The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1856-04-16
Prof. Liebig on Materialism and
the Chemistry of Food.

} Prof Licbg delivered his first public
lecture on Animal Chemistry Mt Munich,
Jan. 10, 1856. He availed himself of
this occasion to declare from bis position
as chemist and naturalist his opposition
to the widely spread views of Moles
chott, Vogt, Buchner and others, in ia
vor Of the crudest Materialism. He
combatted with dignity and energy the
deniers of mind and vital power" and
their erroneous theories on pure scientific
ground. lie showed the utter impos-
sibiity of spontaneous existence of the
lowest connecting part of an organism,
of cell or muscular fabric. and hence,
how much less the mysterious processes
Of life and thinking could bo chemically
explained by a change of matter He
proved that the Materalists of the mod
crn school were not able to distinguish
organic combinations from those purely
chemical Nothing. he said, was more
absurd than to derive tho process of
thought aud Of tho will from the phos-
phorescence of the brain, as Moleschott
has done. How much more material
then of thought would there be in bones
which have 400 times more phosphorus
in them than in the brain. Aswc have
learnt that Baron Lebig will publish
this lecture in continuation of his
" Chemical Letters,' we decline to give
the course of the ideas of the celebrated
inquirer on this most important question
in fragments, and will only remark that
the effect of tho lecture, supported by
the peculiar clearness, calmpess and
graccfulness Of his delivery was most
powerful. We hope for its speedy and
full publication for the benefit Of tEc
whole civilized world.
After Licbig had given his reasons,
drawn from natural philosophy, against
Materiaism and in favor of vital power
and soul, he spoke three Saturdays on
the articles used as food for man. giving
a clear abstract of the theory discussed
in bis letters on chemistry, and illustra-
ting it By experiments. Two groups of
organic matter arc distinguished in hu-
man food. The first contains carbon;c
acid and the elements of water, and ap-
pears as starch gum, sugar, and fat; the
other adds to these sui phur and nitrogen.
and appears under various forms, as
caseine, albumcn, and ibrine. These
substances are found in vegetable as well
as in animal food. Now men need food
for purposes of strength and warmth
The temperature of the body is main
tanned by the burning process Of rcspira-
in which food containing carbon com
bines with the oxygen Of the air and is
thrown off as carboic acid and water.
The growth and repairs of the muscles
take place through the medium of the
blood the mechanical force and the sub
stance of the muscles are continually
supplied by niirogcnous food transmit
cd into blood In our common articles
of food, material for respiration aud for
tho, formation of blood, are present in
different proportions; in potatoes, for cx-
ample, there is per cent. of nitrogen
Gus matter, in barley II, wheat 81, wo-
mans milk %, COWS milk So teas AZ,
and in beef 50, while the food which sup
plies warmth is in inverse proportion in
potatoes, for example, it being Sc per
cent In this connection Liebig gave an
explanation of his views in relation TO
beer, watch have been misunderstood and
very much contested in Munich Beer
is worthless for the formation of blood
1T is of value only to support respiration
and to Supply warmth. The nitrogenous
portion of the barley becomes soluble in
brewing, passes off in the sweet beer and
is separated parity by boiling and part
ly by fermentation, as lees. A little of
the dregs remains; the brewer makes it
as little as possible, or else the beer
sours easily. Aehcmist Of Munich cle-
ven years ago asserted that our brown
beer confirmed gum, two grains TO tho
quart Throwing out of account the nj
trogen which appears in beer in the torm
Of ammoniacal salts, and estimating only
that which it presents as gum, man
who drinks eleven pints of beer per day
would get no more gum in a whole year
than fve-pound loaf Of bread furnishes.
Beer serves to make people fat who are
thin in flesh it has the same effect as
starch in bread. 1t has its value in sup.
plying warmth but not in the formation
of blood 1t has its use also as means
of enjoyment and as a stimulant to the
nerves but that does not come into the
account of chemistry; chemically the
use of meat may be recommended with
bread instead of beer Liebig intimat-
ed, in conclusion, that tho best proper
tions of food for use were one of nitrogen
to three of carbon-the proportions in
woman's milk.
A New THEoRY ON FosslLs "A prac
tical miner is writing in the London
Mining Journal to prove that rocks
grow lie ailirms that quartz grows in
the Devon mines in short space of time,