Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1890-04-24
COMBUSTION.
A Little Talk with Prank on a Very In
teresting subject.

A Little Talk with Prank on "A Very In
terestng subject.
Put on the blower, Frank; the room
is chilly-that coal refuses to burn.
why will the blower help it, Aunt
Mary?" said Frank, as he rose to get it.
only by bringing the air closer to
the coal, so that the two can more read
lily unite.
Does the coal burn up the air?" asked
Frank.
Not that exactly, Frank, but parts
Of the coal and air unite, and in doing
so, throw off heat. and we call it burn
ing or combustion. Other substances
will do the same thing, but in differ
emit way"
''Oh, yes, Aunt Mary, now know.
When ! was in Kansas City last winter
went, one cold day, on the cable car
to Westport, and was surprised to find
the car quite comfortable, although no
stove or sign of fire was visible. l
asked the conductor how the car was
heated and ne showed me boxes under
the seats filled with chemicals, which
he said gave ont heat as they united"
True, Frank, that was another form
of combustion. The union was not so
rapid or so noisy as this cracking coal
makes when il greedily swallows the
air you confined near it with the
blower"
And, Aunt Mary Frank went on,
growing more interested, Il saw Tom
this morning withdrawing the fence,
and as he poured water on some lime, it
smoked so that l thought it was on fire.
so it was, Frank, only in this case
the lime was uniting with water instead
of air But it was surely combustion
which gave out much heat Had you
put your hand in. it would have burned
you severely, for the temperature is
said to be more than that of boiling
water. Sometimes, the burning is an
unseen process and the heat is given
out only in small quantities That is
the way when you eat, Frank"
Frank looked up in surprise. How,
Aunt Mary?"
Well, Frank, the potatoes and beans
and bread and chicken, have all taken
in as they were growing some heat from
the great red sun-latent heat we call
it-and it is stored up in the juicy
pulp of your peach and pear and
apple; the sweet corn grains hold
it, the golden butter and Jersey
cream-yes, even if you have frozen
it. But how shall you get out that
latent heat? The Indian knows how to
bring it from the two dry sticks when he
needs q fire to cook his venison. He
rubs them together until the sparks fly
and kindle blaze ON the dry leaves.
But he knows no more than you do how
to get it from the food he swallows
''You smack your lips over the good
things mamma has on her table, and
wonder why you grow warmer after eat
ing. Meanwhile, the dinner you have
enjoyed passes down into that canal OF
yours, so fearfully ana wonderfully
made. The canal IS not straight, but
winds down and about from side to side
in a strange fashion. You are little
boy, not four feet nigh. yet the canal
within your body is five times as many
feet long All canals have names,
yours is called the alimentary. And
there, millions OF tiny blood vessels
reach out their footlets into the canal,
bringing in their red stream, pure oxy-
gen from the air, and pouring it into
the canal-a fresh supply with every
breath. There is no need of blower
upon your fire; just as surely as you eat
and breathe the fresh pure air, just so
surely will the food and the air unite in
that canal. Combustion viii go on and
your body will be kept warm.
THE little rootlets of the blood yes
sells are constantly at work. They do
thriving business in the canal exchang-
ing oxygen from their crimson vessels.
for nutritious food which they carry to
bone and muscle and tissue"
But. Aunt Mary, how does the food
pass into such tiny, thread-like tubes
have they any opening?"
How, Frank, do the rootlat5 Of tree
and plant take mp from tbe earth the
e distance which, every year, makes
new leaves, and flowers. and fruit, and
grain? We DO not know exactly but
we see it is done, and when We cut
through the branches the sap drips
down, as did the blood from your finger.
1t looks no more like the brown, dry
earth than your blood ool, like pc5a-
toes, on beans OF chickens. There had
been work going on ii the canals of the
tree. and had changed what thp root
lets drew up from tbs earth int3 leaves,
flowers and fruit
Did the plant need air rs we ao. and
was there any eombastion2
Yes. and the life of the plant beauti-
fully fits into our lives. What we do
moi need the plant does, and what the
plant throws away is our very life.
How can that be2n asked Frank
You remember" said she, that
told you how your lung pump was kept
busy throwing pure air in, and drawing
impure air out Of your blood. That