The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1869-11-18
NATURAL SCIENCE.

NITROGEN. ms Is lhe inlu lcttef IN l!lc apl:i-
bet Of about go simple substances, and takes its
namc from nre, Of which it is Il chief ingredient.
| 1t has neither color, taste or smell, and forms
loul-ths of the atmosphere the other fifth being
| oxygen. Unlike oxygen it supports neither burn
ing nor breathing but fatal to them, not as being
! poisonous but simply by excluding oxygen as Wa
ter would. And note this anu its wisdom: The
whole four-titths of the r-the ntrogen-are of no
use of itself in breathing, but simply to prevent too
much OF II good thing by diluting the oxygen; for
us stated on that subject in Il late article, the
union OF oxygen with amy thing is Il true burning.
so that it the air consisted Of pure oxygen or if
much increased above its present measure of one
fifth, every living thing would burn ny like tindcr
Oh admirable example of the benftS of conserN-
atism.
In the air and for breathing lis use and value are
merely negatiyc-to prevent harm; but in many
other things it has great positive value: for it is
N element of every animal, and of the vegetable
things which feed the animal-fiom 10 to 30 parts
ii leO OF all the various parts OF animals, except
the bones, being nitrogen, and in about that pro-
portion in the vegetable kingdom. And so when
you read hear about ntratc- being 80 essential
to the growth Of crops it is to INT into the vegeta-
es this 10 to 90 per cent. of nitrogen, that these
shall pu into your flesh, brain hair, nails. &r.,
this same II TO 20 per cent of it also.
And one great want i'll agriculture is to get
AMMONIA; countless ships so 10 the ends OF the
earth TO get guano and similar fertilizers it is
chiefly for the ammonia they all contains and this
for crtilizing uses is only another name for nitro
fgen.--amnlonil being composed of nitrogen part,
hydrogen 3 parts; that every 100 pounds Of ar!-
nauia % nnuuIS nt nitrorpl into thn pro,,S
which in their turn put the same 25pounds into the
anima>-hruc and human-and these when they
part with it, put it back into ammonia to 90 the
below ON AMMONIA AND GOALS it all means nj
trogcn. And in all the struggles to get rich terii-
zera this very nitrogen is the thing meant W hen
ever ammonia, the nitrates, &C., are spoken OF.
And why so hard and so dear 10 get when so
ahundan-toul-itths Of all the air surrounding the
globe and some 45 miles in height being nitrogen
| Because the Creator in his wisdom and goodness
has ordained that not particle of this compo-
nent of the air shah be used for any other purpose
ali the atlinities Of nature and all the ingenuity Of
man being unable to withdraw this from the air to
unite it with othr things; 50 that its quality in the
air is always uniform. Were it otherwise, could it
be largely withdrawn as to intensity the burning
part--the oXygen-the elements would indeed melt
with terYent heat. and MilIertc friends find
their doctrines fulfilled.
Whence then came the vast amount Of nitrogen,
tho SIXTH part oth entire vegetable and animal king
| domS? Besides these four-iith> OF the air, more
was created, one of the simple clements, which.
uniting with oxygen, forms nitric acid this uniting
with certain things forms the Mtratcs Of those
things; as with potash to form the nitrate of pot
ash, called Sapctrc. In most countries saltpetrc
exists in native beds here and there, portions OF
which would be diffused far and Widc through the
| soil through the medium of water; this supplied
the primitive vegetable creation with its nitrogen,
and this, food, the animal world. Thus as plants
and animals multiplied, they accumulated more
and more from the earth this element of their be-
ing, till the supply of it from animal eXcrc-
! mcnts and the decay of animal and vegetable things,
| il saved mp, would meet the present wants. But
10 supply this waste everywhere going on the mill-
eral dcostcs chiefly OF the nitracs of potash lime
and Soda are drawn upon TO furnish the necessary
nitrogen.