460 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



free to examine the basis of the theory upoa which they 

 have built their reputations, as by so doing they would 

 undermine their own position. 



One fallacy thus perpetuated is that of apportioning 

 specific and separate duties to "starch," "sugar 

 amylon," &c., &c., when they are only variations of 

 each other, and are readily convertible from one to 

 another ; as for instance, starch becomes sugar during 

 malting, and when food is digested the supposed dif- 

 ferences cease to exist. The chief available substance in 

 all cases, as before shewn, is carbon, differing in solubility 

 in proportion to the oxygen with which it is associated — 

 thus sugar is more soluble than starch; starch than 

 lignine, &c. 



Another obstacle is the practice of referring to the 

 beautiful ordination by which the balance of nature is 

 restored, by vegetables absorbing carbonic acid gas, and 

 giving out oxygen ; and animals absorbing oxygen, and 

 giving out carbonic acid gas. This is generally held 

 forth as a final answer, and intended to arrest all 

 further inquiry. It is, however, worse than foolish to 

 suppose nature's laws can be disturbed, as it pre-sup- 

 poses a weakness in the Maker of those laws, and leads 

 to the ridiculous idea of an Almighty weakness ! show- 

 ing the absurdity of allowing such doctrines to interfere 

 with legitimate practical inquiry. 



It is needful now to refer to the extensively-propa- 

 gated, and generally-accepted, view of the purpose of 

 respiration, which is evidently erroneous, viz. — 



1. That by the combination of carbon in the blood 

 with the oxygen of respiration, animal heat is supported. 



2. That the removal of the excess of carbon from the 

 blood is essential to render it fit for circulation. 



Now, the union of carbon and oxygen takes place 

 with only a trifling change of volume, and therefore can- 

 not be productive of much heat, heat being only dis- 

 engaged where combination is attended with a consider- 

 able diminution of volume. Animal heat is chiefly sup- 

 plied by the union of the hydrogen of food with the 

 oxygen of respiration, which during combination con- 

 denses and forms water. 



Then, if the blood does contain an excess of carbon, it 

 is only an excess in relation to something else. If it 

 were too large a quantity /)er se, why not abstain from 

 adding more by the food, which consists principally of 

 carbon ? It would, however, be more correct to say 

 that there is a deficiency of some other element or ele- 

 ments in relation to the quantity of carbon, which is 

 the actual case. 



In order to make this more evident, suppose, as it 

 occasionally happens, that a most unusual abundance of 

 fish were caught, where there was not at hand a suf- 

 ficiency of salt to cure them ; would not any sensible 

 person, instead of saying there were too many fish, at 

 once say there was a deficiency of salt ? This is exactly 

 the case with the carbon of the blood ; but all salt is not 

 muriate of soda. 



All parts of the animal system are supplied and renewed 

 with substances derived from the blood during its circu- 

 lation through them — carbon is the main element in the 

 composition of animal substances — consequently it is 



extremely absurd to suppose there is any advantage 

 attending the abstraction from the blood of the chief ele- 

 ment of the flesh. 



Food, as generally used, always contains a larger por- 

 tion of carbon than of salts capable of retaininjj; it when 

 in the body of an animal ; and this is the reason of, and 

 is demonstrated by, the relative excess combining with 

 oxygen, and escaping as carbonic acid gas. 



The obvious remedy is to supply the deficiency of 

 salts having an affinity for this carbonic acid gas, and we 

 have, by the natural conformation of animals, every 

 facility for making such application eff'ectual. 



The carbon contained in the blood circulates with it 

 through the lungs, and there, coming in contact with 

 oxygen, is transformed into carbonic acid gas ; and it 

 must be evident that if we introduce, through the 

 medium of the food, into the blood, soluble substances 

 having an affinity for carbonic acid gas, and this gas, 

 and consequently the Carbon (which is one of its con- 

 stituents) WILL BE ABSORBED OR FIXED, AND THUS 

 PREVENTED ESCAPING. 



It is admitted that/ree carbonic acid gas is injurious 

 to animals, and must be expelled from the system ; but 

 when this gas is fixed, it may, on the contrary, be ren- 

 dered highly beneficial, and the carbon it contains as 

 conducive to the formation of flesh, as any other portion 

 of the carbon of food. It is obvious that before any 

 further process can be commenced with reference to the 

 carbon becoming useful for flesh-making, it must be 

 prevented flying off' ; on the same principle that Mrs. 

 Glass says, "first catch your hare," before detailing the 

 process of cookery. 



The fixation of carbonic acid gas has been attempted 

 by various means, but being deficient in chemical know- 

 ledge the parties making the experiments have never 

 yet produced any decidedly beneficial results ; for in- 

 stance, charcoal, ashes, &c., have been used. 



Charcoal when fresh will undoubtedly absorb a large 

 quantity of carbonic acid gas ; but charcoal itself being 

 carbon, is afterwards converted into carbonic acid gas, 

 and both it and the gas it had previously absorbed 

 escape. 



Ashes, lohen fresh and irell burned, contain caustic 

 alkalies which have an affinity for carbonic acid gas ; but 

 before they reach the lungs they are liable to corrode 

 parts with which they come in contact ; and not only so, 

 but meeting with fat already formed in the animal, they 

 unite with and form it into soap, and thus being ren- 

 dered soluble it is evacuated and lost. If the ashes, on 

 the contrary, have been long made and exposed to the 

 air, they will have already become saturated with car- 

 bonic acid gas, and consequently cannot absorb or fix 

 any more, and are therefore inert, if not injurious. 



There are, however, two plans by which the fixation 

 of carbonic acid gas can be certainly and beneficially 

 accomplished. 



1. By introducing into the system, along with the 

 ordinary food, a soluble neutral salt, having so feeble an 

 affinity existing between the acid and the base, that 

 when in contact with carbonic acid gas the base will 

 leave the acid, with which it was at first combined, to 



