NITROGEN. 11 



will breathe very quick, become highly excited, and 

 spring about with the greatest activity. Its powers, 

 however, are greatly over-stimulated : exhaustion and 

 death consequently soon ensue. 



4. It is much heavier than hydrogen, and somewhat 

 lighter than common air. 



5. This substance is not only the grand supporter of 

 combustion and of life, but is also the most powerful 

 agent of destruction; for it has a property called by 

 chemists oxidizing, that is, of uniting with nearly all 

 other bodies and forming new combinations, leading 

 either to a changed state or to decay. Thus it is not 

 only the promoter of life, but of death and decomposi 

 tion. 



It might be expected that a body of such immense 

 importance should be abundant, and accordingly we 

 find that oxygen gas is in larger quantity than any other 

 element that is known. It forms, as has been said, 

 a -fifth of the atmosphere; in nine Ibs. of water, there 

 are eight of this gas; it exists largely in all plants, 

 and, in combination with various inorganic bodies, it 

 constitutes a large proportion of the solid crust of our 

 earth. We meet it in all places, and see its effects on 

 almost every known body. As the reader proceeds, 

 he will find numerous references to its action, and will 

 become better acquainted with its properties. In the 

 very next paragraph below is an instance of its oxi 

 dizing phosphorus. 



The last of these four most important organic sub 

 stances, is Nitrogen. This gas is easily prepared in 

 sufficient purity for purposes of experiment, by a very 

 simple process. Common air, or our atmosphere, has 

 been stated to contain one-fifth of oxygen; the re 

 maining four-fifths are nitrogen. In order to separate 

 this nitrogen, we invert an empty glass jar, and place 

 the open mouth in water, thus confining within the 



