Here it found some free oxygen floating about, and it seized upon
it so violently, that they made a burning flame, while the
potassium with its newly found oxygen and hydrogen sank down
quietly into the water as potash. And so you see we have got
quite a new substance potash in the basin; made with a great deal
of fuss by chemical attraction drawing different atoms together.

When you can really picture this power to yourself it will help
you very much to understand what you read and observe about
nature.

Next, as plants grow around you on every side, and are of so much
importance in the world, you must also learn something of the
names of the different parts of a flower, so that you may
understand those books which explain how a plant grows and lives
and forms its seeds. You must also know the common names of the
parts of an animal, and of your own body, so that you may be
interested in understanding the use of the different organs; how
you breathe, and how your blood flows; how one animal walks,
another flies, and another swims. Then you must learn something
of the various parts of the world, so that you may know what is
meant by a river, a plain, a valley, or a delta. All these
things are not difficult, you can learn them pleasantly from
simple books on physics, chemistry, botany, physiology, and
physical geography; and when you understand a few plain
scientific terms, then all by yourself, if you will open your
eyes and ears, you may wander happily in the fairy-land of
science. Then wherever you go you will find

"Tongues in trees, books in the running brooks