"WHAT WE BREATHE AND HOW".

Colonist, Volume II, Issue 107, 29 October 1858, Page 3

"WHAT WE BREATHE AND HOW".

A..Lfiaipas.wfiß.recently given o|ft;;tKe;nbove subr. ject at the Sydhcy School of Art&"by.'l>r. Boyd. The lecturer, after having briefly recapitulated the principal topics treated in his last lecture on the same subject, and alluded to lhe difficulty„of handling a scientific subject so as to render'it at' once interesting and instructive, said, that if we' called to mind how the atmosphere surrounded;uson all sides, and acted on every point on the surface of our bodies, how it passed into and out1 of the lungs 20 times every minute, and was carried into the farthest corner of our frames, it was clear that the question of its purity was a very serious one. It operated not only through its chemical construction, but through its physical properties— the -varieties in its density, its dryness, its temper.vture, its electric state —not only pleasingly or disagreeably affected our sensations, but through" them influenced our habits, and, independently of them, our health. They were - the immediate sources of some maladies, the predisposing causes of others, and' frequently modified the progress of disease, and the results of treatment, with a power which the physician vainly endeavored to control. As the physical effects of the atmosphere belonged .to it as a whole, while its chemical action was exerted by separate ingredients, he would'give precedence to the former. We moved ""through the air with such perfect ease and freedom that he was certainly a very clever fellow who first conceived the idea of weighing it; and he believed that every^ one felt some surprise, not on being told that so many cubic inches of air weighed so many grains, but on learning.that ai fluid, which Was invisible and impalpable,- pressed on the earth's surface, and of course on tlie surface of our bodies, with a weight equal to 14 lbs. the ;squar,e. inch, or about 12 tons on the entire surface ofthe body. The idea which at once occurred was, that, if this be true, we ought to be crushed away to nothing; and this would happen if the air had not. access to the interior of our bodies; but as it found: entrance by many channels, and circulated with the blood through the most delicate tissues, the pressure from within and without was so nicely balanced as to render us unconscious of either. If this balance were disturbed, an immediate result was perceived. When the cupping glass was employed, the pressure of the air was withdrawn from a small portion of the surface, and the skin and flesh beneath bulged up into the glass, and became crimson from engorgement with blood. This occurred chiefly because the tissues near the skin were expanded by- the elasticity ofthe air which they contained, whilst a rush of blood took place to where the pressure was least. An apparatus called the juned boot, shewing the same effect on a grand scale, was alluded to and fully described. The atmosphere, continued the lecturer, was to be regarded as an ocean of air, at the bottom of which Aye were walking; enveloping the globe as the rind of an orange does its pulp, and about as thick in proportion to the diameter of the earth as the rind is to the orange, that was about the l-40th part. Many properties of the atmosphere were fully explained. If we ascended a mountain, the air being gradually pressed on by less weight from above became thinner and thinner, lighter and lighter; at 11,500 feet above the level of the sea, or about two miles, the pressure was only one-half what it would be on the surface, or six tons instead of twelve. If the atmosphere were uniformly without of the same density as at the sea level it would form a layer only five miles in thickness, so that the peak of the highest mountain would rise above.it,' but from its elasticity it becomes more and more highly ratified, till at last we lost all trace of its existence at the height of about fifty miles. It was clear then that if a cubic foot of air, at the height of 11,000 feet, weighed only onehalf what it did on the sea shore, it must contain only half as much oxygen and nitrogen, so that we must'breathe twice as often to take in an equal quantity. At a moderate height no inconvenience was felt from this,; on the contrary, we were conscious of a feeling of freshness, of greater activity and higher spirits—of a buoyancy intoxicating and, .delightful.;.'as we ascended, however, to "greatheights, the want of oxygen made itself felt, not while we remained perfectly at rest, because there-, was little expenditure of force; but as soon as active exertion was made, and- oxygen required for the necessary combustion, the weakness and inability to work were perceived. In Mr.. Green's .celebrated ascent in a balloon^ to a height of about 27,000 feet, a few minutes sufficed: tocarry him two miles above the earth, when the pressure of the air on the body was suddenly reduced by several tons, and no,discomfort was experienced j and even at a height of five miles when the cold was intense, there .was.ho difficulty in breathing so long as he sat perfectly still'; but even a slight movement in adjusting the rope of the car was found to be distressing; the barometer having fallen,, so as' to indicate that tbe pressure of the atmosphere on the square inch, was 5 lbs. instead of 14. In scaling or climbing Mount Blanc the difficulty of advancing a few steps without resting when near the summit, was universally found distressing, the main reasons being the insufficient supply of oxygen,'.in consequence of the thinness of the atmosphere, and also, that from its diminished pressure on the body, the joints, especially at the hips are, so to speak, loosened; the opposite surfaces of the bones whicli form the joints not being kept closely and firmly against each other as they were" in the valley, where the pressure was greater. This loss of balance of pressure affected the internal surface of the body likewise, so that the blood was more apt to hurst the walls of the capillary vessels, especially in the lungs. Bleeding at the mouth, nose, and ears, at great elevations, had frequently been recorded, and in hilly regions hemorrhages of all kinds, especially spitting of blood, were more common than in the low grounds, and wounds were more difficult to heal. Dr. Hooker, however, one of our most daring explorers,' said that he had never either experienced it or seen it; nor yet that peculiarly dark appearance of the sky—a blue so deep as to verge on blackness. But while Mount Blanc rose high over the green valleys and the sombre foliage of the stunted pines, aud the traveller struggled breathless and panting to the top, he found on the nothern slope of the Himalayas,at an almost equal height,clear streams, green turfy banks dotted with the thickets of sweet briars, juniper, and rhododendrous where birds nestled and herds of deer fed; and at an elevation of 14,000 feet in the sheltered valleys—for though to speak of valleys at such a height sounded strange,, we must remember that the great 1-.mountain peaks tower 15,000 feet higher still—villages were frequent; and turnips, barley, and grain of various kinds were successfully cultivated. Here, of course, the natives suffered no discomfort from the rarity of the air; but Europeans who groped their way this high (16,000 ieet) complain greatly of fatigue, which, however, passed off'after a few weeks residence. Many instances were liere adduced by the lecturer to shew the power which animals, plants, and men possessed of conforming to so anomalous and unfavorable a state of the atmosphere—-at a height of 18,000 feet water boiled at a temperature of 180 degrees, or 32 degrees below the ordinary boiling point. One disagreeable result of this was the difficulty of preparing food, such as required a temperature of 212 degrees for its proper cooking. Yon Tshudi, in his travels in Peru, said that the tiotatoes after having been boiled were still quite lard, the pot was left on the fire all night, and next day boiled again: all to no purpose! So that the Indians, thought some witchcraft was at work; either with theq>ot or. with the potatoes. The diminished pressure of the air at such a height on the surface of the water permitted its expansion into steam at a lower temperature, and so'regular was this result that the height of any place above the sea might be ascertained with tolerable accuracy by noticing the point of the thermometer at which Water boils, and this is lower by one degree for every 530 feet we mount. After illustrating the influence of air in deep mines and in the diving bells, &c, the lecturer said that while the effects of difference of atmospheric pressure were experienced by comparatively few, all of ns were familiar with the influence of differences in its temperature. These 'were dependent upon latitude, that is, distance from the equator; elevation above the sea ; nature of the earth's surface; exposure to currents of air ; and proximity to large expanses of land and Water. After further explaining the causes of diversity of tempera*

tore, Dr. Boyd continued: Unquestionably th» greatest of physic.!) strength and beauty, -as well as the highest union »f intellectual refinemeiitj'.were the offspring of the temperate zone, j Tiie negro dwelling tinder the line was not, however, deficient in mus.'ular strength, and lived to a I great age. Indeed, the same might be said of the Russians and Swedes-. The. Laplanders and Es- I qnimaux were also adverted to; the lecturer j seeming to. think that that specific difference In J bioedythe darkness which prevailed for much of j j the year, and the mere twilight of a still larger portion, had; probably more to do with their stunted appearance than with the simple absence of heat. But While man as a race was cosmopolite, he was not so as an individual. The negro, transferred to colder climates, suffered from the consequences of depressed vital action, generally manifested in the supervention of consumption. Tlie European, passing, to India or Africa, was exposed' to the effects of the excessive activity of various organs,' as the skin, the liver; and suffered from fever, dysentery, and cholera. It was wonderful, however, how little the actual temperature of our bodies was affected even by the extremes of cold and heat. In the hottest countries, as Arabia, Africa, Central Australia—in the hottest seasons where the thermometer has been found to stand . diove 130 degrees in the shade, and in Siberia,1 on the borders of the Icy ocean, where it fell to sixty or seventy degrees below Zero, the difference in the temperature of the body was not more than 2' degrees. In the former case the body was kept: cool by.-the constant escape of moisture from its surface. So protected, a-much higher hfeat had.^ been sustained with impunity for 3 short peribdy The experiments-of Sir Blagdon, in remaining 8;, minutes: in/a chamber heated 260 degrees, were well known; while Sir F. Chahtrey occasionally entered the furnace in whicli his clay models were hung dried, at a temperature, of 320 degrees, half yas hot again as boiling water., Whether at the Pole or the Equator, the mean temperature of the body ,was kept up to 100" degrees ; and we might suppose the fresh material needed, for the mere sustenance of the frame to be the same in the negro as in the Laplander; two men of equal, size would, so far as that was concerned, require the same weight of food, whether at the Equator or ; Pole; but at the Equator, where the mean tern-, perature was only" 85 degrees, the body needed to manufacture only 15 degrees of additional heat; while in the Arctic Regions, where it was scarcely above Zero, it must generate 100 degrees of heatv to preserve natural healthy warmth. It was clear than that" fuel, or otherwise food of very different kinds and different quantities, was requisite. Summer fruits, milk, vegetables, contained a large proportion of water, and produced by their union with oxygen no very great amount of heat. In English Junes and Australian Decembers, it was cooling even to think of grapes and strawberries. The lecturer fully explained the great variety of diet-necessitated by the differences of climate; animal food being essential in cold countries— witness what prevailed among the Esquimaux and Laplanders, and even. British'seamen cruising in the polar seas, —while a cooling vegetable aud fruit diet were best adapted for warm and tropical countries. Dr. Boyd further stated, that we were not to suppose that the inhabitants of the Arctic climate found it disagreeable. The thermometer at Zero, was to them a pleasant temperature; fifteen degrees above it Was'disagreeably warm. Twenty degrees below Zero made a brisk invigorating day. In fact, they enjoyed their climate as we did purs, and it was the peculiarity of their food which enabled them to do so. The dryness of the atmosphere was alluded to, audit was stated as a singular fact, that, even when the air felt like the hot blast of a furnace, it was more or less saturated with watery particles; and there weie many plants:and insects furnished with a power of extracting them out. The influence of electricity was next treated, arid the . apparatus with which the torpedo eel and other animals were provided for its secretion, was. fully ;The lecturer next alluded to the chemicalcoraposition of tlie atniosphere,'and its nature arid operations. The various proportions in which Oxygen, and nitrogen combined and existed in; our atmosphere, were described at great length, and several beautiful experiments performed to" shew the different properties of oxygen and hydrogen. It would lead us'far beyond the * space within \vhich we must confine this sketch to give any, detailed account of r this very interesting part of the lecture. Oxygen entered largely into the composition of organic aud inorganic substances ; it was calculated to form one-third of the whole; weight of the earth. It was an important constituent of many rocks; it formed eight-ninths of all the water on the globe, and one-fifth of the air, Every time we inspired 1£ cubic inches of oxygen' disappeared. This did not seem much, but if we multiplied that by the respirations in twenty-four hours, we should find the result to be 43,000 cubic inches, or 25 cubic feet, weighing nearly 27 ounces. This again multiplied into the population of the world, gave 600,000 tons of oxygen daily for the human race alone, not to speak of the animal creation. ' .Dr. Boyd, lastly, alluded to the antagonism and yet harmony which prevailed in the animal kingdom. We saw the animal creation spreading out its countless myriads, from the huge elephant and Polar whale to the insect swarms which an hour of summer called into being; and all incessantly occupied in devouring that healthful ingredient, the atmosphere, and yet giving back in its place a quantity of poisonous airs, which, however, formed the chief nutriment of the vegetable world, from the towering cedar, whose roots might have struck into the slime of the Deluge, and the Banian tree, in whose shade an army might repose, down to thesmallest and n\ost insignificant moss, while what was useless to them was rejected ; but the rejected part was absolutely necessary to the support of animal life. What beauty did not this shed over creation! How did even its minutest parts lose their insignificance as parts, and start out as contributing to form one harmonious whole. The tiniest of insects, the meanest of animal forms lived not for itself alone, but co-operated with more perfect organisms in the production of a material from which the earth drew all its lustrous verdure, and the debt was well repaid; not more froni the forests stretching 1000 miles along the Amazon or the pine woods that interminably clothed the j Siberian mountain ranges, than from the slender herbage that, oyer bill and plain, in every corner:' .and;.nopk of the-globe, alike furnished food; for cattle!, .and pure air, the preserver of universal"life:: ■ Even tlie miscroscopic plants crowded in sluggish streams, in stagnant pools, contributed an amount. of oxygen which it was impossible to calculate; it had been found that a small square foot of an ordinary fish-pond contributed daily, by meaus of. miscroscopic plants, two cubic inches of oxygen, fifty cubic feet per acre, and this after furnishing a supply to the animals which the water .contained..' What then must he the vast quantity streaming, up all over the world from these despicable sources. We must look at these minute structures iv their,' aggregate to form an idea of their importance.' Inmany places were found layers of earthof immense.', extent, large, tracts of soil formed almost exclusively of their remains. If he said that, 1,000,000 of these bodies occupied together as much space as the head of a pin, he would rather have exaggerated their dimensions; yet-Mr. Darwin v speaking of' the coast of Patagonia, told us that for more than ; 500 miles it was -composed of a soft white stone, at places 800' feet ia thickness, and that at least onetenth of this continent consisted ofthe remains of j organised vegetable structures of the dimensions* 'just stated, and which in former ages and millenniums fulfilled the. same purposes which engaged their successors in this. The practical conclusion which he would draw from the most circumstantial or comprehensive view of the subject was-—that nothing was made by chance, nothing without an end and aim ; vto the fulfilment of which, all animated nature was unconsciously swayed. But we were more than admirable contrivances in which oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon were variously separated and reoombined, and that our body "' Ls 'but tho shadow, of that real Being > ' . ■ Which doth trajiscend beyond,our earthly seeing,. And cannot lie discerned till it rise j " Immortal object for Immortal eves."

* A novel'method of delivering bonded goods has' been introduced at the London Custom-house-.

Until last year- the Crown was in all cases the only warehoiise-keeper for tobacco and cigars. The result was a very large annual expense, and recently the practise has been abolished," the warehousing of tobacco being thrown open to competition under regulations similar to those in the case of all other goods. Previously the .great bulk of tobacco brought to this port was warehoused in the London Docks; but on the altered system coming into operation, a veiy large proportion was transferred to the Victoria Docks, cheaper rates being the great inducement. The Victoria Docks, however, owing to then-distance, were often found very inconvenient when it" was necessary to clear tobacco at a short notice. If an order was issued at 3 p.m., from the Custom-house for the delivery of a quantity, it was scarcely possible to get it away on the same day, and thus the trade was put to much trouble. This, however, is now remedied by the delivery of the goods on receipt of an electric telegram. The company's office is in Rood-lane, within two minutes walk ofthe Custom-house, and thence to the dock the wires are laid down. When an order for thejdelivery of bonded goods is issued from ■the Customrhouse it goes direct to the office in Rood-lane, and immediately on its receipts there a telegram is despatched to" the dock. This telegram is transcribed by the company's clerk at the dockland then handed to the Customs' Registrar, by whom it is stamped, signed, and forwarded to the locker, whose authority it becomes for the delivery of the goods, the whole being the work of a very few minutes. There is no risk to the revenue, as tlie company are responsible for the duty on all goods so delivered. Nothing can be more simple, and the Victoria Docks are now in this respect, in point of time, on a footing with the London and St Katherine's. It is believed that much more could be done in the same way, and -that, these-means could be advantageously applied to other distant points.— Times City Article. .... A New Way to Detect a TniEP.—The father of Mr. Webster, the great American statesman, was a very hii morons and jocose personage. As he was once journeying in Massachusetts, not far from his native town, he stopped late one night at an inn, in the village of Ware. In tho bar room were about twenty persons, who called -out to him to discover a thief. One ofthe party, it appeared, had a watcli taken from his pocket a cfew,minutes before, and he knew the offender must be in the room with them. "Fasten all the doors of the room—let no one leave it," said Mr. ~Wobste,r,'V " and here landlord, go and bring your wife's great brass kettle." Boniface did as he was commanded. The great brass kettle was placed in the middle ofthe floor, bottom up, as black and sooty and smoky as the chimney back. "Goto your-' barn and bring me the biggest cockerel you : have got," Boniface went to the barn, and soon returned with a tremendous large rooster, cackling . all the way like mad. The old rooster was thrown under the inverted kettle, and the lamp was blown out. " Now, gentlemen, I don't suppose the thief is in here, but if he is the rooster will crow when the offender, touches the bottom of the. kettle with his hands. Walk round in circle, and the cock will make known the watch stealer, the innocent need not be afraid you know." The company, then, to humour him, and to.carry out the joke, walked round the kettle in the dark for a few minutes. " All done, gentlemen ?" " All done," was the cry. " Where's your crowing— we heard no cock-a-doodle-doo 1" " Bring ns a light." A. light was brought as ordered. ." Now hold up your hands good folks." One held up his hands after another—they were of course black from coming in contact with the soot "of the kettle. "All up?" "All up?" Was the response. " A—ll—don't know; here's one fellow hasn't up his hands." "Ah, ha, my old boy, let's take a peep of your paws?"; They were examined, and were not; black like those of the rest of the company. " You will find your watch concealed about. lHri.;-seaiIchhirii!'' ; And so it proved. This.^ fellow not' being aware any more than the rest,-of"tlie trap that was set for the discovery of the thief, had kept algoffronv the kettle, lest when hei-touched i-it-the rooster should proclaim thief.,'? sHe- was/ lodged: in proper/ custody, preparatory-toibeing sent to gaol. Native Princes.—There still exist in India at least?22o sovereign princes, rajahs, or chieftains, of different ranks arid powers, from the Nizam, who is. the. monarch of a great kingdom with a distinct army Of 60,000 men, down to the petty Mahratta and Rejpoot chiefs..'-' These princes rule and govern upwards of 600,000 square miles of territory ; they have at; least forty millions of subjects, their independent revenues are extremely great, and they have under their, direct .orders military bodies, wholly unconnected with the company, which amount to 350,000 armed men. "It is true," saya .Mr.'Thornton, from whose papers we borrowed tlwse details, " that considerable portions of these troops of native states are better fitted for police "purposes than for war; that no regular system of payment "obtains among them; and that they are. for the most part badly organised and inefficient. But on the other hand the list is by no means complete. It comprises the rajahs, who may be said to have-a-political status, but most of these . have in turn petty dependant feudations, all having armed followers which swell- the native forces of India to a prodigious amount."— Edinburgh ifcview. How to Cut Glass.—The Scientific American gives the following process whereby glass may be cut with a piece of iron:—Draw- with a pencil on paper any pattern to which you would have the glass conform ; place the pattern under the glass, holding both together with the left ." hand, (for the. glass must not rest on any plain surface), then take a common spike or similar piece of iron, heat the: point, of it to redness,, and apply it to the edge of the glass, drawing the iron slowly forward, and the edge of tho glass will immediately crack; continue moving the iron slowly over the-glass tracing the pattern, and the clink in the glass will Follow at the distance of half an inch in every direction, according to the motion of the iron. It may sometimes be found requisite, however, espe- »' cially in forming corners, to apply a wet finger to the opposite side of the glass. Tumblers and other glasses may be cut or divided very fancifully by similar means. The iron must be reheated as ofteu as the crevice in the "glass ceases .to flow. '• •'. * { A Scientific Question Settled.—A distinguished member of the American Scientific Congress, who has taken an active part in dis* cussing the various experiments for rendering the rotation of the earth on its axis visible to the naked eye, was lately quite astonished by the sudden irruption into his library of his negro servant Sam, who exclaimed with a triumphant air,: ' Ho; m.assa! you's right;- De earf dose rotate oh its axletree-r-exactiy.. Fs seen it—■ -just as .plain-as a cartwheel? ..' Indeed,' said the .astronomer; dipping a pen in his mkstaud, preparatory to making an accurate record of his Servant's experience." * Now, Sam, my boy, , how was it ? Be precise in your statements.' * Yes, massa. You see I put double de quantity ob brandy in de watet— —-.' ** What do you mean, you rascal•!' exclaimed the philosopher, enraged at the idea of being imposed upon and of having his favorite theory held up to ridicule. ' Don't be angry, massa/ said Sam;.' it am a fact. I put double de usual quantity ob brandy in de water, and in five minutes after I drinked it I saw de earf rotate od its axletvee wid a ocr- *• tainty dat w-aB significant to bof of my naked eyes, 11' The.Matrimonial State.—The "State of Matrimony" is one.of .the United.States, It is bounded by a" ring on one side, and a cradle '■on''the ,otl*j'ei'.^* '^'lie, clinaatp issiiltryjill you pass "the irapics--of ; iip-!8e-keep_i.g v when squally weatheiysets.in .-yjth'such.power as to keep all hands as cool-as cucumbers."' For the principal roads'leading* to*'this*"interesting'State, consult the first pair of blue eyes you run against.