THE ATMOSPHERE. 



No substance, unless it is heat, is so universally diffu- 

 sed through the material creation; none so extensive 

 and varied in ks forms and combinations ; none to which 

 artists are obliged to make such constant application for 

 aid, or so often to consult, or, if not consulted, disap- 

 points them with defeat, as this same oxigen, of which 

 we are speaking. It constitutes not only the most inter- 

 esting portion of the atmosphere, but more than seven 

 eighths of water, nearly one half of the whole vegetable 

 kingdom, a considerable part of soils and mountains, 

 whatever the ingredients or the strata of rocks which 

 compose them, enters extensively and largely into the 

 ores of metals, and into the rare and precious minerals. 



But our subject is the atmosphere, and not water, 

 vegetables, soils, mountains, metals, or rare minerals, 

 however interesting, or worthy of attention. Oxigen, 

 acting in the atmosphere, is the agent whose character 

 we are HOW examining, the constant companion we are 

 now conversing with, the neglected friend we are now 

 consuhing. We must of course inquire what powers this 

 agent possesses, what part it acts in the great theatre of 

 nature ; how it gives success to the industry of the artist, 

 and defeats his most unwearied attempts to go counter 

 to its dictates. 



To explain fully all the operations carried on by the 

 agency of oxigen, would require volumes instead of a 

 small tract. A few of the most important can therefore 

 be mentioned, which are the following. 



I. Oxigen supports life by aiding the lungs in the 

 process of respiration. 



The lungs inhale air twentysix or twenty-seven times 

 in a minute, taking in, at each inspiration, about forty 

 cubic inches, which is something over one hundred hogs- 

 heads a day. A chemical action is constantly carried on 

 by the atmosphere and lungs, which the Creator of both 

 has so wisely and wonderfully fitted to each other. By 

 this action, nine or ten gallons of oxigen are consumed 

 in an hour, or taken up by the blood to form another 

 kind of an entirely different character, to be mentioned 

 and explained in another place. 



Not only the human race, but the whole animal king- 



VOL. i. NO. i. 1 * 



