The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-12-22
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Medical Notes.
VEGETABLE LUNGS.

There is a Widespread falacy that
plants and even flowers, in a living room,
and especially in a sick room, are per
nicious-zto health, and yet the reverse
of this is true Without vegetation there
would be no animal life possible upon
the earth, for We should actually suffo-
cate ourselves with our own breath,
Animal respiration is a process of oXl-
d.Zation for which oxygen is necessary,
and in the course of this process carbonlc
acid gas is set free a gas identical with
the choke damp which miners dread as
the breath of death; it is Identical with
the gas given off in all combustion the
gas that diffuses its subtle vapor through
the closely sealed room of the Partisan
suicide when she lights her charcoal bra
zier and from the false comfort-glvlng
and real health destroying coal stove III
a million homes of our own country
Carbonic acid has. a curious property
of combining with certain forms OF ma
terial, and thus its presence may be
known II You pour quart or so Oh
water on some unslaked lime portion
of the lime will be dissolved, making
lime water. If you put some of this
water in a tumber and breath into 1t
by means of tube or even straw I'M
mersod in it, the free end being held IN
the mouth you will after awhile find
that the Clear liquid becomes milky and
a fine white cloud of carbonate OF lime
will fall to the bottom of the glass. This
proves the presence of carbonic acid gas
in the breath and when you wnitewash
a wall the whiteness proves the presence
of carbonic acid gas in the air, for the
lime water when spread upon the wall
has it's contained lime converted into the
white carbonate of lime just as it was
when YOU breathed through it,
One man alone eXhales about $4,000 Gu
bic inches of carbonic acid gas day.
and this is greatly augmented by fire and
decay both being oxidation the one
by chemical decomposition, the other by
the activity of putrefactive or fermen-
tative germs In spite of this the rela-
tive amount of carbonic acid gas in the
atmosphere is only 1-100Jth part in vol
ume OF this q per cent is carbon, and
in the whole atmosphere surrounding the
earth there is at least three thousand
million million pounds Of solid carbon
which would fall upon us in an over
whelnning shower of coal or diamonds.
as the process might be, which should
suddenly convert this into tangible form.
Yet in spite of this constant vast
amount of carbonic acid gas which is
generated the percentage never varies
greatly. and Jars dug up from the runs.
of Pompeif containing nothing but air
show by analysis of their contents that,
age The regulator of the amount is
plant life.
Plants breathe Not perhaps exactly
rs man breathes. but none the less they
breathe in caThonic acid gas. assinilate
the carbon and exhale the oxygen. Thus
vegetables help animals to live. and vice
versa. and each is the true life partner
of the other. Neither could do living
business without the other.
A healthy plant VIII not only add to
the purity of the air, but will restore
life giving properties to that which has
become Initiated, for it Will thrive, pro-
vided it has as much as to s per cent
of carbonic acid. gas. Too much car
bonic acid gas on the other hand. is
injurious even to plants. That which is
called breathing. in a plant. is also a
sort of digestion, the carbon being food
that is built into vegetable tissue, and if
too much is given the plant is gorged
and suffers from lrfeit. while on the
other hand it may be starved and the
whole plant shows the effect of the indi-
gestion by looking sickly, for it has no
stomach but performs its digestion with
its whole substance.
Plants also feed With their roots and
moro or less carhonic acid gas filters
through the soil in the air, or is dissolv-
ed in the water or is formed by the de-
cay of animal or vegetable substances
in the ground. SO that they purify the
air in this way as we'll as by breathing.
Certain substances have the power of
absorbing gases. especially carbonic acid
gas. and hence plants grown in powdered
charcoal and plentifully supplied with
water will grow most luXuriantly, be-
cause the charcoal feeds them like wet
nurse Yet gives none Of itself.
Plants sleep too, and during their sleep
1t is claimed that they give off carbonic
acid gas but the proportion is small
compared to the oxygen giving powers,
or rather ozoneproducing properties,
form of oxygen which we might call
extra supelline, since it is more energet-
cally vital than ordinary oxygen. There
is little experiment that shows this
prettily and proves the healthfulness of
plants 10 man. Put several leaves or
sprigs of plants in water, entirely sub
merging them, and shortly numerous
bubbles Will form upon them and around
them, which tests show is oxygen
Plants, too, get sick, and when they are
sick they don't breathe we'll or good; they
give out carbonic acid gas more than
they should. insufficient light, artificial
light, and a limited amount or too great
an amount of carbonic acid gas Will make
them sick, and then they are no longer
hygienic aids.
Plants are also great drinkers. but they
they suck up through the roots and ex-
haie through the leaves which are pierced
with stemata, literally mouths some hay
Ing as many as 10000 in a square inch Of
cuticle. They transpire a larger amount
relatively, than man. To illustrate by,
hgures, an acre of grass land accordins
to experiments gives off not less than
$500 quarts Of water in twenty four hours
and an acre Of sunfowers would give a
relatively greater quantity. In fact
sWamps have been reclaimed and malar,
1ti marshes rendered innocuous by plant
ing sGnhowers or eucalyptus trees which
are great bumpers of water and also
exert ether influences counteracting bans
ful conditions of air, earth and water
Plants, however, may drink too much
and set the dropsy, especially if Kept N
the dark, and then they die because ex-
ha}ation is checked and absorption ceases
while the tissues are drowned with toe
much water On the other hand plants
may sweat themselves to death if ex-
posed to light of too great intensity or
too great heat while they are not sup
piled with sufficient water, the increased
exhaustion not being sufficiently counter
balanced by absorption. An illustrator
of this is seen in the. bahit of putting
flowers that one wishes to preserve i'll 8
cool, dark room, since this CHECKS OK
Eafation and thus prevents whitening
while cutting little bit off the stelf
every day removes the scared end alll
thus favors constant absorption Of water
While putting a nttle charcoal in tho
water gives them food from the carbon3,
ecid gas which it holds in its pores.
Flowers themselves are always accept
able to the sick, but Towering plants arr
not SO healthful as foliage plants, al