The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1860-04-28

| have been asked how Gould calculate the
hight of mete0rs from the Garth. I'll tell
you. We station enc man ut a particular
point and let him keep his eye fixed upon
particular star. Then we place another man
at another point some distance off. and we
make them both point directly to The star
when it is shooting. and from the angle which
they make with the star and each other, we
can readily calculate its exact distance.
The atmosphere may be said to he COM
posed of hydrogen and oxygen. Oxygen,
although not all inilammablc gas, supports
comhustion--in fuel you cannot get anything
to burn without the presence Of oxygen -
Having exhausted my first topic, the hight
Of the atmospheric now tell you what it is
composed of.
1t is composed Of three gases-(gaScs are q
general term for air. in the German and in
the Greek and Latin languages, from which
the others are manly derived: they have no
word that means precisely the same. or cor
responds with our term, although the Ger
mans cultivated chemistry before we did. We
got our science from Holland. whence it went
TO France, and thence to England. and then
came to us We now come to the consider
alton of oxygen. On what we call the atomic
theory, We divide everything it, chemistry
into hundred parts, and take ratios rom that.
In one hundred parts Of nj" there are twenty
two paris of oxygen, and about scvcnty-eight
parts Of nitrogen. The term oxygen is Dor
rowcd from the Greek oxunus," which
means sharp (not like knife. but like vine
gar) Oxygen as said previously although
not inflamrnable like Hydrogen. vet supports
combustion, and keeps ap The heat of the
blood, without which we should die 1t sup
ports vegetables and animals. and they must
have it TO live. Fish must have oxygen also.
Notwithstanding they feel that they are cold.
bIooded. Vegetables perish very soon if de.
plived of oxygen, and they begin to die the
moment it Is Withdrawn. Twenty parts out
of the hundred. Therefore, are oxygen. We
have variety of other gases. as oxalc acid
for instance, which is like salt. 1t will turn
sea weed red and this may consequently be
used as a test for it.
The foul gas which we breathe carries out
the great principle Of nutrition the second
supports the lungs, and all the other physica
Developments. In proportion as any subject
contains nitrogen, we say it is 0eotc. The
third gas is carbonic acid 1t is about the
thouSandth part of the atmosphere 1t is
gas that comes from limestone when burned.
1t is the only gas BY which can convince
the audience of the solidiication of a gas
The babe on Its mothers bosom soldifies the
milk in its flesh. (ApplauSe.) All nature
presents us with these exemplltications. The
uces are all carbonc acid solidticd. The
leaves of the tree suck it out of the atmos-
phere, through their edges, on certain bolan.
ical princi pies. and breathes it out again. If
we take a tube and insert The open end of it
in a furnace Of charcoal. which has been is1li.
ttI bA H.,
other end, and after time the charcoal ali
disappears,
Again, if we take diamond in our forceps
and put 1t into the foci of a hydro.oxygen
blow pipe, the diamond will turn to charcoal
Some Of you may doubt that one hundred
pounds of charcoal contains sevcnty.fve Of
diamond. What is il that converts the did
mond INTO charcoal. 1t is BY the union with
the oxygen gas: if we could get rid of the
oxygen al the charcoal would be diamond. =
Le'hls has been engaged for the past three OF
four years in underwriting to remove tins oXv-
gen from the charcoal, though without sue.
cess. Azote brings us nutrition. Now, in
passing by. cannot help abiding to the way
we make steel. Remember. il you please.
that of one hundred parts of charcoal, seventy
five are clearly diamond.
no" w you uahe S'ctI! by heating iron
in charcoal fire. On the principles of me-
talurgy, we can sohdry sulphur into iron,
phosphorous in o mon. and mercury into iron
And so we can Solidlty charcoal imo iron -
And how Why. by putting the diamond
principle INTO the iron. You can make steel
which you may polish like silver. and render
almost as hard as the diamond itself You
see now. how much principle carries with
it. On the other hand we can make iron so
that it will break off like glass. This shows
YOU how important that the metal should be
proreilv tempered.
My object in entering upon discussion of
the gases was TO bring you into discussion
Of the motion of the winds. The entire ami
NAL kingdom consumes air, fish and animals
consume oxygen, and trees and plants nitro.
gen.