Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1886-12-09
PLANTS AND HEALTH.
How tile Air We Breathe and the Water We
Brink Are Purified.

Drink Are Purified.
We are absolutely dependent upon
plants for life If it were not for them
the air we breathe would become loaded
with carbonic acid and would be abso-
lutely poisonous to US. If a man goes
into a deep we'll where the air is not
changed and into which the carbonic
acid, being heavier than air. has set
tied, he is apt to be suffocated. l
think one of our papers lately presented
a case of some poor man who went
into a deep well and was found there
dead How is air purified? 1t is the
business of plants TO take carbonic acid
from the atmosphere and make it lit
for respiration. Plants not only fur
nish our breakfast, dinner and supper,
but they purify the air NE breathe Etons
moment TO moment Plants purify
the water we drink, just as much as
they purify the air we breathe. During
the war, as medical inspector, Was
for time on duty ut ST. Louis. Near
that city was a large hospital known
Benton Barracks. A person living in
that neighborhood called upon the
MAYOR of the city and made this conf
plant. He said that he lived upon the
margin of a large pond of several
hospital was discharged, and now the
water, instead of being clear, as it
always mad been, was covered avith
a green scum, and this was the reason
of his complaint, as he feared his
family would all suffer from the inn
pure water. The mayor invited me, as
medical inspector, to get into his car
riage and look at the pond. When we
came in sight of the small lake or pond
we saw it covered all over with some
thing as green as meadow. Tho
MAYOR was very much aStonished and
shocked; he did not see how anybody
could possibly live Gin shat local
ity. He evidently regarded that scum
Al; something very dreadful.
stepped down to the margin of the
water and picked up little of this
scum. called the attention of the MAYOR
and told him we Mad here a very pretty
little plant, the Le11lna pOiyrial.d- There
were two leaves spread open- each
larger than flax seed, and from each
were several little roots running down
into the water. The common name is
duckmeat. I picked up these plants.
took some of them into my mouth and
chewed them, then took cup L had
with me and dipped up some OF this
water and passed it around to see if
IDeJ cOulu perceive any QUOT 1t WIS
very nice clear water indeed. / drank
some of it, and then said 10 the may or:
"a good deal of filth has been dis
charged into this pond. and, if this
little plant had not come to the relief
of this gentleman and his family, this
would have been very filthy water;
but, fortunately, this little plant has
spread over large portion of the pond.
and that is the purifier" These plants
had been living upon the filth that had
been thrown into the pond, and there
were so many of them that they had
kept the water pure, so far as we could
see- The gentleman who had made the
complaint examined this lemna and
saw that it was a veritable plant. There
WAS no scum about ii. He thanked us
and said that he and his family had
been half frightened to death. but
in future i will make no more COM
plaints,' said he. Aquatic plants are
doing this for us everywhere. We
ought not to call them scum and give
them bad names, when they do not de-
serve it. 1t is the business of plants
that grow upon water TO make that
water clean.-FrOf. n. L. ZCacllShc2d,
IN Anaerica1a Gdrdep.