miw 



44 OP CARBON. 



omnipotence of that Almighty being, who, for 

 purposes far beyond our finite comprehensions, 

 has placed man at the head of this scheme, in- 

 dued with power to use these influences for his 

 own good, and with necessities which compel 

 their action. 



It has previously been stated, that carbon 

 exists as a gas in the atmosphere which sur- 

 rounds the globe, and although its quantity 

 may appear too limited to produce the effects 

 attributed to it, still when the immense extent 

 of the atmosphere which surrounds the globe is 

 taken into consideration, and the constant sup- 

 ply of carbon which is furnished by mankind 

 and all animals in the process of respiration, 

 and the quantity that is yielded in the process 

 of combustion, our wonder will cease, and .will 

 be directed to that principle of vegetable life 

 which can absorb such a vast amount of nox- 

 ious matter. 



In addition to the carbon, 100 parts of the 

 atmosphere which surrounds the globe, con- 

 sists (in every climate, and in every situation) 

 of 21 parts of oxygen gas, and 79 parts of ni- 

 trogen. Here we have only to speak of oxy- 

 gen, and the consideration of nitrogen and 

 its effects on vegetation, must be postponed* to 

 a succeeding chapter. 



Oxygen is the great supporter of animal 

 life during the process of respiration. In this 

 process the atmospheric air is taken into the 

 lungs, and one portion of the oxygen it contains 

 is absorbed by the blood, and another unites 

 with the carbon of the blood brought up by the 



