The nervous system and its functions / By Herbert Mayo.

  • Herbert Mayo
Date:
1842
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The nervous system and its functions / By Herbert Mayo. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    hydrogen, nitrogen. But these again either are constituents of the atmosphere, or are, under differ- ent forms, suspended in it; and it is from the atmosphere that the plant immediately borrows the materials which it assimilates; while it is from vegetable matter again, that directly or indirectly all animals derive their sustenance. So the mate- rials of both are, to a great extent, taken from the atmosphere; and to that extent is there truth in Dumas’ striking assertion,—that plants and animals are, chemically considered, but a portion of the atmosphere, temporarily withdrawn and set apart for the maintenance of life. The same materials, likewise, are in constant circulation from one kingdom to the other. The animal, that lives upon the plant, eliminates the ammonia and carbon necessary for the growth of other plants. The carbonic acid, which he gives out in breathing, when imbibed by the plant, being reduced, yields to the latter its carbon ; while its constituent of oxygen is liberated anew, to main- tain the purity of the atmosphere and to render it fit for respiration. The latest views in organic chemistry go yet
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