The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1874-01-07

TnE HuaAs Hr.aT AND THE wonx II Dor 8
result Of some calcuiat Ism de By Rev. Dr ,is
Haughton. OF England, with regard to the
muscular force ex0ted by the human heart;
The fgures appeared almost Incredible, bat
they have since been fully confirmed by the
Investigations OF Helmholtz and others.
Donders, indeed, has obtained result which
is more than double that of Haughton and
HelmhoNz. but the estimates of the latter
Hsughton has made the principles OF animal
mechanics his study for the pRst ten years,
and has recently published an elaborate
Work, IN which he shows that the muscular
solsr system IN the wonders OF its oonstruc.
ton aud tho marks OF Divine wisdom in the
lava by which 1t is governed.
fhe neart Is composed OF innumera
orn G to, take AXE Dr.
OF twlne, each with q cavity in its centre, and
beth seEr!ste!; ,ecve!efea hT {. third bail.
me hbres, however. are not continuous, as
IN the case OF the twine, but independent Of
esSh other. Their arrangement perfectly
fulflls the principle OF 'lsast action;" tb at
!s to say. the work to be done is accomplished d
by q smaller expenditure Of forco than would
n be possiole under any other arrangement
This has bdon shown to be true OF many
other portions Of the muscular mechanism,
ana future researches will probably add
largely to the number. The fbres Of the
heart arc divided into two kinds-the proper
ibres OF each ventricle, and the common
fbres passing round the whole structure;
and these two kinds OF Rbres are not only
independent OF each other, but are equal to
esch other in length respectively; that is,
the common fbres are equal in length a amopg
Themselves. and the proper fibres the same.
In order that these two groups Of fbres may
produce the maximum Of work required by
the law OF "least action" it is necessary
that q certain relation should exist between
l9NRtha ri
assuming that during life and action the
volumes OF the two cavities are equal, the
principle OF "least action" applied to the
heaft "leads to the remarkable prediction
to bear, to the lengths OF the proper fibres
The ratio OF tho cube root of 2 TO unity.n
This WAS proved by the test OF actual mea-
eurement applied to muscles OF an ox's
heart-aH comparison Of tho observed and
calculated lengths of the 'proper" fibrea
showing . difference in two cases Of less than
quarter Of an inch tone plus the other
minus,) or we'll within tho limits Of unavoid.
apie errors OF observation. DR.. Haughton,
who L. no Darwinian. asks whether it is pos.
elDle that suoh mechanism as this could
growup OF itself. from chance combinations
OF hbres, developed through long lapso OF
time-eyolyed from an Ascidianl
In reckoning tho work done BY the heart
the foot ton" is taken as tho unit, or, In
other words, the force required to lit ton
TO tho height OF one foot. Tho daily work of
lne ieIt ventrlole alone, which lifts at each
stroke three ounces Of blood through a
height OF 1923 feet, is equal to 80, ,70G foot
tons; and taking the estimate OF several OBJ
servers, that the power OF the right ventricle
IL to that OF the left in the proportion of
i've to thirteen. the total daily work of both
ia equal to 124, 1908 foot tons-work which ia
ceaseiess from tho hour OF birth to that of
death. The average weight of the heart is
little over half pound, or to be exact, 0.S9
ounces; ounces The work done BY tho heart in a
gwen time exceeds thst done by the muscles
IN Doat-rece IN proportion OF about twenty
to dfteen; but this work, as just pointed out.
ls unceasing during life, while that OF the
muscles IN boat.race can be continued for
only few minutes. Helmholtz showed til at
the heart could raiee it's own weight 2O, $50
1eet IN an hour. An active climber can ac.
complish 5000 feet In nine hours, or 1.2Oth
OF the work done by the heart; whilo the
pest locomotive can only raise it's own
weight through 9. FOO Zee. il The game time.
Astounding as these calcula tions are, there
is no reason to doubt their accuracy. Rest.
ing on the authority OF two such invcsti-
gators 80 competent and 30 careful, they
may be accepted as confidently as the result 3
OF any mathematical demonetratien. Even
superhciat inspection OF this human body
OF onrs teaches us that it is fearfully and
wonderfully made, but the moro minutcIy we
LOOK into the details OF it's complicated mo.
chanlSm, tho moro marvellous does it appear.
and the more clearly do we recognize the
evidences that it Ia the work OF a Divine ar
tlhcer.-Boston Journal Of Chemistry.