181',7.] 
AM 1 :ilICAN AGHTCUI.TUIllST. 
333 
iDDl'iJMilS. 
u r<*al li—How Air Ih Purifioil. 
In our last talk alwut Iho broath, wc showed that what 
pas'fd friiin the luuLts, aud the bubbles which rise from 
the llrae and vtiio^Tir, are similar; both make clear 
lime-water turn milky. Such air, or, more properiy spi'ak- 
inir. ^ich ga>, is called carbonic acid gas. It forms the 
large.'t part of the breath which leaves the lungs, and is 
a poi'on if breathed again. Freshly bunied lime will 
absorb this gas from the air, and become “ air-slaked.” 
If strong vinegar or other acid be poured upon air- 
slaked lime, it will unite with the lime, and let the car¬ 
bonic acid gas pass off a:;ain. Wood, coal, and most 
combustibles are largely made up of carbon. When they 
are burned, oxygen from the air unites with the carbon 
and forms carbonic acid. When air is drawn into the 
lungs, it mixes with the blootl, and its oxygen unites with 
carbon contained in the blood, forming carbonic acid, 
which is expelled by breathing out. Then the atmos¬ 
phere around the house is being constantly spoiled by all 
the fires that are bunting, and by every living creature 
that breathes, for they are all pouring out the poisonous 
carbonic acid gas. There must be some verj- extensive 
apparatus to purify the air, for it has received millions of 
tons of carbonic acid every day for thousands of years. 
There U such apparatus. It is found In every leaf of the 
trees, in every blade of gra-ss, in every weed that grows 
under the water, in all 
vegetable productions. 
For these are so made, 
that Uiey take carl>.>nlc 
acid from the air, keep 
the carbon to increase 
their growth, and send 
out the oxygen into the 
atmosphere again. Tim 
wood of forc.st trees, the 
stalk of waving coni, the 
flowers, and all the in¬ 
numerable parts of vege¬ 
table growth, are most¬ 
ly ma.le of carbon thus 
drawn from the air. The 
breath from your lungs 
to-day may ere long be 
I«rt of the rose which 
will bloom in the gar¬ 
den. The wood consum¬ 
ed in your stove will 
find its way back to the 
forests; the coal will 
help to nourish the har¬ 
vests of coming years. 
The wheat will be eaten, 
its carbon will help form 
living muscle, this, when 
worn out, will be taken 
into the blood, oxygen 
from the air will enter 
the lungs, find the worn- 
out particle, and unite with it, the gas will go forth to 
enter some other form of growth—and thus ceaselessly 
the wonderftil round of growth, change, decay, and new 
life will lie continued to the end of time, as it has since 
its beginning, ever bearing testimony to the wondrous 
skill of the Creator, and his goodness in providing for 
the life of his creatures, aud calling for their gratitude. 
Ready and IVilling: to Worlf. 
On the roof of a high building at the comer of a street 
in the city of New York, stands the statue of a boy lean¬ 
ing against the tnink of a tree. He seems in a 
watchful, waiting mood ; not idly wasting time, 
but all ready for a call to duty,—hoping for it 
and expecting it. The boy represented there 
has grown to lie a prosperous and wealthy man. 
When a boy ho was very poor. A tree stood 
ujion that street comer then, and there he would 
go and wait, sometimes leaning for rest against 
the tree, hut always on the alert; always ready 
for work, and prompt to answer tlic first call of 
any who would employ him. "i e.ars passed by 
and he became tlic rich owner of that comer and 
the buildings on it. But he was not ashamed of 
the days of his honi’st poverty, and he caused 
this statue to 1)0 made from the old tree, and 
placed where it is, to show what he had been 
in his boyhood. And now the statue is con¬ 
stantly proclaiming from its lofty place to all 
the pa-sers by, what industry and perseverance 
can accompll.sh.—There is nothing wonderful 
in that Ixiy’s success. lie was not axhamed to _ 
work, and was always ready for it. Here, boys, 
U a lesson for you. Most of you will probably have 
to work for a Uviug. Po not regard that as a mis¬ 
fortune. Make up your minds to go at it like manly 
boys; always wide-awake, always willing to do your 
part as fast us you find out what that is. Suc-h boys make 
noble men. Uncle Paul. 
Terriers vs. Cats.— A sharp-eyed correspondent, 
” G. II. C.," thus comments on the answer to the “Cat 
Problem,” (No. S!05). “ Mathematically it is answered 
correctly, but practically, it is incorrect, for the reason 
that a cat rarely, if ever, kills two nits in immediate suc¬ 
cession. As soon as one rat is vanquished, it is carried 
to a place of safety, or to the house to be exhibited, or 
more frequently the cat begins to devour it. Had the 
problem named terriers, there would have been no such 
doubts as to practicability.” We. print this note, to en¬ 
courage all to keep their eyes open, to closely observe 
every thing going on around them; the above fact in the 
habits of cats was probably known to most of those 
wlio answered the iiroblem, but only one seems to have 
thought of it in connection with the problem. 
A'ew to l»e Aasiwercd. 
No. 273. Figure Pitzzle.~Vt\\vi.t well-known plant can 
the number four be made to exactly represent? 
No. 270. Double Puzde.—Thc picture below is first a 
puzzle for the eye. When all it contains is discovered, 
you may find a rebus to be read, giving a word that has 
some fame m history. It will be interesting to read the 
history describing and giving an account of it, and 
thus you may get the whole benefit of the puzzle. 
No. 277. Enigma .—Contributed to the American Agri- 
adturist by Mehltable Duncan. I have a tongue, but 
never cat; I have a voice, but never speak; I’m some¬ 
times young, and sometimes old, but rarely number more 
than twelve; and ’though all over the world I roam, I 
very seldom go alone; at home, abroad, in every place, 
I wear no stays, but often lace ; I have eyes, but never 
see, and the “ Wcllspring of Life” is contained in me. 
No. 278. Sludy in norsemanship.—T^h^s is not difficult 
to solve, as it is only required to get the boys off their 
horses. Almost any boy can easily tell how that is done. 
No. 279. Illustrated For the young to remember. 
Answers to I*rol>lems and. Rnzzlcs. 
The following are answers to the puzzles, etc., in the 
August number, p. 297. 
No. 272. Illustrated De¬ 
bus .—To be over-tena¬ 
cious in trifles indicates 
little understanding.... 
No. 273. Arithmetical 
FrcMem .—No correct an¬ 
swers received; left open 
for another month. 
No. 27-1. Illustrated De¬ 
bus. — Keep malice in 
your heart, and you har¬ 
bor a viper there.... The 
following sent in correct 
answers to the puzzles, 
etc.; Clara L. Kice, Jas. 
Crockett, Susie and Han¬ 
nah Otis, J. R. Land, 
Henry Weber, J. F. B., 
P. J. Umsted, Isaac T. 
McLain, Stephen Ilait, 
Enos Stoneback, Sarah 
E. Adkins, Joseph Raw- 
son, Wm. A. Smith, “ L. 
A. C.,” Mamie and Lena 
Close, Samuel F. King, 
J. Milton Snyder, Sarah 
L. Tyler, Etta Wilson, 
^ohn H. Coffin, Andrew 
Jackson, Henry J. Meix- 
ell, Eugene A. Baumann 
Hugh U. Kay, M. Cam¬ 
pion, S. M. Wright, 
George E. Clarke, “A. P. C.,” Julius M. B. Lara- 
bee, Stanford Swords, E. Leonard, T. Gurnee, Frank 
Botsford, Wm. P. Powell, Student, Beckie R. Morse, 
William Wilkenson, William H. Rowe, Mary R. Child, 
Jay Clark, H. J. Porter, F. W. Earl, Frank H. Marston, 
Anice Cochran, Lebbie Stephens, James B. Marshall. 
Xrae Coiirag:©. 
Bishop Simpson relates the following incident; Before 
the war, while General Sherman was living in San Fran¬ 
cisco, there was a great celebration of Independence 
Day. The General was Grand Marshal, and pre¬ 
sided at an immense gathering at the theatre, 
where the Declaration was to be read, a poem 
delivered, with other exercises appropriate to 
the occasion. Just as the poem was com¬ 
menced. one of the General’s aids advanced to 
the platform, looking ghastly pale, and beckon¬ 
ing Sherman to him, whispered in his ear that 
the side-walls of the building had settled under 
the great jiressure from the crowd within, and 
there was danger of their giving way and over¬ 
whelming them in the ruins. The General in¬ 
stantly directed him to be seated whcio the 
audience could not sec his frightened counte¬ 
nance, ordered another aid to watch the walls 
and report if any further settling was noticed, 
and then calmly took his seat and apparently 
gave his entire attention to the exercises. Ho 
judged that any violent commotion among the 
assembly would be likely to increase the danger, 
while if they dispersed slowly, no harm might 
follow. For an hour or more he remained at 
his post, and at last the crowd retired safely, en¬ 
tirely ignorant of the great peril they had escaped. 
