472 ORGANOLOGY. 



All these calculations are much higher than those given by others, 

 but, as will be subsequently shown, are far within the truth. About the 

 pretended constancy of oxygen in the atmosphere, nothing has as yet 

 been established. As the calculation stands, only the contents of the 

 carbonic acid in the air are regarded. According to the above data we 

 receive annually into the atmosphere, through the processes of respira- 

 tion and combustion, about 30,000 millions of centners of carbonic acid, 

 or in 5000 years 15,000 billions of pounds. Unfortunately we car 

 hardly approximately estimate the out-pourings of volcanoes, but the} 

 certainly cannot deliver much less carbonic acid than respiration am 

 combustion ; thus there ought to be from twenty to thirty times as mucl 



afresh the contents of the atmosphere, as the above did not satisfy me. The following 

 are the data on which hfs calculations were based : 



For the determination of the mean height of the barometer, twelve determinations 

 (Berghaus' Physical Atlas) upon the surface of the Atlantic Ocean were taken, the 

 result of which was (the attraction of the earth reduced to 45 latitude) 



= 336"', 973 Par. 

 = 348'", 76 Rheinl. 



The pressure of atmospheric vapour was taken, according to Dove, at a yearly 

 mean 



at Calcutta 8'", 350 Par. 



London 4'", 147 



Jena 3'", 118 



Catharinenburg 1"', 80O 



The mean would be 4'", 353 Par. But as this number of cases is small, in order to 

 obtain round numbers, 4'", 76 Rheinl. was assumed as the mean. The pressure of the 

 dry atmosphere is as follows : 



344'" Rheinl. Mercury. 

 = 4664'", 364 Water. 

 = 32', 39 



1 German mile = 1970,1 Prussian rods. (Berghaus, Grundriss der Geographie, 

 p. 5.) 



1 German D mile = 388 1294,01 D rods. 



The surface of the earth = 928 19 16,28 German D miles. (Berghaus, op. cit. p. 13.) 



iPruss. C.-F. of water = 66lb. at 15 R. = 18, 75 C = - ? r^r. lb. = 66-089 at C. 



u'yyoDt)^ 



(Dove, Rep. vol. i. p. 144.) 



Thus is the collective weight of the dry atmosphere 



= 1371977266662000000,0 Ib. 



The volume of the elements of the dry atmosphere, according to Dumas, Boussin- 

 gault, and Brunner (Gmelin, Chemie, vol. i. p. 818.) are 



79-1 6 N. 

 20-79 O. 



0-05 CO 2 mean. 



According to Berzelius and Dulong, the specific gravity is 



O = 1-1026 



N = 0-9760 



CO 8 = 1-5240 



Thus the weight of the elements of the dry atmosphere is 



77-06 N. 

 22-86 O. 

 0-08 CO 8 . 



Thus the contents of the whole atmosphere may be calculated as 

 1,057245,681 689,000000 Ib. N. 

 313634,003159,000000 - O. 



1097,581813,000000 - CO 2 . 

 1,371977,266661,000000 - atmospheric air. 



