“Where Did it Come From?”
By H. C. Miller
The following interesting experiment may aid those who find an objection to the resurrection of the body that has died and decayed, in supposing that the particles have been absorbed by the vegetation afterwards grown on the spot where they were buried. It shows, also, how little we understand the way God moves in performing his wonders. I copy it from the American Agriculturist of April, 1862, p. 105: “Two hundred pounds of earth were dried in an oven and weighed, and afterwards put into a large earthen vessel, and a willow tree weighing five pounds planted therein. During five years the tree was watered with pure rain, or distilled water, and to prevent any additions of earth or dust, the vessel was covered with a metal plate, perforated with holes so small as to admit air only. At the end of five years the tree was found to weigh 169¼ lbs. The annual crops of fallen leaves were not taken into account. The earth was then taken and weighed, as at first, and had lost only two ounces. Whence was derived the 164 pounds of woody fiber, bark, roots &c.? They must have come from the atmosphere, and the rain water, through the medium of the leaves, roots, and bark.”