The Penn's Grove record., 1893-07-14

All recognize the necessity of breath
ing bnt while knowing that life is
i~eopardized by interference with the
supply of air, few appreciate the i'm
portance of its purity. Aware that ITS
withdrawal means death, most fail to
realize what is equally true, that the
contam!n ,tion of the air breathed as
surely shortens life, enteebles the body,
and enerVates the mind.
Nun is the slowest of all animals to
learn what conduces to his physical
well being. He ignores the analyses
Of the chemist, an the advice of physi-
Gins and sauitarans, while loudly be-
wailing his various Ills, and deplOring
the brevity of tho life he is bent on
cnrtailing.
The Importance OF pure air is a sub
iect he is particularly dull of compre-
hending, and practically applying for
lis comfort and welfare.
We're air OF marketable value, and
choice cuts only 70 be- procured at a
proper iouate price, 1t would be keenly
scrutlhized, and condemned il tainted;
IL it had to be sought after like water,
it would be filtered and boiieI, and
micrOscop;cally investigated, but being
II boon 'ds free as MR." its inestimable
importance is wilful'y or stupidity
ignored. 1t is worth while, then, to
consider why we breathe, and why the
inspired air should be pure.
The chemist tells us that the atmos-
phpre consists of a mixture of oxygen
aud nitrogen, and though the latter
gas comprises four fifths of the whole,
it is merely a dilutont, and the oxygen
Is the active principle upon which all
animal life depends.
The act of breathing consists in the
elimination of carbonic acid and other
gases and organic impurities from the
system, and the Introduction of oxy-
ge1. The trachea, or windpipe,
divides and sub.dirides like the
branches of a tree, into a number of
bronchial tubes, which, when infamed,
as in violent colds, are the seat Of the
familiar disease, bronchitis. These
tnbes end in little islets of lung sub
stance, which are the pulmonary
lobules, and each lobule is seen to be q
cluster of air cells, of which it is calcu-
lated there are in the human lungs six
hundred millions. When we breathe
we draw through the nostrils, air, which
penetrates he wlndpipe, passes through
the bronchial tubes and its SUBJ
divisions, and from there goes into the
air cells. Here it yields part of Its
oxygen to the blood, aud receive car
bouic acid in exchange.
At every pulsation of the heart the
blood, Of a bright crimson color, leaves
that organ with & due supply of oxy-
gen which it furnishes to the different
tissues OF the body. at the moment
of giving up its oxygen and receiving
in return the wastel particles which
are to be exhaled, it changes from
crimson to blue, and so presents itself
to the lungs who're, discharging its bur-
den of eff, tie material, it Is again
enriched with oxygen, changes its
color again to crimson, and resumes
its round OF the system. If the blood,
rushing through the lungs, does not
meet with a proper supply OF pure air,
but instead, that which has been
breathed before and has already given
up its oxygen, m inadequately furnish
ed fluid is supplied to the tissues, and
the result is diminished vigor OF the
organization; all the functions are de
pressed, and if the depression con.
tinues, death re ults.
Air, to be pure, mast contain a nor
NAL proportion OF its constituents. 1t
becomes impure by the addition of for
eign matters, either gaseous or solid,
and II rroportionate deficiency of
oxygen. The consumption of oxygen
in the respiration Of animals and the
combustion of fires, renders tho air
of cities much less invigorating than
that of the open country or the
ocGun.
Life is often fguratively likened to
"A fire, or tte flame of a candle as II
flares up, flickers, and dies away, and
there reall, IS q great similarity be-
t. cen the organic life of mar and the
burning p oc IS in the fire or candle;
the same chemical process is going on
in each. All the phenomena of life
depends upon the combustion OF ma
terial taken into the body as food, aud
the degree of the activity of the body
and mini, and its uniform continuance,
is relative to the CELEBRITY Of the changes
eoing on within the body. The more
the body, the more active is the
decay; the greater the bodily and men
tai yiQor, the more quickly do the va
rious tissues melt down into substances
TO be removed by the excretory or
eans. The more rapidly they are worn
and removed, the more promptly,
in tie healthy body, are the new ones
substituted, and ii Q newer and strong
er will the body ecome.
To effect COM %ustion, whether within
or without the body, oxygen is neces'
sary. Fuel is thrown into the stove,
and the nnjon OF the oxygen OF the air
with the carbon of the fuel produces
heat and light. Similarly food, which
il fuel, IL taken into the system by di-
Oxygen Is drawn into the
lungs by respiration and unites with
the carbon of the food, and heat and
energy result. Speedy deaths come to
the animal exposed to an atmosphere
Of undiiuted oxygen, from exaggera-
ton OF the vital actions.
The process of oxidation is going on
us all the time, and thus our
todics are always warmer than the air
us. When one has a fever, the
great heat Of the body is the result OF
increased oxidation, caused by the
of some poison on the nervous
The Are within burns fiercely,
but the appetite beng lost and no fuel
/ cling supplied. the body itself Is be-
.ng consumed. and the flesh rapidly
wastes away. If the fever continues,
ii, fire burns on until the system is
exhausted and life IS extinct.
On the other hand, il the supply Of
oxygen is deficient, as on high noun
am ions or uu in a balloon, the fire
burns low and the cold pene
rates TO the very marrow ofthe bones.
The rsrehed atmosphere fails to afford
he requisite degree of combustion.
md bodily and mental vigor wane, as
by tho difficulty of muscular ex-
,rtiou, and the almost unconquerable
lesire TO sleep.
The more rapidly, then, the elements
the body are used up and new ones
,rbstituted for them, the greater is
he vigor and the more robust the
lealth, and all this activity depends
more upon the purity of the air We
breathe, than upon the quality of the
I'D xra cot