The Logan County banner. [volume] (Logan, W. Va.) 1889-1903, 1889-06-06
a STRANGE ELEMENT.
The Imporfance Of Nitrogen In All tho Ar
fairs of Life.


A STRANGE ELEMENT.
The Imporfance Of Nitrogen In Ali tho Az
fsIrs of Life.
There is a substance which Is in
visible. which has neither odor nor
taste, and in fact possesses no quail
ties Of matter except weight and bulk
This is the gus nitrogen, which con-
stitutes four-fffths Of the atmosphere
which SURROUNDS rs. :. II Is apparently
dead and inert form or manifestation
of matter, and yet r is perhaps one of
the most important and useful Of the
elements, and IL it should vanish from
the universe, life would cease to exist
This apparent par adox is explained by
the fact that by its combination with
other elements the remarkable char.
acteristics of nitrogen are awakened
into action. The gas Is neither. poison
GUS, corrosive, explosive, nutritious
nor medicinal; but combined with
carbon and hydrogen 1t forms the
deadly prussic acid; with oxygen and.
hydrogen, the strong corrosive nitric
acid, Hydrogen alone, the
strongly basic alkad ammonia; with
carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, the
terrible explosive i;ro-glycerine; and
with the same elements in varying
proportions, it forms the albuminoids,s
the gelatines the g1utens. and other
strengthening elements Of our food,
or the Indispensable medicinal agents
quinine, morphine, atropine, strych-
nine, veratrine. cocaine, and many
others.
Although nitrogen is tasteless, it
forms an Indispensable part OF the
havors of the peach, plum, apricot and
other delicious fruits, as we'll as coffee,
tea, chocolate and tobacco. Without
smell, it is found in many OF the most
powerful and delicious perfumes. as
well as in the most nauseating odors
of putrefaction. Present in Immense
quantities in the air, it furnishes little
or no support to vegetation, but COM
bined with other elements the amount
present in the soil determines its fer
tifity and the amount of crops that
may be raised upon it. Colorless and
invisible, nearly every dyestuff or
coloring matter known contains it in
greater or less proportion. Harmless
and powerless by itself when com
bined with anotheranon-expfos gas,
chlorine, it forms the most powerful
fexp4esi~e@ of =wfffcfff Il ray or
sunlight is sufficient to arouse the
terrible destructive power.
And Notwithstanding the pre-
eminent Importance Of this element in
the affairs of life, there are hnt few of
/ its combinations which we can form
directly Millions Of tons Of nitrogen
are all about us. but not grain of
morphine or theme, gelatine or albu-~
men, aniline or naphthaine can we
make from it. Only the mysterious
vital force working Ethe-natural
| laboratory Of the vegetable and animal
organism can build up most of
these molecules from their ulti-
mate elements, and place s the
atoms of nitrogen in their proper
| position like the beams or stones of a
building. Our wonder at the marvel
| Gus powers displayed by these organ
/ isms is none the less when we see what
simple, common and uncharacteristic
clements are used-hy Them in making
up their wonderful products. and we
can only say that It is q part Of the
| great and unsoluble mystery of life.
Neither can we explain satisfactor-
lily from chemical standpoint the
| properties and reactions of this strange
| element By itself it Is nothing. but
united with other elements, some al :
most equally inactive, the combina-
tions thus produced manifest the most
powerful and positive chemical and
properties. 1t is like the springing
into life of dead matter, but there is
no system Of chemical philosophy
| which can give reason why tits so.
| 1t is the part of the chemist to observe
! and record the facts connected with
the properties of different forms 6l
matter. and in time wemay from these
| facts construct a rational theory, but
we are still long way from a clear
comprehension of the phenomena OF
/ the universe. There are about as
many things in heaven and earth still
undreamt ofin our philosophy as there
were in Shakespeare's time, and the
/ further we advance toward the end,
| the more the field widens and appears
to be of illimitable extent. journal OF
Chemistry.