Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1872-07-03
Breathing.

Considered in ali its relations, the
function of breathing is a wonder of
wonders. Because we are familiar with
ing air from the chest, it excites
neither admiration, surprise nor even
Thought. BY watching the play of the
respiratory apparatus, however, some
perplexing phenomena are presented,
well worth studying.
The lungs are two membraneous
sacks, one on each side, of unequal di-
mensions-- in man, separated by YER
teal partition, but united at the bot
tom of the neck by single tube-the
windpipe.
When one lung is diseased, life is
maintained by the other. f2bOth are
severely inhamed, liberated, or i'll any
way Incorporated for vital service, death
inevitably ensues.
By taking breath of air about six
millions of minute cells, which make
up the body of the lungs, are djstend-
ed, and at that instant of initiation, OK
ygen is separated from it and taken
into the system Life, therefore, is
solely and exclusively sustained by that
element.
Every living thing, from animals to
the whole vegetable kingdom, is just
as dependent for life on atmospheric
air as man. Trees breathe through
their leaves. If torn away the trunk
will languish and die Were all the
caves of fully grown apple tire e
placed side by side, were it possible to
have their edges exactly touch, SO as
to appear like a carpet, it is calculated
| they would cover more than an acre of
ground. Some of the gigantic forest
trees yield leaves enough to cover an
area of two acres very nearly.
Cur own lungs afford an absorbing
surface on which air infringes equal to
almost one hundred square feet, 1t is
assumed by some psychologists.
In trapsplantlng young trees, 1t is al
unphilosophical practice to trim the
| limbs so closely that only a few twigs
are left. In that mutilated condition
the effort to live is a hard struggle.
More die than survive the violence, be-
cause they a'e deprived of their breath
ing organs. One side of each leaf i'm
bibes carbon from the air for making
wood, while the other throws of the
oxygen for keeping the atmosphere
supplied with material which supports
life, without which death would reign
triumphantly.
Nearly all leaves of trees contain q
large amount of an astringcnt property
called tannin. When quite dry and
driven about by the wind, if boiled
they yield just what is needed for tan,
| ming leather Bark. now extremely
expensive, might be given up almost
entirely If this proposed economy were
pursued. Maple, willow, chestnut, and
indeed almost all those of lamiIial
growth here at the North, might be
utilized in that important art to the
saving of millions of dollars in this
country annually. u.a.# ~...-
After the tannin is dissolved in the
leaf cells, the strong decoction is
ready for the watts. The pulp, thus de.
prived of matter which prevents
leaves iron. decomposing for very
long while, becomes an excellent fer
tliizer. Farmers make mistake III
gathering leaves into piles or mixing
them with other manures, because it is
a loss of time and labor, it is 50 long
before they decompose and become
food for living plants
Thus in contemplating the mechan
ism and the object of respiration, we
have incontestabIe evidence OF the pos
tive existence of power superior tc
ourselves whose creations and whose
laws declare that power to be q SOY
ereign God.