THE different kinds of soil are formed, with but few exceptions, by the gradual wearing away and decay of rocks. This may not seem so evident that we can pass over it without proof. In most cases, as soon as the rock is transformed into soil, it is washed away by water and soon carried far away from the place of its origin, so that we have some difficulty in finding out how it was formed, but in some places, the soil remains where it is formed, and here we can trace every change from perfect soil to hard rock below. Very often in such soil veins of flint or hard rock will be found running through the soil, and down into the bed of the rock below, showing that they were once imbedded in solid rock altogether, but being harder than the surrounding material, they resisted the action of the soil forming agents, while the material around them decayed. Again the soil in our valleys and plains, continues to increase from one year to another by deposits brought down by the rivers and mountain streams, that come from parts that are made up wholly of rock, which must therefore gradually wear out, and be carried down by the water. The agents that bring about these changes exist mostly in the atmosphere. They are oxygen, a gas that produces nearly all the decay that we notice going on around us, as the rusting of iron and rotting of wood, and vegetable matter; carbonic acid gas, a substance which, together with water, makes many hard rocks soluble; watery vapor in the atmosphere, existing in greater or less quantity according to the temperature and other causes; and sometimes ammonia and other substances in small quantities. The depth of the soil depends to a great extent on the slope of the parent rock. Where there is little slope, the soil is likely to remain there and accumulate in almost any quantity, but where the slope is great, it is sure to be wasted away by rain or melting snows, and hence will not accumulate at all where it is formed, but will be carried away by the water, and deposited in the mouth of some stream, in the ocean or in the bottom of some lake, where it may collect to an immense thickness. The process of decay would be very slow, if rocks could not be penetrated by air and water, and the disintegration, could take place only on the surface, but, all rocks are broken up more or less into blocks, by cracks running in different directions, and besides this they are usually composed of porous material, so that there is abundant opportunity for the different agents to find there way to the inside, and there carry on their work of destruction. Now rocks are composed of different compounds united together in different ways. Some of these compounds can be dissolved in water, and the others being left without anything to hold them together, become loose soil. Granite contains, principally, mica, quartz and feldspar. The quartz is perfectly insoluble, the mica may be acted on by the disintegrating agents, but, the change can take place only at a very slow rate, but the feldspar is much more easily acted upon by these agents, at least a part of it is and this part being dissolved loosens the whole mass and changes it into a bed of clay; the part of the feldspar, that was not dissolved, grains of sand, or the small particles of quartz, and bright scales of mica, we always see in sand and clay. In all countries, when the rocks are composed of granite, the soil is just what we have described it to be above. In volcanic regions the soil is also very much the same, as the lava thrown out generally contains a great deal of clay. Limestone is generally composed of small grains united together by means of a cement of the same kind of material. This cement can not be dissolved in water alone, but when carbonic acid is mixed with it, then the cement can be easily dissolved, and the rock falls to pieces in the shape of soil. The carbonic acid that is always found in the air, is carried down into the rock along with the water that may pass through the air as rain, or that may exist as a part of the air, in the form of watery vapor; sometimes the limestone contains sand and clay and as these are not changed by the action of the water or carbonic acid, hence the soil is not wholly limestone but contains also these impurities. Sandstones consist of grains of sand cemented together by means of limestone or an oxide of iron. In the former case the limestone is easily dissolved out, and a mass of sand remains; but in the second case the oxide of iron is almost unchangeable, and hence a sandstone whose parts are cemented together by this substance, becomes one of the most useful of our building stones, as for instance the red sandstone, which, though it is very easily cut, is yet acted upon with great difficulty by these agents mentioned above, and in this respect it is quite different from granite, which is very hard to cut, but soon loses a smooth polish by the action of the atmosphere. When slates decay they generally form a pure clay, as the cementing material is usually nothing more than limestone. Most soils are composed generally of a mixture of most of the simple forms that have been mentioned above, as they are carried about from one place to another by water, and thus become thoroughly mixed with each other. Besides these simple ingredients men tioned above, the decay of vegetable matter forms a large part of fertile soils, and also gives them their black color. The leaves and stems of plants falling to the ground, in the process of decay, are partly turned to charcoal, which being nearly indestructible remains behind, and thus colors the soil. It is of great importance preserving for the plants that may grow in the immediate vicinity, large quantities of ammonia, a compound that is of the first importance in the develop ment of all forms of vegetation. Charcoal contains a great many pores, and these have a wonderful power of absorbing gasses, so that when plants decay, the charcoal that is left behind immediately takes up the ammonia as soon as it is formed, and there holds it in readiness to be absorbed by water, and thus carried into the circulation of the plant, where it can be used. This vegetable mould, from the explanation just given, you will know, is found only near the surface, where the vegetable matter decays. When those substances that are necessary for the growth of certain plants have been exhausted, many ways are employed to restore what was taken away. In some few places on the earth's surface, crops may be raised from one season to another, and there seems to be no exhaustion, this is no doubt caused by the fact, that just as fast as the plant takes out what it needs, the rocks by their decay restore what was lost. Thus near Rome excellent crops of wheat are raised now, on soil cultivated by the Romans over two thousand years ago, and from that time down to the present. In other cases rivers bring down new | layers at different times, and thus replenish the soil, as in the valley of the Nile, where crops have been raised from one year to another, as long as history has preserved any record. Another method of preserving the fertility of the soil, is by rotation of crops; that is planting one season a crop that will take from the soil a certain ingred ient, and the next season a crop that will take out a different ingredient, so as to give time for the first to be formed in APOSTACY. sufficient quantity by the wearing away of the rocks. In order to carry out this method successfully, one must be well acquainted with the chemical constituents of the soil and plants, and thus we see that to secure the greatest advantages from the soil, the study of chemistry is a valuable assistant. Large tracts of land are sometimes allowed to lie idle for a number of years, in order to recover, in the manner explained above, what they have lost by exhaustion. Soils are sometimes produced with the assistance of other agencies, as, for instance, frost in cold countries. Rocks are penetrated by water through their pores and fissures, and then the cold freezes the water, expands it, and causes the rock to crumble in pieces. The expansion and contraction produced by heat and cold produce the same result only in a less marked degree. In St. Petersburg where they have great extremes between summer and winter, and where there is always plenty of moisture in the atmosphere, a building will decay more in fifty years, than one in Egypt will in three thousand years. In the latter country they have no rain, and the temperature remains nearly the same all the year round. J. B. Toronto. THE LAWYER'S FEE. There is a good story of a cotton speculator who once paid a fee several times greater than his lawyer expected. Soon after the fall of Vicksburg, he became involved with the authorities, who charged him with fraud. His cotton, 151 which was worth a large sum of money, being seized, he sought the aid of Mr. Geiger, an influential Ohio lawyer, then visiting the city. The lawyer in one day satisfied the authorities that there was no fraud, and secured the release of the cotton. The speculator was gratified, and informed Mr. Geiger that he would see him the next morning after he had finished loading his cotton on a steamboat. The lawyer retired, but not to sleep. He was debating with himself what he should charge his client. The amount involved was large, the speculator would make a handsome fortune, and Geiger thought five hundred dollars would not be an unreasonable fee for his services. But in the morning, the sum seemed so great for one day's work, that he feared to ask it. In this frame of mind, while walking out towards the steamer, which was to carry off the cotton, he met the speculator. "Well, Mr. Geiger, that was a good day's work you did for me yesterday," said the client, taking from his pocket a large roll of bank-notes. Holding up one knee, he thereon counted off four five-hundred-dollar bills, and without looking up at the lawyer, asked, "Is that enough?" Geiger looked on speechless for a moment, but recovering himself, said, with the habitual coolness of a lawyer,"I guess you had better lay on another!" It was laid on, and Geiger, putting the two thousand five hundred dollars in his pocket bid the speculator good-bye. APOSTACY. The subject of the apostacy occupies | Bible alone is a sufficient guide, without the minds of people of modern times but very little. This however is not surprising when we consider their views relating to the Church of Christ; for they claim a continuation of Divine Authority and the plan of salvation, from the apostolic age to the present time, the idea prevailing among them that the immediate and continued revelation. In this respect the position of the Latterday Saints is widely different from all other religious denominations now extant, bearing no relationship to any religious sect, but on the other hand declaring in words of soberness, that our Heavenly Father has restored the Gospel by mod ern revelation, to the Prophet Joseph Smith. This being true there must have been a departure from the true order of the Gospel. To prove that such is the case, we will refer to the predictions of holy writ, "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation, for the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." The Savior said when addressing his disciples: "And then shall many be offended and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another and many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many, and because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold."-Matthew xxiv, 10-12. To this testimony of Matthew concerning the words of the Savior in relation to the subject under consideration there will be found the corresponding testimonies of Mark and Luke. It will be remembered that this testimony of the Lord was in answer to a very important question. When he had foretold the overthrow of the Temple, His apostles asked Him: "When shall these things be, and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?" The appearance of false proprophets; the deception of many; the martyrdom of the Apostles; the betrayal of the saints, one of another; the love of many waxing cold; the overwhelming prevalence of iniquity; the universal discord and contentions of the nations, all were to be prominent events to transpire before the advent of the Savior to reign in power and glory upon the earth. To this we will add the words of Paul: "Now we beseech you brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means, for that day shall not come except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition."-2 Thes. ii, 1-8. It is evident from the above that some were likely to be deceived with regard to the time of His second coming. Paul to prevent their being misled by false teachers who were likely predicting the Saviors advent, testified that there should come a "falling away first." The language is so express that one can readily see, that nothing but a departure from the unchangeable plan of salvation would fulfil this prediction. We read in the Scriptures that "God hath set some in the Church, first apostles, secondarily Prophets," and other officers, all of whom were divinely inspired "for the work of the ministry," with spiritual gifts following the baptized believers. Only a short time elapsed, however, before these officers, principles, gifts and blessings mentioned in the New Testament, were not to be found in the midst of the earth, and when we examine the religious institutions of the present time, no where are they now to be found save with the Latter-day Saints. The present generation then is as those of many centuries past have been, living witnesses to the verification of the words we have quoted. When Paul was about to depart from Miletus, he called unto him the Elders of the Church from the city of Ephesus, and in his farewell address he warned them as appears in the following words, "For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock, also of your own selves shall men arise speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them," Acts xx, 29, 30. As an evidence that this prophecy was being verified, and that as early as the time of the Apostle John's banishment upon the Isle of Patmos, we will quote from the second chapter of Revelations first and fifth verses: "Unto the angel of the Church of Ephesus write; * * * Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent and do the first works." By reading the second verse we discover that false teachers had arisen among the people, professing to be apostles, thus verifying the words of Paul. By reading the context we discover that similar reproofs were meted RETROSPECTION. out to most of the branches of the Church in Asia, because they were departing from the truth. Peter, also, the presiding Apostle, has spoken very plainly relating to the Apostacy. Beginning with the first verse of the second chapter of his second epistle, we read. "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction, and many shall follow their pernicious ways, by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of, and through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandize of you, whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not and their damnation slumbereth not." From this we learn not only that false teachers should arise among the people, but that they should succeed in deceiving the people and causing many to follow their pernicious ways. In connection with this part of the subject, Paul says to Timothy; "For the time will come 153 when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears, and they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables," 2 Timothy, iv, 3, 4. Thus it is clearly stated not only that men should arise "speaking perverse things," and succeed in their evil designs in making innovations upon the teachings of the Apostles, but that the people themselves would be so allured from the way of life as to heap unto themselves these false teachers, so that many would adhere to their spurious doctrines. The terms heap and many do not signify a few but a great number. The above quotations from the holy Scriptures bear especially upon the internal eruptions, that occurred in the Church, causing many to depart from the straight and narrow path, which leadeth unto life eternal. Those causes, which create internal division and discord in the midst of the Saints are the worst of all causes, for "A house divided against itself cannot stand." Matthias F. Cowley. The pale, dull sun of February Tinging with mellow light, RETROSPECTION. The landscape drear, and mountain tops, And fadeth into night. The shadows lay along the walls, Adown the casement stream, Ah! pause-for from the years gone by The twilight shrouds in shadow, And seemingly we trace The outlines clear, of one most dear, And thoughts rush back the long ago, To catch the music of the hours, That will return no more; And 'mid the flow'rs of childhood's bowr's, Our hearts are gushing o'er. We close the ideal vision, With memories so replete; A requiem low and sweet; We'll meet the absent one again; And lights the darkest day With beams divine, that constant shine, Athwart the roughest way. Emmeline B. Wells. |