Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1858-08-14
What is Blood.

seen person blcd. They have probably
observed, afterwards, that it divides into a
thin, watcry fluid and q thick eliot, a process
which Is called coagulation. They have been
told that, though the abstraction of few
ounces is not very injurious nay, shy many
considered useful in cases of fovers, tho loss
of any considerable portion is followed by
death But here thoir observations, perhaps
their curiosity, have ceased
Yet there arc many who may have often
wondered what this blood can be- which is
so necessary to existence What arc its CON
stituents? In whet way is it so indispensa-
bic to life? How much is there in human
body? Is there much waste and if so, how
is the waste repaired? Is the blood all alike?
Is the blood of horse, dog. or other mere
animal, similar to that of man? We shall
answer these questions in order, beginning
with the last.
The blood Of a human being is essentially
different from that Of any other animal and
the blood of one animal differs from that of
another. The blood of a horse is poison in
the veins of n dog. The blood of II sheep,
transferred into cat, kills the cat The
blood OF any animal, except one of its own
Species forced into the veins of a man, brings
ON paralysis and death. Science has analyz-
cd wherein the blood of one animal varies
what experiment. has revealed, can also be
demonstrated physiogically.
Even Ill the same animal there are two
kinds of blood, one called arterial, which
rushos from the heart and tho other venous,
which pours into the heart The first is
bright scarlet the last purple. The first
passes into smaller and smaller vessels till
1T reaches some under tho skin, a thousand
tiucs finer than the finest needless point: the
1oCt 40
till it emptics itself, in huge stream, into
the heart. The arterial blood is pure; tho
vcnons full of wasted tissues. The Office of
the lungsis to cleanse thevenouS blood which
is then thrown back into the heart, and a(tor-
wards propelled throughoutthc body. Thus,
1T will be seen, continual waste and repair
goes on i'll the human body, of which waste
and repair the blood is the instrument. 1t
has been estimated that, in the course of n
year, the arteries carry to the various tissues
not less than three thousand pounds weight
of nutritivc matter. while the veins bring
back to the heart and lungs, to he expired
from the latter as many Thousand pounds
weight of wasted tissues. Both arterial and
venous blood contain Oxygen aud carbonic
gas, the popular notion to the contrary not
outstanding; but arteria blood contains
much the larger proportion ofoxygcn. IN their
constituents, the gases excepted, there is but
little difference between arterial and ycnous
blood.
In n man of average weight, the quantity
OF blood is about ton pounds. How much of
this can be extracted, without causing loss of
life, It'll difficult always to tell. In the med,
ical books there is statement ola hysterical
woman, who was blea one thousand and
twenty times in nineteen years A young
man, according to lIaller, was bled seven
pounds and half daily for ten days, and
yet surviycd-a story almost Incredible The
chief constituent of blood is water, which
forms nearly one-eighth ofthe whole. Albu-
men rntcrs into its composition in the pro-
portion Of seventy parts to a thousand Su-
gar, salts, fat and cell matter compose the
remainder, the last in the proportion of one
hundred and thirty parts to u thousand.
These cells or discs, as others call them.
are the most curious part of the blood 1t
would bc idle TO enter into an explanation Of
their composition, rs scicntiicmen themselves
are not agreed upon the subject. Nor is it
possible, in the present stage of human knowl
edge, to tell how blood sustains life, except
as an instrument and vehicle to carry on tic
repair, and remove nc waste, which arc in
dispensablc to existence. Philadelphia Led-
ger.
TIE SCENE OF TIE LATE MASSACRE OF
CnRsTIANs.-Jiddah or Diiddah, the
scene of the late massacre of the christians
by the native Mahommcdans, is a town of
considerable Importance in Arabia IEcdiaz,
standing on the shores of the Red Sea,
about sixty-five miles west of Mecca. of
which city it is the port. The town of
Jiddah is built of stone and medrcporc. and
is remarkable for being much cleaner
| than most eastern ports. Its population is
said to be about $4,000, but this is proba-
bly, too high figure. 1t contains several
public buildings, including small fortiRca-
ton, the governors house, custom house.
and several mosques and khuus. The most
curious structure in the town, however, is
one rcputcd to be the tomb where the dust
of our common mother Eve rcposcs. Jid-
dah has an extensive transit trade with all
the surrounding countries; being one of
the principal trading entirc-ports of Arabia.
The value of the imports from India and
China alone in 1889, was $1,00G, 40, and
in 1913, the entire imports amounted to
$2,305,8O0 Nearly all the merchandise
is exported again, principally by way of
Suez, along the Leyant. From Egypt and
Abyssinia come provisions, tobacco, musk /,
clyct and incense; from India the imports
arc muslins and various other fabrics, CO.
coonuts, teak, spices and shawls. Spices
and slaves, in considerable quantities, are
imported from the Malay archipelago and
the coast of Mosambhuc.
The exports from Jiddah to Abyssinia
consist of coral. Egyptian cotton fabrics,
sword blados matchlocka outlar,, borJ