Year: 1872

Poison Aud It's Anlido,c.


The traveller Loudon gives the follow
ing INTERESTING account of the famous
poisonous valley ia the island Of Java.
I'VE took with Us some dogs and fowls
to Try experiments in this poisonous hol
low. When within = few yards
of tho valley We experienced strong
nauseous smell, but coming close to its
edge this disgrceabe odor left US. The
valley appeared to be about half a mile
IN circumference, oval, and the depth
from thirty to thirty-fve feet the bot.
tom quite fiat; no vegetation and the
whole covered with the skeletons Of hu
man beings, tigers, pigs, deer, reacocks,
and all sorts of birds. We now
fastened dog to the end Of bamboo,
eighteen feet long, and sent him in-we
had our watches in our hands, and In
fourteen seconds he fell on his back, did
not move his limbs or look around, but
continued to breathe eighteen minutes.
We then sent in another, or rather he
GO. loose and walked in to whero the
other dog was iyiug. Ho shen stood
quito still, and in ten minuets foil on his
face and nevc afterward moved his
limbs. He continued to breathe seven
minutes. We now tried fowl which
died u minute and half We threw
in another, which died before touching
the ground. X On the opposite side


of the valley], near lurge stone, was
the skeleton of human being, who
must have perished on his back, with
his right hand under his head. From
being exposed to the weather, the bones
we're bleached as white as ivory. | was
anxious to procure this skeleton, but any
attempt to get it would have been mad.
ness.


The old legend in regard to this valley
was that poisonous tree grew here named
the Upas, and if any one approached it,
tho result was sure doath. Subsequent
investigation, however, proved the in
correctness Of the legend in regard to
the tree, but not, as it seems, in regard
to the deadiness Of the place. Nor was
this latter exaggerated but ITS cause ex-
animation proved to be merely the over
loading Of the air with carboDic acid gas.
The origin Of the gas has not been SO
clearly ascertained, but has been sup
posed to be from some vent in the cart h
supplying the gas faster than it can be
dissipated in tho air, though the traveller
just quoted says, 1--WE could not perceive
any vapor, or any opening in the ground" "
Nevertheless this gas is known to be an
,h op ~ nd
from some such interior source it may be
conveyed to this spot faster than it is
conveyed away.


But why are there not many such
poisonous valleys in the world? +? The
number Of volcanic vents is great, and
they are continually sending forth this
same deadly product. Yet farther, SO
far as this material is concerned, every
Ere is volcano continually emmitting
this gas as its chief product; and the
amount Of the whole may be judged by
tho fact that any average sized blast
furnace will send forth at least two tons
every hour, Still farther, every pair of
lungs is a little furnace adding no iucon
siderable quota; for the breathing Of a
populatian like that in New York will
produce no less than four thousand tons
every day +; and, the world over animal
lungs produce fully twice as much as the
human. Still further, the various process
ses of fermentation and decay are pour
ing into the air four times as much Of
this gas us the human lungs produce.
Altogether, the best computation makes
the daily production of carbonic acid
gas from these latter sources no less than
eleven thousand million pounds: and
this in addition to what may be produced
from any sources within the earth
Surely, in view of such numbers VIC
might ask, why should not the whole
surface of the earth be made at length q
Upas valley? Such Indeed it would
have become, not within the period since
man 8 creation, but since the earth's first
creation, had it not been for wonderful
provision which has been made for the
consumption Of this gas as fast a. pro.
duced A poison to all animal life 1t is
tho indispensable food Of all vegetable
life. However much therefore, the
former may send forth into the atmos
phere, the latter is ready to absorb it oil.
We are amazed at tho immense sun
which represents the whole amount pro
duced, but We are no less surprised a'
some Of the figures which tell of the
amount required to sustain all the plant'
which are gowlng upon the earth. These
all are provided with little mouths, scat
tered thickly over their leaves, which
suck in the carbonic acid from the air
and, under the influence of the sunlight
resolve it again into its elements, retain
ing the carbon to build up the plant, bu
sending out the oxygen TO be breathec
over by man or animal, or to sustain ,
aamo, which will freight it again will
carbon fov still another use Of the plant
Aud thus tho endless interchange goes
on. The respiration Of man 10 kept VI
by this dis.illa,ion Of ,he plant, and th'
plant 10 sustained by the waste from th'
system of the animal: OF else by tn,