The organizer. (Oxford, Miss.) 1845-18??, 1849-05-19

a. that asssinblaee d at night, when lamps
is and candles aFo necessary for producing
a. light IL iheair IS not constantly changet
M a repetition olihe dreadful tragedy Of the
,r Black Hole at Calcutto, where one hun
5, dred and tweniy-ihree prisoners Of war ex.
r pired in one night, by being shut ~ IN lhii
d prison without ventilation, must be expec
= ted.
., When we consider the age OF the world
d 1.-The number ofliving creatures that have
J. existed from time 10 lime, and the many
}. lamps, candles and fires, that have been
v consumed, each perhaps on rough av-
9 erage, spelling a gallon Of air in each min
n ute, we are naturally led 60 the cOnclu-
r sion thatour atmosphere must be much less
e pure now than il was centuries ago. And
!. yet, from chemical examination of the best
E proportions Of oxygen aud nitrogen gases
10 support life and vegetation, there is ev.
cry reason TO believe that the breezes we
/ now enjoy, are just as pure and perfect as
} those that were waited over the garden
Of Eden, before any Of these processes Of
deterioration had commenced. Nature must
therefore, possess some powerful self ply
sic by which the atmosphere has been pre-
served 50 long, That Ehysic Is the Oegetd-
bic kingdom. BY beautiful ordnance of
our maker those things that are unneces-
sary and detrimental TO animal existence,
are the necessary food and sustenance of
! the Vegetable world, and are greedily alb.
sOrbed and taken up by il principally by
the leayes) while lie roots are searching
n thuf nsah
perhaps be better understood by an exam
pie. will take an acorn weighing one
eighth Of an ounce and put il in the ground,
in few years ! shall find it n tree higb-
err than myself and weighing many pounds,
in wood, sap, leaves, bark, and other pro-
ducts, of which the wood and sap will be !
the most ponderous. From whence has all I
this matter been Obiained2 Admitting the |
two laws Of chemistry before mentioned, !
the tree cannot have formed its own eles a
ments, but they must have been furnished 0
from those things in contact with the grow y
ing plant, and these were alone the soil b
and the surrounding air. Wo shall have o
no difficulty ia accounting for the formation il
Of the sap and wsier in the wood, for that |,
is merely retention Of some Of the hui B
nidity that has fallen upon the ground as b
lew or rain, and a portion of that water a.
nay be dccompOsed by the vital action of c,
he tree and converted into hydrogen and ei
'xygen, thus supplying some Of the hydro
zen 10 the wood which is necessary to e,
ause il 10 burn with flame when igniied d
hut carbon is the chief ingredient Of all Al
wood and Of all plants, md from whence has IN
his been derivedG the earth, il pure, cone nj
aiming none Of il. But whenever plants Of r.,
ny kind have grown and died, their leaves N
nd stems will fall and become mixed up Of
nth the earth, and will in fact be one Of an
IS coloring principles ;and as these consist 10
hIefly Of carbon, Of course such earth ~,
I'LL contain il, and will be ready TO give il TAI
p 10 such plants as may demand it; and in,
Jus some OF il will be furnished, though al
lere is little doubt but that the largest IN,
lantiiy Of carbon is derived from the air, wl
hich from the causes before referred 10, be
i'll always contain much carbOnic acid gas, on
gas 80 much heavier than atmospheric il
r, that il always seeks the lowest places wa
the earlh's surface; and here /; is that leC
'gelalion is most abundant. Tho leaves ms,
plants are the eciive absorbent organs str
gases--eArbonic acid gas is, however, lin
mbinatibn Of carbon, and oxygen, and or
is the plant absorbs, but the carbon is MA
Dne necessary for its growth and devel. alo
emeni; and the vital functions Of the cor
INT enable il to separate them, and TO re- ma
n and assimilate the carbon, while The Dor
ygen (being useless) lie set free and re- dec
rms again into the atmosphere, thus Ter.
linlaining il for ever Of us original puri- ola
This is but a single instance Of The ipg
ny wonderful and beautiful workings Of be
lure in supporting organic life-and the owe
re we study and investigate them, the mo,
re We shall be convinced ofthe identity fax
similarity Of animal and vegetable life. def
9 are compelled 10 admit that plants feed he
imbibe nulriment both by their roots and plal
their leaves; that plants may DO over wis
or can be starved-and that they have due
In likes and dislikes, and that while sumo hon,
Irimenls agree with and nOBrish Them, inn
ers have a decidedly opposite effect TAXI
is is no longer matter Of hypothesis or sllo
position, but is proved by the Test Of this
imical analysis. Chemistry points oul Z
eral easy processes BY which no, only Che
3 bot plants also, may be analysed, 60 the
o expose 10 Us not oaly the elements plan
/ enter into their composite ion but their II n
portional quantities likewise. Suppose can
/ We 90 analyze plant abounding ia mus
Or resin, that plant will be found to con- furu
! large proportion Of hydrogen and mlre
bon, and II We attempt 70 grow such NEE
d upon a sol that contains neither q max
q necessary elements The plant cannot " Z
lin them and must be siarEedi or in lion.