The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1889-07-23
A STRANGE ELEMENT.
The Importance Of Nitrogen i'm All the At
fairs of Life.


There is 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 gas nitrogen, which con.
stitutes four-ffths of the atmosphere
which surrounds US. 1t is apparently
dead and inert form or manifestation
of matter, and yet j. is perhaps one Of
the most important and useful of the
elements, and If il should vanish from
the universe, life would cease to exist
This apparent paradox 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 il forms the
deadly prussic acid; with oxygen and
hydrogen, the strong corrosive nitric
acid. with hydrogen alone, the
strongly bastc alkali ammonia; with
carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, the
terrible explosive nitro-glycerine; and
with the same elements in varying
proportions. it forms the albuminoids,
the gelatines the glutens, 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
favors of the peach, plum, apricot and
other delicious fruits, as well 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, il furnishes little
or no support TO vegetation. but COM
bined with other elements the amount
present IN the soil determines its fer
tility 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 another nOn-explosive gas,
chlorine, it forms the most powerful
explosive known, of which a ray of
sunlight is sufficient to arouse the
terrible destructive power.
And yet, Notwithstanding the pre-
eminent Importance of this element in
the affairs Of life, there are but few of
It's combinations which we can form
Millions OF tons of nitrogen
are all about us. but not a grain of
or theme, gelatine or albu-
men, aniline or naphthaline can we
make from it. Only the mysterious
vital force working in the natural
laboratory of the vegetable and animal
can build up most of
these molecules from their ulti-
mate elements, and place the
atoms Of nitrogen in their proper
position like the beams or stones of
Our wonder at the marvel
Gus powers displayed by these organ
isms is none the less when we see what
simple, common and uncharacteristic
elements are used by them in making
up their wonderful products. and we
can only say that it is part of the
great and unsoluble mystery of life.
Neither can we explain satisfactor-
lily from a chemical standpoint the |
and reactions of this strange
element. By itself it is nothing, but |
united with other elements. some al |
most equally inactive, the cOmbina-
lions thus produced manifest the most |
powerful and positive chemical and |
1t Is like the springing |
into life of dead matter, but there is
no system of chemical philosophy !
which can give reason why it is so. |
IL is the part of the chemist to observe |
and record the facts connected with |
he properties OF different forms a |
natter, and in time We may from these
acts construct a rational theory. but !
re are still long way from a clear
comprehension of the phenomena of |
he universe. There are about as |
many things in heaven and earth still |
lndreamt ofin our philosophy as there
we're in Shakespeare's time, and the
urther we advance toward the end, !
he more the field widens and appears
o be of illimitable extent.-Journal of |
Jhemistry.