vided with numerous minute organs of breathing.]

We said that the air had more parts than one. There is a certain part of the air which is peculiarly necessary for the preservation of animal life; there are other parts which are injurious to it; those parts which are injurious to animal life are the proper nutriment of vegetable life. The plants take in those parts of the air which are hurtful to living creatures, and emit that portion which is most beneficial to them. Vegetables are of the greatest service in promoting the salubrity of the atmosphere. Let us observe, in this arrangement, the wisdom and goodness of God.

What must be the consequence if vegetables did not receive those parts of the air which are unfit for living creatures?

How is the air received into our bodies?

Is the air thus taken in by our lungs retained, or sent out again? [The air is separated in our lungs: that part of it which is good for the support of animal life is retained, the other parts are emitted.]

Of what use to us, is that part of the air which we retain ? [It is conveyed to our blood, and promotes the warmth, sensibility, and activity of our bodies.]

May the air under any circumstances be unwholesome to us?

Under what? [Different circumstances may

render it unwholesome: it is frequently so in close or crowded rooms, where there is not a sufficient admission of pure air; we are then liable to breathe again the noxious parts of the air which we have emitted.]

Is the air in all situations equally wholesome? • Do you you know any other means than that we have mentioned, by which the air is preserved in a wholesome state?

What is one great use of winds, of storms, and lightning?

Is the air always of the same temperature? How is the outward air perceptibly warmed or heated?

Why is the air so cold in winter?

Is there an use in the different temperatures. of the air?

By what Supreme Power is the body of the air regulated, and made to produce those wonderful effects we observe?

[The Instructor may pursue the consideration of the uses of air with respect to sound, sight, &c. according to the capacities of the pupils: he may, for instance, tell them that it is by means of the air that we receive the important communications of sound in language, and the delightful notes which strike the ear in music. He may tell them that if there were no atmosphere, there would be no light, except in that part of the sky where the sun appears that the extension of light is owing to the refraction of the rays of the sun by means of the atmos

phere; that the morning and evening twilight, which are so beneficial to us, depend on the same cause: he may further tell them, that many of the varied appearances of light, shade, and colour on the earth, with which we are constantly gratified, are to be attributed to the constitution of the atmosphere; he may particularly notice the cause of the beautiful ap-" pearance of blue vaulted sky, which young persons are at a loss to comprehend.]

We have spoken of the chief use of air, in the support of animal and vegetable life: let us now, particularly reflect on the adorable goodness of God.--There is a sufficient quantity of air to maintain life in every creature which inhabits the globe. Think of the immense multitude of creatures, (none of which could exist without air,) all at the same time breathing the element, fitted for their preservation, and no one of them interfering with another-think of the multitude of fish which inhabit the ocean; the multitude of birds, of which the air is the proper element; the various tribes of beasts, reptiles, and insects; lastly consider the great number of human creatures upon earth, (about , eight hundred millions,) all breathing, all receiving by incessant respiration the vital properties of the air. Remark also particularly, what we said of the vegetables; (vegetables comprehend trees, shrubs, plants, and flowers ;) we have seen that these likewise inhale the air, but that by the wonderful arrangement of God,

they inhale those parts of it which are injurious to animal life, while the animals, on the contrary, take in that part which is unsuitable to vegetables. We farther remarked, that this latter process is a principal means of the constant renovation of the atmosphere.-Observe that the God who first ordained still uninterruptedly upholds this order of things. Again-reflect that since you entered into the world, you have continually breathed the air around you, and that you will not cease to breathe it, till you become an inhabitant of another state.-Adore these manifestations of the power and love of God; let your breath be often employed in His praise; let it be consecrated to Him for ever.

ΑΝΤ.

Have you observed the Ant? What have you observed about it?

What is the shape of its body? To the body of what insect is it most like?

Is there more than one kind of ant? How may the kinds be distinguished?

Does any kind of ant fly? At what season of the year?

Where do you generally see ants?-What appearance do they present? [That of leisure and rest?]

What do they raise above the ground?

Does the ant-hill differ from the mole-hill? How? Of what materials is the ant-hill composed?

Do the ants perform their work in a few hours?

Do they persevere in it till it is done?

Have the heaps which they raise, an use? What?

In the interior of the ant-hill are contained many cells, or small dwellings, and many passages like streets, which have communication with these dwellings; there are also larger habitations, and open spaces like squares: there is a resemblance to a city in the construction of their dwellings; and in their little common