the fullness thereof and all they that dwell therein for he hath founded it upon the seas and established it upon the floods."

Whether we study the earth from the standpoint of evolution or consider it from any other view-point, we can see that during the long periods of time while the earth was in process of preparation for man, it furnished life and nourishment for many forms of life, now extinct, which have aided scientists in their calculations and search for knowledge. We see in the museums the great frame of the megalosaurus and other saurian tribes, and in the sand and rocks their footprints. Or it may be that the fossils of prehistoric vegetation and other life, now extinct, may open our eyes to the mind and purpose of the Creator in articulating things which were to things. which are now. These marks of time spell an eternity beyond.

In considering the earth in its relation to the atmosphere, we must study the great purpose of the Creator in these relations and ferret out their benign meaning.

As we study the functions of the atmosphere in its relation to the earth, we see that the air serves as a blanket for the preservation of life. As a covering it may be considered a protection from other celestial bodies in their movements as they may throw off their excrescences in form of meteors, also from the many comets which function in the solar system, in the power of the earth in its revolutions on its axis, and the density of the atmosphere to throw off or parry these bodies from their course sufficiently to avoid serious contact.

"It is estimated," says J. Arthur Thomson, "that between ten and one hundred million meteorites enter our atmosphere and are cremated every day. Most of them weigh only an ounce or two and are invisible. Some of

them weigh a ton or more, but even against these large masses the air acts as a kind of torpedo-net. It is clear that 'empty space' is, at least within our solar system, full of these things. They swarm like fishes in the seas. The solitary bit of cosmic rubbish is the meteorite. They generally burst into fragments and fall without doing any damage."

The atmosphere has served also a purpose of fundamental importance in the preparation of the earth as a habitation for man. It blankets the earth against intensity of radiance and heat from without and inequalities of radiance and heat from within.

Water also as second in importance has served in preparation of the earth for life and man. Thompson says, "Water can dissolve a larger variety of substances in solution in a greater concentration than any other liquid. It is a subtle cleaver of substances and forms 80 per cent of living matter."

The earth has also mechanical, chemical and thermal relations to the atmosphere in that through the evaporation of water and absorption by the atmosphere, these chemicals are taken up in solution in the proportions necessary for the needs of man, and the sustaining of life on the earth. The salts of the seas, the carbonates from the land surface, the various gases and materials which go to make up the necessary ingredients for the preservation of life, both in vegetable and animal creation, are thus furnished. These are, in turn, again precipitated according to the requirements and needs of man and vegetable life.

The winds of the atmosphere also play a beneficent and benign purpose in the distribution of the everchanging chemical combinations to the places most needful. They clarify the atmosphere, lend aid to sultry, hot

climates by the cooling breezes, hold in suspension the dusts, and rains to fall, not suddenly as a precipitate blanket but in a gentle, genial manner congenial to man's needs. The cold and hot strata of atmosphere, as they alternate upon the surface, cause the rocks to crumble, thus producing soil. With these changing temperatures and the chemical changes in the atmosphere, we see the rocks of the mountains crumble and finally washed down into the valleys to become fertile soils for cultivation.

Even the electrical disturbances in form of lightning serve a benign purpose as they rend the rocks, blast as it were, to loosen up soils or quicken vegetation in its growth.

Water, waves and currents are changed by the action of the atmosphere and the winds as they play upon the ocean and sea.

Vegetable life is quickened and plant life distributed by the fertilization caused by the carrying of pollens and seed by the wind.

So, in the science of Geology, the benign purpose of the Creator is seen and is working out the highest good for mankind.

They say that God lives very high

But if you look above the pines
You cannot see our God; and why?

And if you dig down in the mines,
You never see Him in the gold,
Though from Him all that's glory shines.

God is so Good, He wears a fold

Of heaven and earth across His face,

Like secrets kept for love untold.

But still I feel that His embrace

Slides down by thrills through all things made,

Through sight and sound of every place.

ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING.

TOPICAL SUGGESTIONS:

1. The creation of the earth; Geology the open book of the creation.

2. Various periods through which the earth has passed.

3. The earth stand approved as a fit habitation of man. The wise provision made in land, mountains, valleys and rivers and general water supply for man.

4. The metals, coals, limestones and sands.

5. The oceans, seas, and food supply, storehouse of salts needful for man.

6. The atmosphere, a blanket for preservation of life. The density of atmosphere with the revolution of the earth deflects comets, and practically consumes meteors. The mechanical, chemical and thermal relations of the atmosphere.

7. The winds of the atmosphere, changing temperatures, causing changes of climatic conditions. Assist in fertilization of vegetation.

8. Water waves and currents.

9. Poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

III

BOTANY AND AGRICULTURE

AVING noted in the previous chapters on As

tronomy and Geology the wise provision of God

in preparing the earth for habitation of man, we must next consider His Providence in the plans for sustaining life on the earth.

Under the head of Botany and Agriculture we may discern the goodness and wisdom of God in His farreaching provision as shown by the laws governing under these sciences.

Under the laws of Astronomy we saw the great provision made in establishing the sun in the solar system with its abounding heat and light, varying in intensity and glow to suit the various conditions under which crops may be sown, cultivated, matured and harvested, as well as providing a season of rest both for the earth to recover potential energy during the season of inactivity, and for man to properly distribute the crops, fertilize and provide for the following season of activity, or crop year.

Having provided heat and the genial atmosphere with humidity and buoyancy for carrying the moisture in the form of clouds to be poured out in rains at the opportune time, as the various seasons may demand, He, through His goodness and wisdom, made the seed with power inherent to absorb from the earth, air and water the necessary particles, and to appropriate them both for building a larger and different body, and to reproduce itself ad infinitum.