88 



ON RESPIR^riOJT. 



11. 



Farther Remarks on Ke.spiration, in Answer to J. F. Bt/ 

 ]\jr. Acton. 



To Mr. NICHOLSON. 

 My dear Sir, 



Mr. Actrin's 

 nIO^ives for 

 his experi- 

 ments o,, gf r 

 riiination and 

 respiration. 



in answer to 

 Mr. liilis. 



?oJnt5 in 

 question. 



fVpiiiion of 

 Mr, Ellis. 



X aS I am not conscious of having been influenced by any- 

 worse motive tiian the love oi" itiquiry and truth iu thy pio- 

 s"cntion of the experiments on germination and respiration, 

 which yon ha" e done me the honoiir of inserting in your 

 "valiia*)1e,.Joiiinal, I the more readily notice the ramarks of 

 youi" co'-rejepo^ident J. F. in the last numVier*, being per- 

 suaded they were made from the purest intentions of doing 

 justice to the talents and exe: tions of a very reS|)ectiible in- 

 dividual, and correcting- jvhat may li^ve appeared to him 

 to have the semblance of misrepretiexi'^aiion. 



[ entreat it may be understood, that in speaking of Mr. 

 Ellis's work nothing could have been farther from mv 

 thoughts, than any wish to l«;3en its merit, or detract from 

 its value in the public estimation. Mi^-. Ellis thought pVo- 

 per to attempt the esfabi'iihnicfit of a new fundaraeiltal doc- 

 trine in chemical physiology; and for my own part heirjg 

 warmly attached to the I'nore plain and siinple' mqhn^r ,of 

 explaining tlie same phenomena, 1 presumed to lift up my 

 feeble voice against the innovation, with what succefs can- 

 not at present perhaps be determined. '■' "I' 



Upon referring to'Mr. Ellis's work arid* my papers, 1 be- 

 lieve it will be found, that the question at issue is precisely 

 this. Do seeds, plants, and animals, during their respective 

 functions of germination, vegetation,' and respiration, ab- 

 sorb oxigeh gas and emit cavborne acid gas ? Or is solid 

 carbon given out, and by uniting to the oxigen gas exteri- 

 orly to the seed, plant, or animal, does it. form the car- 

 bonic acid gas produced.'' Mr. Ellis is of the latter opi- 

 nion, and his work is written expressly to demonstrate it. 



Vol. XXIV. p. 307. 



He 



