The Iuka vidette. (Iuka, Miss.) 1894-1912, 1894-12-13
HOW NATURE MAKES FOOD.
Chemists After the Secret and Think TheY
VIII Master Ii.

Chemists Aftcr the Secret and Think TheY
VIII Master II.
While invention has produced many
substances which in part replace wood
and other organic materials, the fact
remains that man is to-day almost as
dependent for his comfort and very life
on the vegetable world as were his
ancestors in more primitive times. The
anatomists have had long disputes as To
mans place in the scale of food con-
sumption, whether he is properly
omnlvorous or not. Whether carniv-
orous or vegetarian, his food
derives its ultimate origin in the
wonderful chemical decomposition
and syntheses effected by the vege-
table kingdom. The highest triumphs
of synthetic chemistry have not yet
succeeded in producing his food from
the chemical elements. The produc-
ton of self-supporting aquaria, con
sisting of tanks of water in which
plant life and fish life are SO exactly
balanced that there is q miniature self.
supporting world within the four
glass plates, has been favorite scien-
tific amusement with many. On our
globe we see a similar thing in the re-
lations of the animal and vegetable
kingdoms. Unfortunately, man is not
content with eXterminating wild ami
mails; he is not satisfied with utilizing
for himself all vegetable nature; but
he exterminates most recklessly the
forests whose leaves are taking care of
his own vitiatcd respiratory products.
The earth contains plant and animal
life, each one taking care of the prod
ucts of the life of the other kind. The
animal expires carbon dioXide gas, the
product of the combination of oxygen
of the air with the carbon of the body.
In u plantless globe this gas would
constantly increase in the atmosphere,
10 the eventual deterioration Of the
air; but the plant life dispoSes of this
product, separates the carbon from the
oxygen, and, still more wonderful, eff
fects one of the most difficult of syn
theses, and unites the carbon with
hydrogen, producing vegetable sub
stance of different kinds. The puriti-
cation of the air by plants, owing to
the enormous volume of the atmos-
phere and its relatively slow contami-
nation, is of secondary importance to
the production of plant substance.
On the products of vegetation
man depends for nearly everything,
for food, raiment and heat. Not con
tent with reckless deforestation, he
draws upon the accumulated stores Of
the preceding geological eras and in
burning coal, probably petroleum and
natural gas, is drawing upon the re-
mains of vegetation of the carbonifcr.
Gus and other ages.
Plants by their vital power effect two
specially difficult chemical actions
the decomposition of carbon dioxidc
gas, and then combine the separated
carbon with hydrogen. Absolutely no
practical way of doing these things has
been as yet found by man. 1t is only
by laboratory experiment that either
of these two reactions is carried out.
1t may be said that every steam engine
| depends for its fuel on decomposed
carbon dioyide gas and every pc
troleun lamp represents the utili-
cation of the decomposition and
subsequent synthesis which we
have spoken Of In the matter of food
iHdh 10 sum iCptnuCnb ou tuC
vegetable world. Very few artificially-
produced food products have ever been
made. and these few may have their
origin traced to some vegetable prod
uct. The glucose factories use prod
uct of vegetation as the base of their
operation. Until we succeed in bring
ing chemistry to a point of perfection
hardly dreamed of by the most vision
airy, man will continue to depend upon
the soil for his very life. He may
selfishly feel that all this is of interest
only for subsequent generations, but
TO every enlightened mind the reckless
waste of vegetable resources, among
which may be included coal, petroleum
! Scientific American.