324 



KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



tin j hands of the infant are extended as if inviting 

 the embrace of the beholder, — and altogether the 

 miniature bears the soul and life about it that 

 could only be secured by an almost instantaneous 

 work of nature. Such indeed it was. 



The mother's reverie is at length disturbed by 

 the waking of the invalid — 



"Ma! ma!" said the child, "have you not 

 been crying ? " 



" Crying, dear? what should make me cry, now 

 that my darling is getting well?" and she im- 

 printed a fervent kiss on the brow of her offspring. 



" You were crying," resumed the child. " I've 

 been awake and saw you kiss papa's picture." 



The accusation was too much for the full heart 

 of the fond mother. She buried her face in her 

 hands, and gave vent to her feelings in a flood of 

 tears 



Reader ! there is more truth in this little scene 

 than may at first sight be imagined. Nay it is 

 true to the letter. The picture is drawn from 

 life! 



T. H. C. 



POPULAR SCIENCE. 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 



No. I. — The Chemistry of Plants. 



In these days, everybody is desirous 

 of knowing a little about everything ; not 

 so much from the desire of becoming rivals 

 to that class of " dabblers " who continually 

 bore you with cramp names in common con- 

 versation, and tell you everything they 

 know — and a great deal which they don't — 

 but for the laudable purpose of understanding 

 what is every day spoken about, and every 

 day seen. To aid such as desire a little 

 information regarding that fairest half of 

 creation, the vegetable kingdom, in some 

 knowledge of the mysteries of non-animated 

 life, I will endeavor, in the course of five 

 easy lessons, to convey a little useful know- 

 ledge as free as possible from those dread 

 scholastic barriers, scientific technicalities. 



It is unnecessary to tell the reader that 

 plants are objects endowed with life, but 

 not animated ; that they differ from animals 

 in wanting volition and sensation ; that 

 while they live by food and have a regular 

 circulation, they possess neither stomach 

 nor ieart. These facts are self-evident, 

 and need not be dwelt upon. More impor- 

 tant, however, is the different sphere of 

 action of each of the two kingdoms, as 

 regards the grand economy of nature. This 

 subject will be treated of hereafter. 



What are plants composed of? What 

 are animals composed of? Here are two 

 most interesting questions ; and few we 

 think would credit if roundly told that the 

 majestic oak, the humble lichen, even Man, 

 the noblest of God's works — consist of 

 nothing more than air and water, with a 



little dust. Thin, subtle, invisible air, clear 

 colorless, tasteless water, and fine dust ! 

 Such, however, is the case ; as may be proved 

 beyond dispute, by burning a leaf, a piece 

 of wood or flesh, until both air and water 

 are dispersed, and we have nothing left save 

 a morsel of ash. This ash or dust, though 

 it plays an important part in vegetable lite, 

 may conveniently be left out of considera- 

 tion for the present, merely premising of it, 

 that it seldom amounts to more than from 

 two to five per cent, of the entire weight of 

 the plant. 



Having then for a time got rid of that 

 which is solid and tangible, we have now 

 only to do with the air and water, or the 

 bodies which the plant procures from them. 

 These are four in number, are gaseous in 

 form, and universal in diffusion, forming 

 according to the character of their union 

 with each other, either gases, liquids, or 

 solids. The names applied to these 

 elements by chemists, are Carbon, Hydrogen, 

 Oxygen and Nitrogen ; and in scientific 

 writings, they are represented by their initial 

 letters C. H. 0. N., a practice which I pro- 

 pose to adopt in these papers. Carbon [C.] 

 is not found as a gas, except in combination 

 with something else, and is seldom to be 

 met with at all in a pure state. Indeed, it 

 is said that the diamond is the only instance 

 in which it is found pure. Charcoal is a 

 more familiar example, though there it is 

 mixed up with the dust or ash of the plant, 

 and not unfrequently with other gases. 

 Hydrogen [H.] is the lightest of all gases ; 

 and, unlike the former, is inflammable, burning 

 with a sepulchral yellow flame, and an intense 

 heat. In combination with C. it constitutes 

 the gas which is burned in our houses ; and 

 with Oxygen, forms water. It is never 

 found pure in nature, but is readily prepared 

 in chemistry. Oxygen [O.] is the great 

 life-sustaining gas ; without it, life would 

 instantly become extinct. So slender is the 

 thread of our existence ! It supports com- 

 bustion. With C. it forms that most 

 deleterious gas, carbonic acid, with. H. 

 water ; and with the next in order, makes 

 up the great bulk of the atmosphere. 

 Nitrogen [N.] exists less plentifully in plants 

 I than in animals, and to its presence, is 

 chiefly attributable the unwholesome smell 

 emitted by decaying matter. 



The ash of plants, or as it is generally 

 termed the inorganic part, consists of a much 

 greater number of elements than that which 

 we have been considering, or the organic. 

 They do occur, however, in small quantities. 

 The potato contains about eleven parts of 

 ash in a thousand of the tuber ; the turnip, 

 ten ; beetroot, ten ; parsley, twenty-seven ; 

 and French beans, only six. The quantity 

 found in fruit is still lower. The strawberry 



