
Air is a curious mixture. It is a gas
made OF several gases stirred together
rs you stir tea and milk and sugar.
One of these gases IL called oxygen
don't be afraid of these hard names);
that is what keeps us alive. won't
give you name of the next, because il is
only used, like the milk, to weaken the
tea. The third is very disagreeable
and dangerous gas, called carbonic acid
gas. 1t is this that makes your head
ache in a crowded room or car. This is
what you hear of every now and then rs
choke-d damp, which suffocates people in
mines and deep wells. 1t is this which
comes from burning charcoal, and
makes it sure death to burn it in
closed room. There is very little of
this dangerous stuff evens in close air.
Carbonic acid gas, though 80 poisonous,
is made up OF two things, which are
very good and perfectly harmless when
they are separated-carbon and the
life-giving oxygen. Carbon is coal, or
something like coal. United together,
these two harmless things make a
dreadfully dangerous one, inst as inno-
cent saltpeter and charcoal unite to
form the deadly gunpowder.
Now notice how beautifully plants and
animals are made to live together and
help each other. Animals breathe in
the air, and help themselves to the oxy-
gen which keeps them alive, but breathe
out the deadly carbonic acid gas. Plants
breathing the air separate by some
wonderful power of their own the car
bonic acid gas into carbon and oxygen,
help themselves to the carbon, and
breathe out the oxygen. What plants
consume we throw away az useless, and
what plants breathe out sustains our
life. That is the reason why the coun-
try is apt to be so much more healthy
than the city. The air that is poisoned
by people and fires becomes purified by
plants.
Unlike the fairies of the story-book,
who do all their good deeds by night,
these little plant fairies work only by the
light. The sun is their mast~r, and his
first ray is their call from sleep. They
set to work in minute, separating the
dangerous carbonic acid gas into carbon
and oxygen; and. while they use the car
bon and grow by it as you do by your
food, they are giving back the sweet,
pure oxy en- to the air. All day long
they are at their good work; but whom
the sun sinks behind the hills they do
not need any sunset gun to tell them
their time of rest has come. They drop
work at once, and drop their fairy WAYS
they begin right away TO behave rs the
animals do-to breathe in oxygen and
breathe out the hateful carbonic acid.
This is the reason it is not healthy TO
sleep in room with flowers at night,
though they are so good TO have in the
daytime.
We owe our lives to the plants-the
food we cut, the pure air we breathe, rs
we'll az much OF the rain that falls from
the heaven. They are mrnistering
angels, and the loving, tender, heavenly
Father has appointed them their work
to do--to beautify the earth and purify
the air under the guidance of the glori-
ous sun, which He has created, and
which He keeps in its appointed path
Hdrper's Young People.