360 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



THE CHEMISTEY OF THE KITCHEN. 



By James P. Ltnde of Athol. 



Besides . . . chemical elements, tliere is in the physical world one agent 

 only, and this is called energy. It may appear, according to circum- 

 stances, as motion [heatj, chemical affinity, cohesion, electricity, light, 

 magnetism ; and from any one of these forms it can be transformed into 

 any of the others. — Dr. Mohr. 



I have here a bundle of cotton, which I ignite; it burns and yields a 

 definite amount of heat. Precisely that amount of heat was abstracted 

 from the sun, in order to form that bit of cotton ; . . . every tree, plant 

 and flower grows and flourishes by the grace and bounty of the sun. 



But we cannot stop at vegetable life, for this is the source of all animal 

 life. In the animal body vegetable substances are brought again into cou- 

 tact with their beloved oxj'gen, and they burn within us as a fire l)urns in 

 a grate. This is the source of all animal power, ... all terrestrial power 

 is drawn from the sun. — Prof. Tyndall. 



These quotations present a clear statement of the modern 

 idea of the conservation of energy. 



Scientists explain how the energy derived from the sun is 

 stored in fuel and transformed by oxidation or combustion 

 into light and heat, and mechanical power by steam or hot 

 air ; or into electricity, which may be again transmuted into 

 light and heat and power. The physiologist teaches us how 

 the same latent energy stored in foods serves to Avarm our 

 bodies and give us strength for every effort of body or 

 mind. Many abstruse problems connected with llieso mani- 

 festations of energy remain to be solved through experimental 

 investisration and research. We know but little about the 

 brain and the generation of nervous energy. 



Air and food are the two most important essentials of life. 

 Animals speedily die when deprived of air, while a total 



