secrets, and, by the aid of chemistry, we are continually making new
discoveries. Observe, Mr. Wilmot," said Swinton, picking up a straw
which had been blown by the wind on the quarter-deck, "do you consider
that there is any analogy between this straw and the flint in the lock
of that gun?"

"Certainly, I should imagine them as opposite particles of nature as
well might be."

"Such is not the case. This piece of wheat-straw contains more than
sixty per cent. of silica or flint in its composition; so that, although
a vegetable, it is nearly two-thirds composed of the hardest mineral
substance we know of. You would scarcely believe that the fibers of the
root of this plant were capable of dissolving, feeding upon, and
digesting such a hard substance; but so it is."

"It is very wonderful."

"It is, but it is not a solitary instance; the phosphate of lime, which
is the chief component part of the bones of animals, is equally sought
by plants, dissolved in the same manner, and taken into their bodies;
barley and oats have about thirty per cent. of it in their composition,
and most woods and plants have more or less."

"I am less surprised at that than I am with the flint, which appears
almost incomprehensible."

"Nothing is impossible with God; there is a rush in Holland which
contains much more silex than the wheat-straw, and it is employed by the
Dutch to polish wood and brass, on that very account. We know but little